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Name: Silas
DW username: capriciously_wayward
E-Mail: capriciously.wayward@gmail.com
IM: AIM - brobdignagian713
Plurk: worldwanderer
Other Characters: N/A

Character Name: Frederick Chilton
Series: NBC's Hannibal
Timeline: 2x07: "Yakimono"
Canon Resource Link:
The show in general
Frederick Chilton

Character History:
Not a lot is known about Frederick Chilton's past. Not because he's ~*so mysterious*~ that the lack of a backstory somehow adds to his character as a whole, no, the reason we know so little about Chilton is because no one likes him enough to inquire about it, and he doesn't freely offer up the information. However, what we do know about Chilton is this:

• He's the head of the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane.
• He consulted with the FBI on the case of the Chesapeake Ripper before the series started.
• He has the same profile as Hannibal Lecter.

Since we do know Hannibal's past, we can infer that Chilton's academic life after college was similar, if not identical, to that of Hannibal's. Minus the serial killing and the cannibalism, of course.

What this means is that Chilton does have some surgical experience. It's likely that he'd originally intended on becoming a surgeon, and he practiced long enough to get the general know-how, and maybe even performed a few surgeries of his own. Then, for whatever reason, he quit and became a psychiatrist instead, focusing not on the common mind, but on abnormalities and those of the criminally insane. He then worked his way up the chain until he became the head of the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, and became well known enough in the field that Jack Crawford, head of the Behavioral Science Unit of the FBI, asked him to do a profile of the Chesapeake Ripper on the Ripper's last series of murders before the series started. Whatever contributions Chilton might have made was to no avail, as the Ripper remains uncaught when the series begins.

When Dr. Chilton is first introduced, it quickly becomes clear that he cares more about the prestige that comes with having well-known, high-profile patients than anything else, shown by Chilton being ostensibly more focused on Will Graham than the reason he called the FBI to his hospital in the first place. He claims Will is "quite the topic of conversation in psychiatric circles."

Jack: He's not here to be analysed.
Chilton: Perhaps he should be. We are woefully short on material on your sort of... thing, Mr. Graham. Would you mind speaking to some of the staff?
Jack: Doctor--
Chilton: No, no, no. Not this trip. Maybe a special visit.

But Will refuses to put up with any of Chilton's nonsense, and demands to get down to business. The reason Chilton called up Jack and Will? One of his patients, Dr. Abel Gideon, has killed a nurse. No big deal, that's probably the kind of thing that happens fairly regularly in a hospital for the criminally insane, right? So what makes this murder special enough to get the FBI involved? Gideon has killed the nurse in the exact same way the Chesapeake Ripper killed his last known victim. You can find a picture of it here, but, like. It's not pretty. Since the specifics of the Ripper killings weren't made public, Chilton assumes that the reason the Ripper has been silent for the past two years was because he had him in his hospital. After all, Gideon was admitted around the same time. The timing makes sense.

Will might have some doubts about the whole thing, but Chilton sure doesn't, and corrects anyone who might say otherwise,

Will: The Chesapeake Ripper is methodical, meticulous... that's why he's so hard to catch.
Chilton: Was so hard to catch.

Chilton even toasts Gideon being the Ripper, when he's dining with Hannibal Lecter and Alana Bloom, gloating that he now has the "singular opportunity to analyze a pure sociopath." and that "It is so rare to find one in captivity."

During dinner, however, Alana accuses Chilton of psychic driving -- that Chilton may have used coercive thinking in order to persuade Gideon into thinking he's the Chesapeake Ripper when he's really not. And, although Chilton admits that he had discussed the Ripper's murders with Gideon previous to him killing the nurse, his only real rebuttal to the accusation is him weakly pointing out that "psychic driving is unethical."

Hannibal, however, using his murder senses to tell that Chilton had obviously used psychic driving, actually comes to Chilton's defense. Hannibal claims that psychic driving might be useful in certain cases, but Gideon seems to have become aware of his true identity all on his own. He then ushers Chilton into the kitchen under the pretense of preparing desert in order to tell Chilton that, if he were him, he would have used psychic driving, and that he is much more forgiving of the unorthodox and the unethical than Alana is.

A few days later, Chilton is dining with Hannibal alone. Chilton seems to have taken Hannibal's words to heart, for he doesn't bother hiding what he did to Gideon, admitting that he thought psychic driving would have been more successful in breaking down Gideon's personality. But Hannibal chides Chilton, who is paying close attention to Hannibal's words, and tells him that he'd been too obvious, too transparent in his attempts, and that then Gideon noticed he was being pushed, he pushed back. Hannibal also claims that Chilton isn't the only psychiatrist at the table having been accused by a patient of making them commit murder. Chilton then asks for advice,

Chilton: What would you do in my position?
Hannibal: Deny everything.

