The best episodes of Hannibal
Ranked by viewer rating, highs first. Lit marks on the season rail place this list across the run. Vote on a placement to back it or contest it.
- 01
When Will returns from Minnesota without Abigail, Hannibal turns Will in, and Jack and the BAU team find strong evidence of Will having killed not only Abigail, but possibly being the Copy Cat Killer. Jack and Alana begin to accept that Will is indeed capable of murder. Will is arrested, plans a desperate escape, and takes Hannibal back to Minnesota to clear his name and prove he's being framed. But before he can, the situation takes another ugly and unexpected turn.
- 02
When the BAU investigates a murder involving organ removal Jack believes that the Chesapeake Ripper may have resurfaced, but Will determines that the victim's murder is the result of illegal organ harvesting accident. Meanwhile, Will suffers from nightmares where he is Abigail's father, and Hannibal slowly starts to seduce Alana Bloom and begins to visit his own therapist, Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier.
- 03
The BAU investigates a murder in which the killer exposes the victim's vocal cords to literally play them like a cello. Meanwhile, Hannibal discovers that the killer, Tobias, murdered the victim as an attempt to gain Hannibal's attention but then makes an attempt to take Lecter's life. Will is driven to distraction by strange noises in his head and turns to Alana, in a romantic way, seeking peace and stability. Hannibal describes his relationship with Will to his therapist, Dr. Bedilia Du Maurier.
- 04
When the FBI takes on a case of disappearing college girls, Jack Crawford recruits Will Graham, a gifted criminal profiler with a unique view into the psyche of serial killers, to consult. Jack also seeks the help of Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist, who, unbeknownst to him, is not only one of the most successful serial killers of all time, but also a cannibal. After a copycat strikes, Will and Hannibal join forces to track down the culprit. Caroline Dhavernas and Hettienne Park also star.
- 05
After Georgia Madchen dies in an explosion, Will asserts that the copy cat killer is still alive. The BAU team links Abigail to the Minnesota Shrike victims and plan to arrest her only to find Will has checked her out of the hospital. Will's hallucinations intensify, causing him to lose Abigail in Minnesota. Meanwhile, Hannibal's subtle manipulation convinces Jack that Will is capable of murder. Hannibal makes an astonishing admission to Abigail.
- 06
When Dr.Gideon escapes from police custody, he seeks to kill psychiatrists who have profiled him. Will and the BAU team try to track him down by following Freddie Lounds' blog before Gideon can get to Alana. Hannibal misleads the BAU team in order to put Will in the same room as Gideon, and Jack questions Dr. Chilton regarding Gideon's escape.
- 07
Hannibal prepares for his imminent departure with, he believes, Will. Will prepares for a departure of another sort, tying up loose ends, not sure if he'll survive the trap he's set for Hannibal. Both men feel that Jack deserves the truth, but what is that truth? Loyalties will be tested and forgiveness will be asked... and the inevitable battle between Hannibal and Jack is upon them.
- 08
In a desperate bid to slay Francis Dolarhyde, Will Graham engineers a cunning ploy utilizing Hannibal Lecter. Upon learning of his plan, Bedelia Du Maurier voices concerns that Will's actions may not only put his life in peril, but the lives of those around him. As the end draws near, Will remains unflinching in his game with Hannibal-even when it means coming face-to-face with his own darkest fears.
- 09
Investigates a murder in which two victims' faces are similarly mutilated; given a "Glasgow Smile." For the first time, Will contaminates a crime scene thinking he committed the first murder and an MRI shows he suffers from Advanced Encephalitis. But Hannibal intimidates the attending physician, Dr. Sutcliffe, who may be involved. With his fears fed by Hannibal, Will returns to Dr. Sutcliffe for more mental health tests, when the doctor is murdered.
- 10
Will Graham, now an official special investigator with the FBI, helps Jack Crawford and the BAU unit search for a murderer who buries his victims alive to grow mushrooms. In their therapy sessions, Hannibal begins to gain Will's trust as they bond over responsibility for Abigail, and helps Will open up about his true feelings about killing Hobbs. Meanwhile, Freddie Lounds snoops around the BAU's investigation. Caroline Dhavernas and Hettienne Park also star.
- 11
When a city councilman's body is found in a parking lot, intertwined with a tree, the artistry and missing organs suggest the work of the Chesapeake Ripper. Jack and the team race against time to catch the Ripper while he's still on his killing spree. When Will suggests the possibility that the Ripper is filling his pantry with the victims' organs, Jack crashes Hannibal Lecter's dinner party to collect evidence and test the meat for human DNA. Jack's growing suspicions drive Alana even closer to Hannibal, believing he is the victim of a witch hunt. Meanwhile, clues from the tree man help the BAU zero in on a location they believe the Ripper used. There they discover the most shocking revelation of Jack Crawford's career; Miriam Lass alive.
- 12
The BAU team hunts a serial killer who digs up his victims, creating a totem pole of their bodies as a macabre trophy. When Nick Boyle's body is found, Jack & Alana question Abigail about his death. The resurrection of Nick's body enlightens Will to some of Abigail's secrets and Hannibal convinces Will to keep some of his own. Attempting to assert independence, Abigail agrees to write a book with Freddy Lounds and in the process, reveals her biggest secret to Hannibal.
- 13
When one of the team's own is found in a grotesque tableau, Will volunteers to assist with the profile and informs Jack that it's the work of the Chesapeake Ripper and the Copycat Killer; the two are one and the same. Dr. Able Gideon is brought back to the asylum to help confirm Will's claims of the Ripper's true identity, but instead suggests to Will the idea of putting an end to the Ripper once and for all. Confined behind bars, Will enlists the help of Freddie Lounds to contact his murderous admirer through her website. Once he has the killer's attention, Will asks for help dealing with Hannibal. Alana becomes suspicious of Will's intentions after reading Freddie's article, and Gideon confirms her suspicions, sending Alana and Jack rushing to find Hannibal before it's too late.
