2.10 | 3.06

"I forgive you, Will. Will you forgive me?"

YES ok im gonna talk about this thank u for triggering these incoming thoughts in my brain

keep in mind bedelia's "forgiveness is too great and difficult for one person. it requires two" line, and just a general theme of balance between will and hannibal. and the whole "getting even" idea between the two of them.

in the first gif from naka choko, the knife is in line with hannibal's scar from when will sent someone to kill him (this was deliberate and is directly referenced in the script). the beginning of this episode is when will says "i'd say this makes us even. i send someone to kill you, you send someone to kill me. even steven." hannibal giving the knife to will and holding it until will grips it gives the impression of hannibal acknowledging the playing field is even. they have, on some level, forgiven each other and have a level of camaraderie and trust. everything is balanced. this is further emphasized by will and hannibal making the meal Together. they have gotten even, forgiven (?) each other for their betrayals/trespasses (even if revenge was the way to get there), and everything is balanced between the two of them.

(of course, except will's lying about freddie, but he is still on some level accepting and leaning towards hannibal and there is a degree of balance and harmony established)

but, in the second gif in dolce, they're both trying to forgive each other by killing each other. or, at least, hannibal is, and will has forgiven hannibal but is trying to kill him anyway. this is not balanced, and they are both only really thinking about themselves. will is worried who he will become if he doesn't kill hannibal, and hannibal thinks the only way he can truly forgive will is to eat him, based on his childhood. they are not working Together. this is not balanced.

also, maybe, hannibal is still working towards forgiveness in dolce. will is the one who is creating the most.. dissonance? in their delicate balance; he forgave hannibal, yes, but he is trying to kill him outside of that, for 'selfish' reasons (using that word very loosely). hannibal giving will the knife, his trust, and will's forgiveness back, and will not being able to hold the knife, is further evidence of the imbalance in their relationship and dynamic at this point. everything is all out of wack, basically.

in dolce, however misguided his approach may be, hannibal still trusts will, loves him, and wants to forgive him. will still is not reciprocating that level of love. this is evident in their actions after seeing each other for the first time post-mizumono. this is what is communicated by the second gif.

one last thing! hannibal says 'you dropped your forgiveness, will' (about the knife). a little bit after the second gif, will drops the knife again and hannibal catches it and closes it. hannibal literally caught will's forgiveness. it's hannibal's turn to forgive, now. cue brain eating. lol. ok im done

oh my fucking god hannibal blew on the soup in the spoon so it cooled down before he gave it to will. i am in shambles.

okay no but seriously this is literally so representative of hannibal's thought process in this episode in my opinion. he blew on the spoon for like 2 seconds, which would not have cooled it down much at all. its the principle of the gesture, and shows hannibal felt compelled to care for will. i dont think will even saw it (or registered it) because he was still super drugged up, so it couldn't have been for manipulative reasons.

i think it was because in hannibal's mind, at this point, he was equating will to mischa. he just, presumably, performed surgery on will's shoulder and took the bullet out of him, stitched him up, changed his shirt, sat him at the table, and made soup for him. so, already, he is going through the motions of actions that would be seen in this context as displays of great love, consideration, and affection. especially for someone who he both already loves (so the feeling is there in the first place) and also intends to be dead by the end of the night anyway.

at this point, i think hannibal almost regressed to the mindset of a caregiver that he had for mischa because of the parallel he drew in his mind (or bedelia manipulated him to draw in his mind, lol) between will and mischa. because he loved will in the unconditional and irrevocable way he loved mischa, and he believed that the only way he could forgive will was to do what he did to her. hannibal thought he had to eat him. despite this, or, rather, in alignment with this, he saw will as a person he loved. and so, he blew on the spoon. he felt compelled to care for will. he probably did the same thing for mischa as a child

of course, once jack gets there (and also as will starts talking and wakes up more) hannibal gets caught up in the theatrics of it and comes back to the present. but i feel like before that, even just a little bit, he felt compelled to care for will the way he cared for mischa.

will graham: