Hello my dear Fannibals,

I feel like someone tossed me off a cliff, albeit as lovingly as possible.

Warning: this Hannibal recap will eventually turn into a love letter to this brilliant show because what a great episode, everything was simply perfect and the thought of not seeing this show ever again makes me want to weep.

So let’s begin.

The season finale (yes, I’m optimistic about the show’s future) opens with our creepy dragon baby romancing his lady friend, Reba.

They play a game where he tells her not to run and then she runs but Francis is a persistent dragon so there is no escaping his bad romance.

Reba is so precious, Francis can’t go through with shooting her.

Instead he decides to set the house on fire. What a guy, hard to believe he’s been single all these years.

Sorry, I just have a lot of musical feelings about this episode.

Later, a deeply traumatized Reba talks to our friend Will Graham.

Of course, this turns into some form of group therapy.

Yeah, beat that, Reba.

The thing is there are too many parallels between Reba and Will regarding their monster boyfriends and as Will attempts to comfort her, they have one of my favorite conversations from the book.

Will: The people who study this kind of thing say that he was trying to stop because you helped him. Probably saved some lives.

Reba: I drew a freak.

Will: You didn’t draw a freak. You drew a man, with a freak on his back. There is nothing wrong with you.

Reba: I know there’s nothing wrong with me. In making friends, I try to be wary of people who foster dependency and feed on it. I’ve been with a few. The blind attract them.

Will: Not just the blind.

Of course Hannibal is disappointed because Will didn’t get to kill Francis.

Still, he congratulates him on his success with Chilton.

“What a cunning boy you are.”

Hannibal knows what you’ve been up to, Will.

Then, he tries to persuade Will to stay.

“You can go home again. If there’s any point. Is there any point?”
 
And then we get the line that killed me, just ripped my soul apart:

“When life becomes maddeningly polite…think about me. Think about me, Will, don’t worry about me.”

How dare you, you bastard?

But Will accepts the challenge. Who can give the other more “feels”? We shall see.

Yup.

“You turned yourself in so I would always know where you were. You’d only do that if I rejected you… Goodbye.”

Harsh. This was even more painful because he put his hand on the glass. ON THE GLASS.

Will has a point, Hannibal.

Hannibal’s visibly upset, and he breaks my heart even more when he suddenly calls Will’s name and asks if it was good to see him.

 

Will: “Good? No.”

#Heartbreaker

Later Will has a surprise visitor.

He immediately manipulates Francis. (This is why we love you, Will.)

And the next day he smoothly persuades Jack to set up a trap for Francis but not really.

Keep going, bb.

Yeah Will, why?

My inner Chandler Bing is asking if he could BE more obvious but then again Jack is being oblivious on purpose so they’re a great pair, these two.

Later he almost gives Bedelia a heart attack.

“I don’t intend Hannibal to be caught a second time.”

I don’t know, she doesn’t really look all that enthusiastic about seeing Hannibal again.

“Can’t live with him. Can’t live without him. Is that what this is?”

“I guess this is my Becoming.”

“What you are “becoming” is pathological.” (Someone tweeted he was beCOMING out of the closet and that is also accurate.)

“Extreme acts of cruelty require a high degree of empathy.”

“You’ve just found religion. Nothing more dangerous than that.”

Hannibal is Will’s religion, I want to cry. *”Take me to Church” plays in the distance*

Then she gets really angry.

“I’d pack my bags if I were you, Bedelia. Meat’s back on the menu.”

“You righteous, reckless, twitchy little man.” (harsh)

“Ready or not. Here he comes.”

I wouldn’t insult Hannibal’s boyfriend. Also I have to say I absolutely LOVE dark Will. Dark Will is perfect. Keep up the good work, child. Also keep up the hair.

Whenever it’s all neat and shiny, he’s clearly and deliciously murderous.

Guess who else is visiting someone? Alana goes to see Chilton to remind herself what Hannibal is capable of.

I guess she needs motivation to run away?

(Don’t even ask. I am completely lost in my mind palace. That’s what staying up to recap this show does to a person.)

Later she goes to talk to Hannibal.

“Police are not as wise as you are. I might escape in earnest and come to kill you.”
“First chance you get, I assume.”
“You died in my kitchen, Alana, when you chose to be brave. Every moment since is borrowed. Your wife… your child… they belong to me.”

Okay, Hannibal, take it easy. I honestly think it’s unfair of you to keep this kind of grudge when you’re the one who lied to her, slept with her and then tried to kill her friends. Just back off.
(Very pissed at my fictional cannibal friend)

I love how they’re all like “MURDER? MURDER.”

