What’s Worth Watching: Hannibal Goes to Europe

Hannibal, “Antipasto” (Thursday, June 4, 10/9c, NBC)

Even the uncorking of a champagne bottle takes on a shriekingly nightmarish aspect in Hannibal, which in its third macabre season magnifies every succulent and sinister image and sound to its creepiest, ickiest potential. The series is artful yet never cloyingly “artsy” as it winds down paths that are hallucinatory, twisted, and often inscrutable—a word that applies to Mads Mikkelson’s dialogue as the sly Hannibal Lecter. The new season relocates to Europe, where Hannibal continues his reign of cannibalistic terror with Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier (the ravishing Gillian Anderson sporting the best made-up name on all of TV) as his appalled companion.

If you’re wondering where Will Graham (Hugh Dancy), Jack Crawford (Laurence Fishburne) and Alana Bloom (Caroline Dhavernas) have gone to, be patient. They’ll be showing up in successive episodes, tracking Hannibal’s bloody trail while nursing their own psychological wounds. As always, watch at your own risk. This is not for the squeamish or timid.