“Coquilles” was an episode laced with sadness and mortality. Tonight’s killer gave a thought to humanity and just how little we know about how the human brain works.

There were several themes in the show tonight, but the strongest that stood out to me was change. Almost every character in this episode is going through some change, and they are all in differing stages.

With religious undertones involving this new killer, aptly named The Angel Maker, the story goes beyond that, to much deeper depths. Meet Elliot Boudish. Five months ago, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor that is causing him to change at a rapid pace as it is killing him. As the tumor manipulates different parts of his brain while it grows, his behaviors, beliefs, and even what he sees all change. He’s become a killer, ironically, because he seeks peace. By killing his victims, then fileting the flesh off their backs to make them resemble angels with wings, which he also puts hooks through and hangs from the ceiling, he is creating his own guardian angels. Later in the show we learn that Elliot had a near death experience as a child when he almost suffocated in a fire. The fireman who saved him told him he had a guardian angel. The tumor must be causing memories to resurface, and his ability to perceive them, along with proper placement, have become skewed. He’s desperate to find his guardian angel before he succumbs to the cancer. We also see his visions of his victims as having flames engulfing their heads. Again, this can be attributed to his childhood trauma. It is quite coincidental that the victims that he chooses also happen to be criminals with very nasty backgrounds. Perhaps he also feels he’s doing a duty, performing a service if you will, by killing them; one good last deed for his last days on earth. For what it’s worth, I’m reminded of the scene in The Silence of the Lambs in which Lecter escapes and hangs the guard on his cage, backlit and resembling an angel. Maybe Lecter copycats from many different killers per the series.

[Criminal victims...what do they deserve in the way of justice?]

When someone says the name Alfred Hitchcock, it immediately signals a barrage of visuals and memories for me. One of the first is the familiar bass tones of the haunting opening theme to his television show, Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955-1962). Another is those ominous black birds swarming overhead, lunging down to peck at people as they frantically fight to get away, their fears plucked to the surface along with mine. Concerning the former, as a kid I delighted in pooching my belly out and artfully stepping from the darkness to stand in the middle of a doorway as I sang that song. It usually garnered a few chuckles to my satisfaction.

Now A&E has released a new television show based on the popular Alfred Hitchcock film, Psycho. This franchise has been done... I would say to death, but that wouldn’t be very nice, now would it? There have been good films and there have been bad, so I was curious to see how Bates Motel would ultimately stack up.

[Do you have reservations?]

All eyes are on Abigail Hobbs as they wait for her to wake up. The show opens up with Abigail having a coma-induced vision of going hunting with her father, giving us a little glimpse at their relationship. She shoots a deer, and once they get it back to their cabin, she is told to gut it. The apprehension on her face as she was hunting it and her commentary on the deer’s social structure gives the impression that she doesn’t really want to be doing this, however, she doesn’t say no. But the real moment comes when she pulls back the head and it is a girl. This dream is powerful enough to bring her out of the coma, and rightly so.

Does this prove Crawford’s claims that Abigail was an accomplice to her fathers’ killing spree?

[Oh no! Does the apple really not fall far from the tree?...]

“Amuse-Bouche” is a shocking and grotesque episode that introduces another serial killer, Mr. Eldon Stammets, who just happens to have a disturbing affinity for fungi.

Because Graham took out serial killer Hobbs in the last episode, as this one begins he’s regarded as a bit of a hero. He is given the all clear to return to fieldwork, and his students give him a standing ovation. Crawford, however, requests a psychiatric evaluation (and understandably so since Graham shot Hobbs not once but ten times). Given that Crawford knows Graham is a little unhinged anyway, I think this is a waste of their time. It does give Graham and Lecter more bonding time, though. Lecter shows his favoritism toward Graham once more by giving him a clean bill of health. I was surprised when Lecter said he felt responsible for Abigail Hobbs. I never considered Lecter as a father figure, or as someone who cared much about other people, but I doubt that he has paternal instincts in mind; more like a Gordon Ramsay recipe.

[Mmmm...victim bourguignon...]

I eagerly awaited Hannibal with the hopefulness of a child at Christmas. And did I get what I wanted? Let’s see…

Let me speak about the opening scene for a moment, if you will. The introduction to Will Graham, played brilliantly by Hugh Dancy, is an attention-grabber. We see a crime scene through his eyes, which aren’t your regular set of eyes. He’s able to go into a trance of sorts in order to recreate the crime, in a sequence that the director pulls off with stunning effect. My favorite bit was the reverse motion. We are given a glimpse of how Graham’s special ability works.

Readers of the books by Thomas Harris will know that Graham has empathy with the killers he studies, but Dancy’s acting takes it one step further by showing us just how intense, emotional, and believable it really is for him. As it turns out, Graham is on the Asperger’s and autism spectrum. This isn’t such a stretch for Dancy to play because he portrayed another man with this affliction in the independent film, Adam, back in 2009. Graham’s struggle with these feelings of empathy shows on Dancy’s face and are another testament to the bang-up job he is doing with this role.

[Of course, the show isn’t called Will Graham]

It was January 11, 1972.  A made-for-TV movie debuted on ABC that would turn out to be the highest rated to date. This movie was The Night Stalker and it was America’s introduction to the quirky, persistent reporter, Carl Kolchak. I can’t think of actor Darren McGavin without picturing his portrayal of Kolchak and the various monsters of the week he was pitted against.

To get an idea of what this franchise is about, in case you aren’t familiar, let me give you a quick synopsis of The Night Stalker. The film begins with Kolchak at a hotel speaking into a recorder as he dictates a novel he is writing. He tells the audience about his recent shocking and life-changing experience. In Las Vegas, he became privy to a string of gruesome murders where the victims had been drained of blood. As Kolchak became more engrossed in the case, he believed the killer to be a vampire. He does manage to convince the authorities in the supernatural element, but the killer proves too elusive. Eventually it is Kolchak himself who disposes of the fiend.

[There are more where that one came from...]