NBCLend us your ear for some Hannibal scoop!
And yes, that is totally a reference to the bat-poop craziness that just went down in the finale. [Don't read if you haven't seen it yet.]
Showrunner Bryan Fuller just gave us exclusive scoop on what the finale means for season two, including why "the game is still very much afoot" between Will and Hannibal [Mads Mikkelsen], and why Will's biggest nemesis is yet to come. Plus, what really happened in that opening scene? Bon appetit...
First things first. Did Will [Hugh Dancy] actually cough up that ear into his kitchen sink? Bryan Fuller, what is wrong with you?!
Oh yes he did. He vomited up that ear. He was feeling nauseous and took his medicine and then couldn't keep it down, and then everything else in his stomach came up and that everything else was Abigail Hobbs' ear.
I hate when that happens. When I vomit up an ear.
[laughs] They never dissolve fast enough in my stomach. Those ears. But what makes throwing up ears so much easier I have found is if you chase it with a milkshake.
Oh, thank you. A useful tip.
Bulimia tips from Bryan Fuller. You are welcome.
Totally disgusting jokes aside, when Will tells Hannibal "I see you now" it's a pretty big game-changer that can't be undone. Are you concerned about that risk going into season two?
No, because what Hannibal has in his favor is that Will has no proof and is himself an unreliable narrator because he has huge gaps in his memory. His gut tells him, ‘Oh my God, it's Hannibal,' but he has yet to prove that. And he will understandably make those accusations to Jack Crawford [Lawrence Fishburne]. One of the things that's exciting to me is to actually use Will's accusations against Hannibal to bring Jack Crawford and Hannibal closer together as friends. Because Hannibal will have no choice but to say ‘Jack, these accusations have been made against me. Now you have to prove for yourself that I am innocent so I am an open book. Ask whatever. Investigate whatever. I'm innocent.' So the game is still very much afoot.
That very last image of Will in the Hannibal jumpsuit and Hannibal on the other side of the glass? Chills. And obviously some awesome imagery from the movies. What does that mean for season two?
So many things happen in the finale that we have to address realistically, like, ‘What would happen if Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) was incarcerated for those crimes?' He would go on trial. Jack Crawford would be brought before a review board. Alana's (Caroline Dhavernas) loyalty to Jack Crawford would be tested because she sees how unequivocally this is Jack's doing. One of the intriguing things for me about season two is seeing Will Graham hit rock bottom, and then come up swinging. We saw the character as such a victim in the first season. Now Will Graham who has lost everything and has nothing left to lose is going to be a much scrappier, bolder main character in season two.
Is it fair to say Alana [Caroline Dhavernas] is the only character to believe in Will's innocence?
Absolutely. I think Alana will have a bigger role in season two. Because not only will she be representing Will psychiatrically in the trial, but struggling with her feelings for him romantically. She was falling for a guy that she knew to be unstable. She was keeping him at bay and now her worst fears have come true that not only is he unstable but apparently he's capable of great violence. Her need to rescue him may be amplified.
Any new characters for season two?
I would love for Raul Esparza to be returning as Dr. Chilton. Will is institutionalized at Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. So he will have an even greater nemesis in Chilton than he did before. Because now Chilton is like, "You're my patient whether you like it or not." And that will be a great source of tension for Will. And some of the characters that we've established in the first season may also be at that Institution for the Criminally Insane. So I would love for Lawrence Wells (Lance Henriksen) to be semi-recurring but we have to explore that and see if he's available. And for aficionados of the books, we have Mason and Margo Verger, who are going to be developed in season two. Gary Oldman played Mason in the film Hannibal. He's a little bit of the Joker to Hannibal's Batman.
I know you are working on getting your friend Lee Pace on board for season two. So, a pitch. Can he please appear as Ned the Piemaker from Pushing Daisies? Hannibal kills things. Ned brings things back to life. Could be an amazing buddy-comedy cooking show down the line. Just sayin'.
[laughs] I wonder who would be a better baker? The Piemaker or Hannibal? Because they're both very savvy in the kitchen. Ned definitely could surprise the hell out of Hannibal while he was cooking by touching a few things.
What did you think of Hannibal's season one finale? Sound off in the comments!