#dinner scenes

Christine Baranski talks about filming dinner scenes for The Gilded Age.

ATX Festival | March 31, 2025

It's more an observing the changes than an analysis on anything

(Based on this post)

In 2x08 at that dinner/sitting at the table scene, Will appears to be very mad and resentful. He doesn't even want to look at Hannibal in the eyes, he keeps making remarks like "I tried to kill you, isn't that personal?" He is wearing his glasses, the barrier to others, he is covering himself, he didn't even go alone but Jack went with him. No intimacy.

In 2x10, after killing Randall Tier and "Freddie", he goes to have dinner with Hannibal alone, and brings the meat. He is not wearing the glasses anymore. He is not covering himself now, looks at him in the eyes, some times he seems mad and sometimes he makes dark jokes that get them closer. He is not so angry now but questioning how he feels about Hannibal and being confused by it, because he finds he actually likes what Hannibal explains when he tells him "then you can't say that I am evil". Will is probably thinking "What?? Why am I not mad anymore?"

In 2x11 Will isn't wearing his glasses and he has an even more intimate dinner with Hannibal than the last time, and he seems more relaxed around him. He looks at him in the eyes maybe the same amount of time but now, the positive feelings can be seen in his eyes. He is delighted when Hannibal tells him about his radiance, his eyes light up, his little smile is genuine. He likes Hannibal and he notices he might very well be feeling other things as well. So he catches himself and stops smiling, sort of reminding himself he is not allowed to like Hannibal, but he doesn't seem to like that restriction.

I currently have two scenes to write (one is almost done) and four scenes to revise before The Dinner Scene.

After that I have four scenes to edit and one to write.

So.

When I start wailing about having to rewrite the dinner scene and why did I do this to myself and what was I thinking, you know how far I've got and how much further I have to go.