And deny everything Chilton does, for it turns out that Abel Gideon is suing Chilton for his attempt at psychic driving. However, before they can make it to court, Gideon kills the two attendants watching over him and makes his escape. Will and Alana confront Chilton about the ordeal, since Chilton was the last person to see Gideon before his escape.

Alana and Chilton play a bit of the Blame Game, "You were unethically manipulating him!" "You were unethically manipulating him into thinking I was unethically manipulating him!" But no matter what Alana says, Chilton stands firm in his resolution of Gideon as the Ripper, even going so far as to say that he didn't force Gideon into thinking he was a serial killer, he just reminded him that he was one. But Alana doesn't care if he's the Ripper or not, she's more concerned that Gideon is very likely to kill someone in his struggle to figure out who he is.

Chilton: I hope he does not, for your sake. Can not imagine how you would sleep with that on your shoulders.
Alana: How did you sleep when Gideon killed your nurse?

This actually seems to affect Chilton, because he stops playing games and says, quite plainly, that the last thing Gideon said to him was that he intends on telling the world that he is the Chesapeake Ripper.

Gideon uses his new found freedom to drug and kidnap Chilton, taking him as well as Freddy Lounds, a tabloid journalist, to an abandoned observatory. There, Gideon decides he's going to rip out several of Chilton's organs and then leave them as a giftbasket for the Actual Chesapeake Ripper. He plans on doing this while Chilton is still awake under a local anesthetic, just to see the look on Chilton's face. His reasoning for this? "You got inside my mind, it's only fair I get inside your belly."

And then he does. Gideon cuts Chilton open, and starts taking out his organs, putting them in a pan, even going so far as to show Chilton his own insides, and slapping Chilton awake with a bloodied glove when he starts to pass out.

By the time the FBI get there, Gideon has peaced out, Freddy Lounds is manually pumping air into Chilton's lungs, and Chilton is laying strapped on an examination table, literally holding himself together. All in all, it's not a good day for Frederick Chilton. Jack Crawford calls for medical, and they take him to the hospital, where doctors spend the rest of the night sewing Chilton up in a miraculous recovery. He's missing a kidney, and he now requires a cane to walk, but he's alive.

While Chilton is undergoing physical therapy and being told about his brand new vegan one-kidney'd lifestyle, Will Graham is busy being arrested for all of Hannibal's crimes. By the time Chilton is ready to go back to work, he's got a brand new patient, and he can't wait to figure out how Will Graham works.

Unfortunately, for Chilton, Will refuses to speak to him during any of their sessions, instead opting to daydream while Chilton is taking.

Chilton: You are in my hospital. You're my patient now, Will.
Will: I'm not talking to you Frederick. I want to talk to Dr. Lecter.

Fortunately, Chilton gets around this problem quite easily. You see, Chilton has the whole hospital bugged, and so he can listen in on just about any conversation anyone is having at any time. The only exception being the Privacy Room, the only room in the facility Chilton is not legally allowed to monitor. And so he listens in on Will when he speaks to Alana and Jack and Hannibal and Beverly.

However, that doesn't keep him from complaining about the situation during dinners with Hannibal, bemoaning that Will should be a prized patient, if only he would give Chilton something to work with. He then informs Hannibal all about Will's meeting with Alana Bloom, in what I'm sure is a breach in doctor-patient confidentiality. But Chilton and Hannibal are Unethical BFFs, so I mean, what could go wrong? He tells Hannibal that Alana attempted to hypnotize Will in order to regain some of his memories, and that he tells everyone that Hannibal is a monster.

Hannibal's only response? "Well, in that case, you're dining with a psychopathic murderer, Frederick." Chilton grins and toasts to that. Oh, the dramatic irony.

Since Will has been accused of murder in the nth degree, his court date quickly arrives. And guess who gets to give testimony, yep, it's Chilton. He is smug the entire time, claiming himself to be the only one who has objectively studied Will Graham and the crimes of which he is committed. He explains that Will, as the Chesapeake Ripper, is methodical, driven by vanity and his own superior intelligence, would kill again if given the opportunity, and only helped the FBI catch killers to prove himself smarter and better, and that saving lives is just as arousing as ending them.

He is 100% right, about everything, about the Chesapeake Ripper. Down to the last detail, he has the Ripper's psychological mind pinned down. It's simply that Will Graham is not the Chesapeake Ripper.

