Hannibal came out of the gate strong this spring, turning out to be one of the most creative and clever new TV shows of the year. Under the expert guidance of Bryan Fuller, the iconic horror character was given a fresh and exciting new interpretation, as we followed the fascinating dynamic between Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) and Will Graham (Hugh Dancy).

Dinner is served in Hannibal. Dig in.

Playing an important role in the show is Dr. Alana Bloom (Caroline Dhavernas), a protégé of Hannibal’s and colleague of Will’s who finds herself swept up in the macabre happenings that surround Lecter and Graham. With Season 1 of Hannibal having just been released on Blu-ray and DVD this week, I spoke to Dhavernas about her role on Hannibal, reuniting with Fuller a decade after they made the cult classic Wonderfalls together and what’s to come for Alana in Hannibal: Season 2, which recently began production.Warning: Major spoilers for the end of Hannibal: Season 1 follow![poilib element="accentDivider"Yeah, because I hadn’t worked with Bryan for ten years now, and I had seen the work he did after Wonderfalls. But when he talked to me about Hannibal, I only saw the pilot. As usual, that was the only episode that was available to read. So I signed on knowing that Bryan is just brilliant, and I love his work. Also, the cast is amazing. When I eventually saw the final result, yeah, it was so impressive. I think the look of the show is stunning. The visuals are just delightful. Even though the subject matter is kind of gruesome at times, it’s never done gratuitously, you know? The violence is always treated, I think, very well. Yeah, it’s been a beautiful adventure, and now we can start the second season, so we’re all pretty happy.That is what’s so amazing about Bryan. He’s true to his actors. When he loves someone, he’ll want to work with them again, but not even do the same thing that they did for him in the past. He really believes that actors are versatile and that they can do something, but then do the complete opposite. It’s so rare actually, because a lot of people in this business don’t have a very wild imagination, but Bryan Fuller is one of them, both in his writing and in his way of treating acting and knowing what actors are capable of. So it’s a real treat to be in someone’s mind like that.Yeah, I think she has no clue. He was her mentor, I think when she probably was a student. There was that one scene in the kitchen where we saw that he was flirting a little bit. I think she grew up in a man’s world, and she’s probably been very careful not to flirt too much in order to be taken seriously, given her job; she’s pretty young already to be so highly educated and the FBI and all that. So I think she’s probably been very careful that way not to flirt with older men and people that she’s working with. But yeah, in this instance, I think she has a lot of respect for him. Sometimes their views are quite different, but she knows that he’s a brilliant therapist. I think she has no clue whatsoever about what he truly is.Yes! What Will just went through was such a surprise already to everyone. I think we’re all just trying to put the pieces together at that point. Of course, he’s blaming Hannibal for this, but he did have encephalitis. I think Alana is approaching this very cautiously. She knows that the illness can make you believe and feel all sorts of things that are false. So I think right now she’s just being there to be careful and make sure that Will will be treated equally and respectfully, because God knows he’s been telling everyone from the start that he was a fragile one and that his gift was a curse and that everyone had to be careful with him, and no one listened. I think she continued to be even more protective than she ever was.

Check out a behind-the-scenes clip from the Hannibal: Season 1 Blu-ray: Loading

Yeah, our DP is fantastic. We do seem to be able to make the day most of the time, even though the lighting is a little more intricate than most network series. I remember the first day I walked on set, and I think it was the first episode, the scene at the end with Laurence Fishburne where I say to him, “You said you wouldn’t go too far with him.” It was almost pitch black in the room where we were shooting, in the class, and I remember thinking, “Wow, I’m teaching in the dark. This is interesting!” [Laughs] Then I saw the show, and it all made sense. It’s just so moving and beautiful and kind of real, but not completely real. It’s like a big nightmare.Yes, he takes mighty pleasure in that, yeah. I’ve had several meals at his place where he smiles knowing what I was eating.

Continue to Page 2 for more with Caroline Dhavernas about Hannibal and Alana’s relationship and what’s to come in Season 2.