Just watched episode s3e2 (and have the others taped), and I'm reminded why I really like this show. I've seen very few things that capture subjective psychology of the characters this well... and to see it on TV versus a movie? (reference "Under the Skin" as one of those movies.)
But at the same time it explains the bad ratings. I like being disturbed, I like knowing not exactly what is real, I like trying to filter through Will's perceptions and see what he is seeing and putting things together, I like things being ambiguous and confusing and unsettling. But TV audiences (especially major networks) just don't really have a high demographic of people like that, I think; it's too art-housey and only a TV niche market at best. Which is why cable might be able to handle the show, if a network can devote proper resources to the project.
Episode 2 was just great. And sad. And hopeful. And disappointing. And pretty brilliant. It really pulled on me mentally and emotionally. We finally get a partial sense of how things went down at the end of Season 2 but... who knows where this is going?
Except to the Tooth Fairy, eventually.
... also, another book character is introduced.
EDIT: Cause for hope? From the wiki:
"On June 22, 2015, NBC cancelled the series. Fuller has initiated talks with Amazon Prime and Netflix for a renewal."
EDIT1: Oh, back in S3e1, at the end, there's this great shot of Hannibal sitting on a train with a luggage chest that reminds me a TON of the end of the movie "Let the Right One In." I can't really believe that's a mistake. (Except it's making you wonder who is representing who.)
EDIT2: Caught up now (through s3e4). Things are kind of falling into place, I think they're trying to set up the placement of all the characters for the beginning of Red Dragon, which would likely start with e7.