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adrianlikesdinos · 3 months

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so. I've been meaning to do a deep dive analysis into the symbolism behind the flowers the Ripper uses in the episode Futamono for awhile now. buckle up yall. here it goes.

In the episode it is brought up that all three of the flowers used (white oleander, belladonna, and ragwort) are poisonous. Jack sees this as the Ripper judging his victim to be toxic; However, flowers hold a lot more meaning than what is just seen on a surface level and I am willing to bet money Hannibal, with his attention to detail and culture, is more than aware of these flowers meanings, even far past just their Victorian meanings. And, there is also the placement of these flowers and why what type replaced what organ.

Lets start with the white oleander. Known in the Victorian era as a sign of caution, used as a warning against the complex nature of love and romance, this flower commonly represents love, desire, and seduction. This meaning and its name is said to stem from a Greek myth. A young man, Leander, was trying to woo a woman and he would swim a great length to her every night, but, one night he gets caught in a tempest. His body is discovered after his love goes out looking for him, calling "oh, Leander! oh, Leander!" his dead and drowned body is clutching the flowers. As a symbol of their love, the flowers continue to grow. This myth is important in the context of this Ripper victim because he had been drowned, the water in his lungs being the first hit or tip in the direction of framing Dr. Chilton and freeing Will. This flower, often symbolizing love, seduction and serving as caution to love and its effects, can also give some bit of motive as to why Hannibal is now working to free Will after he was the one to frame him. Hannibal has realized his misses Will, which is evident in the way he sits alone in his office every week at 7:30, and is now trying to win back his favour. Lounds was not his first attempt at courting. There is also meaning in the etymology of this plants name. Some believe the name comes from a mix of rhododendron and olea (olive,) two plants oleander resembles. When mixed with the belief the name come from the greek words ollyo, meaning "i kill," and aner, meaning "man," it gives the impression of a sort of wolf in sheep's clothing that is very similar to Hannibal's "person suit" further connecting Hannibal to this flower personally. It is also important to note the reason behind what flower replaces what organ. This flower replaces the intestines. There is hardly any symbolic meaning behind the placement of this flower except that oleander poisoning causes GI distress that is particularly prominent in animals and causes severe abdominal pain.

Belladonna is very well known for being extremely poisonous, all of its symbolism stems from this fact. The Victorian meaning for this flower is a warning and an omen of death. Its poisonous properties were already discussed in the show so I won't spend time on how its most popular symbolism is Death. The flowers were placed in a dead body. This is a crime show. Omens of death are a Tuesday night. In Homer's the Odyssey, deadly nightshade was used to poison men who landed on Circe's island and turn them into pigs. The addition of this flower implies the Ripper’s belief his victims are nothing more than rude pigs. The piece that stood out to me the most, however, was the flowers use in the Victorian era to dilate pupils because it was seen as attractive and seductive. After extended use, these eye drops would leave women blind. This directly represents what Hannibal is doing to Alana. The episode cuts from Hannibal declaring to Alana he needs to get his appetite back, straight to this victim. in Mizumono when Alana realizes how blind she has been Hannibal is quick to say "in your defence, i worked very hard to blind you." Hannibal prides himself on how effective his manipulations are, the addition of this flower is a blatant brag. a taunt. The effects this plant's poison has on the body are symptoms very similar to those Will suffered from throughout season 1, like headache, confusion, hallucinations, it also disturbs cognitive capacities like memory. In domesticated animals it causes narcosis. What flowers replace what organs is dependent on how that plant affects the body, this flower, however, does not mainly affect the heart and it is not commonly the cause of death when poisoned. The common cause of death is respiratory failure. It would make sense that, because the lungs needed to stay with the body, the Ripper chose to replace the heart instead because the circulatory system supports the respiratory system.

Ragwort, though poisonous, is never really of any danger to humans. It takes quite a lot to kill and because of its unpleasant taste it is hard for humans to build up enough in their system to do any harm. This plant is also very common, seen as a weed in most places. It holds very little symbolic meaning. What is commonly known about this plant is the danger it causes for domestic animals like horses and cows. It is said that if one seed is inhaled by a horse it would kill it. This wives tale is highly exaggerated but wives tales always come from some vein of truth. When this flower grows in pastures it probably won't do much harm if horses eat it, but too much is incredibly damaging. It becomes deadly when this plant mistakenly ends up dried into animal’s hay. It kills by attacking the liver, the organ which this flower replaces. The toxin itself does not affect the body but the broken down product, it destroys DNA and actively kills the liver’s cells. The danger it poses to animals is what creates symbolic meaning in its use. By replacing the liver with this flower it signifies the Ripper's belief that his victims are nothing but livestock. And the flower's lack of symbolism in culture creates a blank canvas for the ripper to paint his own meaning.

so yeah, flowers are really cool. the Ripper is a hopeless romantic. I would say this is a product of too much time on my hands but school has been kicking my ass and this took like 5 days to put together.

