The season premiered on February 28, 2014, on NBC. The season premiere received 3.27 million viewers with a 1.1/4 ratings share in the 18–49 demographics. The season ended on May 23, 2014, with an average of 2.54 million viewers, which was a 12% drop from the previous season.[3] The season received acclaim from critics and audiences, praising the performances, writing, character development, cinematography and faithfulness to its source material. The season finale, "Mizumono", received universal acclaim in particular. In May 2014, NBC renewed the series for a third season.[4]
Jack Crawford visits Dr. Hannibal Lecter at his home and immediately attacks him. A protracted and brutal fight ensues, ending with Lecter stabbing Crawford's neck with a piece of broken glass. Bleeding profusely, Crawford manages to lock himself in Lecter's pantry. Twelve weeks earlier, Kade Prurnell (Cynthia Nixon), an investigator for the Inspector General's Office, warns Crawford of his misconduct, while pressuring Alana Bloom to recant her complaint, namely about Crawford's mishandling of Graham's instability. Bloom refuses, stressing that the truth must go on record. Lecter gets to walk in Graham's shoes when six partially preserved bodies are found in a river. Lecter theorizes that the killer is preserving the bodies to create a human model collection and that those in the river are imperfect castoffs. In the Baltimore asylum, Graham is determined to uncover how Lecter set him up and enlists Bloom to help him recover lost memories through hypnosis. While not immediately successful, he later has a flashback of Lecter forcing Abigail Hobbs' ear down his throat with the use of a plastic tube. The killer strikes again, kidnapping a young man and taking him, alive, to an empty silo where his collection is revealed: an interconnected collage of naked bodies.
The young man, Roland Umber, escapes from the silo, but is chased by the killer through a cornfield to the edge of a cliff and dies attempting to jump into the water below. The BAU team recovers his body but assume he was discarded and dumped like the others. Lecter picks up the scent of corn on him, which he keeps to himself. Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier terminates her relationship with Lecter, having come to the conclusion that he is a dangerous man. Beverly Katz continues to use Graham to help with the case and, using photos of Roland Umber's body, Graham realizes that he had in fact escaped and was not discarded. In return for his help, Katz promises to look into Graham's possible innocence. Lecter finds the silo without informing the BAU and kills the murderer, adding him to his own mural. Prurnell visits Graham in the asylum and offers him the chance to avoid the death penalty by pleading guilty, which Graham refuses. Du Maurier visits Graham, standing close and whispering "I believe you" before being forcibly removed by orderlies. Lecter goes to Du Maurier's house, seemingly to silence her, only to find the furniture covered and the house empty.
Graham's trial begins and the prosecution paints him as an intelligent, creative psychopath. Crawford puts his job at risk by testifying that he may have pushed Graham too far by keeping him on the investigative team, though the admission allows him some relief. Graham's lawyer receives a severed ear in the mail, cut from a corpse within the previous forty-eight hours, causing doubts to stir among those who believe in Graham's guilt. Katz, Price, and Zeller determine that the ear was severed using the same knife that cut off Abigail Hobbs' ear, which was signed out of the courthouse evidence room by the bailiff in Graham's trial, Andrew Sykes. A large fire is triggered when the FBI raid his apartment, but it does not destroy a key piece of evidence: Sykes' body mounted on a stag's head, missing an ear, face cut into a Glasgow smile and set on fire: all of the things Graham supposedly did to his victims. Lecter presents the forensics report to Graham, who deduces that Sykes was killed in too different a manner from the others to be the same killer. Lecter agrees, but urges Graham to lie about who he thinks killed Sykes in order to exonerate himself. The prosecution picks up on the dissimilarities as well, and succeeds in having the bailiff's murder deemed inadmissible. The next day, the judge in Graham's trial is found brutally murdered and displayed in the courtroom. This prompts a mistrial and saves Graham from conviction – for the moment.
