Note: Full spoilers for the episode follow.Damn, that final moment had me excited. I’d mentioned in my review last week that it stuck out to me that we never saw concrete proof that either Miriam or Abigail were actually dead... even if we knew for sure that parts of them had been removed. While Abigail is more important to this show overall, and certainly to Will, I was thrilled by the reveal at the end of this episode, as Miriam was found alive. Anna Chlumsky was great in her one big episode and even if her commitment to Veep keeps her from a major role on Hannibal , it’s very cool to have her return and ponder what this means for that big Jack and Hannibal confrontation we know is coming. Given she knows the truth about Hannibal, it would seem Jack is about to get confirmation on what’s going on. But who knows, there could be some more curve balls first.

Hannibal, the new romantic comedy!

This whole episode had Jack getting closer to the the truth, really eying Hannibal as a suspect for the first time. It was fairly predictable that the meat Jack took from Hannibal’s home would turn out to not be human though, and I also found it odd that Jack would so openly let Hannibal see that he was taking food from the home. Why give this guy the potential heads up that it might be time to flee?The rest of Jack’s snooping was cool to see though, especially as he worked with Chilton, who continues to prove to be a pretty smart guy - odious, but smart, as he noted “cannibalism is an act of dominance.” He also had a great line, as he remarked, “Hannibal once served me tongue and joked about eating mine. It would be narrow to not at least consider it.” And, of course, they let Chilton be the first person to use the term “Hannibal the Cannibal” in this show’s continuity! In the midst of this, you could tell that Jack didn’t want to be too quick to presume anything, as he noted how unreliable Gideon was, but also couldn’t get past his own suspicions.It was macabrely fun to see Hannibal live up to his statement "I need to get my appetite back" by bringing back the Chesapeake Ripper in such a public, and classically messed up, way. And with that, we met Tree Man! I do love the idea that Hannibal is so amazingly creative that he can both commit murders with the Ripper signature and then do others that appear to be someone else - yet are, of course, totally deranged in their own way.Will essentially becoming the classic, imprisoned Hannibal was in full effect this episode, as he explained the psychology behind why the Ripper kills. It was also amusing to get such a direct callback to Silence of the Lambs with Hannibal’s line about a census taker being the last person to ring his bell so early.With Jack now fully investigating Hannibal, Alana remains the one person steadfast in his innocence. It’s a tricky position to put her in, but this episode did a sufficient job explaining it. As we were reminded, Alana has a long history with Hannibal, who was her mentor - and she’s known him longer than Jack or Will and completely trusts him. Hannibal then seducing her is pretty sick, of course. He directly brought her name up to Will as a threat, in the wake of Beverly, but he also knows Will has feelings for her. Sleeping with her, perhaps eventually killing her, it seems it's all tied together for Hannibal and his twisted mind game with Will. Hannibal has yearned to truly make Will his friend for so long, but now it’s interesting to ponder if he finally sees, after Beverly, that is simply impossible. While it’s ironic that he says he can’t trust Will, given his own betrayals, it also may be true - it’s easy to see Hannibal being sad about the whole situation, yet still acting so manipulatively -- and potentially much worse down the line -- in regards to Alana. Which is what makes him such a terrific villain.Lastly, wow on what happened to Gideon. In the movie Hannibal, there’s a truly unsettling scene where Hannibal feeds someone slivers of their own brain. This however managed to be a different kind of “This is effed up!”, as Gideon, unlike that other victim, was fully aware that he was being given a plate of his own severed leg. And yet, psychopath that he is, Gideon still ate, perhaps feeling it would be showing weakness to not. Or perhaps acknowledging that Hannibal had beaten him. Either way… Man, these guys are messed up.