The episode starts with Miriam Lass, her body is being processed for evidence. She is still in shock. Meanwhile, Jack is in his office, he is listening to the recording of Miriam begging for help.
Jump forward to Miriam talking to Jack, he tells her that they haven’t found The Ripper yet. She remembers little, saying he got inside her head. She talks of her recklessness, and says that even up until he took her arm, The Ripper treated her well. She says she wasn’t spared, he was saving her for last.
Alana Bloom interviews Hannibal in a closed room, they are being watched by Jack and Miriam through one way glass. He says that the witness must not be able to identify The Ripper through sight, or he would be in the room alone. On the other side of the glass Miriam sees the figure of her abductor as a shadow against light, the only way she recognizes him. She tells Jack that it’s not him.
Dr. Chilton opens the door to Will Graham’s cell, letting him out and telling Will that he would love nothing more than to see Lecter and Will trade places. He says he doesn’t want to be on Hannibal’s menu next. Will suggests that Dr. Chilton confess everything to Jack Crawford, but Chilton says he doesn’t want to end his career. Will then walks out, and is met by Jack in the lobby. He tells Will that Miriam is alive, and that she said definitively that Hannibal was not The Chesapeake Ripper. Will asks if it was enough for him, he replies no. He then takes Will to the site where Miriam was found.
Will examines the barn, jars filled with Beverly Katz’s blood, and other evidence of The Ripper’s crimes. Will says that The Ripper has been caught before, that he will be a lot harder to catch a second time. He tells Jack that he didn’t bring Miriam there to kill her, he brought her there for him to find.
Will is dropped off at his home, met by his dogs and Alana Bloom. She tells Will that she was wrong about him, because he tried to kill Hannibal. She says that he is wrong about Hannibal Lecter. Will says that it is she that is wrong. She asks if he is going to try to kill Lecter again? Is he safe? Will replies, “For me or for you?” He warns her that Hannibal is dangerous.
Frederick Chilton meets with Jack, offering his help in catching The Ripper in exchange for an FBI escort. He wants protection, he thinks that he is next on Hannibal’s chopping block. He tells Crawford that Will is a witness, he brought the memories out of Will that pin Lecter to the crimes.
Miriam is fitted with a prosthetic arm. Shorty after Will Graham meets with her. She tells Will that Jack neglected to mention that Will was also a victim of The Ripper. He tells her that he used some sort of light to induce blackouts, to erase his memories. She says she remembers the light too, she remembers being hypnotized. She tells him that neither of them are really free, he’s not done.
Hannibal walks into his dark kitchen, Will walks out of the darkness and points a gun at Hannibal. He says to Will, “If I’m not The Ripper, you kill an innocent man.” Will holds the gun to his head, then walks away without shooting.
Jack takes Miriam to Lecter’s office, under the guise of therapy for her post traumatic stress. In the office Jack tells Miriam of the message on his phone, she listens to it, and says she doesn’t remember leaving it. Hannibal then offers to hypnotize her to help her remember. He puts her into a trance, and she relives the moment the message was made. Lecter asks her what was the last thing she remembers before making the call. She looks at Jack, seeing him in shadow with blades and axes piercing his body. She replies, “The wound man.”
In the FBI crime lab Jimmy Price tells Jack and Alana that they found a fingerprint on a flower petal at the crime scene, it matches Hannibal Lecter. They also found drugs in Miriam’s blood, Alana says that they are drugs that Dr. Chilton uses, He used them both on Will and Abel Gideon. Jack asks that they bring both Hannibal and Chilton in.
Dr. Chilton enters his home, he hears the sound of beeping and goes to investigate. When he reaches the bottom floor, he hears a heart monitor flatline, looks inside his cellar and finds Abel Gideon dead on the gurney. He is still connected to medical equipment. Frightened he flees upstairs, trips over bags and falls to the ground. Hannibal Lecter greets him, standing over him in his plastic jumpsuit. Just then there is a knock at the door, it’s the FBI. Before he has the chance to scream for help, Hannibal covers Dr. Chilton’s mouth with a chloroform soaked rag. He tells Chilton that when he wakes up he will have no choice but to run. As the knocking continues, Hannibal says confidently and calmly through the door, “One moment please.” The last thing Chilton sees before blacking out is Lecter walking to answer the door.
