#rewatching hannibal at the same time

[wishfulsketching]

Here's Aalis walking her werewolf gf during the full moon.

Poor thing would get bored out of her mind if she had to spend the whole night inside a heavily fortified basement!

[cannibalovers]

I KNOW THAT FLASHBACKS ARE A THING BUT NOBODY FUCKING TOLD ME THAT ILL HAVE TO REEXPERIENCE THE PAIN OF MIZUMONO 2 EPISODES INTO SEASON 3?

[tasteofyourblood]

fucked up little soundtracks that make me clinically insane

[thevampireaesthetic]

The sexual tension between queers and fictional homoerotic sociopaths

[may-ihavesome-bubbletea]

after each episode I watch of Hannibal I just want to give the production team and everyone who worked on the show a big kiss, like muah thank you for making this silly little cannibal show it brings me everlasting joy

[persefoneshalott]

I watched hbo oz on my first year of college and my english wasn't super good so I only caught like half of what they were saying in the beginning bc of the accents, slang etc but my brain was rewired forever < 3

[fagrackham]

love when eddie izzard is in things

[bitterlyromantic]

godddddddddddddddddddddd the fucking groan that leapt through my throat !!!!!!! will!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[lunaicsworld]

Usually I am really good at doing the character voices in my head when I read fics, but lately every Hannibal fic I read I can only imagine Gordon Ramsay’s voice, and it’s killing me here.

[devour-the-rude]

No matter how many time I rewatch Hannibal, I always cry during Mizumono. I’m sure a lot of other people are the same (or I’m just a sensitive bitch (I am)). But does anyone else have a sort of existential crisis afterwards too?

Every time I watch it, when it’s over, I simply sit and do nothing. I stare at a wall, and listen to Bloodfest over and over and over.

Because this show, namely this episode, never fails to make me emotional. This show makes me feel irritation, excitement, awe, sadness, and numerous other emotions.

I weep for what is lost in Mizumono. I weep over the death of Abigail and the Stag, over the shattering of the teacup.

The point I’m trying to make here is that this show, in its very essence, is beautiful. It makes you feel many things — in this episode, namely sorrow.

I hope I’m not alone in this feeling.

[fatalism-and-villainy]

Rewatching season 2 had me really struck by the sheer amount of time Will spends performing for other people, and how few fully authentic interactions he has. In fact, I’d say one of the biggest through lines between the first and second halves of the season is Will learning how to wear masks, and then actively deploying that for the purpose of catching Hannibal.

(And how fitting is it that the promo for season 2 had Will wearing the iconic hockey mask? Not just a franchise in-joke, but a reflection of the fact that he “becomes” Hannibal in this season, begins to symbolically merge with him, to the point in which his own goals become clouded to him.)

It's a natural extension of season 1's establishment of his empathic abilities, where he begins to more actively use his ability to read other people and discern their motivations as a tool, or weapon. Simply telling the truth about his innocence doesn’t serve him - so he adapts a façade very quickly, in his faked tears for Hannibal and Alana. All of his interactions with others while in prison - Chilton, Lounds, Matthew Brown, etc. - are very deliberately engineered, and lean into what Will knows (or thinks) each person wants to hear - all setting the stage for him doing the same thing to Hannibal. Every word, everything about his intonation, is so precise - something that specifically struck me in this stretch of episodes was when he talks to Gideon and very carefully leans forward as he’s trying to drive his point home:

(And the body language, interestingly enough, is not just persuasive, but also mirrors the way Gideon sometimes leans/dangles his arms out of the cage when talking to others - and it reminds me of Will also mirroring Hannibal’s body language during the “not now that I finally find you interesting” scene, when he bites his lip in the way Hannibal so often does.)

It really highlights how so much of how he interacts with others during this entire stretch of the plot is a very carefully crafted performance, with so many of Will’s actual feelings and motivations subsumed into his manipulations. I remember watching the DVD commentary on Su-zakana, and they talk about how Will’s visible surliness with Hannibal was meant to stem from the fact that he didn’t want to be too friendly with Hannibal right away, because it would look suspicious. And I think that gets at something that’s present with how both Will and Hannibal manipulate others - they’re not necessarily lying about their feelings, just consciously using genuine feelings or motivations as a method of influencing others. With Hannibal, he frequently does feel genuine affection for others, and his care for them stems from that, but it��s also often used to put them at ease, serve his own ends. Will, for his part, is genuinely angry with Hannibal, but actively uses those feelings to fashion an aura of standoffishness. And of course, Hannibal has a genuine pull for him, and he deliberately leans into and cultivates that enjoyment for the sake of entrapping Hannibal. …Which of course leads to a situation where he has to put on a show for Jack as well, in which he downplays how deep into it he’s getting.

