Hannibal - Season Three

The premature final season of the epic bad bromance comes to Blu-ray with "Hannibal - Season Three."

The show's producers and writers (including creator Bryan Fuller) gleefully mixed and matched parts and pieces of the original trilogy of Thomas Harris novels in the show's earlier seasons; they continue to do so in these 13 episodes, the first eight of which draw heavily from the third novel "Hannibal," while the final handful adapt the first novel in the series, "Red Dragon." (There's a faint whiff of the trilogy's much inferior prequel, "Hannibal Rising," in the middle of the season.)

Gillian Anderson joins the rest of the cast full time as Bedilia Du Maurier, Hannibal's psychotherapist and lover; she and the good doctor (played impeccably by the brilliant Mads Mikkelson) cut a swath of blood and gastronomic good taste through Florence, and Anderson plays her role with a soft-spoken, trembling sensuality that teeters between madness and horror.

The second part of the season leaves Florence behind but the infernal light of Dante's poetry joins with the source material's nods to Blake to keep the characters in movement, their eyes alight and their perfectly attired bodies no doubt trailing the fragrances of expensive colognes. Everyone here swans around in perfect taste while the world around them -- wreathed in wintry shadow and ice -- goes to rot. FBI profiler Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) is still unwillingly in thrall to Hannibal; his boss, Jack Crawford (Laurence Fishburne), now a widower, circles from afar and plots vengeance; Dr. Alana Bloom (Caroline Dhavernas) -- another of Hannibal's lovers -- draws plans of her own and makes unholy alliances, as does the ever-frustrated Dr. Chilton (Raul Esparza).

Two villains occupy major story arcs. The first being Mason Verger (Joe Anderson), left maimed after a season two encounter with Hannibal. The second is Francis Dolarhyde (Richard Armitage), a Hannibal groupie who styles himself "The Great Red Dragon," and murders entire families. There's also a mysterious female sniper named Chiyoh (Tao Okomoto) who crops up here and there, alternately protecting Hannibal and goading him toward capture by the authorities. She seems to get her way -- but, of course, it's on Hannibal's terms.

The season is disjointed, with the storylines feeling forced into a single slate of thirteen episodes. Still, this is the darkest, most daunting, and perhaps most satisfying series to have hit the airwaves in a season chock-full of dark, daunting, complex shows.

The release contains enough special features to satisfy the most avid "fannibal," including "Getting the Old Scent Again: Reimagining Red Dragon," a feature-length in-depth analysis of the "Red Dragon" episodes (it's surprising how much there is left to say about this, given that this is the third time the book has been adapted), commentary tracks featuring cast and crew, featureless "Hannibal on the Run," "Hannibal: Season 3: Killer Intentions," and "Beyond the Mind Palace." Also included: A gag reel, webisodes with Scott Thompson (whose appearances here, together with Aaron Abrams, amount to a few well-placed cameos), deleted scenes, and a nod to the show's ever-hungering fans... the "fannibals" who have taken to the series with an almost frightening intensity. (Fuller seems to identify with them; he calls the series his own version of "fan fiction" in homage to Harris' novels.)

Though the season's cliff-hanger ending (and the enigmatic post-credits scene in which Du Maurier appears one final time) were meant to lead into a fourth season, the show's conclusion feels narratively and artistically complete. If we had to leave it here, at least the show went out on a suitably bloody, provocative high.

"Hannibal - Season Three"
Blu-ray
$24.99
http://www.nbcuniversalstore.com/detail.php?p=920040