No show on TV looks like "Hannibal," which is good when it induldges in Grand Guignol flourishes but not so good when the show is wantonly obtuse as it is in its early season three episodes.

Despite some misgivings about its indulgences in operatic -- and sometimes nonsensical -- violence, I've stuck with NBC's "Hannibal" (10 p.m. Thursday, WPXI) because of the characters and stylish storytelling.

Season two ended with what appeared to be most of the cast being murdered by Hannibal (Mads Mikkelsen) and the cunning cannibal escaped to Europe with his former shrink, Bedelia Du Maurier (Gillian Anderson).

Viewers won't learn the fate of any of Hannibal's victims until episode two -- episode one is all Hannibal and Bedelia maurauding in Paris and Italy -- and then episode two plays mind games with viewers about one stabbing victim's fate. Episode three reveals the fate of another but leaves the fate of yet another unexplored.

Taken as a whole, the three episodes mark a decent reintroduction but individually these episodes are basically daring viewers to watch. It's like producers are actively trying to repel viewers, not because the episodes are overly violent but because they often don't make much sense.

Thursday's premiere is especially off-putting with unexplained time jumps, a blink-and-you'll-miss-it unexplained Zachary Quinto cameo and other oddities. It's like a collection of random scenes rather than a coherent story.

The third episode of the new season is the least weird/most easy to follow as Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) visits Lecter's homeland of Lithuania and learns about one of the doctor's early murders. This third episode also has the most dark humor, which is a welcome treat.

I'll likely continue to watch but it's difficult to love a show that seems to be trying to hard to be impenetrable to viewers to the point that it's practically begging to be canceled with such uninviting storytelling.