So it’s entirely fitting that the opening of Mizumono features the two halves of Will’s face - the front he’s presenting to Hannibal, and the front he’s presenting to Jack - merging, mask-like, in the middle of the screen.

They’re both the real him, and they’re both masks - and he gets so subsumed into his performances for others, the modulation and accentuation and sublimation of his feelings that they require, that he gets lost to himself (and is also terribly lonely and isolated). No wonder he’s confused and unmoored in early season 3.

[pomegranatesandribcages]

yes im still talking about abigail but i just cant wrap my head around how some people call her evil and manipulative.

she had to experience both of her parents and her best friend being slaughtered in front of her, then the whole world turns against her, successfully ripping apart any support systems she couldve had at such a pivotal time in her life. when she looks at hannibal like that, when she clings onto him, thats real.

HE is the one manipulating HER, actually. he saw her vulnerable at this time, clearly in need of a father figure with fucked up daddy issues and swooped right in. she was just a pawn to sacrifice to get will closer to him.

alana notes that she comes off as manipulative after the accident because of the way she chooses to withhold information. i think here, alana is expecting too much of her. shes expecting her to immediately be open to pouring her heart out to these strangers shes never met. if theres anything abigail has learned in her life its that the adults around her are not to be trusted. she casts a skeptical gaze over the gifts alana bought her, too, as if confused as to why a someone would choose to be so kind with seemingly nothing to gain.

ive seen people point out her expressions and mannerisms, and to that i say your honour my client is literally just a girl. she is the exact same in her nightmares, hallucinations, and alone, when theres no one to manipulate. she is genuinely afraid, cautious and heavily traumatised

im still rewatching s1 so i might add more if i rediscover some more scenes but yeah :p

abigail haters dni unless u wanna brawl!!!!!!

[stranded-labyrinth]

i started my Hannibal rewatch and i just have to say

yes, Abigail's story is incredibly tragic. but constantly regurgitating the same "No one ever saw her for who she was!" take that you saw someone else say does not change the fact that Abigail very consciously did not let anyone see her for who she was.

Abigail is VERY capable of manipulation, and she used that as many times as she felt was necessary. there was not a single character she was fully comfortable around, not even Hannibal, and yet she had each and every one of them fooled in some way at some point. every single character in the show had a completely different agenda with her and she fed into whichever agendas she felt benefitted her the most, and it just happened to be that Hannibal's agenda carried the most benefit, up until the precise moment that it didn't.

Abigail's story is sad, but insisting that no one ever saw her for who she was as though that wasn't her goal tells me it's worth taking another look at what she does with the people around her.

[valc0]

Hannibal rewatch and Baldur's Gate 3 ramblings

I recently re-watched the first season of Hannibal after almost 8 years and since I’m now deep into another fandom (BG3) I analyzed some of the themes of the show and how parts of it could tie in with the story of the game, particularly when it comes to the Dark Urge.

I’m also doing a review because why the hell not. I divided the text into sections for convenience, so if you want to read only the review or are exclusively interested in my speculating ramblings on BG3 you can easily do that.

It’s a long one so let’s start.

REVIEW

THIS REVIEW IS NOT SPOILER FREE AND WILL GO INTO GREAT DETAILS ABOUT THE TWISTS AND PLOT POINTS OF THE SHOW.

If you didn’t watch it and you like thriller/crime/horror please do yourself a favor and watch this show now!

I’ll start by saying season one, to me, is almost perfection. It’s 13 very well crafted and acted episodes and almost none feel like filler (almost but we’ll get to it). The crime of the week structure is integrated with the horizontal themes of the season seamlessly and the story avoids exploring too many parallel plots, making the theming very cohesive.

I remember watching this show for the first time and finishing season 1 in about 2 to 3 days, but I’d never think the same would’ve happened a second time. The first 5 episodes had me in a clutch from the start. Every character is fleshed out and extremely well written, the acting is impeccable, the writing is phenomenal and the visual, even when getting symbolic, never seem gratuitous or nonsensical in their use of analogies and dream-like visions.

The photography is also phenomenal, with great use of contrast that makes the image and scene clear even though it's set in the dark or at night.

