Hannibal Recap: “Sorbet”

by Veronique Medrano:

Hannibal Recap: “Sorbet”
Original Air Date (NBC): Thursday May 9, 2013
Season 1 Episode 7

Motivation for a Feast

After unveiling the victim that made the Cheasapeake Ripper an even bigger target, we are allowed to peer deeper into his psyche.

What is the method and reasoning behind the victims that he chooses and who’s next on his list. Hannibal is enjoying an Operatic performance and is moved to tears. Behind him, one of his patients who we’ve seen in an episodes prior, is staring at him intently and makes a point to come see him once the show is over. He interrupts Hannibal and the discomfort in the meeting is obvious, but his patient and the friend that accompanied him, Tobias, leave and Hannbial follows it up with the response, “Who’s Hungry?” Looks like the infamous feast’s hosted by Hannibal, mentioned by Hannibal’s friend right before being interrupted, may be back on after that odd exchange.

Hannibal meets with Franklin the next morning and is pertrubed by Hannibal not noticing or paying attention to him outside the confines of their meetings in his office. Franklin makes it clear to Dr. Lecter that he wants a friendship with him outside of the office, but Hannibal politely declines because he is Franklin’s stability as his psychiatrist and it would be unethical for him to have that relationship with him. We are taken from that scene and jump over to Hannibal and his psychiatrist who informs him that she is aware of his ‘Human-suit’ or ‘Human-veil’ that he puts on for others, that is so well-tailored only someone cunning would notice it.

Lecter asks if they are friends, but she states that they are only patients/colleagues. He asks her if she speaks about his venere of  humanity that he places upon himself to her other colleagues. She smiles and says no, because despite her obvious retirement he has made a point to seek her out for treatment. They drink a glass of pink wine, which is not the normal choices offered and then procedes to have wine with his other patient who he wants to be his friend i.e: Will Graham. Lecter is a bottle of oil, water and other liquids that just don’t mix.

We then jump one more time, to a past slight remembered by Hannibal that turns into an upcoming murder course  he plans to execute. Andrew Caldwell, an Independent Medical Examiner, is being rather curt with Hannibal when Caldwell becomes a bit foreceful on Hannibal’s medical record and how if he lies it could effect his insurance anyways so he should just come out with it. Hannibal finds it odd that Andrew is being forceful without warrant to be and so when Caldwell just so happens to have a car-problem Hannibal comes to his aid. I mean if you call aiding someone being more of a reason to kill, then yeah why not call it that.

It seems that in his pride to taunt Jack Crawford and fulfill a small vendetta on those who’ve wronged him, Hannibal has been moved to create a feast. He is fervently prepping and getting everything ready, like an artist, about to explore the dimensions of how far he can push himself for that masterpiece.

We do not stay in this mind-frame long, Hannibal has some loose ends to tie up. Franklin’s obsession with Hannibal’s friendship is growing exponentially. When he walks out of his office to welcome in his next appointment no one is there. The subtle facial expressions from sadness to slight amounts of dejection are beautifully played across Hannibal’s face as the audience realizes that Will stood Hannibal up for his appointment. Hannibal does not take the moment to sulk, but walks out of his office and searches for Will directly.

The episode ends with Hannibal and Graham casually talking with one another as he finishes preparing his feast. The mood has definitely struck him to prepare an amazing feast, despite the fact that Will Graham did not partake. In his closing words, almost a triumph to the pain he knows that was caused to Jack Crawford and the artistic preparation to his work he tell his guests: ‘Before we begin, you must all be warned…nothing here is vegetarian.”

Salt in the Wound

Jack Crawford is plagued by the guilt of Miriam Lass’ demise. The phonecalls and the discovery of Lass’ arm is making Crawford
push Will Graham to find the Cheasapeake Ripper. Will is aware of the push and tells Jack that even though he may believe he isn’t
trying to put pressure on him, that he knows this only a ploy to have him immersed in the case.

(Gotta warn you now this next part was another of the difficult to watch sections of the show)

I won’t go into too much detail, but Graham is lead into the bathroom where a body is found that matches the description of the Cheasapeake Ripper, and when Will goes into his ‘walk-through state’ it is quite graphic. We see Graham go through the process of manually taking out organs out of the victims body. But one thing doesn’t add up, the end result was not for death, but to resecitate.

Graham tells Crawford that the signs point to a medical student or someone with extensive medical knowledge acting as a back-alley doctor trying to make an extra buck and the job went bad.

Crawford is so incessed with the idea of catching the Ripper that he jumps at any opportunity of it possibly being him. Crawford asks Will how he sees the Ripper. Graham simply puts it as such: The Ripper is a human being that is pitiful and almost so monstrous that it many times is left to die, but in cases where someone like that lives they are not normal and no one can ever tell what it is that truly is going on with them until it is too late.

Jack Crawford is in the same spot in his dream, he opens the doorthat held the hand in his dream, but it isn’t there/ Instead he sees Will’s dead body with a severed arm. All a day dream that is fueled by his guilt and obsession with catching the Cheasapeake Ripper over the safety of those involved. The Cheasakpeake Ripper is stacking more bodies on the examine tables and it is unknown what is the true motive and the only thing they’ve gotten at the moment is the fact that there are two killers. With the body count climbing it only seems right to assume that they need to find the killer and they need to find the killer and quickly.

Turns out that the  person responsible for the death of the victim in the hosptial was a part-time EMT who was working out of a Independent Company. They find him using the Radio Tracking on the ambulance and Hannibal is asked to step in and help secure the bleeding. Will Graham watches as his psychiatrist performs surgery rather easily on the passed out patient.