- 14
Our team is called in when a body is found in a meadow, the cranial cavity converted into a beehive. Meanwhile, Beverly Katz continues to work on the mural killer case, secretly consulting with Will Graham to decipher the killer's human tapestry. Will insists that the killer was put in the mural by Hannibal Lecter, and urges her to prove that Hannibal is the real Chesapeake Ripper and Copycat Killer.
- 15
The case of the human soup becomes clearer when a victim that has escaped from the killer's clutches washes downstream after a deadly fall, leaving valuable evidence for the BAU team to uncover. Hannibal Lecter assists on the case, sniffing out clues of his own from of the victim's body. Meanwhile, Will Graham begins a plan of manipulation from within the asylum, set on proving his own innocence. Hannibal is able to put the clues together before the BAU team, arriving at the killer's silo and helping him to carry out his fascinating, yet deadly tableau... just not in the way the killer intended. Jack tries to deal with his guilt over not protecting Will and submits to mandated therapy after Alana Bloom's scathing report. To Jack's surprise the counseling turns out to be beneficial. The BAU team independently arrives at the silo, finding a human tapestry of forty-seven bodies patched together, the killer hidden in plain sight. Awaiting his upcoming trial, Will is surprised by an unexpected guest - Bedelia du Maurier - who gives him a much-needed boost to his psyche.
- 16
Jack theorizes that Abigail may have aided her father, Garret Jacob Hobbs in his serial killings. Against Dr. Alana Bloom's advice, but at Hannibal's behest, Abigail is escorted back to Minnesota, where she discovers much violent hostility against her and her family. Things go from bad to worse when a copycat killer murders a friend of Abigail. Hannibal suggests they hide the body to protect Abigail - but secrets come at a cost.
- 17
Will investigates a string of family murders. Meanwhile, Hannibal releases Abigail from the hospital, then uses frightening psychiatric practices to make her loyal to him.
- 18
Will Graham and the BAU team track a serial killer whose bloody ritual includes cutting the victims' back flesh and stretching it to look like angel wings. Returning to the field weighs heavily on Will's psyche and Hannibal tries to drive a wedge between Will and Jack. Meanwhile, Jack Crawford's wife Bella pulls away from him and begins seeing Hannibal as her therapist, in an effort to come to terms with the fact she is dying. Beverly tries to connect with Will on a more personal level.
- 19
Jack & Alana are contacted by a former colleague, Dr. Chilton, who believes he has The Chesapeake Ripper in custody, but then one of his patients commits a murder that matches The Ripper's profile. The team determines the Ripper was a surgeon and is still at large when Jack's former protégé Miriam becomes the next victim. Jack copes with her loss and the prospect of losing his wife by opening-up to Hannibal.
- 20
When Jack Crawford's star pupil Miriam Lass is found alive, she becomes the FBI's best hope to identifying the Chesapeake Ripper, but her foggy memory complicates the search. Evidence found at the site of Miriam's rescue exonerates Will Graham of any involvement in the Ripper and Copycat cases, and he is released from the asylum. Will warns Dr. Chilton that he could be in danger due to his intimate knowledge of the Ripper case, but when Chilton tries to confide in Jack that he shares Will's fears about Hannibal, he is rebuffed; no evidence has been found against Hannibal, despite the FBI's efforts. Meanwhile, Jack wastes no time in reinstating Will on the BAU team as they hunt for the Ripper. After introducing Will and Miriam to compare notes, Jack's suspicions of Hannibal's involvement continue to build. Only Miriam's memory holds the key to unlocking the Ripper's true identity, but can it be trusted?
- 21
The FBI is called in to investigate the discovery of a truck driver's body, seemingly torn apart by two separate species of animal working in tandem, neither of which consumed their kill. After one of his therapy sessions, Will meets Hannibal's strange new patient, Margot Verger. Will and Margot compare notes on Hannibal and his unconventional advice. Continually encouraging his patients to revel in what they are, Hannibal aims to determine Will's true self by sending him a test, the results of which surprise even Hannibal.
- 22
The truth of Freddie Lounds' disappearance is discovered by Jack and his team. Alana expresses her concern over Will's mental state, but he confuses her fears by encouraging her to arm and protect herself. Mason Verger suspects that his sister, Margot, is plotting to usurp him by getting pregnant with an heir. Hannibal reveals to Will how much Abigail reminded him of his sister, making it even harder for Will to understand why she had to die.
- 23
In a therapy session, Will imagines how he would kill Hannibal, honestly sharing his visions, and oddly bolstering their co-dependency. Later, in a session with Mason Verger, Hannibal discusses Margot's unfortunate "accident" and other veiled threats. Jack grows impatient with Will's progress on catching Hannibal, and brings in a surprise witness from the past to help. And when Hannibal's life is threatened, Will must decide whether to come to his aid, and give Hannibal the opportunity for revenge.
- 24
Will is determined to fight for his innocence as Hannibal and Jack try to wrap their heads around the fact he's behind bars. Meanwhile, Alana faces a strained relationship with Will while Kade Purnell with the FBI pays him a visit.
- 25
Will Graham's trial begins and he must watch as those closest to him are forced to take sides. Jack Crawford scathing report about his conduct with Will, is pulled in conflicting directions. He acknowledges that he may be partially to blame for pushing his star pupil over the edge. To add confusion to an already suspenseful trial, a court bailiff is killed in a Copycat-like manner and those closest to Will start to wonder if they were wrong about him. The outcome of the entire trial hangs in the balance as one last key victim is served up.
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