Graham agrees to an intense stimulation with flashes of light by Dr. Chilton, during which time he realizes that Lecter was tacitly encouraging his encephalitis. Chilton confronts Lecter about this, but is not hostile, relating to Lecter as another physician accused of manipulating his patient into murder. An acupuncturist (Amanda Plummer) lobotomizes suffering patients, leaving them to die in meadows. Her first victim is found with a beehive occupying his half-empty skull; the second is found still standing, brain dead but physically alive. After the second victim is discovered, he is immediately connected to the first as patients of the acupuncturist. When Crawford visits her, she turns herself in without a fuss. Bella Crawford talks to Lecter about the possibility of suicide in the face of her lung cancer, something which he encourages, citing Socrates and describing death as a "cure". Later, Bella visits Lecter's office after taking an overdose of morphine, and falls unconscious. After flipping a coin, Lecter saves her life with a naloxone shot. Later, he visits her and Crawford in the hospital, and Bella slaps him across the face. Katz, on Graham's advice, examines the body of James Gray, the mural killer. She finds that the stitches connecting him to the mural were also surgical stitches on an opening through which his kidney was removed. Katz, starting to suspect Lecter and against Graham's advice, breaks into Lecter's home and discovers his murder dungeon. She removes a package from a freezer but is caught by Lecter and gunshots are fired.
An anonymous tip brings Freddie Lounds back to the observatory she and Dr. Chilton were taken to by Abel Gideon. There she finds the body of Beverly Katz, sectioned vertically and displayed in tableau. Graham is brought to the crime scene and convinces Crawford that it is the work of the Chesapeake Ripper and the mural copycat; that they are one and the same. A post-mortem examination of Katz reveals that her kidneys were removed and replaced with the kidneys of James Gray, the mural killer. Graham convinces Chilton to return Abel Gideon to the asylum, to glean information about the Chesapeake Ripper's identity. Graham uses Lounds to write an article, hoping to inspire contact from the killer of the bailiff and the judge at his trial. A new orderly at the asylum, Matthew Brown (Jonathan Tucker), confesses to Graham that he killed Sykes, hoping it would exonerate Graham, but the death of the judge was someone else's work. Brown asks Graham how he can serve Graham, who tells Brown he could kill Dr. Lecter for him. Gideon overhears this and gives Bloom the chance to save Graham from himself. The orderly tranquilizes Lecter while the latter is swimming laps, slits his wrists and strings him up with a noose, and is about to kick away the bucket on which Lecter is standing when Crawford arrives. He shoots the orderly, who even while falling dead manages to kick the bucket out, but Crawford saves Lecter.
Crawford confronts Graham about setting the orderly on Lecter, and Graham denies it but tries to make Crawford see that Lecter is the Chesapeake Ripper by explaining to him why he only kills in lots of three or four; he has to eat the meat he takes before it spoils. Graham assures Crawford that if the Ripper is killing again, Lecter will be throwing a dinner party. Sure enough, Lecter soon invites Crawford to a gathering he is hosting. Meanwhile, local city councilor Sheldon Isley is found surgically grafted onto a tree in a parking lot (for which Isley brokered the development deal and in the process destroyed the habitat of some rare songbirds), his chest cavity emptied of all organs except his lungs and stuffed with poisonous flowers. The autopsy reveals a number of Ripper tell-tale signs and that Isley was drowned. Price and Zeller determine from the water in his lungs that he was killed within a fifty-mile radius. Chilton records Abel Gideon confessing to Graham that he was in Lecter's home, but Gideon denies this when questioned by Crawford. Gideon is beaten by a pair of guards and put in the infirmary. Lecter throws his dinner party and Crawford takes a few samples of the food to Price and Zeller to be tested. Bloom and Lecter sleep together and Lecter kidnaps Gideon from the infirmary while she is sleeping (helped by a drugged glass of wine). The infirmary guard is killed and strung up with fishing lines. Lecter uses Bloom as an alibi when confronted by Crawford. Lecter cooks and serves Gideon's leg to him as a last meal. Though Price and Zeller do not find any human tissue in the samples of Lecter's food, they do find body materials in the fishing lures from such victims as the judge, James Gray, Miriam Lass, all the way back to Marissa Schur. Crawford and his team finally realize that there was no "Copycat Killer", responsible for the deaths of Boyle, Schur, Sutcliffe, and Madchen: it was the Chesapeake Ripper all along, toying with them. They also find a piece of rare tree bark, which Crawford traces to an abandoned farmhouse in the initial search area, where he finds Miriam Lass still alive.
