There is a purposeful absence in theHannibalSeason 3 premiere.

It is the void left by Will Grahams betrayal that Hannibal (Mads Mikkelsen) is trying to fill.

Will was the person who Hannibal deemed worthy enough to see the true Dr. Lecter.

Now, there is a Will-shaped hole in his life and he spends the premiere trying to fill it.

His heart doesnt really seem in it, which makes for a chilling, trance-like Season 3 launch.

In Wills absence, Hannibal must make due with others.

Hannibal as Dr. Fell should be in his element.

His diverse intellectual interests are being tickled by his alias as a Dante scholar.

He is surrounded by art and history and refined society.

Aesthetically, life is great.

But this broken-hearted Hannibal is a cold, dissatisfied one.

Yes, he killed, but there was a certain logic to it.

Its not that this logic has changed, but Hannibals context has.

He is no longer friends with Will Graham.

He is no longer trying to impress or communicate with anyone.

At least not until the final moments of this episode.

And that makes for an even chillier Hannibal.

As Bedelia puts it, Hannibal is more concerned with making appearances than maintaining them.

She is Hannibals captor, but her degree of agency is unclear.

She is obviously petrified.

She is disturbed by Hannibals killing of the charming Dimmond.

But he will not offer Dimmond the same gift he did Will.

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When Hannibal kills Dimmond, Bedelia is not surprised.

She is a reluctant observer to Hannibals game, but Hannibal insists she is an active participant.

As viewers, its hard to unravel her motivations and thought processes.

Weve seen two seasons worth of evidence that Hannibal is a master manipulator.

He can persuade people to do nearly anything, including kill their patient in the most gruesome of ways.

This entire episode eschews clarity in a slow, confident, avant-garde way that might frustrated viewers.

We dont check in with any of the other main characters.

But, like every other installment ofHannibal, this show is too intricately beautiful and philosophically clever to care.

It also helps that this episode gives us what is probably the most Hannibal-centric episode to date.

Here, a mix-up in both setting and focus doesnt feel shoehorned or convoluted to draw in new viewers.

It feels organic.Of courseHannibal would head to Europe to mend a broken heart.

And, more than any internet show on TV,Hannibalisnt afraid to linger in that chilling melancholy.

Rating:

4 out of 5