Back in the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, Will proposes a deal with Chilton. Will gives Chilton permission to test him, all of the tests, any of the tests -- something Will had been against from the very start -- in exchange for Chilton keeping his mouth shut about everything Will Graham related to Hannibal Lecter. And with a deal like that, how can he refuse?

Cut to Chilton in Will's cell, ready to test him. Because now that he has Will's permission, he's not going to waste another second before diving into the mind of Will Graham. He gives Will a dose of sodium amythal, a non-wizard version of Veritaserum, unless Chilton has been a Harry Potter wizard this whole time. Either way, it'll keep Will from lying during the session. Chilton administers the drug that will help Will recover his memories, and when those memories are recovered, Will's got some pretty shocking news.

Turns out that Hannibal has been inducing the seizures that Will had been having. Using light therapy and Will's encephalitis, Hannibal was able to strategically worsen Will's condition until he eventually spiraled out of control and was plausibly able to take the fall for Hannibal's crimes.

When Chilton sees Hannibal next, he confronts Hannibal about it, accusing him of psychic driving. Hannibal, of course, denies everything. Chilton finds that quite suspicious, and he's hurt that his Unethical BFF is off having Unethical Fun Times and not sharing the details, so Chilton throws Hannibal's own words back into his face,

Chilton: I have been thinking about the possibility that you may have been psychic driving Will Graham all along.
Hannibal: A bold accusation, Frederick.
Chilton: You are not the only psychaitrist accused of making a patient kill. We have to stick together.

The next session between Will and Chilton is after Beverly is murdered. Will is obviously distraught over her death and is plainly grieving throughout the session. Chilton is surprisingly sympathetic, keeping his tone soft, despite Will's attempts to needle him. When Will reveals that his last conversation with her had been about the Ripper, and then she had gone and found him, Chilton gets a little jolt of realization. Psychopaths are indifferent to those sort of setbacks, he says and, for the first time, begins to speak of the Chesapeake Ripper as someone other than Will Graham.

Will and Chilton's conversation turn to Gideon, who Chilton had so determinedly believed was the Ripper but, now by his own admission, apparently is not. Where had Gideon gone after he gutted Chilton? He went and found the Ripper, of course.

Will: Gideon knows who the Ripper is.
Chilton: I suppose you do, too.
Will: Wouldn't it be interesting if we both said it was the same man?
Chilton: Yes it would.

Spurred on by the idea that he might get the recognition and prestige of being the only person who successfully figured out the identity of the elusive Chesapeake Ripper, he transfers Abel Gideon back into his hospital, and right into the vicinity of Will Graham, listening to every single word that the two of them share. The official story, of course, is that Chilton brought Gideon back to his hospital in an attempt to help Will regain his memories. After all, Will has no memory of shooting Gideon. At least, that's what he tells Dr. Lector, when the two of them meet up next. Helping Will regain what Hannibal helped him lose, he all but says. But two can play at that game, and Hannibal now wishes to speak to Gideon. Chilton, of course, listens to every word they say, especially when the topic turns to himself.

Gideon: And I see now why Chilton both revers you.. and resents you. Esteem in psychaitric circles still eludes him, yet it clings to you like soap to a baby's eyes. He very much wants to be you.
Hannibal: He should be more careful what he wishes for.

And dramatic irony strikes again!

But Chilton listening to every word Gideon says finally pays off when Gideon recounts what happened the night Chilton got disemboweled. Purposely speaking loud enough for Chilton's microphones to catch every single word, Gideon explains how he walked into Hannibal's dining room (which he describes perfectly) asked Hannibal if he was the Ripper, Hannibal avoided the question and instead suggested he kill Alana Bloom.

Chilton takes this recording with him all the way to Jack's office, and the two of them discuss the possibility of Hannibal being the Ripper and being a cannibal, Jack unbelieving, and Chilton with the air of a man who has just put all the pieces together. He fits the profile, Chilton points out. It would be narrow not to at least consider it. He even makes cannibal puns!

Chilton: Hannibal once served me tongue and made a joke about eating mine.

Chilton: The Romans use to kill flamingos just to eat their tongues.
Hannibal: Don't give me ideas. Your tongue is very fiesty. (01x06)

Jack considers it, and takes a visit to Gideon in person. However, when Gideon and Jack are face to face, Gideon denies everything. He claims Chilton told him what Hannibal's dining room looked like, and that Chilton told Gideon to play along with Will Graham's delusions. Jack leaves with Gideon's parting words, "You've got the right box there, Jack. But you're looking in the wrong corner."

