Bryan Fuller Hannibal is famously dark, gruesome, and violent, exactly what you'd expect from a show about a murderous cannibal. This spin-off of Red Dragonaddition to Hannibal The timeline received critical acclaim and, despite low ratings, was greatly appreciated by fans. Its moody tone, beautiful cinematography, and all-star cast were some of the series' most appreciated attributes. But what no one talks about is how funny this bloody crime drama could be until its premature cancellation before Hannibal season 4.
In addition to great murder mysteries Hannibal offered a colorful selection of quirky characters: Hugh Dancy's reserved but consistently cheeky portrayal of criminal profiler Will Graham, Mads Mikkelsen's witty and subtle portrayal of Dr. and much more. Each character brings some element of strangely unexpected humor to Hannibaland these hysterical moments really marked the series.
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Each time Hannibal becomes visibly irritated by the rudeness
Your reactions to Freddy Lounds are from all of us
One of the series' longest-running jokes is how easily Hannibal becomes flustered by rude behavior. This goes back to one of Dr. Lecter’s most infamous quotes: “Whenever possible, one should always try to eat the rude.In the pilot of the NBC spinoff series, Dr. Franklyn drops a wadded, arrogant tissue on the psychiatrist's side table, much to his surprise heartbreak. Hannibal's gaze is seen switching between the scarf and Franklyn with pure disdain.
Hannibal's facial expressions when interacting with Mason Verger – particularly in scenes where Verger puts his feet on Hannibal's desk, or worse, stick a knife in your armchair – are nothing short of priceless. Hannibal's greatest source of annoyance, however, is the discourteous tabloid journalist Freddy Lounds. In “Amuse-Bouche”, Lounds recorded Will Graham's therapy session and lied to get into Hannibal's office, which greatly irritates him. Later, Lounds takes a candid photo of Hannibal as he is leaving the Baltimore Hospital for the Criminally Insane, to which he grumpily responds, “That was very rude, Mrs. Lounds.”
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When will the references be The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Hannibal Gets Meta with a silly nod to Edward Norton in Red Dragon (2002)
Node Hannibal Pilot and anti-social criminal profiler Will Graham is introduced to Dr. Hannibal Lecter, who has been hired as a consultant to help the FBI (and Graham) in their pursuit of the Chesapeake Ripper. When the director of the Behavioral Science Unit, Jack Crawford (Laurence Fishburne), introduces Dr. Lecter to Graham after questioning Will's ability to reenter the field, Will begins to wonder whether Hannibal is analyzing him or the Ripper. This only intensifies Will's sassy and petulant behavior throughout the pilot.
Defensive and evasive, Will Graham explodes at Hannibal and Jack during a consultation in Crawford's office. He demands to know which profile Hannibal is working on, and tells Dr. Lecter not to analyze it.
Will's line, “You wouldn't like me when I was psychoanalyzed,” is one of Bryan Fuller's signature ironic references. The role of Will Graham was originally played by Edward Norton in the 2002 film Red Dragonand Norton also starred as Bruce Banner in The Incredible Hulk (2008). This scene was a cute nod to the famous Hulk quote“You wouldn't like me when I'm angry.”
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When will Hannibal smell
It smells like cannibal spirit
During a therapy session in “Coquilles,” Hannibal visibly leans in and sniffs Will’s shoulder, causing Graham to ask in disbelief, “Did you just *smell* me?” Hannibal responds that this was difficult to avoid, insulting Will's aftershaveand suggests that he present you with a better product. Hannibal's sensitive nose is referenced throughout the series, with actor Mads Mikkelsen intentionally playing with it through subtle mannerisms such as tilting wine glasses away from himself.
Hannibal's extremely insulting but comical comments aside, this scene is an ingenious adaptation of an earlier scene between Edward Norton and Anthony Hopkins. The moment Hannibal smells Will is a direct reference to the 1981 novel and 2002 film Red Dragonin which Dr. Lecter tries to manipulate Graham in revealing details about his family, suggesting that the aftershave Graham is using is “…something a child would select. There's a little boat in the bottle, right?
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When Hannibal downplays Will's apprehension
Just a mild seizure, nothing to see here
Knowing that Will Graham was suffering from a severe case of encephalitis, or brain fever, Hannibal used psychic driving techniques to enlighten Graham throughout the first season. These techniques often involved the use of phototherapy to induce hypnotic trance states and – apparently – minor seizures.
When a disoriented Will Graham unexpectedly shows up at Hannibal's house late at night, he interrupts a murderous encounter with Dr. Abel Gideon (Suzy Eddie Izzard). Instead of admitting to Will that there is a man sitting at the dinner table, Hannibal once again uses encephalitis and hallucinations to his advantage by simply telling Will that there is no one there. Will is so distressed by this gaslighting that he begins to have convulsions.
After examining Will, Hannibal announces to Dr. Gideon that he suffered a mild seizure. Gideon jokes: “That doesn't seem to worry you.” Hannibal responds lightly: “I said it was light,” seemingly confused about why this was a big deal.
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When Hannibal is a fanboy
Hannibal Geeks because of another serial killer's work
The FBI pursues the Mosaic Killer in several early episodes of Season 2. Although this arc contains one of the most gruesome murder scenes, the scene in which Hannibal discovers the killer is perhaps the most unintentionally funny moment in the series.