I might be doing a part two because during my research for this, a post by @alice-lecter pointed out the flowers actually used are not the ones mentioned when Jack, Zeller, and Price are discussing the body. Because of the use of both narcissus and hyacinth, I am almost certain the flowers actually used hold at least some meaning because of how Greek myth is often used in the show itself (mainly referencing the whole Achilles and Patroclus conversation.) but that is an analysis for another time. :)

#hannibal #nbc hannibal #will graham #hannibal lecter #hannibal nbc #hannibal season 2 #futamono #flowers #flower symbolism #adrian.txt

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moved-to-craqueluring · 2 years

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Futamono & Hanahaki Disease

Okay, so I thought of this the moment I laid eyes on Hannibal's Sheldon Isley flower tree tableau for the first time, and I honestly thought the connection to Hanahaki disease was so obvious that I expected it to be mentioned in the episode, but it never was. I've tried to find if other people have posted about this to no avail (though I severely doubt I am the only one who thought this), so I thought I would make a post about it myself!

Warning: my media literacy & analysis skills are severely underdeveloped, so forgive me if I say anything dumb, wrong, obvious, or if this is just completely incoherent, lol.

WHAT IS HANAHAKI DISEASE?

If you don't know what Hanahaki disease is, it is a fictional disease popularized by a 2009 Japanese manga "Hanahaki Otome" in which a character who is suffering unrequited love coughs up flowers growing from their lungs until it progresses far enough and they die, or their unrequited love turns requited and they are cured.

THE TIMING:

The Sheldon Isley flower tree tableau comes at the beginning of Futamono, almost directly after Hannibal is nearly killed by Matthew Brown (and Will, by proxy) at the end of Mukozuke.

Now, it is made clear in Futamono that Hannibal had been working on Isley's tableau for a while. He was growing specific flowers, it took time to sew him into the tree, he was placed in water with the tree 48 to 72 hours before he died, probably to feed the tree. This made me doubt the Hanahaki connection, as Hannibal had been working on this for probable weeks before Will tried to kill him.

However, at the beginning of the episode, Hannibal is shown in his kitchen talking to Alana while chopping up & skewering a heart (and says "My heart certainly feels skewered"). During this, he states: "Stravinsky said a true composer thinks about his unfinished work the whole time. He's not always conscious of this, but he's aware of it when he suddenly knows what to do."

Will's betrayal (I am hesitant to use this word, but I'll come back to it later) inspired Hannibal to finish and display his unfinished work: Sheldon Isley.

WHY HANAHAKI? PHYSICAL ASPECTS:

Sheldon Isley's body was not only hung on a cherry blossom tree, but the roots and branches were sewn throughout his entire body. Through his heels and out his fingertips. He is bound to his fate, much like Hannibal and Will have become so intertwined in each others' lives and minds, their fates are bound together as well. The fact that the tree is a cherry blossom tree is also significant, as this is a tree that flourishes in Japan, is heavily associated with Japan, and also because many depictions of Hanahaki disease use cherry blossoms as the flowers the victim coughs up.

Sheldon Isley was also drowned, which is another connection to Hanahaki disease. Although he didn't actually die from choking on flowers that were growing in his lungs, he did die from choking on the water that was likely growing the same tree he would be bound to, and the flowers that would replace his organs in Hannibal's tableau.

Additionally, Hannibal took every one of Isley's organs except for his lungs, yet another connection to Hanahaki disease's respiratory nature. Also, kind of ironic, since Isley died from drowning, and his lungs that betrayed him were the only organ he got to keep.

So, from the cherry blossom tree, the flowers replacing all of his organs but his lungs, the fact that he was drowned, and because Hannibal displayed him directly after Will tried to kill him, I feel the possibility that Sheldon Isley's tableau was a reference to Hanahaki disease is quite clear.

But why? The whole foundation of Hanahaki disease is unrequited love. Does Hannibal feel that Will's attempted murder of him is so heartbreaking? Or is there more? I definitely think so. Hannibal follows many different trains of thought at once, after all. I don't think it's plausible that Hannibal was only feeling rejection from Will because of his attempted murder of Hannibal. It's more than that.

WHY HANAHAKI? EMOTIONAL ASPECTS:

I have heavy doubts about how much Hannibal considers Will's "betrayal" (attempting to have Hannibal killed) a betrayal. We know how Hannibal acts when he has been betrayed. He killed Abigail in Mizumono after Will lied to him about his motivations in season 2b. He tried to cut Will's skull open and eat his brain in Dolce after Will pulled a knife on him in the Uffizi gallery (and also because Bedelia convinced him he had to eat Will, but I digress), for gods sake. This.. isn't that. The worst he does in retaliation to Will's attempted murder by proxy is send Randall Tier to kill him in Shiizakana, and I feel like that was barely malicious by Hannibal's standards; it was just another situation to put Will in to drag him even closer to his Becoming. For this reason, I don't think Hannibal was truly feeling heartbreak or rejection just because Will tried to have him killed.