Miriam Lass is brought in to identify the Ripper, but has no memory of her encounter with Dr. Lecter and only vague recollections of her captivity. When Lecter himself is brought in, Miriam is positive it is not him. The evidence gathered from the most recent Ripper killings serves to prove that Will's alleged victims were actually the Ripper's, exonerating him of all charges. Graham is released from the asylum and urges Dr. Chilton to share what he knows about Lecter's unusual psychiatric treatment on him, by confessing his own psychic driving of Abel Gideon. Graham figures out that Bloom and Lecter are together and warns her to stay away from him. He visits with Miriam and tells her about the flashes of light used to induce his blackouts. Miriam recalls similar experiences with her captor. He drops in on Lecter and confronts him with a gun. He says killing Lecter would feel right, but ultimately does not. Crawford takes Miriam to Lecter's office and he performs hypnotic regression therapy on her. The last thing she remembers before being captured is the Wound Man illustration. Price and Zeller find one of Lecter's fingerprints on a flower from Sheldon Isley's body, and Crawford repeats what Graham said in the farmhouse, i.e. that whatever evidence is found, it would lead away from the Ripper. Drugs are found in Miriam's blood which were used in both Graham and Gideon's treatments, pointing to either Lecter or Chilton as the suspect. Crawford wants them both brought in, but Lecter moves first and frames Chilton by placing Gideon's mutilated body in Chilton's house and murdering the two FBI agents who were to bring Chilton in for questioning, dressing one of them as the Wound Man. Chilton goes to Graham for help, intending to flee the country, but Crawford catches up with him first and brings him into custody. While Bloom is questioning Chilton, Miriam, watching, "remembers" him performing the treatment on her, identifying him as the Ripper. In a moment of rage and confusion, she takes Crawford's gun and shoots Chilton in the face. Graham visits Lecter again and asks to resume his therapy.
Lecter begins therapy with a new patient named Margot Verger (Katharine Isabelle), who suffers abuse at the hands of her sadistic brother Mason. Will Graham, now cleared of being the Chesapeake Ripper, resumes assisting the FBI, and willingly continues his therapy with Lecter. Finding a female victim placed inside a dead horse's uterus, Graham and Crawford interview previous stable employee Peter Bernardone (Jeremy Davies), who denies committing the crime. Performing an autopsy, the horse victim is found to have a live bird trapped in her chest cavity, and soil found inside her throat leads the FBI to a mass burial ground. Graham questions Peter further, who states he placed the soil to lead them to his social worker Clark Ingram (Chris Diamantopoulos), who is responsible for the mass grave and the horse victim. Clark is interviewed by Dr. Bloom, telling her Peter is sick and sometimes violent. Observing, Graham tells Crawford that Peter is not guilty, and accuses Clark of being the real killer; despite Clark's counter-accusation of Peter, Graham sympathizes with Peter's vulnerable state, and believes he is being manipulated, but Crawford lets Clark go. Peter returns to the stables, only to find Clark has used a hammer to kill a horse that had earlier injured Peter, further implicating him. Graham and Lecter later arrive at the horse stable as Peter is sewing up the dead horse's torso, and they learn he placed Clark inside the horse. They take Peter outside, where he clarifies that he did not murder Clark, but instead trapped him alive so he could experience the fate of his victims. Returning to the stable to find Clark emerging from the horse and picking up his hammer, Graham holds him at gunpoint and threatens to kill him for trying to frame Peter. Lecter warns that killing Clark will not resolve Graham's internal conflicts. After Lecter takes Graham's gun, the pair detain Clark for his crimes. Lecter then confides in Graham that he is fascinated with his unpredictability.
A truck driver is found horribly mauled, and Crawford believes it is not a simple animal attack, but the work of someone with a large animal trained to kill on command. Later discovering a couple who are similarly mutilated and killed, the BAU team realize that while it appears to be an animal, it is more likely a killer who stalks and kills while wearing a mechanical beast suit. Dr. Lecter informs Crawford that he previously treated Randall Tier (Mark O'Brien), a patient who fits the profile; only a teenager when Lecter treated him, Tier suffers an identity disorder, causing him to believe he is an animal in the body of a human. Meanwhile, Graham is approached by Margot Verger, seeking insight on Lecter's unusual therapy, and the two discover that they share similar personal problems. Visiting Lecter, Graham informs him that Dr. Du Maurier confided her belief in him, and questions if Dr. Lecter has a history of manipulating patients. Lecter approaches Tier and warns him the FBI is investigating him, and asks him to kill Graham. After one of his dogs, Buster, is attacked and injured outside his home, Graham rescues it and locks himself inside, only for Tier to break through a window and attack him. As Lecter returns home, he enters his dining room and finds Graham has killed Tier, and has laid the corpse on his dining table.
