Hannibal Episode 3.09 And the Woman Clothed With the Sun

Hannibal immediately attempts to reassert control the second he lays eyes on Will, quickly deducing that he's a family man now. Will, in contrast, tries his hardest to keep the wall up between them, addressing Hannibal only as Dr. Lecter and refusing to discuss anything but the Tooth Fairy. After Hannibal refuses to stop toying with him, Will turns to leave. Hannibal finally gives in and asks to see the file.

A flashback to a scene of Abigail and Hannibal in her kitchen explains how Hannibal kept Abigail alive in secret. He drew blood from her arm to stage her death. He also requested some flesh - her ear - to sell her demise. Abigail, very much an active participant in her faked death, sprayed the collected blood herself.

While Hannibal reads up on the Tooth Fairy, Will and Alana catch up in her office. She's not happy to see Will back on the job and working with Hannibal. Will admits seeing Hannibal again made him feel as though Hannibal was inside his skull. Alana reveals she and Margot are still together and they're raising a son - a Verger heir - that Alana carried. Will asks why then Alana is working at the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. "There are only five doors between Hannibal and the outside," she answers, "and I have the keys to all of them."

Hannibal deduces from the case file that the Tooth Fairy is disfigured, but he knows Will already knows this. Together, they delve further into the killer's psyche and Hannibal explains that the Tooth Fairy, much like Will, needs a family to escape what's inside of him. He also selects homes with a big backyard because he needs privacy to properly pay naked tribute to the moon. After Will leaves, Alana orders an inspection of Hannibal's cell. She reminds him that his niceties - the books, the drawings, the toilet - can all be taken away if he doesn't behave.

Another flashback shows Hannibal and Abigail in his office. He's helping her come to terms with her father. To aid the process, Hannibal gives Abigail a knife her father carved out of bone, and makes her confront her father's corpse face-to-face. Abigail rushes the dead body and slits its throat, just as her dad slit hers. Hannibal, satisfied, holds her and says, "Never be ashamed of who you are, Abigail."

Will inspects the Jacobi family's home and watches an iPad video of a birthday party. His search leads to the discovery of the family's murdered cat, stuffed inside the same box used to give the Jacobis' daughter her birthday present. Jack explains that the killer murders pets first because they serve as an early detection system. But he's still confused as to what the families have in common. Will can only offer that the families were both happy.

The hunt for the Tooth Fairy is further complicated by the return of Freddie Lounds. She catches Will searching the Jacobis' home, where he discovers a tree carved with symbols. The viewpoint from it offers a direct eye-line to the house. Freddie corners Will about visiting Hannibal. He avoids her questions, so she tries to convince him to work with her by assuring that the Tooth Fairy is a narcissist and will read anything written about him. Freddie is proven correct when we see Francis next, reading about Will turning to Hannibal for help.

In need of a specific type of film, Francis visits the film developing room at his place of work and meets Reba McClane, a blind woman who recently started working there. She explains that the film he wants to shoot with is very sensitive and hard to develop and offers to develop it for him. Clearly uncomfortable, Francis abruptly leaves, thanking Reba on his way out. After work, while parked across the street, he watches Reba wait for the bus for a while before finally offering her a lift.

Reba invites Francis into her home, then opens up about her life. She used to train newly blind people but decided she was sheltering herself and wasn't living in the sighted world. Her job developing film is a step in that direction. Reba also reveals that her original plan was to work in speech therapy with kids. This revelation makes Francis clam up. Noticing his reaction, Reba encourages him to speak and says that she likes that he doesn't feel sympathy for her. She asks to touch his face, but Francis grabs her wrist before she can feel his cleft palate. He promises he's smiling.

Jack pays Hannibal a visit and reveals that he read his letter to Will before forwarding it onto Will himself. After all, Will is at his most effective with Hannibal in his head. Hannibal warns Jack that the Toothy Fairy definitely knows about Will and knows what he looks like. He wonders whether Jack brought Will out of retirement to bait the Tooth Fairy.

The final flashback of the episode reveals what transpired after Will called Hannibal to warn him. After hanging up, Hannibal shares the warning with Abigail. She wants to leave but Hannibal says they have to wait for Will and orders her to go upstairs. "Hunting with your father was the best time you've ever had," he says. "Now you're going to hunt with me."

At the BSHCI, Hannibal receives a call from his attorney - except it's actually Francis on the line. He's delighted Hannibal has taken an interest in him and says that Hannibal is the only person who can understand what he's becoming: the great Red Dragon.