the-winnowing-wind:
raynwater:
oh-dr-lecter:
Digital Spy, Emma Dibdin, The Wrath of the Lamb’ is a triumphant ending
I remember the very first article I ever wrote for DS about Hannibal, back in the pre-production stages before Mads Mikkelsen had ever been cast. The headline was a quote from Bryan Fuller, describing the series as a love story between Hannibal and Will […] Well. Talk about a show that stays true to itself.
If this really is the end of Hannibal, then it’s hard to imagine a more perfectly satisfying conclusion than Will finally embracing Hannibal in every possible sense, finally giving in to his feelings for him […]
‘The Wrath of the Lamb’ is… bookended by lovers – Francis & Reba at the start, Hannibal & Will at the end. […]
Maybe he really has found religion in Hannibal like Bedelia says, when he gazes at the carnage they’ve made and breathes “It’s beautiful”, and maybe the two of them survive and go on the run like Hannibal and Clarice in canon.
Slant Magazine, Chuck Bowen, Hannibal Recap: The Wrath of the Lamb
Will and Hannibal aren’t just super-geniuses in love […] "Mizumono" is operatic for the startlingly sudden crystal clarity of the characters’ emotions: When Hannibal beckoned Will to see him as he put a knife into the latter’s gut, the emotional chambers suddenly clicked into flabbergasting place. This is a love story. “Mizumono” hangs over “The Wrath of the Lamb,” as both are about whether Will and Hannibal will commit to one another, shunning the polite world entirely, or continue to play their complementing roles of hunter/hunted for the world’s illusion of proper social organization.
The Guardian, Brian Moylan, Hannibal Recap: The Wrath of the Lamb
“This is all I ever wanted for you, Will. For both of us,” Hannibal says. What exactly is he talking about? Is it the two of them completely understanding each other and working together to mete out death? Is it their embrace, which looks like it is going to turn into a kiss at any moment? Is it their death?
What I think Will was talking about, however, was their love, one that was fully realized in those final moments, and the sexual dynamic to their embrace is important here. I don’t think that the two of them were gay as we understand it in a “Pride parade and Madonna concerts” kind of way.
I think they were two men who never found their equals except in each other and the love was forbidden for many reasons: because Hannibal was a killer and Will was a cop, because Hannibal tried to live a life without feeling or need for others, because Will always imagined himself much better, and, yes, because it is the love between two men.
Entertainment Weekly, Keith Staskiewicz, The Wrath of the Lamb
The dialogue between the two felt more like lovers’ words than ever before: “It’s not the same,” Hannibal tells him early in the episode, like a scorned partner. “You’ll see it’s not the same.” Then, at the end, “See, this is all I ever wanted for you, Will. For both of us.” Their “death” is tragic in the traditional way, like Tristan and Isolde or Romeo and Juliet.
The New York Times, Libby Hill, ‘Hannibal’ Series Finale Recap: Give Us a Hug
The final season leaned hard on the amorous aspect of Will and Hannibal’s relationship, going so far as to call them “murder husbands” and having Bedelia specifically say that Hannibal was in love with Will. It’s no accident that one of the final images we see is Will resting his head against Hannibal’s chest in a scenario that could have been ripped from a fan-fiction Tumblr post.
The Wall Street Journal, Michael Calia, An Elegy for ‘Hannibal,’ TV’s Most Twisted Love Story
It all leads to the finale’s gruesome climax on an altar-like cliff overlooking the chaotic Atlantic Ocean. In the end, the Dragon, not Will (who had seen himself as the lamb in this scenario), is sacrificed as Hannibal and Will combine their murderous powers and consummate their love.
TV.com, Noel Kirkpatrick, Hannibal Series Finale Review: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
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. Will and Hannibal were friends and then potential partners that had a very nasty break-up and then, at the end, a reconciliation […] Hannibal challenged our notions of what sort of love we can accept. Love between two men? Pretty easy. Love between an overly empathetic profiler and a manipulative cannibalistic serial killer? Perhaps a little harder to get on board with since we want Will to be safe and happy instead of happy and potentially eating Bedelia’s leg with Hannibal.
speak for yourself Noel
DAMN STRAIGHT - OR NOT ;)