I compile a list of shows that I love to sum up why I adore the medium of television. I do this to celebrate my fifth anniversary of being a critic and on this list I put Hannibal in the number 21 slot. I proceed to explain why this serial killer drama is one of my favourite shows. This is my design
One thing I think every TV enthusiast has is a show that they mourn. An excellent piece of television that had you hooked episode to episode that the TV gods deemed too underwatched for this world and damned it with an early cancellation. For me, that's Hannibal, a truly epic adaptation of Thomas Harris' series of novels following everyone's favourite man-eating psychologist and the one man capable of understanding him. Despite its three acclaimed seasons and quite possibly the most fanatically devoted fanbase out of any series on this list, Hannibal is a show that ended right as it was approaching its peak, but six years on from that ending, I actually think what we got was a fairly satisfying three-part unit, in spite of a frustrating cancellation
Don't let that put you off if you haven't seen it though. If anything, Hannibal's all-too-quick finish has actually become a strange part of its charm, and the show is so monumentally nuanced and thrilling that even all these years later, horror on TV still hasn't been this good. A huge part of that is the aesthetic. Hannibal excels at mixing high art sensibilities with deeply disturbing ideas; the darkest annals of the human mind rubbing up against the finest of food, fashion and deep cut literary references. It's a deeply fascinating show, one that makes use of a uniquely sinister beauty that I've never quite seen replicated. The show pulls from so many different aspects of culture and combines them with the most horrifying acts of cruelty that man is capable of committing, and although that sounds like it should be a jarring mix, it never is, and that's a testament to how incredible of a showrunner Bryan Fuller truly is
Hannibal isn't scary because it depicts grisly, meticulously crafted murders, but because it tells its story through the eyes of a man who needs to understand why. Will Graham is a fantastic protagonist, and the further he gets in unraveling the inner workings of psychopaths, the closer he gets to tipping over the edge and becoming one himself. There's a real inevitability to Hannibal, which portrays the grim reality of this line of work: that the better you are at your job, the more you increase your chances of being in serious danger. Death isn't a threat in Hannibal, it's a guarantee, and every episode feels like another tick of a clock counting down to the demise of every character
It's a dark show, especially as it dives headlong into the minds of madmen like Francis Dolarhyde and Mason Verger, the latter of whom literally drinks the tears of children. But it's that focus on psychology that makes it so thrilling, especially because no character is spared from analysis. That's a natural consequence of having both Will and Hannibal deal with the reasons behind everything that happens in the show, and a huge part of why it works so well. It becomes doubly fascinating when it addresses their relationship with each other. I really love how Hannibal steers straight into its inherent homoeroticism, turning subtext into text and using that to further develop the narrative and make it infinitely more resonant when the grim inevitabilities of their world interject and complicate they way they see themselves and each other. It's a decision that I come to appreciate more every time a show steers away from addressing any sort of queerness in its narrative, and I think Hannibal is all the richer for keeping it so prevalent
And on the topic of the character himself, I really don't think there's been a better portrayal of Hannibal than Mads Mikkelsen. As much as I like Cox's chilly, understated omen and Hopkins' leery savant, this show's take on Lecter is by far the most nuanced and interesting we've ever had. Watching him go from a trusted ally of the FBI to the strangely charismatic psychopath we've all come to love is the backbone of the show, and Mikkelsen sells every shade of terrifyingly charming that the show requires from him. I also just really love the conflict as well, not just with each killer they're chasing, but all of the tension that stems from Will and Hannibal constantly teetering between being lovers and enemies
It was and always will be head and shoulders above all of its crime contemporaries, and even though it ended right as it was getting started, it's built a following so passionate and a legacy so influential that it doesn't even matter that NBC clipped its wings after three seasons. The Wrath of the Lamb is an audacious, bold hour of television, and the further we get from it, the more fitting of an ending it seems to become. So maybe we won't get to see that Silence of the Lambs storyline, but we'll always have beautifully arranged murders, deeply compelling characters and the ballsiest and most literal cliffhanger in recent memory
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