Jack doesn’t even seem to care what happens to Will as long as Hannibal and Francis are dead but Alana doesn’t look all that convinced and I don’t blame her.

And Hannibal waits for Will like:

Then he asks:  “What was that you said?” (Wow it’s really bothered him.)

    Will: “You’d never have turned yourself in unless I rejected you.”
    Hannibal: “Yes. That extra bit. I believe that’s what they call a ‘mic drop.’ You dropped the mic, Will, but here you are having to come back and pick it up again.”

And Will explains what he meant:

 “I knew you would keep running if I kept chasing you. I knew you wanted me to know exactly where I could find you when I needed to.”

 Hannibal: “And you did. “

This scene is glorious because Will is extremely playful and seems to enjoy every second.

I just…

moving on.

Francis to the rescue.

“Going my way?” (I laughed out loud at this scene)

Will’s “How did I get to this point in my life?” face.

Later, Jack:

Alana and her precious family:

Our two princes:

Will is awfully interested in that cliff.

Will looks a bit conflicted.

Then back to the cliff.

Later:

Hannibal comes all dressed up and honestly this looks like a date.

Hannibal: “You’re playing games with yourself in the dark of the moon. Wasn’t surprising that I heard from the Great Red Dragon. Was it surprising when you heard from him?”

Of course he knows Will spoke to the Dragon and Will doesn’t deny his intention.

Hannibal: “You intend to watch him kill me?”
Will: “I intend to watch him change you.”

 

Hannibal: “My compassion for you is inconvenient, Will.”
Will: “If you’re partial to beef products, it is inconvenient to be compassionate toward a cow.”

Hannibal actually laughs at this like Will is precious.

But then he asks “Save yourself, kill them all?”

And Will answers “I don’t know if I can save myself. Maybe that’s just fine.”

Great. This is the worst.

Hannibal: “No greater love hath man than to lay down his life for a friend.”

Will: “He’s watching us now.”

Francis walks in, tells Will not to run and then turns his attention to Hannibal.

While Will sips his wine.

Francis wants to keep this memory.

He kindly tells Francis:

“I’m so happy you chose life, Francis. Suicide is the enemy. You were seized by a fantasy world with the brilliance and freshness and immediacy of childhood. It took you a step beyond alone.”

Hanni seems to be running out of patience as Francis keeps talking about his film.

Francis reaches for his knife while Will reaches for his gun (?) and then:

Dammit, Francis.

Hannibal watches Francis toss Will around like a potato.

Will grabs the knife on his face because BAMF.

This is the same guy who couldn’t stop shaking after he had to kill Garet Jacob Hobbs.

So the stabbing games begin.

They do a little back and forth.

Finally Hannibal has enough.

Then it’s Will’s turn to save Hannibal.

   

This part was amazing to watch. It was almost like a murder dance between three mythological creatures.

And as my favorite second shot from the episode takes place this perfect song that was specifically written for the show begins to play and this whole scene is so beautiful and haunting, it’s one of the best scenes I’ve ever seen in anything.

Epic, people. Just epic.

Hannibal rips Francis’ throat with his teeth as Will practically tears his chest apart.

Ding dong, The Dragon’s dead. (For good)

And then this moment happens and everything is so beautiful.

Hannibal: “See. This is all I ever wanted for you, Will. For both of us.”
Will: “It’s beautiful.”

This is the horror/beauty Hannibal wanted to share with him all along and Will does feel the same way.
For the first time, he’s admitting how he truly feels without shame.

Really, it was basically Will’s way of saying:

Hannibal is visibly surprised.

Maybe later.

But still, gazing at each other lips. (Like Bros do, obviously.)

And leaning in as the audience collectively holds their breath!

And this euphoric look on Hannibal’s face while Will clings to him.

May I just point out the absolute peace on their faces. They look like they’re both saying “Finally.” (I know that I am.)

And this is the first time we see Hannibal with his guard down this way, so completely, as if he’d been waiting for this forever. He’s finally accepted.

As Mads once said “You can be lonely in this world, when you’re Hannibal.” (probably because he’s a cannibal but also because he’s truly unique like Will)

Will’s face in particular breaks my heart because he is so still, he almost looks dead. It must be devastating for him to accept what he’s been fighting all along.

So even though we know he feels just as relieved and maybe even complete, can we truly be happy for him?

It all lasts only a moment before…

♪ Oh, the dye ♪ A blood red setting sun ♪ Rushing through my veins ♪ Burning up my skin ♪

Will just jumps off with Hannibal in his arms. Wrath of the Lamb indeed.

