Freddy Lounds: Difference between revisions

Lounds is also said to represent "the vulgarian who does not believe in anything except his own career; he does not understand the idealistic insanity of Dolarhyde or Lecter or the idealistic sanity of Graham".<ref name="Waugh">{{cite book|first=Robert H.|last=Waugh|title=Dissecting Hannibal Lecter: Essays on the Novels of Thomas Harris|chapter=The Butterfly and the Beast: The Imprisoned Soul in Thomas Harris's Lecter Trilogy|editor-first=Benjamin|editor-last=Szumskyj|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|date=2008|page=71|isbn=978-0786432752}}</ref> Lounds' death is reflected as a consequence of his having only "a modicum of understanding" of people with desires unlike his own.<ref name="Waugh"/> As a tabloid photographer, it is also through Lounds that Harris "introduces a theme important to the three novels, the use of film and various optical apparatus to spy upon victims, because the antagonists of the novels need distance".<ref name="Waugh"/> Through [[photojournalism]], Lounds publicly highlights Graham's role in the investigation, thereby making Graham himself a target of the killer,<ref name="Paths">{{cite book|first=Philip L.|last=Simpson|title=Psycho Paths: Tracking the Serial Killer Through Contemporary American Film and Fiction|url=https://archive.org/details/psychopathstrack00phda|url-access=limited|publisher=[[Southern Illinois University Press]]|location=Carbondale, Illinois|date=2000|isbn=978-0809323296|page=[https://archive.org/details/psychopathstrack00phda/page/n120 102]}}</ref>{{rp|102}}<ref name="Wildermuth">{{cite book|first=Mark E.|last=Wildermuth|title=Blood in the Moonlight: Michael Mann and Information Age Cinema|publisher=McFarland & Company|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|date=2005|isbn=978-0786420599|pages=99–100}}</ref> and also conveying to Graham's wife and stepson the dangerous world in which he has involved himself.<ref name="Wildermuth"/>

In the novel ''Red Dragon'', Lounds attempts to elicit information from [[Will Graham (character)|Will Graham]] as Graham investigates [[serial killer]] [[Francis Dolarhyde]], whom Lounds has sensationally publicized as "The Tooth Fairy". Graham despises Lounds, who had sneaked into Graham's hospital room after Graham was attacked by Lecter, and taken pictures of his wounds, publishing them the next day in the ''Tattler''. Lounds becomes aware of secret correspondence between the killer and the now-imprisoned Lecter, and sneaks into a crime scene to get information. He is caught, however, and threatened with imprisonment unless he cooperates with the investigation. Hoping to lure Dolarhyde into a trap, Graham gives Lounds an interview in which he blatantly misrepresents the killer as an [[impotence|impotent]] [[homosexual]] and the product of [[incest]]. This infuriates Dolarhyde, who kidnaps Lounds, glues him to an antique wheelchair, shows him slides of his victims, and forces him to recant the published allegations into a tape recorder. Dolarhyde then shows his face to Lounds, bites his lips off and sets him on fire, leaving his maimed body outside the ''Tattler''{{'}}s offices. Lounds eventually dies in the hospital with his girlfriend Wendy at his side, but not before providing information to aid in the hunt for Dolarhyde. Lecter sends Graham a note congratulating him on Lounds' death, which "implies that the Tooth Fairy's murder of reporter Freddy Lounds is at least a sort of wish-fulfillment for Graham".<ref>{{cite book|firstname=Philip L.|last=Simpson|title=Psycho "Paths: Tracking the Serial Killer Through Contemporary American Film and Fiction|url=https:"//archive.org/details/psychopathstrack00phda>{{rp|url-access=limited|publisher=[[Southern Illinois University Press]]|location=Carbondale, Illinois|date=2000|isbn=978-0809323296|page=[https://archive.org/details/psychopathstrack00phda/page/n107 89]}}</ref>

In the series, Lounds is introduced in the episode "Amuse-Bouche".<ref name="RdC1"/> In that episode, Lounds snoops around a crime scene to write a story about Will Graham ([[Hugh Dancy]]) and "The Minnesota Shrike", the serial killer he is trying to catch. To the chagrin of the FBI, the killer, Garret Jacob Hobbs (Vladimir Cubrt), is able to use these stories to stay a step ahead of the investigation. She is caught engaging in unethical journalism on several occasions, once by Hannibal Lecter ([[Mads Mikkelsen]]), when she attempts to secretly tape record a conversation between them.<ref name="RdC1"/> Lounds meets the brother of Cassie Boyle, whom Hobbs impaled on deer antlers, and reveals to him that Hobbs' daughter Abigail ([[Kacey Rohl]]), is out of the hospital; she suspects (correctly) that Abigail helped her father kill Boyle. She also distrusts Graham, and writes an article implying that he is able to empathize with [[psychopathy|psychopaths]] because he is one himself.<ref>{{Cite episode|title= Potage |episode-link=Hannibal (season 1)#ep3|series=Hannibal|series-link=Hannibal (TV series)|network=NBC|airdate=April 18, 2013|season=1|number=3}}</ref>

