alright guys I have two words for you
murder husbands that's right it's time
to take a look at Hannibal a show based
off the works of Thomas haratz
cataloguing the relationship between
will Graham and the titular Hannibal
Lecter the three seasons largely in fact
one could say mostly revolve around the
characters relationship to each other as
such a ship quickly emerged known to
many as Hannah Graham and thanks to the
in Canon article written by sleazy
journalist Freddie Lounds they can now
be called murder husbands this is
shippers Guide to the galaxy and it's
time to get to know this rather unique
ship warning to anyone who hates even
the vaguest hint of spoilers or isn't
fully caught up because this analysis
may contain a few so get out while you
can
will Graham and Hannibal Lector meet in
the first episode of season one and hit
the ground running with will being an
FBI consultant suffering from pure
empathy who is being affected by the
visions he sees when getting inside
killers heads so who better to help him
an all-around Renaissance man Hannibal
Lecter from there out the show becomes a
cat-and-mouse game between the two
characters with Lecter trying to
manipulate will into becoming a killer
and his companion and will trying to
catch and capture the Chesapeake Ripper
who he comes to realize by season ones
end is Hannibal so why do people ship it
and what makes the ship unique well as
mentioned the show is essentially about
these two characters and how they
develop a twisted manipulative and
dysfunctional relationship it is
acknowledged in Cannon that you are
close in a way that others cannot
exactly define it is actually asked by
will is Hannibal in love with me to
whisk the response roughly paraphrase is
yes and it is possible he burns for you
but you a came as well the to come to
know each other intimately in every way
except the physical with scenes being
shot to highlight the blending of their
lives and personalities and the
codependency of their relationship there
is even a juxtaposition the features
cuts that make it seem like the two are
making love to each other will himself
admits he's not sure if the two could
survive separation as a psychopath
Hannibal has no true friends and
believes he has found when will someone
who fascinates him with a little molding
could be rendered beautiful in his eyes
you're not imagining the subtext either
as show creator Bryan Fuller notes it
practically text in some episodes just
because we really want to explore the
intimacy of these two men in an
unexpected way without sexualizing them
it is not sexual but it's beyond sexual
it's pure intimacy in a non-physical way
whether it is sexual or not the element
of sex lurks in the room as everything
is shot with a veil of sensuality that
tends to be used to connote sexuality
leaving the scenes between actors
feeling charged this is part of what
makes the ship unique there is an
acknowledgment that for the most part it
is canon it is only what the fans add to
it that is not Hannibal himself refers
to will as love and family and attempts
to craft a nuclear family for him in the
form of making abigail their daughter
and carving a place for them in the
world he also tells will that he is the
one he lets see him the real him
something he has not shown to anyone
else the moments they share together
which will describes as a courtship
culminate in the two sharing a pure
moment which is exactly what Lecter
tells will he always wanted for them to
which will respond while embracing him
it's beautiful so many moments they need
their own shippable moments apt to be
honest and the chemistry between the
actors Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikaelson is
absolutely amazing throughout the entire
series so essentially the show is
partially designed as an exploration of
this ship that has been built into the
subtext and text of the show itself
rendering it extremely shippable and
essentially Canon because of this the
show has been accused on occasion of
queerbaiting however queerbaiting is
defined its adding homoerotic tension
between two characters to draw in
viewership with no intention of ever
consummating it that was clearly not the
case here as for one thing if their
relationship isn't a sexual relationship
as hinted it has already been
consummated intellectually several times
over and two there was clear intent to
explore this much further as there was a
draft in place for season four as the
show is cancelled after season three was
completed so the cast and crew still had
hope so if the ship is so acknowledged
by the show's creators the actors who
play the characters and just media in
general why wouldn't you ship it
okay well this relationship is not
healthy it is codependent manipulative
the two of both tried to kill each other
which other characters disturbingly
described as foreplay between them
animal forced will to consume an ear and
hit his encephalitis from him
all will killed a man to trick Hannibal
it's believing he was ready to run away
with him because yes that was their
actual plan to run away together some
feel that's shipping this pair is
condoning abusive relationships and that
there is nothing sexy or hot about
cannibalism or murder and that the show
fetishizes it and also that doesn't
acknowledge how Hannibal is taking
complete advantage of well who some feel
maybe on the autism spectrum despite the
fact that the show has denied this
however Hannibal is a character study of
all those who occupy it using the
characters to work through themes as
well as drive the narrative it's quite
complicated and definitely not for
everyone and at times does take itself
more seriously than it needs to fix
about these two-hour nuanced and varied
yes there is smut as the sensuality of
the filming makes a lot of the scenes
feel like they're brimming with UST
though some are concerned it would be
too close to consumption for Hannibal to
avoid killing will and those are
interesting fix to read as well
there are also continuations of the show
following its cancellation and plenty of
a use where a the two run off together
to Italy with or without Abigail and
also be the non killer verse au where
Hannibal is not a cannibal but rather
just an attractive talented night sky
and the to form a pleasant domestic
relationship ICU coffee shop au there is
also a fair balance between dominant
Hannibal and dominant will as the twos
roles vacillate on the show so often
it's easy to envision either as a
dominant or at least equal to the other
Hannah Graham is a rich nuanced pairing
that could be problematic but tends not
to be as those who ship it as is without
adding the au aspect of non murdering
Hannibal tend to acknowledge that no
it's not healthy but it is fascinating
and nuanced it's easy to explore some
psychological concepts and aspects of
relationships that aren't exactly
pleasant with such charismatic
characters there is a pull between these
characters that can't be ignored and
sexual or not it's more than friendship
and two benign to be enemies what it is
is up to the audience to determine and
that's part of what makes this pairing
and show so interesting there's a lot
left up to audience interpretation which
is nice and refreshing for a change I'm
not going to lie I'm very tempted to do
either a ship will moments or some
episode analysis or just come back and
discuss more things like the murder
family which is a very interesting
subset of fanfic
let me know what you guys would like if
anything down below and thanks so much
for watching shippers Guide to the
galaxy like share comment subscribe and
stay tuned because there is many ships
out there as there are stars in the sky