History HoYay / Hannibal

** Mads Mikkelsen, for his part, [[http://collider.com/mads-mikkelsen-the-hunt-hannibal-interview/ talks about]] [[http://www.etonline.com/tv/131976_Mads_Mikkelsen_Hannibal_Interview/ how much Hannibal]] [[http://www.slantmagazine.com/features/article/interview-mads-mikkelsen loves Will]] more than a little (although he explicitly says that it's not a romantic love).

** Then there's the fact that Hannibal and Will never seem to shut up about each other, both Frederick and Bedelia lampshade this. But the slashiest scene out of them all had to the one where Will remembers how on earth Hannibal got Abigail's ear into his stomach. Hannibal drugged him and shoved a long plastic tube down his throat, which er, symbolized ''something'' to a great deal of fans. The choking noises Will was making, dear god... a common statement in the fandom already is that they "didn't even need photoshop!" (seriously, listen to that scene without watching what's happening). Also after Hannibal removes the tube, he caresses Will's face a great deal -- as pointed out in the Tumblr fandom, ''it's like they're not even trying to be subtle about the subtext any more.''

** Will and Reba both bond over being WeirdnessMagnets for attracting serial killers.

** [[spoiler: It's confirmed that Will does return Hannibal's feelings, right before he throws them both over a cliff. Falling into the sea together can be seen as a metaphorical baptism/rebirth, and it's all but confirmed that they would have spent Season 4 on the run together.]]
** And when Will more or less [[spoiler: declares that he does return Hannibal's feelings, they embrace tenderly and Hannibal's face is nothing short of ecstatic and full of bliss.]]

** Apparently Will can't just buy a plane ticket to Europe in his pursuit of Hannibal and instead fixes up his sailboat to single-handedly voyage across to Atlantic to collect him. [[GeniusBonus He named the boat Carthage, the city to take down the historical Hannibal.]]

** The entire beginning exchange with Will and Bedelia. Not only do we get to hear that Hannibal gets a thrill out of "marking" Will himself, but we also get solid confirmation that yes, Hannibal is indeed in love with him, as much as he is capable.

*** Noticeably Will says nothing after this, staring forward [[LoveEpiphany while a match is struck behind him.]]

**

** Bedelia confirms that Hannibal is in love with Will, and implies that Will feels the same.

** Freddie Lounds uses the term [[AscendedMeme "Murder Husbands"]] canonically in her articles on Hannibal and Will. When she tells Will, "You did run off to Europe together," he has no sassy comeback like he usually does.
* "...And The Woman Clothed With the Sun":

* "...And the Woman Clothed in Sun":

** Hannibal persuading Dolarhyde into killing Will's family -- which is very similar to a possessive ex trying to get their significant other's current lover out of the picture.

** Apparently Will can't just buy a plane ticket to Europe in his pursuit of Hannibal and instead fixes up his sailboat to single-handedly voyage across to Atlantic to collect him.

** Topped off with Hannibal then calmly leaving the house, before he waits for Jack to arrive and surrenders, implying that he saw no reason to live anymore since Will "rejected" him.
* The Great Red Dragon: has the term "Murder Husbands" used in canon.
* "...And The Woman Clothed With the Sun" features more sniffing and Hannibal telling Will they're "family", complete with jealousy over Will's wife. Not to mention that early in the episode, Hannibal looked stung when Will avoids addressing Hannibal by name to keep things more professional and less personal between them.
* "...And the Woman Clothed in Sun" goes all out and has Bedelia accuse Will of being Hannibal's wife (which he doesn't deny) and then ask if Molly knows "how intimate" Will and Hannibal used to be. To add, there is the thinly-veiled hostility Will shows to Bedelia.

* The Wrath of the Lamb:

** After Will [[spoiler: bites off part of Cordell's face]], Hannibal looks at him with absolute ''adoration''.

* Dolce:
** Hannibal and Will meeting in the museum feels like two lovers reuniting. All the talk about "blurring" with each other, followed suggestively by a sex scene in which the lovers -- Margot and Alana -- are visually blurring.
* Digestivo:

** When Bedelia asks if it was nice to see Will, Hannibal responds

*** In the same conversation, Chilton elaborates that Jack is alive entirely because of dumb luck while Will is alive "because Hannibal Lecter likes him that way."

* "Sakizuki", the Season 2 premiere, could be called Ho Yay: The Episode, for all of its slashy moments. First, there was the scene where Hannibal visits Will in jail, and this statement, which out of context seems straight out of a romance novel, happens:

* Then there's the fact that Hannibal and Will never seem to shut up about each other, both Frederick and Bedelia lampshade this. But the slashiest scene out of them all had to the one where Will remembers how on earth Hannibal got Abigail's ear into his stomach. Hannibal drugged him and shoved a long plastic tube down his throat, which er, symbolized ''something'' to a great deal of fans. The choking noises Will was making, dear god... a common statement in the fandom already is that they "didn't even need photoshop!" (seriously, listen to that scene without watching what's happening). Also after Hannibal removes the tube, he caresses Will's face a great deal -- as pointed out in the Tumblr fandom, ''it's like they're not even trying to be subtle about the subtext any more.''
* In "Hassun", someone kills a bailiff and a judge so as to make it seem like the real perpetrator of Will's alleged crimes is still out there, which means Will is not guilty of the murders he's on trial for. Hannibal urges Will to use that at his trial, and when Will is reluctant, Hannibal says, "This killer wrote you a poem. Are you going to let his love go to waste?"

