Ricky Church reviews the sixth episode of Hannibal season 3…
Hannibal certainly kicked it up a notch with ‘Dolce’, giving fans an intense installment of not just Season 3, but of the series overall. Picking up right from last week’s ending, Jack and Will reunited in one final effort to catch Hannibal while the killer made his plans to gain revenge and escape from all the forces converging on him. It was a cat and mouse game with the scales constantly tipping back and forth, leaving viewers unsure of who exactly would come out on top at any given moment.
The whole cast gave excellent performances from minute one. Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelsen did some of the best work they’ve ever done together on Hannibal in this episode. Their scene in the art gallery was one of ‘Dolce’s highlights as they reminisced before getting ready to kill each other. After Will was shot, it really did seem like Hannibal would heal him, but of course he did just enough to serve his own purposes and used Will’s vulnerability to his advantage.
The real scene stealer, though, was Gillian Anderson as Bedelia put her thorough alibi in play. Anderson was very convincing as a drugged up, yet very much in control, Bedelia as she relayed her cover story. Her scene with Chiyo was another standout moment in the episode as both mysterious characters attempted to gain more information from the other. It’s very interesting that, given Chiyo’s later actions, Bedelia now believes Chiyo is the greatest mistake Hannibal has ever made. Though it still remains a little unclear why she ever escaped with Hannibal in the first place. Perhaps his curiosity rubbed off on her.
Hannibal has always been an extremely visually stunning series, but Season 3 has taken it to the next level as the cinematography and editing has become very artsy. ‘Dolce’ had some crazy imagery with the dream-like sex scene between Margot Verger and Alana Bloom. The whole thing was a trippy experience as it was presented as a moving kaleidoscope. With an episode that also included a vivid dream Mason experienced and Bedelia’s drugged point of view, this may end up being one of Hannibal’s most visually impressive episodes yet.
Hannibal’s shattered teacup came back together by the conclusion as he successfully captured both Will and Jack. The three former friends finally sat down (albeit two of them unwillingly) for the planned dinner from Season Two’s finale, except now Will was to be the main course. In a reference to one of the novels most infamous scenes, Hannibal planned to serve and eat Will’s brain for dinner. The tension really came to the forefront throughout this sequence, but things don’t look any better now that Will and Hannibal are apparently in the hands of Mason Verger.
With only seven episodes left, Hannibal is pulling out all the stops to deliver a truly memorable season. ‘Dolce’ was, so far, the season’s highlight episode and could end up being one of the show’s, not to mention one of Bryan Fuller’s, finest hours.
Ricky Church
https://youtu.be/IWWtOQOZSTI?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng
Originally published July 10, 2015. Updated April 14, 2018.
