After having little to say about the last couple of episodes, my brain is overrun with thoughts on this one:

But what does Claire Danes think about it?

Well, at this moment, it's pretty much the ONLY new show on network television.  So, it being "better" is kind of a given.

"This plane is going down" - What.  The.  F^$&.

Reading these, I get some shades of Eddie Izzard from Episode 6.  There were a few comments there to the effect that Gideon isn't especially bright either, but tries to give off an air of superiority and sophistication (doing his latter-day Hopkins impression, so to speak).  Tobias is doing much the same thing, but…

"I know you can use unflavored gelatin as a clarifier, perhaps he made human gelatin somehow…"

It reminded me of when the people on the other side of my bedroom wall were gone for Thanksgiving weekend, so of course no one was home to turn off the smoke detector - which kept shrieking for three days straight.  I wanted to Hulk out and smash through the wall and step on that thing.

How about "so say we all?"  Is it too late to bring that back in style?

I didn't much like that scene either, but your "infuriatingly passive" comment gives it a bit of perspective I hadn't thought of.  The reason it feels, to me, so out of character for Will is that he's been so passive up to this point, he seems not only unaccustomed but maybe even incapable of the kind of behavior he…

What about Beverly Katz?  She wants to help Will, too, and like kisswithatear and waxlion said last week (or maybe the week before?), she is the only one who gives without expecting him to give back.  Although she's a more marginalized character than Alana and Hannibal (she and the other squints had only a couple…

"a office breaking machine"?

It made me kinda sad.  Franklyn was a total fucking idiot, but I actually felt bad for him when he tried to imitate Hannibal and psychoanalyze Tobias.  He was humiliating himself by that point and didn't even realize.

Okay, the kissing bit I can agree with.  I like that they cut it off so quickly, but that doesn't excuse the fact that it should not have happened, not this soon.  It felt totally out of character for Will. But then, I suppose the fear of cancellation - this is apparently the ONLY show still up in the air! - might…

The fight itself was good - like m0nit0rman said above, it was more of a dangerous game for Hannibal than anything - but it was edited so quickly I had trouble following it.  Hyper-editing is an action-y trend I grew tired of very quickly, and besides, the two are so convincing that a few longer shots would've done…

Trying to think of a relevant quote and all I get is, "Come on!  Stop trying to hit me and hit me!"

See, this makes me wonder what would have happened if they'd let LeChiffe and Bond fight it out in Casino Royale.  Oh, the possibilities!

There was a mention of Dolarhyde?  I totally missed it!  Shit.

I think he does a fantastic job, although when I first saw him I thought of Raul Julia.
And then of course I had to wonder what Raul Julia would have done with the role.

Mason Verger is the antagonist of the novel ''Hannibal.''  He's a psycho millionaire who's wheelchair-bound and has no face after a session with Dr. Lecter.  So, I suppose Lee Pace might work, since he played a paraplegic in The Fall.  The face thing, though…that might be a bit much, even for this show.

Took the words out of my mouth.  While the use of quotes and little scenes from the books has been happening from the get, this was the first episode where it felt really overt, and it made me a bit worried for what's to come, albeit far down the line.  I understand that Fuller wants the show to go it's own way, but…