And even if a part of you guessed it, you still can’t help but feel like you just jumped with them.

When I first watched the scene I was astounded by its beauty and felt that it was a completely satisfying ending.

Even if they’d died, the way these two embraced each other before peacefully surrendering to something bigger than themselves felt so right and made me ridiculously happy.

And if they’ve survived I feel just as excited for a new story.

In both cases, I’ve watched one of the best stories on television with two beautifully written and portrayed characters I love profoundly.

This show was beautiful in every way possible and my heart truly feels full after this finale.

Still, let’s just get this off our chests before we move on.

As we look down on the water the song continues:

♪ I will survive, live and thrive ♪ Win this deadly game ♪ Love crime ♪ Love crime ♪ I will survive, live and thrive
I will survive, I will survive ♪ I will

After the credits:

Bedelia has her leg cut and cooked, she seems to be drugged out of her mind as she reaches for a fork and hides it, waiting for her host to return.

I don’t know how to feel about her situation. At first I thought “Did she just cook herself because she’s afraid of Hannibal?” and that seemed so tragic but seeing how drugged she is, I realized she was actually cooked by him. So if we get another season, it’s possible that Hannibal and Will have survived and they’re eating Bedelia (Bryan confirmed there are three place settings on the table and she’s indeed waiting for whoever cooked her to return. You can read the interviews below.)

I’d like to think Hannibal and Will would be travelling and meeting new people instead (trying different cuisines) and even though Bedelia spoke painfully slow and treated Will like Hanni’s envious ex, I don’t think she deserved to be eaten. Then again, she called him a “twitchy little man” and there’s no way Hanni is going to let that one go. Can you just imagine the conversation?

So what else is confirmed?

• Hannigram is canon. Hannibal and Will love each other and not as bros. They are in love. Although it’s not a necessarily sexual connection (as far as we know and Bryan has said Will is heterosexual and Hannibal is omnisexual) they belong together and if they get another season Bryan’s planning on exploring that relationship between them, probably like the Clarice/Hannibal relationship in the book.
• Will thought the only way he could get rid of Hannibal was jumping with him. He loves him too much to see him get killed by Francis and since his biggest fear was turning into Hannibal, he thinks this is the only solution. He truly thought what they did together was beautiful and that terrifies him.
• Hannibal realized what Will was doing and he wasn’t truly surprised.
• The “It’s beautiful” line was Hugh Dancy’s idea.
• Mads and Hugh actually went further for the finale scene and there were “hovering lips” but Bryan thought it was too much and not really authentic for the story at this time BUT he has the footage.

You can read the interviews with Bryan for more insight:

  IGN , LA.TIMES , VARIETY , TVLINE

Some interesting posts about the finale and Hannibal in general so you can check them out if you like:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 , 6 , 7

Comics:

I laughed out loud at this one.

This one looks a plausible explanation for how they survive

 

Others here: 1, 2

Beautiful Fan Art: 1, 2, 3

Season 3 Gag Reel Sneak Peek (Aren’t they the cutest?)

More feelings about the Show:

“The relationship between Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter may be one of the defining TV romances of our time, a baroque spin on the will-they-won’t-they formula…These are two men who struggled to share themselves with others and found, in each other, someone to finally open up to, someone who could understand and accept them. Hannibal challenged our notions of what sort of love we can accept”

Noel Kirkpatrick  (x)

Why you should all go back and watch Hannibal if you havent, because at its core, it isnt a serial killer show or a horror show- its a romance. Not just any romance, but one of the most powerful, stunning romantic stories that I have ever seen told. And the fact the creator, cast, and crew of this show were brave enough to tell such a story, had the bravery to subvert expectations and not just tell a simple tale limited to blood and horror but instead tell one of forbidden love and emotional intimacy, is frankly, inspiring. And if all future writers and creators could watch this show and learn to treasure and elevate their characters a fraction as much as this show has in its three seasons, then the future entertainment landscape would truly be a glorious place.

Laila/aslytherininthemaze (x)

“It feels very bittersweet – we dont know what the future of the show is, or if there is a future for the show, but I dont expect to have an experience of this nature for a long time, if ever again. Thats no bad thing, its just because its been so profound.”

 Hugh Dancy (x)

I told you I’d write some kind of a love letter to the show and I’m not nearly done. I’ll continue writing about it and recapping whenever I can. I will miss it terribly. (Until we get a movie or another season.)

What did you think of the finale?

Kaydet