Going into this show, I did not expect to see such a visually creative and verbally - somewhat - profound series for some reason. Guess the ratings should've given it away at least for the dialogue, but I guess I was just expecting a really well-made bloody slasher about Hannibal the Cannibal.

But visually, I'm just amazed at how much visual storytelling goes on here and how much editing and CGI work this show about psychologists and serial killers has. Not that this is the best thing about this show or that the quality of a show is only based on how cool the editing and CGI are. The editing and the CGI are in service of the characters and the story here and not the other way around. I'm just pointing that out because I for one didn't expect this level of editing from the show before watching it. And the CGI is actually impressive with how good it looks (except for a really bad teeth-falling scene that looked like they forgot to render it) considering the show probably didn't have Game of Thrones level budget.

As for the character work and the story itself, I gotta say it's pretty remarkable with what they do with these characters and the hell they put them through. The writing for Hannibal Lecter and Will Graham's relationship and their dynamic and their similarities is really top-notch. This show is more character-focused than plot-driven, but it still has some good plotlines along the way.

I also don't think I need to mention how good Mads Mikkelsen is as Hannibal Lecter. I watched Silence of the Lambs a couple of years ago, so I don't really remember Anthony Hopkins' performance to compare them to each other, but I don't think there is a competition really since you can't deny Mads is amazing in this and they probably both crush it as Hannibal and bring something different to their interpretation of the character.

Laurence Fishburne also delivers some of the best subtle actings I've seen as Jack Crawford too. I never thought Fishburne was that amazing of an actor until this show. Hugh Dancy is also really good as Will Graham, which was the first time I got introduced to the actor and his character. And after this, I don't think I could imagine anyone else as Will Graham than Hugh Dancy.

As for the show itself, and the reason I don't give it a 10/10 even though I love it to some extent, is the fact that the show is not totally realistic and it is inconsistent throughout the seasons.

Since the show is really serious, the dialogue is also taken very seriously and they try so hard to make it profound that at some point (at least in the first season) it becomes so goofy that you just want to pause and laugh at how pretentious the lines are. Nevertheless, the dialogue is still pretty good, but I can't help to chuckle at how pretentious it gets at times. But that's not to say this show doesn't have some of the funniest intentional and unintentional lines of dialogue and also some iconic lines from Hannibal himself.

Another goofy thing is how they censor old painting butts (that are covered mind you) in season 3, in the same show that shows gallons of blood pouring onto the screen and people getting disemboweled left and right. It's hilarious how the censorship on these American shows works.

Don't get me wrong, the writing is very good and all, but for a show revolving around FBI and the police, this show has the most incompetent police force I have ever seen, even till the last episode.

I don't think the show needs to be realistic for it to work, and can't really fault it for it since I don't think they ever tried to pretend they were being realistic. But the amount of suspension of disbelief needed for this show, especially in seasons 2 and 3 is just astronomical and gets laughable at times. So don't go in expecting it to be as realistic as something like Breaking Bad.

I think season 2 is when the show is at its best, and if the show ended with that season I would've given it a 10 because that season was near masterpiece. But I unfortunately did not vibe with season 3 much.

Season 3 is really weird and inconsistent. It drags a plotline for some episodes with pacing slower than the snails Hannibal eats, but then just ends it out of nowhere and goes to the next plotline and rushes that one so it could do another one at the end of the season and drag that one too.

I really did not care for the adaptation of the Red Dragon at the end of season 3. I'm not familiar with the story, and it's funny that there are 3 different adaptations of it and I have to watch them all, and it's the least favorite storyline for me.

I think I preferred the show way more when it was killer of the week and they didn't stretch a killer's storyline in multiple episodes. Sure, those were forgettable and Red Dragon is obviously more iconic and memorable, but I did not like his story at all and did not find the whole plotline satisfying at all. Maybe the other two movies have done a better job with the Red Dragon story and I would see why the Red Dragon is even important enough to be the big baddie, but here I thought it was too ridiculous and not as interesting as the other storylines.

I actually found Mason Verger's storyline to be more interesting and I wish they'd decided to end the season with that instead.

Nevertheless, I still found the actual ending of the show to be satisfying for what it was. I was expecting a big cliffhanger since the show was canceled and many people were mad because it got canceled, so I thought maybe they didn't finish the story. But the ending is not unsatisfying at all it's honestly a good conclusion to the story in my opinion.

However, I've read that the creator wanted to adapt Silence of the Lambs for season 4, and while I don't see how that was going to work considering season 3's ending, it's a shame we never got to this show's version of that storyline. Like I said, I don't remember much from the movie itself, and I didn't understand why it was and is praised so much, but now that I have a better understanding of how psychological these stories and characters are, I might appreciate the movies better.

I probably spend my review more complaining than praising but note that I think this show is near masterpiece. It is one of the most well-made shows I've seen where there is thought and care in each shot with crazy attention to detail. It's also a really enjoyable show to watch, if you don't mind gore and blood of course. But only until the first 2 seasons and some of season 3's episodes. Because if I had to rewatch this show, I would either just rewatch the second season alone, or watch season 1,2, and the finale.

It is a great show nonetheless and has some of the finest hours of television. Definitely don't miss it and don't mind the fact that it was canceled, it still has a satisfying conclusion.