This feels like an eclectic mess of Mindhunter, Twin Peaks, True Detective and a dab of X-files, knowing very well that this show preceded some of them. The one foot in this show that should have had a secure foothold in reality, is as stable as that of a drunkard on the night of recieving his social security money. The other foot being amputated. Much of the research for this show seems like it was based on the first Google result, even the ones where you can see that the second result clearly contradicts the first one. A provocatively lazy job. There are two parallell lines in the story, if this is a conscious choice, I don't know. One is the simple, unrealistic but scenic one that moves the story forward. It lacks taste, complexity and could be a direct replication of any mass produced crime TV show. It follows the same pattern, it's repetitive and everyone can figure out what will happen and feel a bit smart. The other one is Hannibal, the true protagonist, a complex character which is always in control and is both the hyperintellectual villain and the hero simultaneously. The dialogue is rich and most of the time rational and realistic. He gets enough headroom in the show to give the viewers wanting more than a brainless watch some flavour, but not enough for the less demanding viewer to get bored. It is a dull show, lacking what many other may offer. Every killer is a sociopath and a simpleton with mainly one underlying motive. A brain tumor, a single childhood trauma, a sickness, a diagnosis or maybe the worst of all, the mycophile. The mycologist episode with the slightly amusing Paul Stamets reference is so far the low water mark. The level of realism was next to none and surprisingly, not even the flashing imagery of the Maxomycota plasmodium pulsating whilst some deluded madman kept talking about mycelia could save it. The only reason to watch this show is Hannibal Lecter, not completely unsimilar to the first season of True Detective and Rust Cohle, who carried the whole show's quality on his shoulders. At least that could be the case if this show weren't so dumbed down. This makes his character seem so isolated that it causes a contrast and an obvious dissonance, that just tends to drag the shows quality down even further.