Buffet Froid (Hannibal)
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Episode 10
- Andy Black
- Chris Brancato
- Bryan Fuller
| "Buffet Froid" | |
|---|---|
| Hannibal episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 10 |
| Directed by | John Dahl |
| Written by |
|
| Featured music | Brian Reitzell |
| Cinematography by | James Hawkinson |
| Editing by | Michael Doherty |
| Production code | 110 |
| Original air date | May 30, 2013 |
| Running time | 44 minutes |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"Buffet Froid" is the tenth episode of the first season of the psychological thriller–horror series Hannibal. The episode was written by Andy Black, executive producer Chris Brancato and series creator Bryan Fuller, and directed by John Dahl. It was first broadcast on May 30, 2013, on NBC.
The series is based on characters and elements appearing in Thomas Harris' novels Red Dragon and Hannibal, with focus on the relationship between FBI special investigator Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) and Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen), a forensic psychiatrist destined to become Graham's most cunning enemy. The episode revolves around a murder in a house, where the victim drowned in her blood and her face was cut into a Glasgow smile. As BAU tries to find the killer, Graham's perception of reality continues deteriorating.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 2.40 million household viewers and gained a 1.0/3 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received positive reviews from critics, who praised Hugh Dancy's performance, Ellen Muth's guest appearance, tension, exploration of mental illness and cinematography.
In Greenwood, Delaware, after fixing a hole in her roof, Beth LeBeau (Hilary Jardine) is attacked by a home intruder and drowns in her own blood as a result of her face being cut into a Glasgow smile. During a session, Graham (Hugh Dancy) tells Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) that he feels he is losing perception of reality. Lecter assigns him to draw a numbered clock; Graham views it as a normal clock but Lecter notes that Graham drew the numbers out of order on one side of the clock. Graham's mental state continues to sharply decline; he loses hours at a time and a vivid hallucination causes him to contaminate the crime scene at LeBeau's house. Crawford (Laurence Fishburne) questions his sanity, but Graham states he is fine.
Lecter refers him to a neurologist acquainted with Lecter, Dr. Sutcliffe (John Benjamin Hickey). An MRI reveals that Graham is suffering anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis, but Lecter pressures Sutcliffe into telling Graham that he found no neurological problems so that Lecter can continue to analyze him. Graham returns to LeBeau's house, where he is attacked by her killer (Ellen Muth), who manages to escape. Graham suddenly finds himself in the woods, having lost the perception of fantasy and reality. He calls Katz (Hettienne Park) to help him see if the killer was real. Both confirm he was indeed attacked by the killer, whose skin of her arm fell off.
While at a session, Lecter deduces the killer must have Cotard's syndrome, a delusional disorder that has her convinced she is actually dead and takes away her ability to identify people's faces. The killer stalks Graham's house that night, watching him outside his window. The next day, BAU identifies the killer as Georgia Madchen, who suffers many mental illnesses and has a violent background. She mutilated LeBeau's face because she was deluded into thinking LeBeau was an untrustworthy stranger. During another MRI scan, Graham finds the hospital empty and Sutcliffe murdered in his office. Graham reaches out to Georgia and manages to convince her that she is alive and not alone. Georgia is brought in for medical treatment. The episode ends with a flashback, which reveals that Lecter killed Sutcliffe and then handed over the scissors to Georgia, who just walked into his office. Georgia is unable to see Lecter, viewing him as a faceless person.
Production
Development
In May 2013, it was announced that the tenth episode of the series would be titled "Buffet Froid", and was directed by John Dahl and written by Andy Black, executive producer Chris Brancato and series creator Bryan Fuller. This was Fuller's 7th writing credit, Black's first writing credit, Brancato's second writing credit and Dahl's first directing credit.[1]
Casting
In January 2013, it was reported that Ellen Muth would guest star as a character named "Georgia".[2] Georgia "George" Lass (also played by Muth), having first appeared in Dead Like Me, was reinterpreted as Georgia Madchen. This similarity is furthered by their last names: "lass" is an English synonym for girl while "Mädchen" is a German word meaning the same. In another nod to Georgia Lass being a reaper (therefore both dead and alive) in Dead Like Me, in Hannibal Georgia Madchen is a killer who suffers from numerous medical conditions including Cotard's syndrome, a delusion disorder that has her convinced she is actually dead.[3] When the writers were breaking the episode, Fuller immediately thought of Muth to play Georgia.[4] He also said, "what was interesting about having Ellen on the show was that there was actually an opportunity to deconstruct our previous collaboration in a very unexpected way. Her character has the same name and is a reinterpretation of that character and, in fashion, that was sort of the Mulholland Drive-ing of Dead Like Me."[5]