If I had to rate the season I think I’d definitely give it a 9/10, and the 9 is only because of two small things that I figured I’d get out of the way first:

(I must remember whoever is reading this that these are my opinions, they don’t mean to offend anyone else differing opinion. You’ll see what I mean in a second.)

Alana Bloom x Will Graham is forced, comes out of nowhere, and makes Will act out of character most of the times.

I’m not getting into ship-fighting, this is not about shipping, I like Hannigram but I have no dog in this fight so this is totally not about it. Episode 8 is great, it has one of the best kills in the whole season and Will deteriorating stability makes for great lines and visuals, other than a lot of tension since he can no longer be predictable and ends up disrupting Hannibal plans.

And though I could attribute the way he acts towards Alana as something he does because of this deteriorating mental state, it doesn’t really feel like it. He seems very present during those scenes and acts weirdly romantic for the reclusive stray-collector, whose primary hobby is fishing and who’s been plagued by visions of death in the past episodes.

I would have rather see them to grow more of a non-romantric connection that may or may not have become romantic in later seasons. It all seems a bit rushed imo.

I also know they are setting up the Alana x Will x Hannibal. Which I’ll be honest I don’t remember liking the first time I watched it...but we’ll see.

2. Episodes 9 and 11 slow the show and kind of drag the pace.

Episodes 9. The totem of bodies is a very striking and memorable visual, but the crime in itself is very bland and the killer only gets a 5 minute scene towards the end which is anticlimactic and kinda too much tell with too little show. It’s honestly a shame because the murders in the previous episodes were very well crafted and paced. This one, not so much. I understand the need to connect the themes of “legacy” and “family” with Abigail’s actions but I feel like there could have been better ways to do that in previous episodes.

Episodes 11. I loved the whole Chesapeake Ripper fake-out, but I’ll be honest I don’t think I needed a whole other episode of Abel Gideon’s story. Didn’t really care for the plot of this and the pace was a little too slow. Good things about this episode are the ending with Hannibal at his most manipulative, and the fact that it starts Chilton’s comedic chain of misfortunes– which cracked me up the first time I watched the show because come on!! this guy is awful and can’t catch a break, you love to see it.

Now that the “bad” is out of the way let’s talk about the good, which is honestly everything else.

Episode 1

Banger of a pilot. Everything for the rest of the show is set up in only 42 minutes if you can believe that. Characters are fleshed out, themes are placed, conflicts are started. By the end of the episode all you want is MORE. I have very little else to say other than the pacing of this one should honestly be studied, a lot of modern series would need the lesson imo.

Episode 2

Interesting case with a lot of great scenes that reinforce the characters and their relationships. You get a first glance at how campy? the show can be, which is honestly something I love, I’m kinda tired of the “realistic to the point of boredom” trend I’ve been seeing lately. Freddie Lounds is properly introduced as the disrupting force she is and we get a jumpscare that made me curse. Sorry, did I forget to mention I’m watching Hannibal and I cannot stand horror? Lmao

Episode 3

LOVE this episode, the way this show makes you feel powerless as you watch the events unfold knowing full well what is happening and who is responsible...amazing! I love Abigail’s character and the very innocent and pristine way she is portrayed when you know later on the truth will come out is chilling.

Episode 4

I remember how grim I found this episode the first time and the feeling returned the second time around. Hated the killer with every fiber of my being and the fact that she kinda looks like Catherine Tate made me die a little. Also the scene of Hannibal making himself a family through gaslighting and creative use of drugs and lies was amazing.

Episode 5

I loved this crime and the way the episode paces the killings. The angel symbology was great, I’m a sucker for catholic and religious themes tied into vicious crimes. The series also introduces Bella, Jack’s wife, which I’ll be honest I don’t remember having a good ending...I don't remember exactly how, but I know I will cry.

Episode 6

Favorite episode by far, the tension in the flashback scene is palpable and when you see Miriam looking at the sketch with the silhouette of Hannibal pacing towards her in the background AAAHGGG- RUN Miriam OMG! This is the episode where you realize how absolutely scary Hannibal’s physicality can be. Mads Mikkelsen is 1,83 (5ft 11) but he feels like a giant in those scenes, like you can do shit about it.

Episode 7

The episode’s case is a botched transplant one and it’s just okay, nothing too spectacular, but the way this series makes me hungry should be concerning, since I just watched Hannibal kill and butcher people who slightly wronged him to make a feast out of them. I’m sorry, whoever is directing the shooting of the food is doing a good job, okay?

