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This week’s episode of Hannibal, ‘Roti’, fills a place that every series must have in their seasonal run as a bit of slow-moving filler before the grand finale kicks in.  The way Hannibal achieves this, however, is far better than what most other series have resorted to.  In this episode, we get a resolution with the issue of Gideon (aka the fake Chesapeake Ripper) and watch as Graham’s madness begins to fully set in.

The episode opens with Hannibal and his ally, the doctor who was messing about in Gideon’s head.  Hannibal seems to have no short supply of unethical allies in the series, though most of them tend to be short-lived.  This guy is no exception.  The new problem at hand is that Gideon is suing said doctor, saying that his poking around in Gideon’s head led to the death of the nurse he killed.  As Gideon is being transferred out of the hospital, he manages to escape, which means it’s up to Graham and the gang to go hunt him down.

Gideon, having a few mental issues besides his need to chop people up, begins to leave presents for the real Chesapeake Ripper by carving up his former doctors.  He also manages to get a hold of reporter-lady, Freddie and brings her along to do news on his murders the moment that they happen.  Quite the scoop, if you can handle all the mess.

The object of Gideon’s killings is to lure the Chesapeake Ripper (aka Hannibal) out so that they can have a confrontation.  But Hannibal is smarter than that, instead choosing to leave clues as to where Crawford’s crew can find Gideon.  Graham ends up finding him first, but is in a bad state of fever.  He kidnaps Gideon and takes him to Hannibal, who convinces Graham that there’s no one actually with him.  Our friendly doctor then sends Gideon after Doctor Bloom and Graham after Gideon.  Loose ends all nice and tied up.

And a Graham loses his mind completely, being plagued by strange dreams and waking hallucinations, he turns to Hannibal for help.  The doctor, naturally, convinces Graham that he needs to rely on his loyal therapist in order to keep the demons at bay.  Maybe not the best idea?

Finally, the show wraps up with another session between Hannibal and his own psychiatrist.  Once again we hear Hannibal talking about how he wants to help Graham and his growing friendship.  If he’s being honest with her, he certainly has a damn strange way of showing friendship toward Graham.

As we move into the last two episodes, the stage is set.  This episode took us on a ride through Graham’s head, showing exactly how far he’s sunk into madness.  We have to wonder if he’ll recover in time for season 2 and, if so, whether it will be because of Hannibal’s “friendship” or in spite of it.

Another element that I’m eager to see bloom in season 2 is the change within Freddie.  After being around Gideon and even having to help him with his malicious surgeries, will her mind be able to handle it?  Will Fuller and the writers factor this in as her character grows and is there potential for another serial killer in the future of the show?

For a glimpse at what next week has to offer (a preview that looks absolutely amazing), head to this site and watch the video.

Roti still courtesy of spoilertv.co.uk