Possibly the most conflicting season I’ve watched. There is A LOT to love but at the same time there is just something missing for me. Individually most aspects are well-done but when put together they really don’t mesh well. I think the primary reason for that is the dialogue which I never felt reached a level above serviceable. I genuinely can’t think of a single conversation that impressed me, and most of my favorite episodes are the ones that capitalize on the other things like atmosphere and acting. The other negative and my main gripe is the story structure which is needlessly convoluted. This season follows three primary episode types: Ones centered around Abigail and her story, ones centered around The Ripper, and ones that follow their own self contained pseudo-episodic stories. In most cases the events of one storyline overlap into the other, but never in a single episode, and that’s where my issue lies. We get a couple episodes of The Ripper plotline and get super invested into that, then get jolted out of that into an Abigail episode, then once again we are jarringly thrust into a killer of the week episode and it really does get annoying. Now that it’s over I am aware why they did it and I’m absolutely not saying that any of these episodes were filler, but the story isn’t set up in a way where those transitions feel natural. It’s as if the characters just forget that Abigail exists until they decide all of a sudden she is extremely important and demands their immediate attention. It’s another case of all three storylines being great individually but together feeling very clunky. Thankfully though that is the end of my negativity rant and the rest is positives only. The biggest being that impeccable, grim atmosphere. The color grading and cinematography mixed with the subject matter make for such an oppressive and cold tone that is both exhausting and addicting. It’s perfect horror and I really hope that next season can live up to this standard. Then other big pluses are the characters of Will & Hannibal. I’m still a bit unsure of what Will represents, so for now I’ll just say that he is a compelling protagonist. Hannibal though… that’s a character I’ve got plenty to say for. It’s made clear to the audience that he is very evil, but we don’t actually see that with our own eyes at first. I love how the show knows how much weight the name Hannibal Lecter holds, so instead of introducing him with some scene of him cutting someone up, they introduce him in a far more menacing way… him being completely and utterly normal. Each episode shows him doing something ever so slightly worse than what he did previously, slowly unveiling just how bad he really is, until eventually by the end his full manipulation is made clear and any sort of sympathy or care we had for him is destroyed. It’s a great arc and made him a very compelling antagonist, especially for a first season. Overall this season could definitely go up in my mind if next lives up to the hype and if events here are connected into future payoffs. For now it’s around a low 4/5 which is actually quite good for a season 1. 𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐒 1.) Savoureux - E13 2.) Fromage - E8 3.) Relevés - E12 4.) Buffet Froid - E10 5.) Rôti 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋𝐋 7.5 #12 First Season