After Gideon fails to tell Jack anything useful, the guards escort him back to his cell, but Gideon can't keep from gloating over his murder of the nurse and the two attendance. The guards get mad and end up breaking his back, sending him to the hospital. The next morning, the guard keeping watch over Gideon is dead, killed by the Chesapeake Ripper, and Gideon is missing.

But hey, so what if the Chesapeake Ripper is killing again? By sheer and utter coincidence, Hannibal Lecter is throwing a dinner party. Chilton makes an appearance but fully intends on avoiding Hannibal himself. Instead, he sticks next to Jack. The two of them discuss "Hannibal the Cannibal" and the incident with Gideon earlier that day. Amused by Chilton's antics, Jack asks him why is he even here if he suspects Hannibal to be the Ripper and partaking in cannibalism. Darwinism, Chilton explains. He doesn't want Hannibal think he suspects him or anything. He doesn't want to be perceived as a threat.





He's about a subtle as a house on fire.

The next day, Will Graham is released from prison. Through one of his recent victims, the Chesapeake Ripper has admitted to all of the murders of which Will Graham is accused. Thus, Will has no basis to be kept locked up and is let go. Chilton is very nervous about this. Will suggest he go to Jack and confess that he and Hannibal are Unethical BFFs, because Chilton is the next person Hannibal has set his sights on.

Chilton: Are you suggesting I kill my career before Hannibal can kill me?
Will: I'm suggesting you convince Jack Crawford however you can. Like your life depends on it.

Chilton does go to Jack, but it's not to confess. Instead, he offers his services on the Ripper case, "pro bono, of course." He's helped in previous Ripper cases, this isn't any different. Jack accuses him of having an agenda this time around, which, uh, duh. His only agenda is staying alive. Jack asks him what he has to offer, and Chilton is completely willing to use Will as a witness, since he is no longer a suspect.

Chilton: We have had remarkable success recovering memory. He remembers so much of what was done to him.
Jack: Why hasn't Will told me this himself?
Chilton: Because you told him his memories were meaningless.

Jack: You've recovered a memory?
Will: Yes.
Jack: That's meaningless. (02x01)

Jack doesn't seem too pleased with having his own words thrown into his face, so Chilton switches tactics. Miriam Lass, a trainee of Jack's who had long been thought to be killed by the Ripper, had been discovered to be alive. Chilton desperately jumps onto the subject of Miriam, saying that since he recovered memories from Will, he can do the same to Miriam, and they can find the real identity of the Ripper. But Chilton touched Jack's last nerve and he simply walks out with a, "Miriam Lass is not your patient, Doctor."

Meanwhile, Team Science is in the labs, going over the Ripper's victim for any clues. What they found was a partial fingerprint of Hannibal Lecter and two chemicals: sodium amythal and scopolamine in Miriam's blood. Both chemicals are ones Chilton used on Will Graham and Abel Gideon. Jack reflects on Gideon's last words, "You're in the right box, but you're looking in the wrong corner." and puts together in his head that Chilton is the Ripper.

Ignorant of this recent development, Chilton is just arriving in his big white empty house at the end of the day. As he sets his keys and ipad on the counter he begins to hear a beep......... beep......... beep from somewhere within the house. Now, if I were Dr. Chilton, and I knew Hannibal was going after me next, and I arrived home to find my house beeping, I would have gotten out of my house as fast as possible. Chilton, however, remembers he's in a horror genre TV show and decides to investigate.

He does downstairs, past his expensive and impressive looking wine storage area, and into his guest room where Abel Gideon lays, his arms and legs cut off, various parts of him placed around the room. Chilton rightfully freaks out and runs up the stairs, only to trip over bags strategically placed at the top of the stairs. As Chilton struggles to get up without his cane, he hears,

Hannibal: Hello, Frederick.
Chilton: Oh my god.

Standing right in front of him is Hannibal Lecter, in a plastic suit of murder, calm and collected as can be. There's a knock on the door, which Hannibal unworriedly announces as the FBI. Chilton tries to make a break for the door, but he's too slow, and Hannibal grabs him, drugging him with chloroform and telling him, "When you wake up, your only choice will be to run."

Which Chilton wakes in his living room, he's got a knife in one hand, a gun in the other, and he's covered in blood. There's a trail of blood leading to the kitchen, and he takes the gun, slowly limping his way over. His kitchen is full of blood, and here are the two FBI agents who knocked on the door, dead. One of them is disemboweled, exactly the same way Gideon did to Chilton, and the other is killed, exactly how Gideon killed the nurse from before. "Your only choice will be to run," Hannibal said, and that's exactly what Chilton does.