I also have doubts about what he says in regard to Will's actions. I'm still not entirely sure, though, because it's still hard to tell when he's spouting half-truths or just outright lies, lol. He outwardly maintains an air of heartbreak and.. almost grief? afterwards. He tells Jack "I can't help Will. I can't trust him." And after Jack says "He's in a dark place where the shadows move and it's not safe to stand with him anymore," Hannibal replies, "I feel the same way." Hannibal's tone while saying this was sad, probably to manipulate Jack, but on the inside, I think Hannibal could be proud that he can't trust or help will anymore, at least not the same way as before. He's advanced to the next stage of his Becoming. He is happy that Will is in the dark place with the shadows. Will has finally become his equal.. or something close to it, as Hannibal says later, when he visits Will in the BSHCI, "I think you're more in control than you have ever been." He also tells him that "If I was Beverly's murderer, I'd applaud your effort." So, does Hannibal see Will trying to kill him as a betrayal, or a triumph because Will is one step closer to his Becoming? Again, I suspect he is likely following both of those trains of thought at once.

Again, I mention this because the entire foundation of Hanahaki disease is unrequited love. If Hannibal fully considers Will's attempted murder a betrayal, that would lead to Hannibal realizing that Will does not love him, and therefore Sheldon Isley's tableau being a reference to Hanahaki disease fits perfectly. However, as we know, Hannibal is much more complicated than that, and on whatever level he is hurt by what Will did, he is probably equally, if not more, proud of Will for cultivating his urges that he suppressed for so long as the inspirations they are and acting on them.

This leads me to my.. tentative belief that Hannibal's Isley tableau is, in fact, in reference to Hanahaki disease, but not simply because Will tried to kill him. He realizes his love is unrequited because Will is truly angry with him, and Will does not realize that Hannibal is the one that has led him to his Becoming. Will does not even realize that he is Becoming. Throughout the entirety of Hannibal, Hannibal's one goal is to lead Will to his Becoming, to get Will to see the beauty in Becoming. Will's attempted murder of Hannibal, although Hannibal applauds his effort, although Will is finally succumbing to his urges, is not his true Becoming yet because Will still doesn't see the beauty in it. And he was hiding behind the gun, as Hannibal says later. And that is why Hannibal feels his love is unrequited. That is why his heart feels skewered.

Not because Will tried to kill him, but because he didn't see the beauty of it, of his imminent Becoming. It was uninspired. It lacked the intimacy that it deserved.

And so, Sheldon Isley's tableau is a display of Hannibal's realization of Will's resistance to see the beauty of his becoming. Hannibal's love, which he shows through manipulating Will to his Becoming, is not returned by Will, or at least not in the same way. Because of this, I believe, Hannibal decides to change his tactics. Or, maybe, he planned this out, and this is the point where he planned to change his tactics.

THE FOLLOWING EPISODES:

Either way, at the end of Futamono, Hannibal takes Gideon from his hospital bed, kills the guard, and strings them up with flies with human remains of Will's alleged victims in them, effectively proving that Will Graham is not the Chesapeake Ripper and absolving him of his crimes and freeing him from the BSHCI. As I mentioned, I believe Hannibal decided to do this at this specific point because he realized Will had taken a step closer to Becoming... by being more in control than he had ever been. He adapted, evolved, became. Now, Hannibal believes is time to bring Will to his final, true Becoming.

In the following episodes, we see Hannibal lead Will to what Hannibal believes is Will's imminent Becoming. Despite the fact that Will was playing both sides, I do agree that he was Becoming, to a point, nonetheless (but his lies were a true betrayal, no matter how caught up he did or did not get in the killing, and Hannibal made sure he knew that in Mizumono). In the episode directly following Futamono, Yakimono, Will nearly kills Hannibal in his kitchen with a gun, but Hannibal talks his way out of it. In the next episode, Suzukana, Hannibal stops will from killing the social worker with a gun, but praises him for his attempt anyway. In this episode, Will and Hannibal have the "hiding behind the gun" talk where Will realizes that he has not been intimate with his instincts.

They are also depicted having this conversation both sitting on the same level, on Hannibal's desk, aligning with the two windows in Hannibal's office, which I feel gave the impression of Will and Hannibal finally being equals.

In the next episodes, Shiizakana/Naka-Choko, Will finally kills Randall Tier. He throws his shotgun to the side after Tier bursts through his window and snaps Tier's neck with his bare hands. Then, he displays his body in a tableau at the Natural History museum. The symmetry of Hannibal's payback for Will's attempted murder-by-proxy that was his almost-not-really-Becoming being to attempt to murder Will by proxy through Tier, whom was the catalyst for wills Actual Becoming is very poetic to me! Not to mention the line that Will's imagined Randall Tier says in the episode: "This is my becoming... and it is yours." Chills!!

#this is my first analysis ever so be nice #hannibal #nbc hannibal #hannibal gif #hannibal lecter #will graham #hannibal meta #hannibal analysis #hanahaki disease #pluto analyzes #mine #futamono

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