Hannibal came to a surprisingly satisfying conclusion with “The Wrath of the Lamb.” As of this writing, the episode is both the season and series finale and could stand as such. However, I found myself liking this season even more than the previous two, so I’m still hoping to see more of it in the future. Despite the apparent deaths of both Hannibal (Mads Mikkelson) and Will (Hugh Dancy), we know better than to assume that anyone is dead without seeing the body, and we’ve seen many miraculous saves throughout the series. It would be a shame if this was truly the death of this beautifully visual and rich story.
“The Wrath of the Lamb” was written by the team of Bryan Fuller, Steve Lightfoot, and Nick Antosca and was directed by Michael Rymer. This episode more than many of the episodes really brought together the many visual themes and wove them beautifully into the story. My assumption is that Will is the “Lamb” of the title, and there’s plenty of biblical imagery throughout the episode to tie into this as well. It’s a nice riff on bringing the lamb to slaughter as Hannibal repeatedly tries to put Will in danger. It also made me wonder if, the show gone forward, would Will have taken the Clarice part? Or would Clarice be Hannibal’s new love, leaving Will the jilted lover as Bedelia (Gillian Anderson) has become?
I loved the elemental imagery throughout the episode, focusing particularly on undulating and decadent shots of water and fire. It’s beautiful imagery to reflect the theme of change and becoming. There’s the shot of Chilton (Raul Esparza) being doused with gas and lit on fire – played backwards and forwards – that contrasts so sharply with Reba (Rutina Wesley) who is also placed in the middle of liquid and fire, yet the Dragon – Dolarhyde (Richard Armitage) doesn’t feel he has to transform her.
Dolarhyde splashes water in Will’s face to wake him after he captures him. Will is incredulous that Dolarhyde hasn’t broken his back, transforming him. But even though Dolarhyde says that Will’s face is closed to him, he does recognize something in Will. Will tells him “blood and breath to feel your radiance” – the words about transformation that Hannibal has spoken to both of them, that Hannibal has used to transform them both. Blood is a very important liquid in the show and this episode.
There are three close ups of drinks being poured. Bedelia pours herself a drink as Will tells her that “meat is back on the menu.” A particularly cruel comment on his part. Jack (Laurence Fishburne) pours drinks for himself, Will, and Alana (Caroline Dharvernas) as they discuss using Hannibal as bait. And finally, there is a shot of Hannibal pouring red wine for himself and Will. This is followed by a beautiful shot of Hannibal being shot by Dolarhyde and the shot going right through him and then the wine bottle.
The final scene is full of liquid imagery. Will and Hannibal work together to bring down the Dragon – much like some kind of modern St Georges. There are multiple shots of gushing wounds, and then a close up shot of blood dripping into a puddle. We see the Dolarhyde lying on the patio, with his blood clearly spreading out to form his wings. Will remarks incredulously that “it really is black in the moonlight.” I believe this is something Dolarhyde says about the blood he’s covered in after his kills in the book but was this stated in the show? I know that it’s remarked on that Dolarhyde chose the houses based on having a yard to go out in under the moon, bathed in blood.
In fact, much of this episode comes from the book, but with a terrific twist at the end. We already know that the climax isn’t going to be Dolarhyde going after Will’s family because he’s already been thwarted in that. Once again, the show takes what we know and provides some really interesting new twists. I’ve heard others have disliked what they feel is the total discrediting of the Will Graham character, and normally, I’d be right with them. Maybe it’s because I’m not invested in the book. Regardless, I’ll be interested to hear people’s comments!
The episode begins where we left off, with Dolarhyde setting up Reba to witness his death. There’s the terrifically horrific shot of Reba through what remains of Dolarhyde’s substitute’s head. He tells her not to run – “I can catch you.” And then he tells her that he’s saving her from the Dragon – and he really is because he’s made sure that she knows how to get out. In keeping with the elements theme, this scene segues from fire into a close up of Reba sucking on an ice-cube. She has effectively tamed the fire of the dragon.
Will tries to give her some comfort. She is fixated on the horror of sticking her hand in what she thinks was the remains of Dolarhyde’s face. She’s also worried about having drawn a freak to her. Will tells her he was simply a man with a freak on his back – clearly Will is identifying with Dolarhyde. Will tells her that in the end, he could neither kill her nor watch her die. He tells her that “people who study such things” would tell her, Dolarhyde was trying to stop. Can we apply the same conclusion to both Will and Hannibal at the end of the episode? Reba tells Will that she’s used to people who feed on the dependence caused by her blindness. Will tells her that it’s not just the blind. Hannibal has been feeding on Will’s dependence for three seasons now!
