Hannibal Season 3 Episode 10 Review: "Strength of the Dragon" (Spoilers)

Image A - Hannibal (NBC) Titlecard (2015)

Hannibal Season 3 Episode 10 Review

Contains SPOILERS

Released: August 6th 2015

Genre: Horror/Psychological Thriller/Crime

Directed by: Guillermo Navarro

Being a fan of the previous two seasons of Hannibal, I began watching the third season with high hopes (as one does after success of prior seasons), and I can honestly say that the season is shaping up to be the best out of the three- mostly due to the introduction of the Great Red Dragon storyline from the novel "Red Dragon" (by Thomas Harris), and the subsequent astounding performance by Richard Armitage as serial killer Francis Dolarhyde.

Image B - Francis Dolarhyde (Richard Armitage) and Hannibal Lecter
(Mads Mikkelen) in therapy.

Those who have viewed Hannibal before know of the impressive and awe inspiring cinematography, very often marvelling in the incredible and delving into the surreal, but the conversation between Dr Hannibal Lecter (incarcerated psychopath and cannibal) and Francis Dolarhyde at the start was intricately and intelligently done. The scene shows them as if they're facing each other in Hannibal's old therapy office (when in reality they are talking to each other on the phone), and there are two versions of Dolarhyde in the room. The talking one is "The Great Red Dragon" and the other, silent and fearful is Francis himself, seemingly terrified yet in awe of the other half of his personality as it spreads its wings and transforms in the first scene of the episode.

Image C - "The Great Red Dragon" , Dolarhyde and Lecter (Armitage and
Mikkelsen).

"I want to sit before you as the dragon sat before 666 in revelation. I have things I would love to show you. Some day if circumstances permit, I would like to meet you. and watch you meld with the strength of the dragon." - Francis Dolarhyde (Armitage, respectively)





The rest of the cinematography remained to be just as powerful without even delving into the surreal and horrifying (though some scenes did do both). Throughout the run of the show, protagonist Will Graham (an FBI profiler, brought out of retirement to catch Dolarhyde) and Antagonist Lecter are always presented as being connected in mind- they think in similar ways, and have a unique relationship despite their moral differences. This is why the below shot (Image D) is so powerful, as it shows Serial killer in confinement, and profiler out of it- yet the glass mirrors Will's face so it hovers above Hannibal's reminding the audience through the cleverly made mid shot that Graham could easily have been the one behind bars- and that they are still together in mind after years of no contact.

Image D - Graham (Hugh Dancy) and Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) in reflection.

In regards to acting, the cast did very well with this particular episode. Mikkelsen (as Lecter) has brought an interesting character to the screen for nearly three seasons now, but now that he's in confinement, he's brought a new level of calm hostility to the character which I personally find really refreshing and equally terrifying knowing what the Doctor is capable of. Many of the shots that involve Lecter are shot in Low key lighting, which is often connoted with Horror and creates a feeling of dread. but this lighting also brought an interesting element which I recently noticed. His eyes look a lot darker, almost as if they are completely black (shown in Image E) which reflects the idea of Lecter not being human, almost like a monster or demonic entity in a human skin suit.

Image E - Mikkelsen as Lecter.

Likewise, Gillian Anderson as Bedelia Du Maurier did exceptionally well in presenting a woman who has been through a lot, yet feels comfortable in her clarity, even if it means that her mind is as psychotic as Dr Lecter's. The sequence in which the episode is cross cut between Bedelia's conversation with Will Graham and the conversation with the patient that died in her care was brilliantly acted and masterfully designed to show her development in character and judgement, with the death of her patient revealing her true nature. What sticks in the mind though is her fascination with Will and Hannibal's relationship, as she describes Will as being more intimately involved with the doctor than she ever was.

Image F - Bedelia De Maurier (Anderson, respectively)

"You're here visiting an old flame" - Bedelia Du Maurier (Gillian Anderson)










But it could be widely agreed that Richard Armitage as Dolarhyde has stolen the show for the past few episodes, as his transformation into "The Great Red Dragon" is chronicled (the beginning of the episode showing him trying on his new voice, speaking to himself in the mirror). His mannerisms and nervous twitches are interesting as they make myself as an audience member uncomfortable (likely intentional as he's uncomfortable in his own skin). His relationship with Reba McClane has been interesting to watch, given his evident self loathing at his dark side, yet her optimism that he's a good person carries their relationship.

"I find you very mysterious" - Reba McClane (Rutina Wesley)

In the episode, Dolarhyde takes Reba to feel a tiger under sedation at a zoo, as she'd never seen a tiger before (given her blindness), but she could feel one (an experience not many will have come across, I'm sure). This scene in my opinion was extremely powerful as a metaphor for her relationship with Dolarhyde, as the tiger represents his normal self, yet it can be dangerous when awakened (the Great Red Dragon)- but in any case, her reaction to feeling the fur, then the face of the predatory big cat remains to be an extremely powerful scene which I applaud actress Rutina Wesley for.

Image G - Reba (Wesley) feeling the sedated Tiger.

Dolarhyde's behaviour around her still remains interesting to me, as his twitches and mannerisms suggest he's uncomfortable in his own skin (alluding to his alias), the moment that really made this behaviour click being the shot of his cocktail glass shattering on the floor, as if signalling a change in himself brought on by Reba's acceptance of him.

Image H - the Glass shatters, marking a change.

A particularly memorable shot comes slightly after as he and Reba become intimate, and we as the audience see through his eyes, resulting in the interesting shot below, connoting almost angelic imagery, linking with his perception of the dragon- eternal, immortal, everlasting- showing that his view of life is very different to others, as his interpretation of things seems to be exaggerated and rich in colour and imagination- a prime example of the excellent cinematography used in the show.

Image I - Reba through Dolarhyde's eyes.

"I like this dragon, Will. I don't think he's crazy at all. I think he might be quite sane, a magnificent thing to watch the world through his red haze." - Hannibal (Mikkelsen)

Will spent the episode looking for leads on the dragon, discussing with Hannibal about his motives and his sanity. The time pressures are mentioned as Hannibal states almost comically:

"11 days till the next full moon. Tick tock." - Hannibal (Mikkelsen)

Inferring that whatever the rest of the season holds in store, the Dragon will strike again. In any case this episode has become one of my personal favourite pieces of Television- due to it's vivid expressionism, solid acting, and the plot-line that has become even more twisted now that Will Graham has seen Dolarhyde face to face, after the Great Red Dragon took the painting that inspired the name, and consumed it viciously like an animal. Whatever the rest of the season holds, it will become clear, and knowing this show as a casual viewer- there will be death in the Dragon's wake...

Image J - The Great Red Dragon meets his Inspiration.

Sources:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4089746/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Hannibal_episodes

All image stills were taken directly from Episode 10 of Hannibal's Third Season (NBC). I don't own any of the images used in this post, and they're being used for reviewing purposes under fair use.