Hannibal

Desperate to find a new angle into the case of the Minnesota Shrike (a serial killer who targets and removes the organs of young women), FBI Special Agent Jack Crawford recruits unorthodox profiler Will Graham, whose ability to empathize completely gives him a unique insight into crime scenes. Noted psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal Lecter is also invited to assist when a copycat killer escalates the case. Originally consulted on Will’s psychological health, Hannibal delights at the chance to see, and influence, the inner workings of the FBI. Will identifies Garret Jacob Hobbs as the Shrike, but Hannibal throws the takedown awry by tipping off Hobbs. Will and Hannibal arrive at Hobbs’ house as he slaughters his own family; Will has no choice but to gun down Hobbs as he cuts his own daughter’s throat. It is Will’s first kill, and something that will haunt him … ensuring Hannibal an intriguing new patient.

The Team is called to a secluded field where a “crop” of hands were found sticking up above ground, their bodies planted in order to grow exotic fungus. Meanwhile, Will's therapy sessions with Hannibal intensify, as he tries to find respite from the disturbed minds he inhabits and hunts. Will’s unusual skills draw the attention of tabloid reporter Freddie Lounds, who publishes a sensationalist story about him on TattleCrime.com. The story leads the killer to Abigail Hobbs (the daughter of the Minnesota Shrike—episode 101—in a coma from her father's attack). It's a race against time to stop the killer from putting Abigail in the ground and making her his next fungal crop.

Jack theorizes that Abigail may have aided her father Garret Jacob Hobbs in his serial killings. There are still seven girls missing, and their families desperately seek answers. Against Dr. Alana Bloom's advice but at Hannibal's behest, they escort Abigail back to Minnesota, where she discovers violent hostility against her and her family. Things go from bad to worse when a copycat killer murders Abigail's best friend. The evidence seems to point to Nick Boyle, the brother of an earlier Shrike victim (episode 101). An angry and violent Nick confronts Abigail, and she accidentally kills him. Hannibal suggests to Abigail that they hide the body to protect her—no one, particularly Jack, would believe Abigail acted in self-defense. But secrets come at a cost…

A massacred family is discovered seated at a perfectly-set dinner table. Jack notes that the family’s son was abducted not long ago; could the murder be an extension of that? The answer is yes, but not in the way anyone imagined…the murderer is the abducted child, returning in an act of vengeance.  In his brainwashed mind, the child's family didn't love him; otherwise, they would have tried harder to rescue him from his captor. Will deduces that the abductor is a woman attempting to build her own family, manipulating the children she kidnaps to turn against their biological parents. In the midst of this, Hannibal works with Abigail to come to terms with her own broken, lost family.

Jack, Will, and the Team are called in to investigate a truly disturbing scene—two victims with the skin on their backs cut and tied to the ceiling to mimic angel wings. The killer suffers from a brain tumor, and as more victims surface, Hannibal hypothesizes the tumor is causing violent hallucinations; perhaps he isn't creating his “angels” as symbols of worship but rather as figures of protection. The question is, protection from what? As the hunt continues, Jack must juggle the investigation with the realization that his wife has terminal cancer.

Dr. Frederick Chilton, the administrator of the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, asks the FBI for help after an inmate, Dr. Abel Gideon, kills one of his nursing staff and claims to be the Chesapeake Ripper. Both Will and Jack doubt Gideon’s assertions, yet he possesses information that only the Ripper could know. In the midst of their investigation, Jack is haunted by the memory of an old student at the academy, Miriam Lass, who disappeared while on the Ripper's trail.

Jack has Will profile the murder of a man in a hotel room, discovered dead in a bathtub with his kidney removed. Will refuses to support Jack's (and the Team's) theory that the Chesapeake Ripper has finally resurfaced after years of inactivity. Will believes the murderer is an amateur—perhaps a young surgeon—rather than the Ripper, an artist who creates elaborate tableaus. But the real Chesapeake Ripper, Hannibal, seizes the opportunity to perform a few copycat murders, removing the victims’ organs in preparation for an elegant dinner party. As the investigation deepens, Will's theory proves true for the original crime: an ambulance driver is caught in the middle of an organ harvesting ring. Hannibal's identity as the Chesapeake Ripper remains obscured…for now.

A musician from the Baltimore Metropolitan Orchestra is found with the neck of a violin wedged down his throat, making him into a gruesome stringed instrument. Hannibal's patient Franklyn confides that he thinks his friend Tobias might be the murderer. Intrigued by the elegance and creativity of the crime, Hannibal invites Tobias for dinner, but the two killers find themselves at brutal odds. Meanwhile, Will begins to suffer auditory hallucinations, confusing his investigation of the case. He turns to Alana for help, and the two begin to grow intimately closer.

The Team works to untangle the elaborate construction of a human totem pole. Comprised of seventeen bodies, some dating back to the 1970s, the pole is obviously meant to tell a story that only Will can decipher. Freddie Lounds, meanwhile, has teamed with Abigail Hobbs to write a tell-all book about her serial killer father, against Will and Hannibal’s advice. In the midst of this, Nick Boyle's body (episode 103) resurfaces, threatening the secret Abigail and Hannibal share.

Will is serenely fly fishing when he blinks and suddenly finds himself in the middle of a grisly crime scene. Confused and scared, Will accidentally contaminates the evidence, his lost time a further indication that his sanity is slipping. Hannibal suggests that Will get an MRI scan to determine if his symptoms are neurological or psychological. Jack struggles with whether or not to keep Will on the case, but Will doesn't have much choice when he becomes the killer's new target.

During a routine prison transfer, Dr. Abel Gideon (episode 107) escapes after slaying the officers inside the transport van. Hanging their organs on a tree like fruit, Gideon hopes to lure the real Chesapeake Ripper into the open. He kidnaps Freddie Lounds, forcing her to report in real time the details of his on-going escapades, which target all his former therapists, including Alana Bloom. During the manhunt, Will begins to lose his ability to differentiate between hallucination and reality.

Seeking his own therapist’s advice about his complex relationship with Will, Hannibal wonders how he should handle Will’s deteriorating mental health. After Georgia Madchen’s seemingly accidental death in the hospital, Will develops a theory that the Copy Cat killer’s (episode 101) actions extend far beyond the murder of Cassie Boyle in Minnesota, adding Marissa Schuur, Nick Boyle, Dr. Sutcliff, and Georgia Madchen to the list. Exploring all options, Will returns to Minnesota with Abigail, leaving Jack questioning Hannibal on Will’s mental stability.

Waking up from a blackout, Will vomits up a human ear. Tests prove it was Abigail’s, but Will has no memory of events after Abigail left him at her father’s cabin (episode 112). Zeller, Price, and Katz awkwardly process Will at the FBI, while Jack, Alana, and Hannibal discuss possible causes for Will’s complete mental break—could it be encephalitis, or is Will capable of faking psychological tests to cover his true serial killer nature? Evidence found at Will’s home links him to the murders of Marissa Schuur, Nick Boyle, Dr. Sutcliff, and Georgia Madchen—all pointing to Will himself being the Copy Cat killer. In a desperate attempt to prove he’s being framed, Will escapes and takes Hannibal to Minnesota to discover the truth about Abigail, while Jack races to reach them before anyone else gets hurt.