Will goes to see Hannibal twice in the episode, and both times we begin in Church. Will gloats that “Ding, dong, the Dragon’s dead.” Hannibal assures Will that he’d been rooting for him all along – not necessarily to survive but for Will to kill, to become a killer. Hannibal tells him, it’s a shame you came all this way and didn’t get to kill anyone. But then he also congratulates Will on the “job” he did on Chilton, acknowledging Will’s intentionally setting Chilton up.
Hannibal tells Will that he can go home now to his family, but it will never be the same. Will insists that they want it to be the same. Hannibal knows that Will has come close enough to the excitement of the kill not to be able to go back to the boring peace of a normal existence. He knows that simply looking at Molly or Wally will remind Will of the Dragon and of Hannibal. Hannibal used the Dragon to bring Will back to him. Will places his hand on the glass, palm toward Hannibal and taunts him with the knowledge that Hannibal would only have turned himself in in the first place because Will had rejected him. Will does it again by leaving. Hannibal’s final question is whether it was good to see him. Will responds, “Good? No.” Will knows how far down the rabbit hole he’s fallen and thinks he’s escaped.
Dolarhyde ambushes Will as I’ve already alluded to above. Dolarhyde clearly sees a kindred spirit in Will and tells him he’d like to share with him – more than he shared with Reba. Will, however, sets out to use Dolarhyde to take care of his Hannibal problem and sets their meeting in motion. He tells Dolarhyde that Dolarhyde needs to change Hannibal.
We then jump to the lab and a rare appearance by Brian (Aaron Abrams) and Jimmy (Scott Thompson) doing their best Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee routine. It’s unclear (or was to me) whether they’ve discovered the body isn’t Dolarhyde or whether Will has told them he’s alive and they should check the body. Regardless, it sets in motion Will’s plan to bait Dolarhyde with Hannibal. Jack insists that Dolarhyde would be an idiot to take the bait, but Will insists that they need to take Hannibal into Federal custody and then fake an escape – of course, they don’t get to the faking part… Jack’s completely okay with letting Will add the authenticity to the escape by making it seem like he’s in on it if it means that they kill both Hannibal and Dolarhyde.
Will has one final meeting with Bedelia. She is shaken and insists that Hannibal will not be taken a second time. Will assures her that they don’t intend on him being “caught.” Will tells her this is his becoming. Is there still some part of him that believes that by killing Hannibal he can save himself and become what he once was rather than become the same as Hannibal? Bedelia tells him, “You’ve just found religion” and there’s nothing more dangerous. And of course, this is where the Church scenario comes in. Will warns her to pack a bag and go into hiding. Bedelia is not that stupid. She knows that Hannibal knows her too well for her to be able to hide from him, so she prepares for him in her own way.
Anderson has been magnificent this season. She’s angry with Will – though still rigorously in control. There’s a beautiful close up of Will with Bedelia in the background – the new lover taking focus away from the old one. Bedelia clearly has decided to take control of her own destiny – and is clearly convinced of Hannibal’s god-like ability to escape. The very last shot is of Bedelia seated at a lavishly set dining table – presumably her own – with a wonderfully presented dish – presumably her own leg. She looks somewhat out of it – is it the loss of her leg, drugs, or simply the giddy knowledge/conviction that Hannibal is on his way? Has she given in or does she think this one dish will satisfy him? We see her take the fork off her plate and hide it on her lap – is this all an elaborate ruse, so that she can get in the first strike? Look like she is simply giving in to the inevitability of Hannibal eating her only to stick the fork into his temple as Hannibal did to their dinner guest in Italy?
Will must set his own table and that leads to the second Church scene in which will clearly takes the role of supplicant to Hannibal’s priest as we see Hannibal at the altar. I loved Hannibal twitting Will about his grand departure – his “mike drop.” This was a great scene as Will has to essentially debase himself to Hannibal to get him to agree to help. Dancy is excellent as we can see the insincerity of his “please” to Hannibal, and Hannibal’s smile in return is evidence that he too sees the insincerity. It’s interesting to speculate on who Will is lying to at this point. Is he lying to himself, Jack – who is no doubt watching – Hannibal, or Dolarhyde? Does Will even know or care who is about to die and at whose hand? Is he simply now so immersed in the death and cruelty around him that he can’t stop himself from participating?
