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She was a very brave young woman.
Jack to Hannibal

Miriam Lass is a character in NBC's Hannibal.

Season 1[]

Two years ago, she wrote a letter to Jack Crawford, in which she said that she wanted to work for him. Because she's got a forensics fellowship, six years of law enforcement, degree in psychology, and doctorate in criminology Jack assigned her to the Chesapeake Ripper case. However, a final flashback reveals Miriam's fate: she visits Dr. Lecter to ask about an old patient, Jeremy Olmstead, whom he had come into contact with when working as an ER attendant, who has turned up as the latest Ripper victim. While Lecter excuses himself, Miriam finds one of his sketches of the Wound Man, which precisely matches the manner in which Olmstead was murdered. Lecter, now revealed to be the Chesapeake Ripper, sneaks up on her from behind and chokes her into unconsciousness. She would remain in captivity for two years, with a final desperate call being made after her initial disappearance.

Two years passed and the Chesapeake Ripper had seemed to vanish. That is until one of his murders occurred at the Baltimore State Hospital For The Criminally Insane when patient Dr. Abel Gideon murdered a nurse and displayed her in the same manner as the Ripper's previous victims. With the hospital's administrator Frederick Chilton insisting that he had the Ripper all along (as Gideon), news spread quickly via TattleCrime.com which Hannibal often reads. In response, he severed one of Miriam's arms and sent Jack the last message she sent several times to haunt him...until, eventually, it leads him to an observatory where her arm is found. At this point, she was still assumed to be dead but it was made clear that the real Chesapeake Ripper was still active and not Abel Gideon.

Season 2[]

Miriamlass1

Miriam, alive and well (or at least in one..)

As time passed, Will Graham was placed into the psychiatric hospital following his alleged killings revolving around the recent cases. Hannibal continued his murders, slowly revealing that the Chesapeake Ripper had become far more active than he had previously and eventually he took credit for the murders Will had done. This would allow Will to be set free but not before a lead in examining the bark on one victim led Crawford to a lone cabin. In the basement of this cabin, he found two wells and in one of them...was the captive Miriam Lass (who now had dark brown hair and a visible missing arm).

Miriam was later fitted with a prosthetic arm and asked to identify the Chesapeake Ripper, however confirmed to Jack it wasn't Hannibal.

Later, Dr. Chilton is taken in for questioning after being falsely implicated by Hannibal as the Ripper, Miriam upon seeing Chilton becomes disorientated and frightened as she flashbacks to seeing his silhouette and hearing his voice. This reveals Hannibal has been conditioning Miriam to identify Chilton to take the blame once Miriam was found. In a panicked state Miriam pulls out a gun and pulls the trigger, shooting Chilton through the cheek.

Season 3[]

Chilton is revealed to have survived the bullet wound, however was left disfigured and used prosthetic and makeup to cover it up. It is not disclosed what became of Miriam.

It is revealed in the series finale that Hannibal held Miriam at a cliffside house that he would later use to house Abigail Hobbs .

Episode appearances[]

Season 1[]

Season 2[]

Notes[]

  • Miriam Lass's quick discovery and subsequent attack by Lecter match almost exactly how Will Graham originally discovered Lecter's serial killer status in the novels; he saw the picture of the Wound Man and then made a call to the FBI. As he did, Lecter snuck up behind him and slashed him with a linoleum knife, but did not kill him. 
  • Miriam is loosely based off Clarice Starling from The Silence of the Lambs (a character and book Bryan Fuller was unable to acquire the rights to for the show).

Gallery[]

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