Hannibal Lecter Transcripts: Hannibal S2E5

Hannibal: You have to eat something, Jack. You've been up all night. Feed the body, feed the mind.

Jack: She knew she couldn't beat the cancer, so she decided to beat it to the finish line. I suppose I can't blame her for wanting to control how she dies.

Hannibal: I believe those who can no longer function at an acceptable level have the right to die.

Jack: She cast you as an executioner. She wanted to die. I can't tell you how grateful I am that you didn't allow it to happen.

Hannibal: As a doctor, I had no choice. As a philosopher, I had too many. It wasn't what I could do for Bella, it was what I couldn't do to you, Jack. I guess I'm a better friend than therapist.

Jack: You're a great friend, Hannibal.

Hannibal: You and I are both proponents of unorthodox treatments of the mind. Strategies others might not choose to understand. What I'm trying to understand is why you would transfer Abel Gideon back to your hospital for the unworried unwell.

Frederick: It was not for selfish reasons.

Hannibal: Selfishness. The original sin of man, according to Judeo-Christian morality.

Frederick: We are not talking about morality or ethics here, are we, Dr. Lecter? But rather, concealing their absence.

Hannibal: Gideon disemboweled you, Frederick. Brave of you, or perhaps wise, to keep the evidence of your misdeeds under your own roof.

Frederick: My misdeeds and yours.

Hannibal: Neither of us controls our stories well enough to get anything from exposing the other's misdeeds.

Frederick: Here's to that. I brought Gideon back because I thought he may be useful in Will Graham's therapy. He shot Gideon, yet he has no memory of it.

Hannibal: We know memories, emotions and even spiritual experiences can be manipulated while under hypnotics.

Frederick: I'm trying to set Will on the path to rebuilding his broken brain. Picking up your pieces, as it were.

Hannibal: You've analyzed my patient. Perhaps you'll allow me to analyze yours. I'd like to interview Abel Gideon.

Gideon: You don't need to stand way over there. I'm a cutter, not a pisser.

Hannibal: Hello, Dr. Gideon.

Gideon: Our brains devote more space to reading the details of faces than any other object. Dare I say, I've never seen yours before.

Hannibal: I'm Dr. Hannibal Lecter. I was Will Graham's psychiatrist.

Gideon: Well, he's not a very good advertisement for your abilities, Dr. Lecter.

Hannibal: That remains to be seen.

Gideon: I bet you're a devil at the bridge table. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.

Hannibal: The pleasure's mine.

Gideon: But now I know your name. Of course, I am aware of you by reputation, and I see why Chilton both reveres you and resents you. Esteem in psychiatric circles still eludes him, yet it clings to you like soap to a baby's eyes. He very much wants to be you.

Hannibal: He should be more careful what he wishes for.

Gideon: And you should have been more careful with Will Graham. That young man has got a bone to pick.

Hannibal: As a therapist, I'm concerned with finding ways of overcoming resistance, not building it up.

Gideon: Well, you built up something, Dr. Lecter.

Hannibal: That was rude, Miss Lounds.

Freddie: Did you really think I was above that sort of thing? You seem disappointed.

Hannibal: We evolved the ability to communicate disappointment to teach those around us good manners.

Freddie: Well, unfortunately, I did not evolve the ability to feel shame.

Hannibal: You should explore that in therapy.

Freddie: I saw a psychiatrist once and it was under false pretenses.

Hannibal: Happy to entertain you for a more genuine conversation. So, what brings you to the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane?

Freddie: I am interviewing Will Graham, at his request. Imagine that.

Hannibal: I'm trying.

Man: Judas had the decency to hang himself in shame at his betrayal. But I thought you needed help. Did you know that the phrase "to kick the bucket" came from exactly this situation? You could kick it out right now yourself and it would all be over. Quicker than bleeding out.

Hannibal: You're a nurse at the hospital. You're setting a new standard of care. Will Graham is not what you think. He's not a murderer.

Man: He is now. By proxy.

Hannibal: He asked you to do this?

Man: What are friends for? Now I'm going to ask you a few yes or no questions while you still have enough blood coursing through your brain to answer them. You ready?

Hannibal: Ready.

Man: Did you kill that judge? I can ask you yes-or-no questions. You don't have to say a word and I'll know what the answer is. The pupil dilates with specific mental efforts. You dilate, that's a yes. No dilation equals no. Are you the Chesapeake Ripper? How many times have you watched someone cling on to a life that's not really worth living? Eking out a few extra seconds. Wondering why they bother.

Hannibal: I know why. Life is precious.

Man: The Chesapeake Ripper. I wonder what they're gonna call me. You know, the Iroquois used to eat their enemies to take their strength. Maybe your murders will become my murders. I'll be the Chesapeake Ripper now.

Hannibal: Only if you eat me.

Jack: Put your hands where I can see them.

Hannibal: He's got a gun, Jack!

Jack: Hold on! Hold on, hold on. Get an ambulance!