Hannibal season 1 episode 1 “Apéritif” took a horror icon and reinvented him for a new audience. Author Thomas Harris introduced Hannibal Lecter to the world in Red Dragon, with the character being an almost genius level psychiatrist who has some personality defects - like being a cannibalistic murderer. Hannibal was captured by FBI agent Will Graham, who in turn was almost killed by Hannibal and left traumatized in the aftermath. Red Dragon was later adapted into Manhunter in 1986, with Brian Cox being the first to step in Hannibal’s shoes with a chillingly understated performance.
Manhunter underperformed upon release, but Hannibal would later become a horror legend following Anthony Hopkins’s turn in The Silence Of The Lambs. The movie is one of the few horror films to be showered in Academy Awards, and Hopkins would later return for two follow-ups; Gaspard Ulliel would also play a younger version in 2007’s Hannibal Rising. The character was almost considered more powerful when he’s locked in a cell since the threat of what he could unleash if he escaped is more terrifying. This is one reason The Silence Of The Lambs is considered the best movie in the franchise, while even Hopkins’ expressed disappointment with his later appearances in the role.
The critical and financial underperformance of Hannibal Rising suggested audiences had grown weary of the character, but what he needed was a reinvention. This came in the form of the much-missed Hannibal series, which debuted in 2013. This NBC thriller focused on the relationship between Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter, with the latter acting as Will’s friend and therapist - while secretly being a prolific killer with a tendency for mind games. Hannibal season 1 episode 1 “Apéritif” opens with Will demonstrating his savant like ability to get in the mid of a killer, where he retraces the steps of a bloody crime scene.
Will is then tasked with finding a killer who has abducted eight college girls, with the case taking a toll on his psyche. Will’s boss Jack Crawford (Laurence Fishburne, The Matrix) sends him to see a psychiatrist named Hannibal, played by Mads Mikkelsen. Hannibal is intrigued by Will and his gift, while Mikkelsen’s take on the character is quite distinct from Hopkins. He later helps Will identify the “Minnesota Shrike” killer as Garrett Jacob Hobbs and that he’s murdering girls who look like his daughter Abigail.
Hannibal season 1 episode 1 “Apéritif” ends with Will and Hannibal heading to Hobbs’ house - after Lecter called to warn him first. Hobbs kills his wife and tries to kill Abigail, while Will shoots him multiple times. The fallout of this would play out through much of the series, with Will haunted by Hobbs’ death while forging a friendship with both Abigail and Hannibal - who pulls strings in the background to see how Will will react. Hannibal presented the character in a brand new light, and after years of underwhelming movie sequels, made him a villain to be reckoned with once more.
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