Episode 8

My second favorite episode yay! I love this kill because it’s so over the top. Also the visual of a person played like a cello is haunting just as much as the sound they decided to give it. “He had to open you up to get a decent sound out of you.” okay Will go off?!?! A bit sad they took this murder from Hannibal since I believe it was his in the books, but the end fight was worth it (though when Tobias started swinging his impromptu cello string weapon I did cackle because omfg calm down)

Episode 9

See section above

Episode 10

I shat myself watching this episode with all the horror vibes I’m dying please, I’m watching this through my fingers like a baby. I did love this episode though, and the final twist of Hannibal going to such lengths to be sure he leaves NO ONE behind is terrifying. Dr. Sutcliffe even agreed with him and didn’t show signs of wanting to betray or rat him out, and yet in the big scheme Hannibal still found it better to kill him. Scary stuff.

Episode 11

See section above

Episode 12-13

Putting these together because they are the finale and are closely linked to each other. There is no real “crime of the week”, though Georgia Madchen dies at the start of episode 12 and Abigail...dies at the start of episode 13. Will continuously declining psyche is very well portrayed, you really feel powerless with him as his brain keeps betraying him over and over at the worse possible times. Also Hannibal fake-empathy is so uncomfortable to me...knowing the lengths he’d go to manipulate the situation after seeing all the “behind the scenes” is chilling. All in all it’s a good finale though it really doesn’t feel like one. By the end Will managed to see Hannibal’s true colors, but I don’t think he’ll fully understand what he’s fighting against until he actually sees Hannibal in action, so it does feel inconclusive in a way. We do get Hannibal funny naked fursona is all its glory though so, big happy for me!

Now let’s get in my current fixation and tie in some of the themes of Hannibal with Baldur’s Gate 3. YAY!

BALDUR’S GATE 3 – Dark Urges, Bad Dreams and Worse Influences

Let’s get something out of the way first.

The Dark Urge is a very flexible and versatile character which is mostly – if not completely– shaped by the player. We get to decide if they refuse the Urge, with the bittersweet realization they still took all those lives and will have to deal with that guilt. OR we could make them machines of slaughter and death, embracing their father’s plan for them to be the killer they were made to become.

There are other variations of this and from what I’ve seen many Durges have very different characteristics depending on how the player interpreted and played the game.

This to say, all of the following dissertations on BG3 and the themes of Hannibal are my personal view of MY Durge or the way I see the character in general, which is extremely personal and could crash with someone else’s interpretation or headcanon. Keep that in mind while reading, if you see me using absolutes or if I forget an “imo” at the end of a sentence, remember this is ALL In my opinion, none of this is to be considered as a general and all-encompassing statement for every Durge out there.

That said, you’ll be surprised to know in my interpretation the Dark Urge isn’t Hannibal, what’s funny is that the Dark Urge isn’t Will either.

Durge is both characters at the same time, and depending where they are in their journey, this may change.

In the case of Will, towards the end of the series you get a more “start of the game” Durge. The memory loss, the confusing thoughts, the haunting dreams and then this weird hellish creature (Sceleritas Fel) guiding them. By this point Durge is still a victim of their circumstances, they can’t really grasp who or what they are and their mind is in complete shambles.

I can see a Resist!Durge in this scenario, someone completely horrified by their actions starting to question who they are, what they did, and if they can ever change. This point in the game isn’t spelled out as much, the narrator often refers to it but the real extent of psychological damage a Resist!Durge must face is left completely to the player’s interpretation, that’s why I think Will is such a great starting point to understand and visualize the character of Durge from a distant POV.

With Hannibal you get a more pre-tadpole pre-Orin-meddling Durge. Someone who knows what they’re doing and how to get what they want. I personally never saw my own Durge as this calculating, something in the feral way the Urge gets to the character in game made Hannibal a tad too composed to fully be an inspiration for Durge, but I’ve also seen other people Durges as cool and collected killers, and the comparison in that case works really well.

Another interesting characteristic of Hannibal we can see in Durge is the twisted way he thinks in relation to others. Hannibal calls himself Will’s friend, and I believe he’s genuine in his affection since the way he helps Will is in done in earnest.

This helping though, it’s monstrous in all sense. Hannibal lies, literally gaslights Will, meddles with his head and denies him medical help. He manipulates him into killing, only to watch what unfolds simply because he needs someone who understands him. By dragging Will deeper into his world and making him a killer, Hannibal cultivates what he perceives as Will’s true nature and potential, making the man a suitable friend for himself.

