It’s hard to know when the good old days are until they’re over. The Golden Age of Television felt like it would last forever during the height of The Sopranos, and the “Peak TV” era felt the same. But everything ends eventually. Hollywood shuts down, leading to the rise of reality TV, or Game of Thrones Season 8 comes out, reminding viewers that the TV gods giveth and taketh.
In 2013, there was a moment that did feel like the definitive end of an era. It was the last time we’d see risky broadcast television that could capture audiences the old-fashioned way: once a week, on linear TV, all while (barely) aligning with FCC standards.
The plot of Hannibal Season 3 doesn’t really matter; it’s complicated and involves a villain with the menacing moniker of The Tooth Fairy. The most interesting part of its finale is also the most important part of the show, the twisting, psychosexual dynamic between criminal profiler and serial empath Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) and psychologist and serial cannibalistic murderer Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen).
The heartbreaking final moments of “The Wrath of the Lamb” are just as romantic as they are tragic.
Much of the runtime plays out like a standard series finale. The stakes are raised higher than ever, the villain is defeated, and the main characters can take a breath. But in Hannibal, the heroes can’t enjoy the luxury of rest. Hannibal and Will, at this point very much on the outs since Lecter’s true identity was revealed, defeat the Tooth Fairy, but are left heavily injured. They embrace on a cliff, and Lecter says that’s all he’s ever wanted for them. Graham agrees, saying, “It’s beautiful.” Then they both jump from the cliff, and we don’t find out what happens.
That said, there is a post-credits scene showing Dr. Daphne Du Maurier (Gillian Anderson) at a table set for three, where her amputated leg is the main dish plated. She takes the carving fork from the table, a subtle moment that suggests Will and Hannibal survived the fall, and that Daphne is now plotting her escape. Such conclusions, however, are up to the viewer.
This ending, which walked the line between showing too much and not enough, is a microcosm of what made Hannibal so special. If it were made now, it would be an eight-episode streaming series that hinted at Hannibal’s cannibalistic nature in the Season 1 finale. But because it was created for broadcast, much of the story follows a procedural format, with the Hannibal-Will dynamic simmering in the background. The finale brought things to a boil, but only just long enough to make it al dente.