Alana makes two visits – one to Chilton and one to Hannibal. I was struck in this episode with how much her adoption of slightly out of time suits is reminiscent of how Hannibal dressed in the first two seasons. Even her demeanor has become that deliberate self-control of both Hannibal and Bedelia – and what Chilton struggled to adopt. Chilton is, of course, hideous and is clearly not going to die. Heaven only knows the make-up Esparza would have had to endure going forward – it’s brilliant here. Chilton tells Alana that he’d like Hannibal’s skin, and Alana remarks that he was never comfortable in his own skin and wouldn’t be in Hannibal’s either. Chilton then asks Alana if she’s comfortable in Hannibal’s skin – a nice reflection of the suits – but also underlining her own culpability in what happened to Chilton.
Alana has to float the deal to Hannibal. Hannibal knows it’s Will’s idea to use him as bait and he knows that she sidestepped being bait herself, knowing full well what would happen to Chilton. Mikkelson is wonderful throughout but I loved him telling her to wish Chilton a speedy recovery, “and I hope that he’s not too ugly.” Hannibal asks her if she trusts his well-being in Will’s hands. Will set Chilton up after all. Alana replies, “as much as his with you.” So, not at all. Hannibal tells her that she died in his kitchen when she decided to be brave and that everything since has been borrowed. He owns her wife and child. Hannibal will come for them all – and hence the only sight we get of Margot (Katherine Isabelle) is her and Alana boarding a helicopter on the lawn of their huge mansion with their son – running from Hannibal.
Interestingly, we’ve been getting more flashes of emotion from Hannibal during the last few episodes during his incarceration. Dolarhyde orchestrates the accident that frees Hannibal – from which it is a miracle that Hannibal and Will emerge unscathed. Hannibal seems more in control than ever as he emerges from the wrecked van, telling Will that he worries too much. Carnage seems to put Hannibal at peace. He tells Will that “You’d be more comfortable if you’d relax with yourself.” It’s another nod to being comfortable in your own skin, accepting who you are.
The final scene brings us forcefully back to the water motif and the theme of transformation. Hannibal’s house on the cliff is threatened by the erosion of the sea. It is inevitable and in small increments, just as Hannibal has eroded Will’s sanity and humanity. Hannibal tells Will, “Soon all this will be lost to the sea.” And of course, that is literally the case for both of them.
Hannibal asks Will if he’s going to watch Dolarhyde kill him. Will says he’s going to watch Dolarhyde transform him. Even the Dolar-hyde name, reminiscent of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, it a nod to transformation. Hannibal returns to his own phrase – Save yourself, kill them all. But Will is no longer sure that he can save himself or that he even cares if he does. Hannibal tells him, “There’s no greater gift than a man laying down his life for a friend.” And then the fight is on. Dolarhyde shoots Hannibal and then tells Will what he told Reba – “Don’t run. I’ll catch you.” Seems everyone wants Will as their new lover.
This is a beautifully choreographed and filmed fight. It’s like two wolves bringing down their prey, particularly as Hannibal jumps on Dolarhyde’s back and rips his throat out with his teeth. When it’s over, after the terrific shot of Dolarhyde’s blood wings, Hannibal tells Will, “This is all I ever wanted for you, Will. For both of us.” He wanted someone that he could truly share his kills with, who would uniquely understand him as Will’s gift/curse did. Will tells Hannibal that “it’s beautiful.” They embrace like the lovers Bedelia accused them of being. There is perhaps some ambiguity, but it would appear that Will tips them off the cliff – effectively saving himself from further becoming Hannibal or having to live as Hannibal, and saving Hannibal from being killed by someone else or re-incarcerated. Will also saves the others on Hannibal’s list.
The episode featured wonderful performances from Mikkelson, Dancy, Armitage, and Anderson. Wesley and Esparza also continued to deliver great performances as they have all season. If this had to be the series finale, it is worthy of the name even while it underscores just what a great show this has been. While I have felt that some of the episodes were unnecessarily arty in places, this episode hits the balance perfectly. What did you think of the episode? Were you satisfied with each character’s ending? Speculations on what might come next? I will continue to hope that there is more of this show in our futures. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
About the Author - Lisa Macklem
I do interviews and write articles for the site in addition to reviewing a number of shows, including Supernatural, Arrow, Agents of Shield, Agent Carter, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, The X-Files, Defiance, Bitten, Killjoys, and a few others! I'm active on the Con scene when I have the time. When I'm not writing about television shows, I'm often writing about entertainment and media law in my capacity as a legal scholar. I also work in theatre when the opportunity arises. I'm an avid runner and rider, currently training in dressage.
