Hannibal S2E9 - "Shiizakana" Recap

Will has a vision of himself confronting Hannibal who is tied to a tree. He wants a confession but Hannibal remains cryptic while an elk that's connected to the ropes tightens them by walking further from them both. Will promises a reckoning and then sees Hannibal as a black antlered beast. The ropes are rightened to the point that we see a brilliant splash of red fly through the air.

Hannibal prepares an omelette with (probably people) meat inside it. He serves it to Jack, saying it contains liver and sweetbreads. Jack notes some of the things he'd like to forget, including the fact that he once doubted Will. Hannibal says he cannot discuss Will in detail since he is his client again and Jack expresses his hope that the therapy will work.

A man is murdered at a truck stop by something animalistic that crawled around on top of his truck. Will has another vision, this time of him aiming his gun at Ingram who begs him not to shoot. Will is actually in a therapy session with Hannibal and asks if he has any regrets. Hannibal says not really but that life isn't life without regrets. Will regrets his actions in the stable and Hannibal replies that he was lucky he was there. Will counters by saying he regrets not pulling the trigger effectively. Hannibal tells Will he must adapt and has him envision a version of the events he would not have regretted. Will replays the vision but this time he takes the shot. He says he missed an opportunity to feel like he did when he killed Garrett or when he thought he'd killed Hannibal. Hannibal asks how that feels and Will says it is a quiet sense of power. Hannibal tells him to remember that feeling.

Margot encounters Will on his way out and her way in. She says he looks familiar and he says he's the guy that didn't kill all those people. In her therapy session she says she doesn't recognise humanity in her brother and that he is less than human. She tells Hannibal she met Will on the way in and expresses appreciation for his support in wanting her to kill her brother. She asks what kind of psychiatrist he is and he tells her she already knows.

The FBI investigate the truck stop murder. The dead man is on the roof of his truck with his throat riped out. They note the resemblances to an animal attack and Hannibal says that the killer is evolving. Jack describes it as a blood sport. Will shows photos of the attack to Peter and asks him if it's a wolf or a bear. After Peter shows him a mouse he has with him, he says "bear-wolf." Will asks if they hunt together and Peter says they can be trained to do so and that with enough time, even Will could be trained to do it. Will says that that kind of friendship can keep you on your toes. Peter says animals have friendships just like humans and Will says he'll try to remember that. Peter tells Will not to blame the animals and that humans are the only animals that kill just to kill.

An unseen person is working with animal bones, tools, and claws. Some sort of machine is being assembled. The killer tests the strength of the jaw of this creature/machine by having it chomp through some metal. Following this, we see the killer out of his workshop wearing the creature mask. He attacks a couple out in the snow and savagely attacks the man. The woman runs away and trips, falling face-first in the snow. She gets up and then we see another splash of blood.

The FBI investigate this crime scene and Will puts himself in the mind of the killer. He sees the scene free of blood and severed limbs. He sees the place as it was the night before, with the couple standing by their bonfire. An elk attacks the couple and then he sees himself with antlers, basking in the woman's blood. He tells Jack that the killer is someone who wants to be an animal. He wants to maul and that it's not personal. The killer doesn't need to know his victims, for they are only prey to him. Jack says this kind of psychosis would not have gone unnoticed but Will says the man is an engineer and might have been able to hide it. He says the killer is a student of predators and constructed his beast.

Will tells Hannibal that the victims were torn apart and Hannibal asks if he would prefer a gun. Will says a gun lacks intimacy and Hannibal comments that killing with hands would be more satisfying than pulling a trigger. Will asks if he was living vicariously when he had someone try to kill him or if he was simply hiding. Will says he wasn't hiding and Hannibal tells him he needs to be more intimate with his instincts.

Jack is at the lab and learns that the bite radius is closest to cave bear but those are both extinct and vegetarians. Hannibal comes in and comments that animals and humans have only a small barrier between them. He says the killer is seeking transformation and Jack asks if he's seen anything like this before. Hannibal says he once treated a teenage boy with an identity disorder. He fancied himself a beast. He lived a solitary life and though he didn't think he would change into an animal, he could have created the change himself. Given the years that have passed, that boy would now be a man.

A man works on a skeleton in a museum and when he hears someone come in, he tells them the museum is closed. The visitor is Hannibal, who greets his former patient, Randall. They talk about Randall's first visit to Hannibal's office; he was crying and dreading hearing what was wrong with him. Hannibal says he's seen what he has done and asks what clings to his teeth now (Randall has always had a fascination with teeth). Randall says ragged bits of scalp and hair cling to his teeth. Hannibal tells him that's beautiful and warns him that people are looking for him. Randall says he can't stop and Hannibal warns him that they will find him and that when they do, it's important he does exactly as he says.

Jack and Will visit Randall at the museum. Jack asks him about a particular skeleton and Randall says it is a cave bear and admits to having assembled it. Jack tells him that a cave bear skull was used as a murder weapon and Will says the victims were torn apart. Jack asks him if he has a troubled past and Randall asks them if they think he is a killer. Randall says he had an identity disorder but he has normalised, and now takes medication and socialises. He says he is proof that mental illness is treatable.

Margot visits Will, wanting to know what he thinks of Hannibal's therapy. Will says it depends on what therapy you're in for. Margot says she tried to kill her brother and Will assumes he had it coming. Margot asks what Will's damage is and he says he tried to murder Hannibal. She asks if he had it coming and he asks what she thinks. She doesn't know and he agrees. She then says that Hannibal told her to try to kill her brother again.

Will asks Hannibal what would happen if his patients started comparing notes. Hannibal asks what Randall said and Will says he said he was cured. Will says that Hannibal is very persuasive and asks how many have been like him and Randall. Hannibal says that every patient is unique. Will says his shrink, Bedelia, knew there were others like him and asks if Hannibal killed her. Hannibal says he didn't and Will asks what he thinks about when thinking about killing. Hannibal says he thinks about God. Hannibal recommends that Will talk to Randall again and ask him what he believes.

Randall is shown to be putting on his suit, complete with clawed gloves. Hannibal tells him the solitude of what he does should be respected and is there to offer words of encouragement, saying he should revel in what he is. The duo are in the woods outside Will's home and his dogs barking is creating quite a commotion. Will comes out to check on them and when he opens the door, Buster runs out. He goes back inside, grabbing his gun and putting on a coat. He heads off in search of Buster and finds him lying down, whining. Will scoops up Buster and keeps the gun up while hearing rustling in the trees. He takes off back towards his home and sees something coming after him. He puts the injured Buster in his dog bed and shuts off the lights. Someone comes crashing through his window.

Hannibal comes into his office and finds Will standing inside and the dead Randall lying on his desk. Will says that now they are even, as Will had sent someone to kill him and now Hannibal has sent someone to kill him.

Hannibal airs on NBC on Fridays at 10PM.