So, first half of season 3 of Hannibal...
Starts off amazing with the first two episodes, despite some developments in plot that really bring that cleverly coined term "suspension of disbelief" to a whole new level. The second episode is rightfully lauded as being an impressive 40-minute hallucinatory trip. The Italy section brings a fresh visual pallette to a show that was made to convey and photograph such landscapes.
Then things started to go a bit all over the place. Chiyoh is by far and away the least interesting and the most nonsensical when it comes to motivations, serving only as a glorified plot device. By making Alana Bloom at least slightly more interesting, Fuller had to bring some aspects that were non-existent in the first two seasons, making them inevitably contradictory or at least problematic in nature.
Plot conveniences be damned, that was a great if unexpected finish to the arc. Mikkelsen did some of his best work in Digestivo. Joe Anderson proved to be a terrific replacement for Michael Pitt, even though his voice reminded me a bit too much of Gary Oldman's performance.
It wasn't as smooth as season 2, but dared to take more risks and was even more atmospheric, moody and surreal. Can't wait to see what they've come up with Red Dragon. In a way, it's Fuller's biggest challenge yet, combining the character development of the two main characters with a story that has been told two times already and that needs to have a fresh, original take.