In an upcoming episode of the CBS series Clarice, FBI agent Clarice Starling finds herself back in the well initially introduced in the 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs. A police procedural with elements of psychological horror, the new show takes place in 1993, a year after the events in The Silence of the Lambs. The first season follows Clarice in Washington, D.C., as she investigates serial killers in the field, with Rebecca Breeds playing the titular character.
The original film, which featured a breakout role by Jodie Foster, focused on Starling as an FBI trainee who joins the search for a notorious murderer called “Buffalo Bill,” who skins his female victims. While pursuing the gruesome case, she attempts to glean knowledge and information from Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), an intelligent psychiatrist imprisoned for cannibalistic killings. Clarice discovers the terrifying well where Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine) keeps his captured victims during a search. The CBS remake, which primarily traces Clarice’s attempts to move on from the film's events, has worked to illustrate the previously unrevealed aspects of her personal life story.
As reported by Bloody Disgusting, a new episode of Clarice will center on Starling’s return to the well, which was made infamous by Buffalo Bill. In recently-released images of the fifth chapter, “Get Right with God,” Clarice can be seen standing, wide-eyed, in the stone enclosure. Seemingly dressed in a hospital gown, she stares up above, clutching the walls of the well in fear. The episode description offers a summary of the latest events:
“Clarice is drugged and confined to a hospital bed by a serial killer in the medical profession. With her team unaware of her location, Clarice endures physical torture and is dosed with drugs that cause her to experience intense hallucinations.”
The CBS spinoff, which premiered in early February, has introduced several references to The Silence of the Lambs. Clarice struggles with unresolved trauma related to the violence she experienced in the film. Currently, she has begun hallucinating the moths she first discovered in Buffalo Bill’s home. Before he was apprehended, the serial killer nurtured a nest of moths, which he then placed in his victims' throats. A part of ViCAP, the FBI’s Violent Criminals Apprehension Program, Special Agent Starling must find a way to confront a past that haunts her to succeed at her job.
Clarice has strained to find its narrative footing throughout its debut season, garnering mixed responses from both viewers and critics. Convoluted industry bureaucracy, mostly related to studio rights, has prevented the show from featuring or mentioning Hannibal Lecter. Moreover, the series has altered vital aspects of Starling’s backstory, establishing a story that is both about the beloved character from The Silence of the Lambs and, strangely, not about her. Of course, any television adaptation must rework certain aspects of a film that no longer translate smoothly onto a serialized piece. As a result, there is still a level of intrigue tied to seeing where the show will choose to go on its hunt for the grisliest kind of serial killers.
Source: Bloody Disgusting