As Randall Tier smashes into Graham's house, Graham alternates seeing him as the feathered stag, the Wendigo, and as Lecter. A struggle ensues and, overpowering Tier, Graham pummels him before snapping his neck. Taking Tier's body to Lecter, Graham states he and Hannibal are even, having both sent psychopaths to kill each other. Crawford asks Lecter and Graham to analyze Tier's corpse, parts of which have been combined with a saber-tooth display. Both Graham and Lecter discuss the former's actions, their conversation disguised as a crime scene analysis. Meeting with Freddie Lounds, Graham learns she still believes Graham's story of Lecter being the real Chesapeake Ripper. Margot visits her brother, Mason Verger (Michael Pitt), who shows her that he is training specially bred pigs to eat people alive. After a therapy session where Dr. Lecter subtly suggests that one way for Margot to get revenge on her brother would be for her to get pregnant, Margot returns to Graham's house again, and after further confiding in each other, they have sex. Lounds visits Bloom for an interview, and after noting that Tier is the fourth ex-patient of Lecter's to have been murdered, states her suspicion that Graham and Lecter are killing together. Mason meets with Hannibal and explains he is suspicious about what Margot may disclose. When Lecter then outlines doctor-patient confidentiality and offers to treat Mason, he accepts, then offers Hannibal one of his hybrid pigs for slaughter. Learning of Lounds' suspicions from Bloom, Lecter waits in her apartment to kill her. Concurrently, Lounds arrives at Graham's house and investigates his locked barn, where she finds Tier's bloodied animal suit along with his jawbone. Graham appears, and when Lounds flees and calls Crawford, Graham overpowers her. Crawford shares Lounds' phone call, only unintelligible screams, with Graham, who mentions he invited her to an interview she failed to attend. Joining Lecter for dinner, Graham provides the ingredients and meat, and is vague about the meat's origin. Eating together, Lecter presses Graham on its source, and the latter confirms that it is "long pig".
At the TattleCrime offices, a burning body in a wheelchair rolls into the parking garage, and a dental analysis confirms it is Lounds. Margot meets with Graham and Lecter, informing them she is pregnant with Graham's child, but that she is hiding it from Mason. Graham is visited by Bloom, who is worried about his relationship with Lecter, and asks if he killed Lounds; Graham responds vaguely, but gives Bloom his pistol and tells her to practice using it. Mason attends therapy with Lecter, who implies Mason could have an heir through Margot, hinting at her pregnancy. Graham attends Lounds' funeral with Bloom, and further implies he murdered her. Several hours later, Lounds' grave is found disturbed, her body posed like Shiva, which Bloom deduces was done by an admirer of Lounds' killer. Margot, aware Mason knows of her pregnancy, attempts to flee, only for Mason's assistant Carlo to crash into her car. Waking on an operating table, Margot learns from Mason that he is having her made infertile, leaving him as the only source of any family heir. Bloom confronts Crawford, demanding to know what he and Graham are hiding; Crawford reveals Lounds is alive. Learning what Mason did to Margot, Graham breaks into his farm and, when taunted by Mason, hangs him over his pit of pigs. Graham spares Mason, but notes Lecter is manipulating them all, and suggests Mason feed Lecter to his pigs.
Meeting for therapy, Graham claims that Lecter wants Mason dead, and that he informed Verger of it; despite agreeing with the doctor, Graham still fantasizes about feeding Lecter to Mason's pigs. Learning Mason compares maiming Margot to "playing chicken", Lecter informs Graham and Margot, who suggest she seek revenge by surviving her brother rather than kill him. Speaking with Crawford, Graham is told to tread carefully, as his mutilating Tier's corpse contradicts his self-defense claim. Crawford reveals he has located Dr. Du Maurier. Graham interviews her, and says the FBI will give her complete immunity. She admits she killed the patient who attacked her. She says it was self-defense, but she was also under Hannibal's "influence." She says Hannibal never uses coercion, only persuasion. She warns Graham be cautious lest he be "persuaded." Meeting with Lecter, Graham boasts awareness of his manipulative ways; concurrently, Du Maurier warns Crawford that if they think they will catch Lecter, it is because that is what he wants them to think. Three of Verger's employees capture Lecter and take him to Verger's farm, where he is to be fed to the pigs with Graham brought in to witness. Asked to cut Lecter's throat to encourage the pigs, Graham instead cuts him free before being knocked out. Captured by Lecter, Verger is forced to inhale several psychedelic drugs, after which Lecter is able to convince Verger to mutilate his own face. Regaining consciousness, Graham returns home to find Verger removing and feeding pieces of his face to the dogs. Lecter asks Graham what they should do with Verger and, Graham replies "he's your patient." Lecter breaks Verger's neck, leaving him alive but paralyzed. Mason, now bedridden and in Margot's care, lies to Crawford and tells him that his mutilation was due to an accident involving his pigs. Speaking with Lecter about their friendship, Graham warns they will soon be caught, and suggests Lecter reveal himself to Crawford.