Hannibal, dressed in his ridiculously ineffective murder suit, sees a grotesque ring of corpses that Baltimore's latest serial killer has been stitching together into the shape of a Human skin tone mural. Hannibal is only able to observe the vision for a brief moment before the killer coincidentally opens the door to the observatory and enters with a pressure sprayer, presumably to moisten—or perhaps coat in resin—the skin of his victims. Hannibal expresses his admiration for the serial killer with: “Hello. I love your work.”
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When Hannibal gets sassy
Hannibal jokes with the muralist: “Certainly not with that attitude”
In the following scenes, Hannibal's plan to capture and kill the Muralist (Patrick Garrow) comes to fruition. It is unknown what Dr. Lecter's motivations were for doing this, other than entertainment. He was led to the killer by his highly sensitive nose, which picked up the scent of a cornfield on the fugitive victim's corpse. After admiring the art that James Gray created with the bodies of his victims, Hannibal goes down to the observatory and practically interviews his fellow serial killer.
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Lecter lavishes praise on the human mural as he stitches the killer right into the center of his own creation, the spot from which his previous victim had escaped. Hannibal assures him that they will finish their work together. While sedating him, he questions the Muralist: “When his big eye looked up to the sky, what did he see?” Gray responds that the eye saw nothing and tells Hannibal: “There is no God.” Hannibal responds cheekily“Certainly not with that attitude.”
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When Hannibal witnessed a man climbing out of a dead horse
He was just minding his own business, petting a sheep
In what is arguably the most shockingly brutal and bloody Hannibal death, “Su-Zakana” explores the murder of a woman who was sewn inside the belly of a horse. After committing a gruesome number of similar murders and pinning them on his psychologically vulnerable client, Peter Bernardone (Jeremy Davies), social worker Clark Ingram (Chris Diamantopoulos) finally gets justice – but not in the way one might expect.
Peter suffered a traumatic brain injury when he was kicked by a horse, and Ingram later killed that horse to complete his work. In his grief over this traumatic discovery, Peter lashes out, sewing Ingram to the horse's corpse, paralleling Ingram's own crimes. Later, Hannibal watches casually, petting a sheep in a nearby stall like a The bloodied Ingram manages to climb out of the horse's remains.
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When Mason Verger Was Basically The Joker
What a deranged laugh as it threatens your life
Following the events of Margot Verger's (Katharine Isabelle) forced sterilization in season 2, episode 11, “Ko No Mono,” Will Graham confronts his brother, Mason Verger (Michael Pitt). Mason makes several repulsive jokes about his sister's abuse, and eventually Will can't help himself: he punches Mason in the nose. Mason experimentally wipes away the blood for a moment before bursting into maniacal laughter and casually saying to Will, “There is! I will feed you to my pigs.The most hysterical moment in this scene comes when Will approaches Mason just as he is throwing a fit. singing happily asking for reinforcements from your favorite henchman: “Carloooo!”
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When Bedelia gets sassy
Will and Bedelia making fun of each other is basically the entirety of season three
Will Graham and Hannibal's former psychiatrist (and later lover), Dr. Bedelia du Maurier (Gillian Anderson), has a contentious relationship at best. In Season 3, when Hannibal flees to Italy with Dr. du Maurier in tow, the increase malicious interactions between her ex-psychiatrist and her former flame seem to indicate some level of jealousy, perhaps because Bedelia is acting in the role of Hannibal's wife to preserve her disguise as Dr. Throughout the events of season three, Will Graham and Bedelia simply can't stop insulting each other.
Although the role was already reversed when Bedelia warned Will about Hannibal's true nature, it is later Will's turn to warn her when it comes to light that Hannibal may have plans to kill and eat Dr. du Maurier. Graham tells Bedelia: “I would pack my bags if I were you, Bedelia. Meat is back on the menu.” To which Bedelia gives the hysterical and enraged response, “You fair, reckless… restless little man!“
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When Hannibal tells jokes
Maybe they should assume no one is actually dead, just to be safe
When investigating the Leeds and Jacobi murders, Will often turns to Dr. Lecter's psychological expertise to help Graham in shaping the profile of the killer, Francis Dolarhyde (Richard Armitage), also known as the Great Red Dragon. Will is closing in on the Red Dragon when Dolarhyde kidnaps and threatens the life of his colleague and lover, Reba McClane (Rutina Wesley), and soon stages his own death. After the fire caused by Dolarhyde, Will Graham visits Hannibal in his cell, joking: “Ding dong, the dragon is dead.”
Later, when it becomes clear that Francis Dolarhyde faked his own death planting the corpse of a previous victim in the fire (and leaving behind his hideously distinctive dentures), Will once again crawls back to Hannibal seeking his help in capturing the killer. As Graham tries to manipulate Hannibal into helping him, Dr. Lecter taunts Will: “Ding dong, the Dragon is not dead.”
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When Hannibal goes on air
Nothing as funny as an air raid by a murderous cannibal
Hannibal It's just not the kind of show you'd expect to see physical comedy in, but the series makes frequent use of that kind of humor. Perhaps due to Mads Mikkelsen's dancing background, the choreography of everything from casually funny interactions to epic fight scenes is graceful and flawless. Despite the beautiful execution of the hand-to-hand combat, there is one hysterical recurring incident that never gets old: Hannibal flying in the air in a fight. Apparently all the murder and cannibalism keeps him in good shape.