Sorbet (Hannibal)

In April 2013, it was announced that the seventh episode of the series would be titled "Sorbet", and was directed by James Foley and written by executive producer Jesse Alexander and series creator Bryan Fuller. This was Fuller's 5th writing credit, Alexander's first writing credit and Foley's first directing credit.[1]

In October 2012, it was announced that Ellen Greene, having worked with Fuller on Pushing Daisies, would guest star as Mrs. Komeda, "a novelist and member of Boston's cultural elite. She's also a pal of the titular cannibal, Dr. Lecter which should protect her from becoming his lunch."[2]

In December 2012, it was reported that Gillian Anderson would join the series in the recurring role of Bedelia Du Maurier, "the personal therapist of the titular Dr. Lecter."[3] Fuller commented, "Every therapist needs their own head examined and we are ecstatic that Gillian Anderson has chosen Hannibal to mark her return to American television after 10 years to portray Dr. Lecter's personal psychiatrist. Her intelligence and sophistication, not to mention her pedigree of ground-breaking TV, make her the perfect actress to match wits and psychological manipulations with one of the greatest villains of pop culture. I couldn't be more excited."[4] The character was originally described as older, and the producers wanted Angela Lansbury to portray her, as they wanted a "strange mother/son relationship with Hannibal and his therapist." When Lansbury was unavailable, they changed the character's age and background to accommodate her new personality.[5]

The episode was watched by 2.62 million viewers, earning a 1.1/3 in the 18-49 rating demographics on the Nielson ratings scale. This means that 1.1 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode, while 3 percent of all households watching television at that time watched it.[6] This was a slight increase from the previous episode, which was watched by 2.61 million viewers with a 1.1/3 in the 18-49 demographics.[7] With these ratings, Hannibal ranked third on its timeslot and twelfth for the night in the 18-49 demographics, behind Wipeout, Community, Elementary, Glee, The Office, Person of Interest, American Idol, Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, Two and a Half Men, and The Big Bang Theory.

With DVR factored in, the episode was watched with a 1.9 in the 18-49 demographics.[8]

"Sorbet" received positive response from critics. Eric Goldman of IGN gave the episode a "great" 8.4 out of 10 and wrote, "This was a less focused episode of Hannibal than usual. While the search for the Chesapeake Ripper continued, ultimately leading Will and Jack towards someone else entirely, this episode was more observational – following the characters through a lot of different interactions and getting into their headspace in a bigger way."[9]

Molly Eichel of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A-" and wrote, "For an episode that featured a whole lot of death, 'Sorbet' was full of life. There was a playfulness, almost a deviousness to 'Sorbet' that felt so naturally in place within the context of the episodes, even though most of those lighter tones were caused by brutal mutilation."[10]

Laura Akers of Den of Geek wrote, "I'm really glad that they have this effect on him for two reasons: obviously, learning anything about the interior life of Hannibal Lecter is fascinating in and of itself. But also, this show, thus far, has spent a lot of time on the psychology of its male characters, and used the women purely as plot devices. While this week's episode doesn't change the latter – they are still devices to unlock the secrets of Hannibal – but at least it means we get to see more of them. And with the excellent performances turned in this week by Anderson and Dhavernas, that's good news all round."[11] Kevin Fitzpatrick of ScreenCrush wrote, "'Sorbet' affords Will and Jack some strong character moments in their own right, but the hour truly belongs to Hannibal as we taste but a sample of the elegant horror within. Surely the series won't unravel the Chesapeake Ripper thread too quickly however, likely saving Hannibal's exposure for a later season. It would seem unwise of NBC not to renew Hannibal even with its moderate ratings but hopefully 'Sorbet' proves just a taste of the grander vision to come."[12]