ghoul

I wonder... where he got that from...

on stage performances by Ronald Macdonald

hiyo !

Time meassured in Robins and Commissioner Gordon’s Hair. EDIT PATCH NOTES: Added steph.

I’m tired of this comic lying aimlessly on patreon, want the tumblr to finally see it.

This episode is the first time we see antlers emerging from Will’s body, so the first clearly home-grown monstrousity from him - it’s immediately after he tells Matthew to kill Hannibal. It starts so slowly, little barbs like thorns piercing his shoulders, but then he’s alone in the cell, becoming some hybrid creature of a beast and a man and himself. He collapses to the floor of his prison cell, on his knees first, then all-fours, and the process looks painful - like a torture scene - but he doesn’t cry out, he endures it all, he just grits his teeth and lets himself experience it, like growing pains he can’t do anything about. He’s shaking, sure, but then you get the final shot, and his eyes look animalistic.

It’s the episode where Will is brought - transported - to visit Beverly Katz’s crime scene. The sheer crescendo of humiliation he has to endure is so hard to watch. He’s bound, the mask is restrictive, and feels unneccessarily harsh. Freddie Lounds is taking photos of him again as he arrives, which is bad enough. It’s somehow worse when she lowers the camera; even Freddie feels sorry for him. Inside, Jack is terse and resentful. He’s just had an awful night at the hospital, and now Beverly is dead, so of course he’s upset. But he’s so cruel to Will - he doesn’t say anything to put him at ease - in fact he hardly says anything at all. He holds a gun to Will’s face when he’s loosening the straitjacket, unapologetic. They spend about twenty seconds taking off the mask, and it becomes so clear how dehumanising it is. Will looks miserable; his arms are dead as he lets the straitjacket drop to the floor. This is my favourite episode because I literally find it hard to watch. I’ve cried at it, twice at least. Will’s looking at his friend who died for his sake, knowing who did it, knowing that it won’t help because nobody believes him. I want to write about him as Kassandra, yes, but I mostly want to give him a very gentle hug.

And the crucifixtion scene? It’s so beautiful. Matthew’s such an interesting character, because we see most of his motivation, but get only a glance of his murder-philosophy. But he’s not cultureless - he has enough insight to know that it’ll bother Hannibal if he says that Hannibal’s crimes will become his - knows that they’re something Hannibal is possessive of, as he seems possessive of Will. His attempted murder of Hannibal is so correct in its theme and presentation that you can see he’s not doing a favour for a friend so much as acting as a conduit of Will himself. Hannibal said suicide is the enemy and Will had Matthew slit his wrists. Will insults Hannibal by having him hung, like a common criminal would have been. The crucifixtion element makes me feel deranged because … Hannibal forced Will to take on his sins as Will’s own, and suffer for them, and Will turns around and said ‘This homoerotic mimesis flows both ways, you bastard, here’s some of your own medicine’ and honestly? Good for him. The way Hannibal’s voice breaks when he shouts Jack’s name. The pieta scene as Jack saves his life, look, our poor martyred healer, struck to a cross. The whole scene seems to be taking place deep underground, like they’re in Hell, and then simultaneously, we see Will, still alone, blood swelling out into the sink and the way he looks - horrified and proud.