#hannibal reflection

[cunn1ngboy]

I want to discuss Will and Hannibal

Or a reflection-summary on kinning, their relationship and natures.

Thought it might be useful to explain my point of view on them.

Kinning and Conjoiness

Many people view Hannibal and Will as pretty similar characters-you kin one, you automatically somewhat kin the other. I won't argue with that, they are indeed similar-at many points, even. BUT

They are conjoined. Together they create a full picture, their similarities make them understand each other, relate-for example, sharing worldviews or mind itself. From the other side, their opposites, or simply different characteristics work like a puzzle of two pieces, many connections which improve the strength of the hold.

A good way of expressing that I find the deleted scene from the season 3 final-where Will and Hannibal sit in that very church, coping one another's pose, yet they wear different clothes-black and white, but they share the sun, the view. They mirror each other, which shows their relation, yet they don't just copy-opposites which are the same, the paradox which follows them through the whole show.

Love and Consuming

One of the biggest opposites of their persons are their view on love and the crave of consuming.

The view on Hannibal from this very part is explained and throughfully reflected on by my friend, the point of Will's view is my thoughts, put in the box of theirs way to formulate.

Hannibal

Hannibal wants to consume-he craves it, but what does consuming actually mean at this point? It means to fully understand, perhaps for some people even controll, though I'd argue about Hannibal being one of them-not throughfully for sure. (He does controll Will, his becoming, he manipulates, but later Will starts to controll and manipulate back. We will come back to this.) It means to know, accept fully, to see. But after he consumed, maybe not wholly-he got consumed back. He doesn't expect that in the slightest-that explains his reactions on Will's obsence, how much he underestimates his love and need for Will-he got consumed, conjoined even, or started to be there and then.

Will

Will, from the other side, wants to be consumed. He wants to loose himself in Hannibal, loose himself in this connection, become one. He is ready to accept and understand, and with Hannibal and his will to consume and be accepted it is a perfect match, that is why they are so great for each other. Later, after he is somewhat consumed, Will bites back: Hannibal underestimated that when you consume, you are vournerable, and he simply acted back. Will manipulated and gained control on Hannibal just as he did to him. They conjoined, just had different pathes of coming to this state.

[cunn1ngboy]

im living and breathing these analysis

i'll write a proper long post about this thats more detailed eventually, but another deliberate way hannibal manipulated will in s1 is by blurring the lines between their therapy sessions conversations about will's emotions and killers' emotions/motivations.

for example:

will is frantic and traumatized by his hallucination of killing the girl that georgia madchen killed in 1x10. hannibal responds to that, then relates will's experience to the killers experience. uses the word delusion as a bridge. this prompts will to dig further into the killer's head. while he's responding, will is closing his eyes and staring off into the distance, as if he is seeing what the killer is seeing. then, using the word lonely as a bridge, he brings the subject back to will.

hannibal does this constantly.

even in episode two, the second time they had ever been alone in hannibal's office together, hannibal does this.

will is frantic and traumatized from his hallucination of hobbs in the grave of one of the mushroom garden people. hannibal just barely talks him down from it, then instantly changes the subject to the killer. forcing will back into the killer's head. then changes the topic to will again. blurring the lines between them, again, and again, and again.

[honeygrahambitch]

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[talktonytome]

I know the running joke and subject of many, many memes is that Will gets away with rudeness or is Hannibal’s exception, but here’s the thing, Will isn’t rude, not really. He becomes defensive or delivers little jabs only when people cross his boundaries or were rude to him first. He is someone who has always tried to make himself smaller, unnoticeable and has a hard time interacting with people. He’s not comfortable with anyone. Until Hannibal. Hannibal sets the tone for their relationship by kinda barging into Will’s life (like showing up at his hotel) and mind. Will is so receptive because Hannibal really sees him. He not only “excuses” Will’s quirks, but he’s absolutely thrilled that Will is comfortable with him, lets him in enough, and makes space for himself in Hannibal’s life, e.g. roaming around his office, touching Hannibal’s things, sitting on his desk, casually throwing his things onto his couch, chair, inquiring about who Hannibal keeps company with, etc

[devouringbodies]

Hannibal Lecter was in his late 40s when he finally found the love of his life and even then waited like 7 years for his ass to finally come around so there is still hope and love is real and it will happen to me and it will happen to you.

[suchawrathfullamb]

Bet On It is very Will Graham

[ozonecologne]

having a hannigram moment

[ghostdrinkssoup]

idk how controversial this is but I’m actually such a big fan of s3a. it’s the exact kind of phantasmagorical bullshit that makes me kick my feet and grin like a fool. the whole show goes haywire and completely abandons the generic structure of the police procedural, and it totally gets away with it because at this point the narrative has unravelled so much that the show can safely let go of whatever conformity it was barely hanging onto in s2b. and on a metafictional level the shift in external genre strangely parallels the progression of the two main characters: just as will and hannibal have changed each other, the show too has revealed its true nature

[cannibalovers]

so guys what's ur knife of choice this year:3

(click alt for description)

[beachballlz]

Why is will graham always so fine (excluding norton)

[thesilliest-littlefella]

i hit them with the ponification beam

[cartsandhorses]

Franklyn’s introduction being “please” and Jack mistaking him for Hannibal…

[craqueluring]

NBC's Hannibal, The Wrath of the Lamb 3x13 / Poppy Z. Brite, Exquisite Corpse

"You are alone, because you are unique" "I'm as alone as you are"

[belascrypt]

gods saddest, craziest, and silliest lil meow meow [will graham, hannibal (2013)]

first art post on here !! if any of yall like this, pls lemme know !

[horrorknife]

just realized that abigail is to will what clarice's lamb was to her. fuck everything!!!!! FUCK EVERYTHING ("and you think if you save poor catherine, you could make them stop, don't you? you think if catherine lives, you won't wake up in the dark ever again to that awful screaming of the lambs.")

[decidedly-not-heterosexual]

Do you Will changed Hannibal more than Hannibal changed Will? I ask this because Hannibal got Will to open up his person suit after s2 but Will made Hannibal so much more human especially in s3 . That man went to prison for the first time, he took a bullet for someone, he made a human heart, did a massacre for Will 😭😭😭

Hi Anon!

Yes, I totally think Will changed Hannibal more than Hannibal changed Will.

At the start of the show, Will enjoys killing, doesn't admit it to himself, and doesn't want to be a killer.

At the end of the show, Will enjoys killing, does admit it to himself. and doesn't want to be a killer.

By the end Will has killed for pleasure when unnecessary (and defiled corpses, lmao). Yet Will still doesn't want to be a killer. He's partially submitted to his nature, but he kills himself and Hannibal rather than embracing his full "becoming.

I agree with the interpretation outlined in this delicious meta post. Will's internal conflict is about him enjoying killing and being capable of killing innocents, yet not wanting to be a killer.

Hannibal, meanwhile, has prized his freedom and artistry above all else. He's always been chaotic and risk-taking. But he truly cares about Will, like he truly cares about Mischa. These are the two people who change him, whether or not he admits it to himself. (By saying "I love Will. I have to eat him," Hannibal admits that the change is too big and terrifying for Hannibal. Hannibal has to love Will in a way that Hannibal understands).

*Note that I've only seen the show once so I'm sure there are aspects I've missed that would impact this question.

Thank you for the question!!