The fact that NBC cancelled Hannibal , the network's most critically acclaimed show, has never hurt more than it did after watching Saturday's gloriously gory episode. Those Fannibals who have read Thomas Harris' novels knew that the sh*t was about to hit the fan this week, with every storyline from the first half of Season 3 finally converging on Mason's farm in Maryland. But it all coalesced in such a spectacular way that the hour almost felt like a finale. The fact that there are still six episodes ahead of us — based on Red Dragon — is just icing on the cake. But before we get ahead of ourselves, let's reflect on all those sick, twisted, I-can't-believe-they-just-showed-that-on-network-television moments from "Digestivo."
Last week's episode left off with Hannibal and Will dangling in Mason's meat locker; the beginning of this episode showed viewers how they got there. Just as Hannibal was sawing his way through Will's skull, the policemen Mason had bribed burst into the apartment and kidnapped the erstwhile frenemies. Some cronies were supposed to kill Jack to eliminate witnesses, but a couple of well-placed bullets from Chiyoh's sniper rifle saved the FBI chief's life.
Stateside, Mason and Cordell couldn't stop gloating over their prize, completely ignoring Alana's sage advice to stop playing with their food before it bit them back. It turns out that Mason's plan was a bit more complicated than his book counterpart's: not content to simply feed Hannibal to his man-eating pigs, the Verger heir was planning to carve off Will's face (as retribution for Will watching Mason carve off his own face last season), transplant it onto his own disfigured visage, and then eat Hannibal piece by piece.
Meanwhile, Mason dropped the bombshell to his sister that he hadn't "humpty dumpty-ed" her eggs when he removed his uterus; he had simply "put them in a different basket"... aka fertilized them and implanted their incestuous baby in a surrogate. Margot frantically searched the Verger estate for this mysterious surrogate, but I don't think she — or any of the viewers — were prepared for what she found: one of Mason's prized sows, impregnated with a human fetus. (If you thought this turn of events was particularly bizarre even for Hannibal, I encourage you to Google "interspecific pregnancy." Or maybe don't.) Unsurprisingly, the fetus hadn't survived. Margot begged Alana to cut out her baby, and she cradled its lifeless body for a moment... before going to exact revenge on her sadistic brother.
To that end, Margot and Alana had freed Hannibal from his restraints. The cannibal rescued Will from Cordell's scalpel — and instead carved off the doctor's face, which he laid like a mask over an anesthetized Mason. Hannibal then killed all of Mason's henchmen... but left Mason himself for Margot. After Hannibal absconded with an unconscious Will, Margot revealed to Mason that she had stimulated his prostate with a cattle prod while he was out, finally attaining the prize she so desired: his semen. She then shoved him into his aquarium, where his pet eel promptly slithered down his throat, perhaps mistaking his gaping maw for a welcoming cavern.
Will woke up in his own bed, with Hannibal watching over him. The two shared a surprisingly intimate conversation, where Will acknowledged that he didn't share his frenemy's insatiable "appetite," and that the metaphorical teacup could never be un-shattered. Basically, Will broke up with Hannibal... and broke the cannibal's heart in the process.
We realized just how broken Hannibal's heart was in the episode's closing moments. In the hour's biggest twist, it looked like the killer had gotten away once again, until he walked straight up to Jack and his coterie of FBI agents... AND TURNED HIMSELF IN. We all knew Hannibal would be caught eventually — but I don't think anyone expected his capture to be voluntary.
Next week, Hannibal jumps forward three years and introduces us to Francis Dolarhyde — aka the Tooth Fairy. Prepare yourselves.
Images: Brooke Palmer/NBC (3)