Speaking with both Lecter and Crawford, Graham reflects on his relationship with both and, when both ask if he can be trusted, he confirms. Graham requests Lounds respect Abigail Hobbs' memory and write only on him and Lecter, and when Lounds questions if Graham expects to survive, he does not answer. Helping Lecter destroy his patient records, Graham brushes off Lecter's suggestion they escape without confessing, and, when they pass each other, Lecter (who has an extremely heightened sense of smell) recognizes Lounds' scent on him. Alana Bloom, accepting Lecter is the Chesapeake Ripper, warns Graham of trapping Lecter, as he could be caught by Lecter instead. Sharing a final meal, Lecter questions Graham's loyalty and, when asked if he would take Crawford's forgiveness, Graham notes it is not an option as Crawford wants justice. Crawford is confronted by Prurnell, and forced to take a work absence; as he allowed Graham to mutilate Tier and is plotting to entrap Lecter, she finds him unfit to work. Warned by Bloom that the FBI is attempting to arrest him, Graham attempts to further earn Lecter's trust, and phones to warn him. A fight breaks out between Crawford and Lecter; Crawford, wounded, hides from Lecter in the pantry, only for Lecter to be held at gunpoint by Bloom. Lecter tells Bloom to walk away or he will kill her; she tries to shoot Lecter, who reveals he emptied her gun earlier. Escaping upstairs and reloading, Bloom suddenly finds Abigail Hobbs alive, who apologizes and pushes her out the window. Graham, arriving to find Bloom seriously injured, phones for help and enters to find Jack. Graham finds Abigail, who again apologizes, stating she obeyed Lecter as she did not know what else she could do. Lecter appears, embracing Graham and stabbing him with a linoleum knife, while explaining that he spared Abigail as a surprise. Lecter forgives Graham for repaying his trust with betrayal, but questions if Graham will ever do the same as he cuts Abigail's throat and leaves the others to bleed. He is next seen aboard a plane to France with Dr. Du Maurier.
Production
Development
Around May 2013, trades reported that many services, including Amazon Prime Video, were willing to pick up the series if NBC passed on it, as the network put the renewal announcement on hold until the end of the month.[18] On May 30, 2013, NBC renewed the series for a second season. NBC Entertainment President Jennifer Salke commented, "We're so proud of Bryan's vision for a show that is richly textured, psychologically complex, and very compelling. There are many great stories still to be told."[1] Salke also mentioned that a factor in the renewal was the series' risky content, hoping that it could send a message to content creators as "we support a big, risky event kind of vision like that."[19]
Writing
Before the series even premiered, Bryan Fuller already had an idea for how the season would go, "season 1 is the bromance, season 2 the horrible breakup."[20] The season was divided into two chapters, with the first chapter belonging to Graham in the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, and the second chapter involving Graham's release and subsequent pursuit of Lecter. Fuller did it as he felt the season's storytelling was "organic".[21]
Fuller said that the season would explore more about Will Graham, "Will knows something no one else knows, and it’s a great place to put a character. One of the things I was most excited about in Season 2 was seeing Will Graham hit rock bottom."[22] He also teased, "a scrappy Will Graham coming out swinging. We get to see what happens when he fights back."[23]
Mads Mikkelsen discussed the possible scenarios for the season, "I see three different scenarios and they're all very interesting. One is that FBI Agent Will Graham knows what I'm doing and I know that he's knowing it. The other one is that he has no idea and he's still in his blurry world I can manipulate. And the third one, which is very interesting, is that he knows but he's not telling me. So he's going to play me now. That would be interesting."[24]
Casting
David Bowie (pictured in 1990) was offered the role of Count Robert Lecter but scheduling conflicts prevented his casting.