He runs all the way to Will Grahahm's house. After all, Will's the only other person who knows what it's like to be framed by Hannibal. Will lets him in, lets him get cleaned up and, as Chilton is repacking the bags that Hannibal ever so thoughtfully packed for him, he's freaking out. He convinces himself to flee the country, despite Will calmly and disinterestedly telling him it's a bad idea.

But before Chilton can flee anywhere else, Jack Crawford pulls up in Will's driveway, having been called there by Will. Chilton pulls the gun Hannibal so thoughtfully gave him on Will, shouting out "No, no, no!" like it's the only word he can physically say, but Will just looks at him and straight up tells him that he's not a killer before turning his back on Chilton.

And Will was right. Chilton's not a killer. Because he doesn't shoot Will. Instead, he turns and runs. He runs right out of Will's back door and into the surrounding forest. Jack gives chase, easily catching up to him, pulling a gun on him and Chilton surrenders, hands in the air with a "Please." But Jack doesn't take the shot. He lowers his gun, because the Ripper wouldn't give up that easily.

But he can't ignore the evidence, so he takes Chilton back to the academy, and processes him. Team Science go over his belongings, and he stutters out an, "I need to speak to Will Graham." But he doesn't get a chance to speak to Will Graham. Instead, they put in him a room with Alana Bloom, with Jack and Miriam Lass behind the one-way wall.

Miriam identifies Chilton as the Chesapeake Ripper, breaking down as she hears him tonelessly speak. Jack pulls her close, but she grabs the gun off of his belt and shoots Chilton in the face. His survival is unknown.

Abilities/Special Powers:
Much to his regret, Chilton is nothing more than an everyday normal human. He has no supernatural abilities or powers. Unless you count his ability to be a horrible person with little redeeming qualities to be supernatural, in which case, yes, there is one thing.

He does, however, have a prolific knowledge of psychiatry, enough to be considered a "doctor of note," and enough for the FBI to ask him to consult on cases. He also has a passing knowledge of surgical know-how, and how to successfully run a mental institution.

Third-Person Sample:
Pain.

The first thing Chilton recognizes upon regaining consciousness is the extreme amounts of pain engulfing him. He's used to waking with a bit of pain, the scar that from his sternum to his abdomen pulling tight and unhappy at his continued mobility despite the use of a cane, but it's never anything more than he can handle. This pain, on the other hand, is not located on his chest, but rather his face and his neck and really, every single part of him above his shoulders throbs with an intensified pain.

What on Earth happened to him?

He prides himself at his memory. His ability to recall things others had said with perfect precision, and utilizing the opportune moment to act on those things. That's why he has his entire facility bugged. The Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane practically vibrates with opportunities, and he doesn't intend on missing even a single one.

But it takes him a minute or so to bring up the memory of what happened, and what might have caused such a pulsing in his skull, and more than anything else, it's how long it takes for him to remember that his him slightly worried. But then he pulls the memory from his mind -- and is this how Will Graham felt, some distant part of him wonders, when you pumped him full of sodium amythal and then sat back and watched the expressions fly across his face?

But then he remembers and all other thoughts cease while he's temporarily caught in the moment of having the bullet crash into the glass of the one-way mirror and slam into his left cheek, full force, and his head gives a sympathetic throb in remembrance. All at once, his eyes fly open and a gasp is wrenched from his mouth and the pain does nothing but increase tenfold, but he doesn't care because he's alive, alive alive and, for one blissful second, that's the only thing in the world that matters.

First-Person Sample:
[ Chilton does not show up on the network the second he arrives in Wonderland. Instead, he takes his time to look around, to read the brochure that was thoughtfully placed on the table beside him, and to go through the various many posts already made on the network.

When he finally does make an appearance, he's as calm and dignified as ever, sitting behind a desk, wearing a three-piece suite. ]

Wonderland. [ He makes a disapproving sound in the back of his throat, shaking his head slightly and tapping on the desk in a vain attempt to hid his uneasiness. ] If it weren't so implausible for so many people to share in the same delusion, I would assume this is nothing more than a folie à plusieurs. [ He huffs. ] As it is, I'm not entirely convinced this isn't some fevered dream I'm experiencing.

[ But there was a reason he made this post to the network, and Chilton can diagnose the collective psyche of Wonderland some later time. He turns his head back to the communicator, face serious. ]

I am looking for a man by the name of Will Graham. If you see him, please inform him I require his services. My name is Dr. Frederick Chilton.

[ And with a nod that's about as much as a "thanks" as you're going to get, he ends the feed. ]