Hannibal Episode 1.05 Entree

Dr. Abel Gideon lies unconscious on the floor of his maximum-security cell in the Baltimore State

Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Transported to an emergency room, a nurse rushes to revive Dr. Gideon and stabilize his vitals, but the "unconscious" man slowly picks the locks of his handcuffs and frees himself. When the nurse turns around, it's already too late. Will and Jack are called to the scene, where they meet a doctor in the facility. Dr. Gideon has been placed back in his holding cell, but his murder of the nurse is beyond gruesome. Will finds the dead nurse lying on a gurney, privacy poles protruding out of her in all directions like spears. The in-house doctor tells Will he thinks the reason they failed to catch the Chesapeake Ripper was because they already had him...

In his head, Will Graham envisions the exact way in which Dr. Gideon killed his nurse. Gideon's been in custody, so Will knows he hasn't killed anyone on the outside for at least two years. Flashing back, Jack realizes the timelines converge around the same time he lost his best young agent, Miriam Glass. She might've been the last one Gideon killed before his incarceration. Alana Bloom meets with the hospital's Dr. Chilton about Gideon, as she plans to interview him soon to study his mind. Alana's researched Gideon in the past, but Dr. Chilton lets her know Gideon seems to be very familiar with her - Gideon's given her a lot of thought.

Alana Bloom sits down and conducts an interview with Dr. Gideon, who is behind not only bars, but also a bulletproof glass enclosure. Gideon doesn't understand what she hopes to gain from speaking to him, since it's obvious he did it. Alana begins to inquire into Gideon's motivations for the crime and uncovers they seem to be sexual in nature. Gideon is also now elevating his murders to an "art form." When Alana calls into question Gideon's claim of being the Chesapeake Ripper, since the Ripper usually brutalizes his victims during - not after - Gideon says he doesn't need to prove anything to her. Bloom thinks that's exactly what he needs to do.

Jack makes an unexpected visit to Hannibal's office. His wife won't open up to him about her struggle with cancer, and Jack hopes Hannibal will help fill him in. But Dr. Lecter must respect his patient confidentiality agreement and reveals little more than a basic comfort - telling Jack his wife still loves him. Jack thinks about her pending death constantly and is broken up about it. Hannibal sees this as a dreading of loss. In a flashback, Jack relives a memory of his lost coworker Miriam. They investigated the Chesapeake Ripper case together, and Jack encouraged Miriam to go after the serial killer with everything she had. Back in Hannibal's office, it's clear Jack still harbors regret for putting his pupil in the line of fire.

In forensics, Will questions the assumption that Dr. Gideon is the Chesapeake Ripper - the nurse murder has the look of a ripper crime, but it doesn't have the feel... Will thinks this is plagiarism. Later that night, Jack is awoken from his sleep by a shocking call from Miriam, begging for his help. Jack tells the forensics team about the call, and everyone expresses skepticism, since Miriam's been presumed dead for two years. Jack thinks Will's plagiarism theory is accurate and that the real Ripper recorded Miriam's voice two years ago and played it back for Jack last night to taunt him. But Will isn't convinced; after all, Miriam's body was never recovered...

Jack comes up with a risky idea that might force the Ripper to make a careless maneuver and reveal himself to the FBI. Right now Dr. Gideon is just "rumored" to be the Chesapeake Ripper, but if they used Freddie Lounds to confirm Gideon as the infamous killer, the real - and still elusive - one might act out to regain the spotlight. Will thinks this strategy might just cause an otherwise avoidable death, but the FBI brings Freddie in anyway and pitches her the idea. They want her to confirm her previous report of the Ripper's identity being Dr. Gideon, and in return, they'll help make sure her byline is featured in every major newspaper around the country. Freddie ponders the purpose, but ultimately can't resist the notoriety.

