Everyone has a light and dark side in Hannibal season 3, episode 9. Find out which side prevails in our recap.

The women in the later half of season 3 are proving to be the driving force of each male character’s narrative. Alana stands firm between Will and Hannibal, Molly grounds Will in reality, and Reba diverts Dolarhyde’s attention from his Becoming. But will history and familiarity win out in the end?

The universal killer, The Tooth Fairy The Red Dragon, hits Will’s personal life enough to revisit Dr. Lecter. Will tries to remove the familiarity and keep a sterile air, but Hannibal’s “parlor tricks” try to poison the room as he reads Will’s life as if he picked tarot cards from a pile. Will grants him a session later in the afternoon where old habits may be resurrected as they construct a profile of their killer.

History, however, has a funny way of keeping Hannibal connected to Will. Sure, Molly gave Will a stepson, someone he can raise and become close with, having not passed along his uncanny ability to slip into another’s mind. But Hannibal already attempted to give him this life.

The retelling of Abigail Hobbs’ time with Hannibal fills in their more intimate relationship. Through staging her death, confronting her father’s corpse, and ending on the night of their departure, Hannibal’s unconventional therapy clears her from her past and replaces it with visions of a bright future with Will and Hannibal. All that watching the blood pool from her staged death, cutting the throat of her resurrected father, and falling into a rhythm with Hannibal left her with nothing but empty promises.

The worst possible punishment for Hannibal is the removal of his dignity. His books, his drawings, his privacy are all in the custody of Alana. Five doors may block him from the outside world, but there are more delicate obstacles that are far more threatening to his sanity in the cell. Alana and Will’s session reveals that she is not only still with Margot, but also that she carried the heir to the Verger fortune.

Alana’s warning do little to dissuade Will from entering a session with Hannibal to construct a killer. The glass wall between them slips away as they find themselves back in Hannibal’s office. The smashed mirrors must reveal a disfigurement of some kind. Beyond the dots they can see, but not connect is one major question– can Will see himself looking in the mirror? Can he see himself covered in blood?

After Will exits, Alana pays Hannibal a visit where Hannibal’s blank stare into the distance slowly drains the life from him. He is powerless in the company of Alana and Will’s new life is weighing on him. What does he have beyond the solid walls? Everyone who appears on the other side of the glass seeks to place blame on him. He is the embodiment of the scar that Will no wears across his forehead.

Will attempts to capture the Dragon’s mindset, pacing through the homes, watching old videos of the happy families in their kitchens, yards, and living rooms. Hannibal reveals that the hunter would want a vantage point from which to observe the family and avoid the openness of the yard. A clearing in the woods provides such a spot where Will finds he cannot only see the home, but discovers a symbol carved into the tree.

Rekindling a long lost romance with print media, Freddie Lounds’ tabloid has increased circulation since her pieces on the “Murder Husbands” trip to Europe. Her readers can do enough with a headline that reveals Hannibal and Will are back in cahoots to catch a new killer. After all, psychopaths are not the only people reading her articles. Dolarhyde takes a keen interest in the work of Lounds as he stares at Will and Hannibal printed side by side.

Although the episode struck a great stride with the Hannibal and Will storyline, this week’s Dolarhyde felt a bit lackluster. Perhaps it is due to the word for word lift from Harris’ novel, perhaps the way they edited it into the story. Either way, Dolarhyde’s pieces were still effective in their cinematography and introduced Reba McClane into Francis’ reclusive life.

In the darkness of the developing room, at Gateway, Reba invites Mr. D in, offering a plum. Making the realization that she cannot see his face, he speaks slowly, focusing on his word choice to ask for a favor. He needs to take some infrared movie film to capture the nocturnal animals at the zoo. She in turn offers to develop it since she can guarantee complete privacy. He slips quietly out of the room and finds her later waiting for the bus. He requests for the pleasure of her company and drives her home.

A known killer in a van taking a woman home would send up some red flares along the way. However, Dolarhyde’s story is a known tale and the resulting visit to Reba’s home keeps with Harris’ passages word for word, thought for thought. Reba offers Francis pie, reassures him that his speech is what captures her interest, and attempts to get a better sense of what he is truly like. But Dolarhyde’s resistance to her advances appears to be painful for him and he excuses himself from their meeting.

One final visit to Hannibal unlocks another piece of the world against Will Graham conspiracy. Jack knows that Dolarhyde is aware of Hannibal and Will, why not entice the killer to reach out after seeing them reconnect? But Hannibal is not keen on Jack’s plan to use Will as bait. That point is moot seeing as Dolarhyde reaches out to Hannibal thanking him for taking an interest in his Becoming. What exactly is he becoming? As Dolarhyde growls, “The Great Red Dragon.” The monster is at last luring the dragon out of his cave.

Extras:

•Hannibal asking Alana about her relationship with Margot after mentioning “finger wagging”

•Jimmy admits he is more upset about the cat being murdered than the children. After all he is quite fond of cats, children… not so much.

•Molly and Will’s relationship is a rom-com we want to watch

Watch Hannibal season 3, episode 10, “And the Woman Clothed in the Sun,” next Saturday, August 8 at 10:00 p.m. ET on NBC.