[[Jack Crawford (character)|Jack Crawford]] ([[Laurence Fishburne]]) and Dr. Alana Bloom ([[Caroline Dhavernas]]) make a deal with Lounds to write a story about Dr. Abel Gideon ([[Eddie Izzard]]), a patient at the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane who has murdered a nurse. The murder was committed in a manner reminiscent of a serial killer called the Chesapeake Ripper, who hasn't been active in two years, the same number of years Gideon has been incarcerated. Hoping to provoke the real Ripper into making himself visible, Bloom and Crawford have Lounds write that Gideon is believed to be the Chesapeake Ripper.<ref name="RdC2">{{cite web|first=Ricky|last=da Conceição|url=http://www.soundonsight.org/hannibal-ep-1-06-entree/|title=Hannibal, Ep.1.06: "Entrée" raises goose bumps and a few questions about the future of the series|website=Sound on Sight|date=May 3, 2013|access-date=July 23, 2018|archive-date=May 25, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525054820/http://www.soundonsight.org/hannibal-ep-1-06-entree/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Lounds attempts to convince Abigail to let her write a book about her father, both for monetary gain and to clear Abigail of involvement in her father's crimes.<ref name="RdC3">{{cite web|first=Ricky|last=da Conceição|url=http://www.soundonsight.org/hannibal-ep-1-09-trou-normand/|title=Hannibal, Ep.1.09: "Trou Normand," a nearly flawless cohesion of visual poetry|website=Sound on Sight|date=May 24, 2013|access-date=July 23, 2018|archive-date=May 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518083017/http://www.soundonsight.org/hannibal-ep-1-09-trou-normand/|url-status=dead}}</ref> This is met with grave concern from Graham and Lecter, both of whom have helped Abigail cover up her "accidental murder" of Boyle's brother. In that episode, Lounds also joins Graham and Abigail for a dinner served by Lecter, but whereas the other guests dine on meat, Lounds informs them that she is a vegetarian.<ref>{{cite web|first=Jennifer|last=Wolfe|url=http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2013/05/31/hannibal-food-stylist/|title=Hannibal Lecter's meals: an all-consuming project|website=CNN|date=May 31, 2013|access-date=July 23, 2018}}</ref>

Lounds' involvement in publishing the Gideon story comes around when Gideon escapes from custody and begins murdering the psychiatrists who attempted to treat him. Gideon lures Lounds into a trap by pretending to be one of those psychiatrists who wishes to be interviewed by her. Gideon instead shows Lounds the psychiatrist's dead body, and forces her to write an article about him. He also makes her assist as he surgically removes organs from still-conscious hospital psychiatrist [[Frederick Chilton|Dr. Frederick Chilton]] ([[Raúl Esparza]]),<ref name="RdC4">{{cite web|first=Ricky|last=da Conceição|url=http://www.soundonsight.org/hannibal-ep-1-11-roti/|title=Hannibal Ep 1.11 "Rôti" and breaking down Will Graham's dreams|website=Sound on Sight|date=June 7, 2013|access-date=July 23, 2018|archive-date=May 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518083020/http://www.soundonsight.org/hannibal-ep-1-11-roti/|url-status=dead}}</ref> with the intention of leaving a "gift basket" for the Ripper. When the FBI arrives at the scene, Gideon has fled, and Lounds must keep Chilton alive with a respirator.

Lounds arrives at Graham's house and investigates his locked barn; inside, she finds the bloodied "animal suit" of serial killer Randall Tier ([[Mark O'Brien (actor)|Mark O'Brien]]), along with his jawbone, in Graham's meat stores. Graham then appears and, when Lounds flees and calls Crawford, overpowers her. Joining Lecter for dinner, Graham provides the meat, which he calls "[[Human cannibalism|long pig]]"; it is implied to be Lounds' flesh.<ref>{{cite web|first=Josie|last=Rhodes Cook|url=http://www.buddytv.com/articles/hannibal/hannibal-recap-boundaries-are-53461.aspx|title='Hannibal' Recap: Boundaries are Crossed]|website=Buddy TV|date=May 2, 2014|access-date=July 23, 2018}}</ref> In the following episode, however, it is revealed that Lounds is still alive, and is conspiring with Graham and Crawford to draw Lecter out.<ref>{{cite web|first=Josie|last=Rhodes Cook|url=http://www.buddytv.com/articles/hannibal/hannibal-recap-the-secrets-out-53544.aspx|title='Hannibal' Recap: The Secret's Out|website=Buddy TV|date=May 9, 2014|access-date=July 23, 2018}}</ref> Lecter is able to detect this through Lounds' scent on Graham.

[[Category:Fictional reporters and correspondents]]