NBC’s ‘Hannibal’ season 2, episode 7 review: The Frederick Chilton fiasco
Just in case you had any doubt whatsoever that “Hannibal” is amazing, may Friday night’s episode was all you needed when it comes to convincing. This was the sort of story you really should have seen coming, but didn’t. Why is that? Blame the simple fact that Hannibal Lecter was playing us as viewers just as much as he was playing Jack Crawford and the rest of law enforcement.
At first, he set up Will Graham to be the perfect fall guy for his entire operation, but he later went in a different direction with an equally-effective target: Frederick Chilton. This is a guy who has worked on the Chesapeake Ripper case longer than Will has, was connected to Beverly and Miriam Lass, and also had a bloody massacre in his house. There is just one glaring weakness in Hannibal’s plan: This guy’s a coward. Wouldn’t some behavior experts be able to recognize this?
The problem here is that you have people like Alana in the mix, who have their own connections to the real ripper that are clouding their judgment. Then, you had Miriam. Somehow, Hannibal managed to convince her that Chilton was the ripper, and thanks to that, she put a bullet through the back of his brain during the interrogation. With him dead, there is no longer a reason for anyone to wonder if he is a coward or not. They’ll never be able to find out, and that is yet another piece of Hannibal’s plan.
In the end, what another outstanding episode of the series from start to finish. While we still wonder about Miriam being able to fire a bullet in an interrogation room and also how Hannibal intends to stop killing, these are minor concerns in the midst of a glorious, dramatic tapestry that included Will wanting to “resume his therapy.” Well, we’ll see how that goes. Grade: A-.
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Photo: NBC
Guest
April 13, 2014 @ 1:41 pm
The killing of Chilton is Bryan Fuller’s “hey, let’s kill Rita” moment. It took the show Dexter several years to get to such a weak place where they needed to shock us by killing a major character. It took Fuller one and a half seasons. Very sad. Mr. Fuller has clearly demonstrated that he has little regard for the source material or the fans. He’s now the George Lucas of the horror genre. A fiasco is a good way to describe it.
Aly Welch
April 14, 2014 @ 6:18 am
Overreact much?
The bullet entered his cheek and exited his neck (trust me, plenty of slow mo gifs and diagrams out there now.) The only question is whether his spine was struck, and if he’s paralyzed. People really need to watch how things play out before freaking out over an assumption.
Guest
April 12, 2014 @ 8:19 pm
This episode was awful in so many ways. Chilton as the Ripper–especially after his disemboweling by Gideon–was completely implausible. If he is dead (and Fuller has hinted he isn’t) it is a miserable waste of a character, an unforgivable break with canon, and Hannibal’s “jump the shark” moment. The overkill with the wound man was also appalling over the top.
Dexteresquely bad form.
Wake me when Chilton returns. If not, please cancel the show.
Lily
April 13, 2014 @ 5:48 am
I agree, this episode was implausible. Last week it was noted Abigail’s DNA was in the new set of fishing lures. Does it really seem possible that Chilton could have recovered so quickly from major surgery to have gone to Minnesota and killed her? I love this show, but this season is becoming over the top and annoying. I also dislike the Alana/Hannibal plot twist…
Derrick Hassert
April 13, 2014 @ 1:42 pm
Excellent point.
Aly Welch
April 14, 2014 @ 6:21 am
I’m confident Jack knows he’s innocent, but he still had to arrest him based on the evidence at his home. Doesn’t mean a defense attorney would have a hard time picking the prosecutor’s case apart had it gone to trial.
Brian Hermosillo
April 12, 2014 @ 7:24 pm
It’s a different take on the books/movies. If it was exactly the same as them, then it would be very predictable and pointless. This is Brian Fuller’s adaptation of Hannibal and I am enjoying it. The Chilton loss was one that hurt me, but it’s the series’ way of saying “I AM NOT THE BOOKS NOR AM I THE MOVIE”.
Steven
April 12, 2014 @ 4:11 pm
Man…I was really looking forward to seeing how Esparza and Mikkelson’s interactions during The Silence of the Lambs events would be portrayed. Now they are going to make a brand new character to replace Chilton? Alana sleeping with Hannibal is another deviation that I dislike. In fact, why change the genders of Bloom and Lounds in the first place? With Chilton’s death happening earlier, does this mean that Lounds’ death could happen earlier? Does she have a twin brother who also happens to be a reporter?
Aly Welch
April 14, 2014 @ 6:23 am
Then the show would be hurting for female characters apart from victims, and would validate/reinforce early criticisms of the show. According to the actress playing Alana, the character was pretty minor to begin with.
Nathan
April 12, 2014 @ 3:03 am
I liked the plot twist but … Chilton is shot and killed (I would assume?!) at the end of the episode – in the books/movies he lives past Silence of the Lambs (with the beginning of the movie Hannibal saying he disappeared after a vacation, which we all know what that meant). Regardless, this series takes place before the movie Red Dragon, so if Chilton is indeed dead this is too large of a divergence in my eyes – it makes connecting the movies/books and the series harder to do.
sami
April 12, 2014 @ 3:17 am
YES! I am not happy with this twist as it renders the books/ movies irrelevant! Chilton was still a pretty significant character in silence of the lambs. I am really ticked!! They’ve now massacred this show in my opinion. It’s not just newbies watching this…some people who appreciate the movies/ books prior to this were watching too.
Derrick Hassert
April 21, 2014 @ 10:50 pm
Ditto. I agree on all counts. Without Silence, Fuller wouldn’t have a show.
Derrick Hassert
April 21, 2014 @ 10:49 pm
Exactly. Fuller should respect that material. Without it he wouldn’t have a show.