While I have no doubt that the majority of you are still trying to cope with the fact that NBC has canceled Hannibal — a decision I know they'll come to regret — it's important now more than ever that we cherish every single delectable episode the series has left to serve us. And Thursday night's episode "Aperitivo" proved to be yet another appetizing main course when it revealed that Alana Bloom is not dead on Hannibal after all. And not in the Abigail Hobbs fake-out sort of way. This doctor is legit still alive and kicking. However, just because her physical wounds seem to be healing up quite nicely (being shoved out a window tends to make you a tad sore), her emotional scars have left her character somewhat altered.
What makes me say that, you may ask? Well, aside from just the obvious trauma she undoubtedly experienced from being at the receiving end of attempted murder, her entire demeanor appears to be so much less warm than what we've come to expect from her once-naively innocent personality. But now, the only thing she craves is revenge on the man who wrong her, which has led her to team up with none other than Mason Verger. You see, these two share one very common interest: not capturing Hannibal, but killing him altogether.
Aside from Will Graham, there's no better person out there for Mason to partner with in this murderous endeavor. She does, after all, know Hannibal quite intimately. As Alana coyly told Mason: "You're preparing the theater for Hannibal's death. I'm just doing my part to get him to the stage."
She knows they can use Hannibal's eccentric taste to track him down and when they do, she seems more than up to the idea of sitting back and watching Dr. Lecter meet a gruesome fate. I'm not yet used to this darker side of her, but I have to admit that I find it much more compelling than how she was before. I'll be curious to see what Hannibal and Alana 2.0's interaction with each other will be like when they inevitably come face-to-face once more. This cannibal may have known the old Alana, but this newer version may just catch him off guard. After all, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
Images: NBC (2)
