Hannibal/Aperitif

Aperitif
Season 1, Episode 1
Airdate	April 4, 2013
Written by	Bryan Fuller
Directed by	David Slade
— N/A	1x02 → Amuse-Bouche
Hannibal — Season One

Aperitif is the first episode of the first season of Hannibal.

Starring: Hugh Dancy (Will Graham), Mads Mikkelsen (Dr. Hannibal Lecter), Caroline Dhavernas (Dr. Alana Bloom), Hettienne Park (Beverly Katz)

and Laurence Fishburne (Jack Crawford)

Guest Starring: Scott Thompson (Jimmy Price), Aaron Abrams (Brian Zeller), Dan Fogler (Franklyn Froideveaux), Kacey Rohl (Abigail Hobbs)

Co-Starring: Vladimir Cubrt (Garret Jacob Hobbs), Sarah Evans (Mrs. Nichols), Wayne Ward (Mr. Nichols), Krista Patton (Louise Hobbs), Bernadette Couture (Theresa Marlow), Wayne Downer (Thomas Marlow), Torianna Lee (Elise Nichols), Greg Dunfield (Repairman), Suzanne Coy (Dixie)

Plot Overview

Special Agent Jack Crawford, head of the Behavioral Science Unit at the FBI, reaches out to former homicide detective and current forensic teacher Will Graham to utilise his unique ability of insight to track down a killer who's been abducting college girls in Minnesota. To help Will maintain some mental stability, Jack brings in respected psychiatrist Doctor Hannibal Lecter. Unbeknownst to either of them, Lecter is himself a serial killer who takes a special interest in Graham.

Notes

Locations

• F.B.I. Academy, Quantico, Virginia
• Duluth, Minnesota
• Wolf Trap, Virginia
• Baltimore, Maryland
• Hibbing, Minnesota

Arc Advancement

Happenings

• When Crawford looks at Hannibal's drawings, underneath and unnoticed is a Wound Man illustration. In Red Dragon, it's revealed that it was Graham's discovery of this that tips him off that Hannibal is the Chesapeake Ripper.

• The episode is bookended by the foreshadowing of Francis Dolarhyde, the killer featured in Red Dragon. Fuller has said that the crime scene in the opening is one of his early murders, before establishing his later pattern. Then Bloom's lecture at the end discusses bite marks, with Dolarhyde's signature involving biting his victims.

• Hannibal alerts Garret Jacobs Hobbs that the FBI is on his trail. As a result, he kills his wife and attempts to kill his daughter.

• Hannibal commits his first killing as a copycat in order to help Will profile the Minnesota Shrike.

Characters

• Will is shown having a habit of taking in stray dogs.

• Will begins profiling for the FBI when he's brought in by Jack Crawford to help the Minnesota Shrike case.

• Alanna claims she and Will have never been alone in the same room together. She insists it's due to her professional curiosity.

• Jack brings in Lecter to keep Will in check, introducing the two.

• Will shoots and kills Garret Jacob Hobbs and his last words, "See", will have psychological ramification on Will.

Trivia

The Show

• First and only episode not to feature the main title sequence.

• Despite being the show's title character, Hannibal Lecter is not introduced until halfway into the episode.

• While never explained onscreen, the background to victim of Hannibal's copycat killing is that she blew smoke in his face, hence why he is shown making a meal from her lungs.

Behind the Scenes

• While the Garret Jacobs Hobbs is part of the backstory in Red Dragon, his M.O. isn't. The writers had to develop one based on the Minnesota Shrike moniker used in the book.

Allusions and References

• The red bathroom is a direct visual nod to Stanley Kubrick's The Shining.

Memorable Moments

• Will shooting Garret Jacob Hobbs, killing him, but not before uttering a haunting last word directly to Will.

Quotes

• Jack: I want you to get closer to this.

Will: No. You have Heimlich at Harvard and Bloom at Georgetown. They do the same thing I do.

Jack: That's not exactly true, is it? You have a very specific way of thinking about things.

Will: There have been a lot of discussion about the, uh, specific way I think.

Jack: You make jumps you can't explain, Will.

Will: No, no. The evidence explains.

Jack: Then help me find some evidence.

Will: That may require me to be sociable.

• Hannibal: God forbid we become friendly.

Will: I don't find you that interesting.

Hannibal: You will.