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Hannibal s1e2,e6 (2013) | Another Round (2020)

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the tables are turning

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you ever love someone so intensely that it hurts to think about how useless you are to them? i wish i could give you everything, but i’m a speck in this world and nothing i can offer can quantify what you mean to me. it is not romantic. it is a deep-rooted desperation to uplift you, vanish your pain, and provide you companionship. i could say “i love you,” but three words cannot withhold the ache in my heart when i think of you.

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Episode 02X05,

Matthew 27:3-5

3 When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders.

4 “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.”

“What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”

5 So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

(Judas Hanging by Giovanni Canavesio, 1492)

In episode five, titled Mukozuke, the audience is presented the pseudo-crucifixion of Hannibal, as set up by asylum orderly Matthew Brown. The dialogue and imagery that occurs between the two not only highlights the biblical parallels in the show, but also spotlights the following question: Who is playing God in the show?

Brown says to Hannibal, “Judas had the decency to hang himself in his shame and betrayal, but I thought you needed help.” Comparing Hannibal to Judas reverses the role of Hannibal that we have seen throughout season 1 and 2. Hannibal usually authors the story in that he manipulates, twists, and controls the story line and the narratives of the character’s lives, most exemplified by his relationship with Will. He acts like Jesus or God and makes Will follow him like an apostle, similar to Judas. Hannibal’s ability to put himself two steps ahead of everybody else and commit actions far beyond the audience’s understanding, or the characters for that matter, gives him an impenetrable power, a force that cannot be reckoned with by anyone. However, in this seen, the audience sees the vulnerability of his power and his ability to control the storyline. Will has taken control as author and forced Hannibal to bow to his control. Will now plays God, forcing Hannibal into the position of Judas. Hannibal must now pay for his sins against Will through death. Like Judas though, Hannibal before he is about to die confesses to Will’s innocence as if Brown is one of the chief priests or elders.

The reversal of roles adds intricacy and mystery to the theme of truth that has been running throughout season two. God is seen as an omniscient power, the knower of all truth. Will and Hannibal are battling to convince their colleagues and outsiders whose truth is the actual truth in order to play God and once again control the narratives of their lives. Hannibal’s confession relinquishes his power to Will as he has now given Will’s truth validation, thus symbolically giving him the ability to control the narrative. However, this battle of biblical proportions between the two will continue because Hannibal, unlike Judas, survives the hanging, thus meaning Hannibal still has an opportunity to take back the power that he has so long had. The fate of Hannibal’s and Will’s life lays in the hands of the other. Who will “win” in the end is a question that seems   almost impossible to answer in the moment. 

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you are making me uneasy you make me want to scream i wish i was a dumb pop star so the words wouldn’t matter to you