It speaks to Hannibal narcissism that he would consider helping someone as making them more like him. But then again that’s also why Hannibal is so drawn towards Will, because he thinks differently and he IS different from him. He doesn’t have the same amount of interest or even respect for someone like Tobias, who’s probably the most Hannibal-like killer we get to see in season 1.

He needs the challenge, he needs to feel in control. And ultimately, though not in an usual sense, Hannibal needs a friend. He is lonely.

This works a lot for Durge in the sense that they may or may not corrupt people around them. As a player we get the choice and power to influence how companions act and react, and this kind of duality of “I like them, I want to help them” and “I want to make them like me” is a good motivation to give a Durge who may, for example, ascent Astarion, or turn Shadowheart more towards Shar, or give Gale a power complex (more so than he already has) ect.

BONUS! And then came Durgetash

In episode 1 Hannibal visits Will and brings him breakfast. While they chat in a honestly beautifully lit scene, this exchange happens.

Hannibal: You know, Will, I think Uncle Jack sees you as a fragile little teacup. The finest china, used only for special guests. Will: How do you see me? Hannibal: The mongoose I want under the house when the snakes slither by.

Did I mention I love Durgetash? Did I mention I go completely feral over unhealthy dynamics and specifically this kind of dynamic?

“The mongoose I want under the house when the snakes slither by.” is an amazing line for Gortash because I do believe the reason he wanted Durge to side with him was that Durge was extremely good at being undetected, and even more so skilled at killing the right target at the right time.

I love the idea of Gortash using Durge as a shield/weapon, and Durge using Gortash to economically sustain and socially shield Bhaal’s cult. I love to think their relationship was born because they were useful to each other and that in this completely selfish ecosystem they somehow found company.

Because I’m sure Durge pushed back. I’m sure they realized they were being used and didn’t like it one bit, and Gortash kept Durge around even though they may pose a threat, for the same reason Hannibal keeps running circles around Will. Gortash needs a challenge. Being head of Bane’s cult means that other than his God, no one else is above him, and I think a man who’s been fighting his whole life to gain control would feel a bit lost when this control is automatically given to him without a fight.

In the same way I think Durge would yearn for something more, something different than what they’re stuck with, which is a dying cult forced to hide beneath the city, and a jealous and over-zealous sister who I’m sure tries to kill them once a week. I think they would get pulled in by the promises Gortash would make. To rule together, above ground, for once not having to hide, getting back the power Durge feels like belongs to them.

The similarities I found between these characters are way more than these but I think I’ll have to make a part 2 of this once I’m done re-watching season 2. I’m aware the series has been out for a while and I’m sure people already made way more interesting and in-depth analysis. I still hope you liked my little morning ramble that turned in a full on essay on the subject.

Thank you for reading!

[twitchylittlelamb]

I have 20 minutes to do this before my lunch break ends, let's go.

Yesterday I was rewatching Will's trial in S2, trying to focus on the little details, and something about Chilton's statement got me.

Through the whole trial Will remains the same: gaze low, neutral expression, barely reacting, fishing in his mind palace (except during Hannibal's statement, where we see him finally interested). While Chilton is talking Will remains the same, until he talks about how Will constructed the way he presents himself socially.

Paraphrasing Frederick cause I have no time to search for the screenshot of the scene, Will constructed his person suit as fragile, scared and harmless. The confused man we know couldn't commit those crimes, because in fact that man wasn't real. Chilton was wrong about Will's guilt and is often very dumb, but he saw through Will. The most important detail here is Will reaction as Chilton says this: outside he remains the same, but then it cuts to him fishing. An amused smile in his face, for the first time in this episode.

Then Chilton goes on about how saving lives pleasures Will as much as taking them, because he thinks of himself as a god. (Remember Hannibal saying killing must feel good to God too, he does it all the time.) Immediately after Chilton says this, it cuts to a beautiful shot of Will fishing.

A fisherman has the power to choose if the prey he catches will be returned to the water and live, or die and be eaten. Much like God, much like Hannibal.

(Also I used to go fishing a lot with my dad - Abigail moment - and here's the thing about these two possibilities: it doesn't matter. Either are pleasurable, both leave you feeling victorious and satisfied.)

I can't stand depictions of Will as a fragile and helpless victim. He was dark before Hannibal. In fact, they're so drawn to each other BECAUSE of their mutual recognition. Even if Will didn't understand it yet. Will was that confused, twitchy man because he was scared of his darkness, not because he was a victim.

Anyways, stop treating Will like a poor baby who fell victim to the scary monster.

[terrifiedofconflict]

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.