* In "Mukōzuke", we get a shot of Will ripping off his clothes and falling forward to his hands and knees, while antlers (Hannibal's symbol) erupt out of his bare back. Um...

* "Su-zakana" is basically Ho Yay: The Episode, Part II. To list a few instances:

* "Shiizakana" opens with a dream where Will has tied Hannibal to a tree, in which Hannibal explains his actions obliquely as an attempt to understand his "beloved". Will is literally dreaming about Hannibal confessing that he loves him. Admittedly, just before Will decapitates him.

** Creator/BryanFuller has discussed the show's "homoerotic" subtext, particularly in light of this episode, and admits that it's ''"practically text in a couple of episodes"''. Read the interview [[http://www.thebacklot.com/bryan-fuller-breaks-down-the-homoerotic-charge-of-hannibal/04/2014/ here]], and another relevant article [[http://www.avclub.com/article/hannibals-bryan-fuller-intimacy-between-will-and-h-203741 here]]. However, it's also stated that the intimacy they share is something akin to brothers, and equals -- a primal bond that transcends sexual love. But just see if ''that'' stops the fanfic.
--> '''Fuller:''' There's a scene at dinner where we were tackling in the edit bay because it was so transparently homoerotic. They were doing something that was not sex or anywhere near sex, but it was shot so suggestively that they may as well have been.

* Hannibal tries to attract Will's attention by carving and binding Dimmond's body into the shape of a heart and impaled by three swords. Visually, it resembles the three of swords from the Rider-Waite Tarot in the inverted position. It symbolizes, amongst other things, reconciliation between lovers.
* In "Secondo", Will says he knows Hannibal "intimately", and Hannibal describes his feelings for Will as "love". All platonic, but very suggestive.
* In "Aperitivo", Will reveals that he called to warn Hannibal because he wanted to save his life, and to run away with him.
** In the same episode, Jack and Chilton are discussing Hannibal and Will, and there is this exchange.
-->'''Jack''': Maybe it's one of those friendships that ends after the disemboweling.
-->'''Chilton''': I would argue that with these two that's tantamount to flirtation.
*** In the same conversation, Chilton elaborates that Jack is alive based entirely on luck while Will is alive "because Hannibal Lecter likes him that way."
* In "Dolce", Hannibal and Will meeting in the museum feels like two lovers reuniting. All the talk about "blurring" with each other, followed suggestively by a sex scene in which the lovers -- Margot and Alana -- are visually blurring.
* After Will [[spoiler: bites off part of Cordell's face]], Hannibal looks at him with absolute ''adoration''.
* At the end of "Digestivo", Hannibal looks absolutely broken when Will tells him that he will not miss Hannibal, and the whole thing comes across as a breakup:

* The episodes after "Digestivo" just throw all pretense out the window:
** "The Great Red Dragon" has the term "Murder Husbands" used in canon.
** "...And The Woman Clothed With the Sun" features more sniffing and Hannibal telling Will they're "family", complete with jealousy over Will's wife. Not to mention that early in the episode, Hannibal looked stung when Will avoids addressing Hannibal by name to keep things more professional and less personal between them.
** "...And the Woman Clothed in Sun" goes all out and has Bedelia accuse Will of being Hannibal's wife (which he doesn't deny) and then ask if Molly knows "how intimate" Will and Hannibal used to be. To add, there is the thinly-veiled hostility Will shows to Bedelia.
** "...And the Beast From the Sea" has Hannibal persuading Dolarhyde into killing Will's family -- which is very similar to a possessive ex trying to get their significant other's current lover out of the picture.
* Basically canon now, in "The Number of the Beast is 666", after Bedelia confirms that Hannibal is in love with Will, and implies that Will feels the same.
* Just watch "The Wrath of the Lamb". Just watch it. [[spoiler: It's confirmed that Will does return Hannibal's feelings, right before he throws them both over a cliff. Falling into the sea together can be seen as a metaphorical baptism/rebirth, and it's all but confirmed that they would have spent Season 4 on the run together.]]

-->'''Hannibal:''' I let you know me... see me... I gave you a rare gift... but you didn't want it.
** Will is confirmed (by Hugh Dancy) to be alive. The very fact that Hannibal didn't ensure the wound was fatal hints at lingering feelings, despite Will's betrayal -- it would have been all too easy to kill him otherwise.

** Hannibal tenderly dresses Will's hand wounds from last episodes. When he tells Will not to retreat from him and what he's done, Will asks where he would go.

** The subsequent scene is also fairly charged, given they're both alone together, each hovering close around the other looking over crime scene photos, and Hannibal's potent curiosity over how ''right'' Will is about his murders and motives.

** The subsequent scene is also fairly charged, given they're both alone together, each hovering around close the other around crime scene photos, and Hannibal's potent curiosity over how ''right'' Will is about his murders and motives.

** The subsequent scene is also fairly charged, given they're both alone together, each hovering around the other around crime scene photos, some long eye contact, and Hannibal's potent curiosity over how ''right'' Will is about his murders and motives.

'''Since relationships are key to character arcs, and that [[Administravia/HandlingSpoilers we can't exactly white out the entire page]], please note that spoilers can and will be unmarked. ''Proceed at your own risk!'''''