Chilton wakes with a knife in one hand and a gun in the other. He’s confused and covered in blood. He follows a trail of bloody footsteps, leading him to the murdered FBI Agents. One’s intestines lay in his lap, the other is pierced with knives and tools, like the other killings that The Chesapeake Ripper was known for.
Will Graham finds Chilton on his front porch. Dr. Chilton is obviously weak, shaken and in shock. He asks Will, “Can I use your shower please?”
At the crime lab they talk about Frederick Chilton, the evidence found at his house. The fact that like Hannibal, he also fits the serial killer profile. They now believe he is The Chesapeake Ripper. Even Jack is convinced, saying that Chilton would know everything that The Ripper would need to know, that he was there from the start.
Dr. Chilton paces, upset and ranting to Will Graham. He says that he and Hannibal have the same profile, he was never in danger of being killed because he was Lecter’s patsy. Chilton says that he will leave the country. Will tells him not to run, that he’ll look guilty. He says to Will, do you know what happens to people who kill FBI agents? They shoot on sight. Will reassures him that he will catch The Chesapeake Ripper. Chilton replies, “I know you will, and when you do I will read about it from a secure location…” He is cut off by the dogs barking outside. Chilton runs to the window to look, seeing a black SUV pull up. “Will…what have you done?” Will says, “I called Jack Crawford.” Dr. Chilton panics, saying no, no, no…then he pulls the gun on Will. Will gets up and walks out of the room. He says, “See, you’re not a killer Frederick.”
Will tries to stop Crawford from acting rashly, but he storms inside. Chilton runs outside out into the snow, trying to escape. Jack pursues. He shouts, “Chilton! Stop where you are!” Then shoots at him. Frederick Chilton surrenders, looking at Jack. All he says is, “Please.” Jack looks confused at the coward before him.
Dr. Chilton is brought back to the FBI and processed. Chilton says he needs to speak to Will Graham. They reply that they don’t care what he wants.
He is then put before Alana Bloom. He says, “Does it have to be you? It seems like one final indignity.” He is in the orange prison jumpsuit and chained to the desk. She says, “Not like you to hide an achievement.” He replies, “The achievement is not mine.” She angrily rants, saying that it’s not Lecter, that Chilton used his knowledge to coerce and hide. He says, “you do not see it, and you will not see it until it’s too late.” He then says that they are the last words he’ll say on the subject before his Lawyer arrives.
From the other room Jack and Miriam watch the exchange, tears fall down her face. She remembers Dr. Chilton being the one who hypnotized her, and abducted her. She stutters, “It..it’s him…he did it..” Jack tries to comfort her as she breaks down completely. As he puts his arm around Miriam Lass, she reaches for his gun. Pulling it free, she points it at Chilton through the glass and fires. The bullet goes through Frederick Chilton’s head.
Hannibal sits in his study enjoying a glass of wine, there is a knock at the door. He answers it, it’s Will Graham. He asks if he can come in and Hannibal lets him pass. Will asks if he is expecting someone? Hannibal replies, “Only you.” Graham tells him that he has to deal with him, his feelings about Lecter. He says, “I think it’s best if I do that directly.” Hannibal tells Will that their friendship is over, that The Chesapeake Ripper is over. Will in turn says that it had to be Miriam Lass, didn’t it? She had to take his life, so she could get her own back. Lecter asks, “How will you take your life back?” Will replies, “I would like to resume my therapy.” They both sit, and Hannibal says, “Where shall we begin?” Fade to black.
Holy cheeses! Is it getting tense! How I wish I could just watch it all in one sitting! The frustration of having to wait is the true killer of this story. 6 more episodes to go in the season folks, and damn, it is getting good! I have to wonder if I am the only one that wants to smack Alana Bloom upside the head? Nothing more do I hate than a blindly trusting woman, and to be clear, I am a woman myself. If she survives till the end of the season she should switch her profession over to pet psychology, then maybe she wouldn’t be duped so easily. The one loose point in the story for me is that she has not been removed from any part of the case, since the FBI knows that she is now romantically involved with Hannibal. Doubtful that that would fly in the real world, but I know, I know, the plot must move on. Anyway, I’ll quit the rant and just say, I can’t wait until next week!