“In the end when Abigail bore her throat a second time to her father in the kitchen, she did not think of teacups, time or how a father loves. Instead she thought of her mothers garden, where things grew instead of died and decay came gently and with a greater purpose than this. And as she knowingly crawled into Hannibal’s arms, aware what would happen, it was the smell of daisies in the summertime that filled her. Not terror.” (In Memoriam to a Girl and a Knife by starbaby)
OK, I'm sure I'm far from being the first person to think about this/it's obvious to most people, but I'm on another Hannibal rewatch and was thinking about Hannibal as the devil. They make that imagery pretty obvious, but this time around, I noticed how he actually offers favors in exchange for souls.
Like Paradise Lost Satan, he is unimpressed with humans and does not know why God thinks they're so special. He sees them as animals to be humiliated. He devours their souls by eating them. He sees them as weak. He finds it easy to set them up in a tight situation and offer them the darker path. He sets Abigail up to kill in what would have been self-defense and offers his help to hide the body. She agrees, her soul belongs to him. The same happened with Bedelia. He helps Margo and Alana and makes it clear he will be coming for Alana's soul. Bedelia cuts him to the chase to have a sense of control and keep her own soul.
I can't decide if Jack Crawford is another victim, or maybe he is God? He's kind of a shitty father figure to Will and essentially offers up Will's soul to the darkness as a test.
But of course Will is special. He is even emphasized as a Jesus figure (they literally put a halo over him in the angels episode). Hannibal thinks he understands all humans and he is bored with them, but Will actually sees him without even meaning to (who's whose therapist amiright?) Hannibal plays his little games on Will to see what he will do, to see if he can get his soul. However, Will doesn't react the way others do. He is set up to kill Abigail's father, and it destroys him. He wants to make ammends and raise Abigail. Hannibal uses this to his advantage to essentially trap Will in a relationship with him. He sets Will up, but even when all the evidence is against Will and he is in prison, he does not offer up his soul in exchange for Hannibal's "help." Hannibal realizes he doesn't want to be rid of Will. He doesn't want to just consume him anymore. He wants an equal who understands him, a companion. By the 3rd season, Hannibal realizes that if he wants Will's soul, he'll have to give his own back in return.
"Hannibal will always want to be close to Will. He sees a great potential in Will as this pure human being,
and he’s seduced by Will’s purity. He’s attracted to it, and he’s also very eager to conquer it in some way."
{ Bryan Fuller }
Finally sharing the Hannigram piece I did for my first zine, Il Mostro, run by @vermilionzines !!! The zine is gory, sexy, and full of art and writing from so many incredibly talented creators. Hannibal is my favorite show but I've always been intimidated by creating art of it. This was the perfect way to help push me through that, and an awesome experience!
The zine focuses on the relationship between Will and Hannibal, especially the monstrousness, so for mine I created a scene of Hannibal having served up his own organs in a feast for Will, with his heart as the centerpiece.
I'm going to be selling prints of this piece, but I'll also be doing one bundle which includes the zine, charm, and 2 stickers!
I can’t believe Hozier watched Hannibal and wrote It Will Come Back about Hannibal and Will and used southern gothic and Louisiana inspired melodies and instruments to show his acute understanding of Will Graham and Hannibal’s complex and savage love for one another that borders of deity like devotion to one another while also using dog symbolism and direct quotes from the show that’s crazy!!!