Digestivo

Plot

Police officials led by Inspector Benetti (Giorgio Lupano) interrupt the meeting between Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen), Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) and Jack Crawford (Laurence Fishburne). Despite Crawford claiming to be a federal agent, the police ignore him, only taking Lecter and Graham with them, intending to deliver them to Mason Verger (Joe Anderson). Officers then prepare to kill Crawford, but he is saved by Chiyoh (Tao Okamoto), who kills the officers. They leave to find Lecter and Graham in Muskrat Farm, despite Crawford having to evade authorities.

At Muskrat Farm, Mason informs Lecter and Graham about Crawford's "death", which will be blamed on Lecter. They have dinner, where Mason states his intentions of eating Lecter and then cutting off Graham's face so he can wear it. Graham wounds Cordell (Glenn Fleshler) by biting his cheek and is told that he will be fed to the pigs after they remove his face. Meanwhile, Margot (Katharine Isabelle) starts conspiring with Alana Bloom (Caroline Dhavernas) to get Mason's sperm in hopes of conceiving a child, with Bloom acting as the surrogate. However, Mason is aware of their relationship and intentions and says that he has already found a surrogate, just saying "she is on the farm".

While Bloom explains her decisions with Graham, Margot visits a caged Lecter, who tells her that Mason will betray her. Bloom suddenly arrives and tranquilizes a guard. She then approaches, willing to release him if he can "save Will", which he promises. She releases him, but Lecter states that Margot must be the one to kill Mason so she can take the sperm, with Lecter taking the blame for her. Mason's surgery begins and he is put under anesthesia, but Cordell starts slicing into Graham's face without using anesthesia on him. Lecter arrives and kills Cordell, cutting off his face and putting it on Mason's, who is horrified to discover it when he wakes up.

Bloom and Margot find the surrogate and are horrified to discover that it is a pig carrying a human fetus. When they remove the child, they find that it is stillborn. They confront Mason, who just found out about Lecter's killing spree. Margot intends to kill Mason, although Mason states he kept his promise and that if he dies, she will lose the fortune. However, Bloom reveals that Lecter managed to get his sperm by stimulating his prostate with a cattle prod while he was under anesthesia and kept it in a vial. Mason tries to shoot them, but Margot fights with him, with the bullet piercing the aquarium beneath his bedroom floor. Margot shoves Mason's pet moray down his throat, which suffocates him to death.

Production

Development

In June 2015, NBC announced that the seventh episode of the season would be titled "Digestivo", with executive producer Steve Lightfoot and series creator Bryan Fuller writing the episode and Adam Kane directing. This was Fuller's 27th writing credit, Lightfoot's 16th writing credit, and Kane's first directing credit. The episode was originally scheduled to air on July 16, 2015 but it moved to July 18, 2015 when NBC decided to move the remainder of the season to Saturdays.

Writing

Fuller explained that the episode would serve as a closure to the first chapter of the season, "the first half of the season will have its finale that reaches a climax and wraps up that story in a great way, and then we start a new story, and then that will have its own climax at the end of the season. Two separate stories that’ll have two finales and so you get two seasons for the price of one."

Reception

Viewers

The episode was watched by 0.97 million viewers, earning a 0.3/1 in the 18-49 rating demographics on the Nielson ratings scale. This means that 0.4 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode, while 1 percent of all households watching television at that time watched it. This was a 30% decrease from the previous episode, which was watched by 1.38 million viewers with a 0.4/1 in the 18-49 demographics. With these ratings, Hannibal ranked third on its time slot and ninth for the night in the 18-49 demographics, behind two episodes of The Millers, a Bullseye rerun, a Boom! rerun, a Running Wild with Bear Grylls rerun, ABC Saturday Movie of the Week, and two episodes of 48 Hours.

With DVR factored, the episode was watched by 1.45 million viewers with a 0.5 on the 18-49 demo.

Critical reviews

"Digestivo" received universal acclaim from critics. Eric Goldman of IGN called the episode a perfect "masterpiece", rating it 10 out of 10 and writing in his verdict: "Hannibal's mid-season episode managed to function as a very satisfying resolution to both the 'Hannibal on the run' and Mason Verger storylines. Alana and Margot triumphed over Mason, Hannibal got to do his thing as Alana set him loose to help stop their common foe and Will finally managed to put an end with his own need to track down Hannibal. And Jack managed to actually arrest Hannibal Lecter, even if it was because Hannibal decided to turn himself in – on the heels of an incredibly powerful heart to heart with Will. It seems as though next week’s episode, with its time jump and Red Dragon storyline beginning, will truly feel like a different season. In the meantime, this 7-episode arc was extremely satisfying on its own."

Molly Eichel of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A−" and wrote, "One of the innovations that I appreciate about Hannibal is the show's disregard for the season break. Much like the second season, the third season breaks in the middle when one storyline is up, in order for another one to begin. Mason Verger has served his purpose as a character, and now it's time for something new."

Alan Sepinwall of HitFix wrote, "In tying up Hannibal's fugitive adventures and killing off Mason and Cordell, 'Digestivo' was also easily the most coherent episode of the season so far." Mark Rozeman of Paste gave the episode a 9.6 out of 10 and wrote, "After the utter insanity of last week, 'Digestivo' manages an appropriately kooky finish to this peculiar mini-arc. What remains most impressive, however, is the ways in which the show manages to effectively checklist all the strange plot points in [Thomas] Harris' Hannibal, while assuring that this final confrontation between Will and Hannibal does not come across as an underwhelming afterthought." Jeff Stone of IndieWire gave the episode an "A−" and wrote, "We finally get the emotional showdown between Will and Hannibal we've been waiting for. Will, in no uncertain terms, tells Hannibal that he's not going to look for him or miss him. He's letting Hannibal go, emotionally and physically. 'I don't have your appetite', he admits, which is something of a relief. I'm not particularly interested in Will and Hannibal as murder pals, and kudos to the show for always making that a distinct, sickening possibility."

Brian Moylan of The Guardian wrote, "Either way, Hannibal is a genius, but if he's improvising it makes more sense why his luck will eventually run out, since the second half of this season – and the show's final run before the finale – ends with his eventual capture." Keith Staskiewicz of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "Are you tired of bland meat products processed in giant factory farms owned by faceless mega-corporations? Looking for a company with a more personal touch? Well come on down to Muskrat Farms, where we believe in old-fashioned things like good service, fresh all-natural ingredients, and gestating a human fetus in a sow’s uterus. Oh, and no preservatives!" Chuck Bowen of Slant Magazine wrote, "The most distinctive quality of Hannibal this season is its nearly pure amorality. There might not be another series on television right now in which no interior value system is courted or pandered to, apart from a treasuring of phenomenal aesthetics."