Hannibal season 1 episode 6 introduced new serial killer Dr. Abel Gideon, who is a major callback to the movie series. It was The Silence Of The Lambs movie that made Hannibal Lecter a horror icon, though Brian Cox had previously played the role in Michael Mann's 1986 thriller Manhunter. The Silence Of The Lambs featured impeccable performances, direction, and a tight screenplay, and it went on to become a huge success. Anthony Hopkins' take on Hannibal had audiences demanding more, though they'd have to wait nearly a decade.
Author Thomas Harris spent years writing the next novel Hannibal, which sees the escaped cannibal being hunted down by a vengeful former patient and pursued by Clarice Starling once more. Jodie Foster declined to return for the film after reportedly disliking the book, with Julianne Moore taking over. While Hannibal is a delightfully trashy, big-budget horror movie and was another hit, it received mixed reviews from fans and critics. Hopkins would return once more for prequel Red Dragon but despite an impressive cast it faltered in comparison to Manhunter. Hopkins later ruled out any kind of return as Hannibal and expressed regret about reprising the part for both Hannibal and Red Dragon.
NBC's Hannibal series would eventually tackle the Red Dragon story arc in season 3, but rights issues prevented the show from reinventing The Silence Of The Lambs or using Clarice Starling. The series found its own way of paying homage to the 1991 movie with Hannibal season 1 episode 6 "Entrée," which introduced Dr. Abel Gideon (Eddie Izzard). Gideon was a surgeon charged with murder and in the episode's opening, he brutally kills a nurse and claims he's a serial killer known as The Chesapeake Ripper, a killer who displayed their victims in gruesome ways.
Of course, Hannibal season 1 episode 6 reveals it was actually Lecter who acted as the Ripper, and he's none too happy about someone else taking credit. Dr. Gideon is an intentional callback to Hopkins' take on Hannibal, with the character being a good deal more theatrical and verbose. The episode has visual callbacks to The Silence Of The Lambs too, including Gideon's cell, and it even mirrors the character of Clarice with missing FBI trainee Miriam Lass (Anna Chlumsky), who appears in flashback.
Hannibal season 1 episode 6 mostly focuses on Will and Alana investigating both Gideon and Dr. Chilton's belief that he really is the Chesapeake Ripper. While the timeline more or less checks out, Will and Alana start to think the idea was unintentionally implanted by Chilton during therapy sessions. A big subplot also involves Jack's guilt over Miriam Lass, as he plucked her from training to work on the Ripper case. They developed a warm mentor/student relationship and he's haunted by her disappearance.
Throughout Hannibal season 1 episode 6 Jack receives mysterious, panicked phone calls from her, and her severed arm is eventually recovered from an abandoned observatory. Jack confides in Hannibal about his feelings about both his dying wife Bella and Miriam's disappearance, but the final flashback shows her arriving at Hannibal's office to follow up on a Ripper lead, only to discover proof it's him. Hannibal sneaks up and subdues her before she can react, leaving her fate unknown... for now.