In June 2013, it was reported that the producers approached David Bowie to play Count Robert Lecter, Hannibal Lecter's uncle, during the season. Despite the character's fate in the novel Hannibal Rising, Fuller stated that they could accommodate the character to appear in the present day scenes.[25] Due to Bowie's schedule, he was unable to take the role but the crew were told by his agents to ask again for availability for the third season.[21]
In September 2013, Cynthia Nixon joined in the recurring role of Kade Prurnell, "an employee of the Office of the Inspector General in FBI Oversight who is investigating the events of the first season and Jack Crawford's culpability."[26] According to Fuller, Prurnell was based on the character Paul Krendler, who debuted in the novel The Silence of the Lambs. As the series didn't have access to characters originating from the novel, Fuller changed the name, with "Kade Prurnell" serving as an anagram for "Paul Krendler".[27]
Among guest stars, Martin Donovan appeared in "Sakizuke", playing Jack Crawford's therapist.[31]Amanda Plummer appeared in "Takiawase" as Katherine Pimms, "a hippie-chic acupuncturist who's been causing trouble."[32]Jeremy Davies and Chris Diamantopoulos guest starred in "Su-zakana" and "Shiizakana". Davies played Peter Bernardone, "an animal rescue worker who becomes a suspect when a bizarre murder is discovered at a stable where he once worked"; Diamantopoulos played Clark Ingram, "Peter's longtime social worker who has perhaps been too influential in his client's life".[33]
Jonathan Tucker guest starred as Matthew Brown, an orderly at the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane.[34] The original plan was having the character Barney Matthews, who appeared in The Silence of the Lambs. However, the series didn't receive permission to use it, so the producers created a new character based on Barney, making him "younger and perhaps a little more opportunistic."[35] Fuller originally wanted Chi McBride, whom he worked with on Pushing Daisies, to play Barney Matthews.[25]
In December 2013, NBC announced that the season would premiere on February 28, 2014.[36] The season moved to a new timeslot, Fridays at 10:00pm, after airing its previous seasons on Thursdays at 10:00pm.[37]
Marketing
On July 18, 2013, the cast and crew attended the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con to promote the season.[22] In October 2013, Fuller revealed a teaser poster for the season, which highlighted "The Stag Man". He explained, "After a horrifying descent into madness in season 1, this image ironically represents the perspective of a scrappier, clearer-minded Will Graham in season 2. The scales have fallen from his eyes and he finally sees Hannibal Lecter for the monster he is."[38] The first trailer for the season debuted in January 2014.[39]
Home media release
The season was released on Blu-ray and DVD in region 1 on September 16, 2014.[40]
On June 5, 2020, the season was available for streaming on Netflix.[41] It exited the service on June 4, 2021.[42]
The season received acclaim from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season scored an approval rating of 98% with an average rating of 9.3/10 based on 45 reviews. The consensus reads: "With powerful imagery and a strong, unpredictable story, season two of Hannibal continues to build on the first season's promise."[56] On Metacritic, the second season scored 88 out of 100 based on 14 reviews, which constitutes "universal acclaim".[57] On April 10, 2014, Hannibal was voted the winner for Hulu's "Best in Show" online competition.[58]
Mark Peters of Slate called Hannibal "an engrossing, psychologically dense show that is also visually stunning... the kind of gem seldom found on network TV." He did however note that the female characters were less developed.[59]Matt Zoller Seitz, writing for New York magazine heaped praise on the show, calling it "serenely unlike anything else on TV or anything that ever has been on TV."[60] Alan Sepinwall of HitFix continued his praise of the series, highlighting the performances of the lead actors.[61]The A.V. Club named it the best TV series of 2014, and wrote that Hannibal was "the best, most elegantly designed thrill ride on TV in 2014".[62]
The season finale, "Mizumono", was met with universal critical acclaim. Gathering a perfect rating of 10 out of 10 on IGN, reviewer Eric Goldman stated, "Hannibal ended its fantastic second season with a thrilling, exciting and audacious series of events" and praised the directing by David Slade.[63] The finale also earned a perfect "A" grade by The A.V. Club, where reviewer Molly Eichel called it "an entirely perfect cap to this season."[64]Den of Geek reviewer Laura Akers labelled the episode "simply divine" and stated that she has "rarely found [herself] looking forward to a show's return more".[65] Emma Dibdin of Digital Spy also heavily praised the episode, specifically Mikkelsen's performance, stating that he is "so convincingly predatory...and so simultaneously scary and sad". She also laid praise on the sound design of the episode by saying that "the integration of a ticking clock worked so well not just in the usual 'time is running out' way, but also a subconscious reminder of Hannibal's manipulation of Will".[66]TV Guide named it the best TV episode of 2014.[67]
Critics' top ten lists
The season appeared in many "Best of 2014" lists, becoming the ninth most mentioned series in the lists.[68]