As part of her deal with the FBI, Freddie Lounds interviews Dr. Gideon behind bars and posts her official confirmation article online hours later. In his office, Hannibal reads Freddie's blog with a sense of unspoken knowledge in his eyes. Later, with Jack, Dr. Gideon still won't back off his claim of being the Chesapeake Ripper. Gideon admits to killing Miriam all those years ago, though he tells Jack he never meant to; when Jack asks why Gideon didn't put her on display, Gideon doesn't know what makes Jack think he didn't. Suddenly, Jack's phone rings and Miriam's same, recorded call begging for help plays again...

Forensics traces the cryptic call back to Jack's home, and a crime scene investigation reveals the Ripper was all over Crawford's bedroom. There are prints everywhere and even a stray hair resting on the pillow of Jack's wife. He is furious - the taunting is one thing, but the invasion of privacy, the presence in his own bedroom, is too much to handle. When Brian Zeller runs the prints, he stops dead in his tracks. The national database has them as Miriam Glass' - she was the one in Jack's bedroom. But that can't be... she's been dead for two years.

Alana Bloom and Dr. Chilton converse over dinner with Hannibal at Dr. Lecter's home. Bloom wonders aloud if Dr. Chilton inadvertently planted the idea of Dr. Gideon being the Ripper into his own, psychotic patient's mind. Perhaps his persistent pressing of the issue led his inmate to assume the identity for himself. Chilton strongly disagrees with this statement; Dr. Gideon is definitely the Ripper. Alana asks if she can interview Gideon one more time, just to make sure, and Chilton allows it. In the kitchen, Hannibal tells Dr. Chilton he would've done the same thing if he were in his situation, using psychic driving on an inmate. Chilton is offended by the implication.

Alana sees Dr. Gideon as a manipulated inmate and offers to help him out, if he promises to be trustworthy with her moving forward. In the waiting room, Will Graham and Dr. Chilton get to know each other while they wait for Alana to finish her interview. Back in the cellblock, Dr. Gideon says he doesn't need Alana's help, just as the lights begin to flicker, and all the inmates' cells inexplicably open up. Alana stands up in abject horror, afraid one of the madmen will attack her due to the vulnerability of her state. Luckily, all the guards apprehend the inmates before they get to her. All the inmates that is, except for Gideon, who's standing right next to her...

Seeing the power go out, Will rushes down to check on Alana, who is sitting stoically in Dr. Gideon's cell as the inmate looks on at her; the cell is surrounded by guards, and Alana slowly backs out of it before the guards rush in and handcuff Gideon. Alana tells Will that Gideon rushed her into his cell to protect her from the other inmates; would the Ripper do that? Will thinks, when he ponders it, the Ripper actually might. When Dr. Chilton inexplicably shows up far too late, Will and Alana blame him for setting the whole thing up, and using Alana as the bait for Gideon.

Alone with Hannibal, Jack thinks the Ripper is using the bait of Miriam being alive as a means of clouding his judgment with the prospect of hope. Hannibal encourages Jack not to lose hope in his wife - she's lost it, which means he needs to be optimistic all the more. Dr. Lecter then asks Jack to tell him about Miriam, but in a flashback, it's revealed that Miriam once went to Hannibal during her investigation to inquire about the Ripper. Hannibal may have a connection to a recent victim. When Hannibal offers to check his notes on the second floor of his office, Miriam peruses his desk and notices a sketch that perfectly resembles the victim's wounds in the most recent crime. Realizing Hannibal's the Ripper, Miriam panics as Hannibal grabs her and strangles her to death.

Will and Beverly follow up on the latest call from Miriam made to Jack's phone. In an old, abandoned observatory, Will and Beverly discuss Miriam's final whereabouts, and how she was investigating surgeons related to the Ripper's victims. Jack says Dr. Gideon wasn't the one who was in his bedroom, and reveals his latest taunting call came affixed with an actual number. When Jack calls back, the phone is heard ringing within range. Will, Jack and Beverly enter the observatory, and find a severed arm holding the phone used to call Jack. Next to the arm is a card, with the words "What Do You See?" written on it...