By request, one last discussion post for the road. The livetweeting will be storified as the night goes on, both east and west coasts; I'm working on the "Aperitivo" recap as well and hope to have that done before I leave for Dragon Con on Thursday.
P.S. Keep watching after the credits.
Occupation: Girl
Please close the door and switch on the fun without fail.
- HEY YOU GUYS I WROTE A BOOK
- You can buy it at Amazon UK
- HEY YOU GUYS I WROTE AN E-BOOK
- You can buy it at Lulu
- Make a Difference
- Doctors Without Borders
- Partners in Health
- The Red Cross
- More Cleo
- The Cleoland Auxiliary Wiki
- The Cleolinda Industries Tip Jar
- Tumblr
- Movies in Fifteen Minutes
- The Secret Life of Dolls
- Lost recaps
- True Blood recaps
- Twilight recaps
- Heroine Addict icons
- The Black Ribbon
- Favorites
- Delicious
- The Victorian Dictionary
- The Literary Gothic
- Dream Moods Dream Dictionary
- Tags
- *table flip* — 2 uses
- 2012 — 2 uses
- 300 — 16 uses
- a matter of taste — 6 uses
- a wizard did it — 1 use
- abject fuckery — 1 use
- actual sparkle motion — 20 uses
- advice — 12 uses
- alabama is the center of the universe — 69 uses
- alan moore — 9 uses
- alcohol is in it — 34 uses
- alice in wonderland — 36 uses
- alien — 17 uses
- alison weir — 4 uses
- american gods — 5 uses
- anglo-filles — 3 uses
- animals — 43 uses
- anne of green gables — 2 uses
- anne rice — 2 uses
- annotations — 13 uses
- announcements — 5 uses
- anonymous — 5 uses
- antiquities — 5 uses
- antonia fraser — 1 use
- anxiety — 16 uses
- appropriate responses to bad situations — 50 uses
- april fool's day — 5 uses
- are you kidding me — 17 uses
- aromaleigh — 26 uses
- aromaleigh-primavera — 2 uses
- aromaleigh-red-dragon — 2 uses
- art — 16 uses
- arting under these conditions — 1 use
- asshaberdashery — 73 uses
- astrology — 3 uses
- at least it's not twilight — 2 uses
- athena's daughters — 5 uses
- australia — 31 uses
- authors — 2 uses
- avengers — 5 uses
- awards — 327 uses
- backdated — 7 uses
- bad cat — 23 uses
- bad days — 41 uses
- bad dog no biscuit — 8 uses
- bad ideas — 7 uses
- banned books — 5 uses
- barbie — 33 uses
- bars — 6 uses
- batman — 221 uses
- best of — 77 uses
- better with raptors — 1 use
- bipolar — 12 uses
- birmingham — 9 uses
- birthdays — 23 uses
- births — 7 uses
- black ribbon — 101 uses
- blade runner — 2 uses
- blogs — 21 uses
- bond — 166 uses
- book discussion — 43 uses
- book recaps — 20 uses
- books — 427 uses
- bourne — 4 uses
- box office — 8 uses
- bpal — 65 uses
- brokeback mountain — 13 uses
- business — 8 uses
- cafepress — 17 uses
- candy — 14 uses
- captain blood — 1 use
- carnivale — 2 uses
- carter beats the devil — 1 use
- cat macros — 3 uses
- chagrin — 1 use
- charity — 40 uses
- chaucer — 3 uses
- cheese just wants to love you — 9 uses
- chez cleo — 20 uses
- children's literature — 4 uses
- chocolate — 24 uses
- christmas — 48 uses
- clash of the titans — 21 uses
- class — 4 uses
- cleaning — 22 uses
- cleo sue — 4 uses
- cleoland — 1 use
- cleolinda industries — 3 uses
- cleopatra — 4 uses
- cloverfield — 75 uses
- comic-con — 1 use
- comics — 57 uses
- complete and utter tragedy — 1 use
- computer: betsy — 11 uses
- computer: camille — 7 uses
- computer: lizzie — 18 uses
- computers — 47 uses
- contests — 2 uses
- conventions — 46 uses
- conversations with my mother — 50 uses
- conversations with my sister — 23 uses
- cooking — 13 uses
- copyright — 15 uses
- coraline — 49 uses
- cosmic signs — 1 use
- costumes — 18 uses
- creativity — 1 use
- creepy — 4 uses
- crime — 56 uses
- crimson peak — 1 use
- cryptozoology — 1 use
- cthulhu — 6 uses
- cuba — 7 uses
- cute — 34 uses
- cuteness — 7 uses
- dailydigest — 28 uses
- david bowie — 9 uses
- days of our lives — 43 uses
- deadpool — 1 use
- death and taxes — 1 use
- deaths — 173 uses
- dental work (sigh) — 5 uses
- depeche mode — 1 use
- depression — 63 uses
- devil in the white city — 3 uses
- dionaea house — 6 uses
- dire ravenstag — 2 uses
- disasters — 4 uses
- disney — 48 uses
- do not want — 8 uses
- doctor who — 39 uses
- dolls — 264 uses
- don't look at me — 1 use
- down with this sort of thing — 11 uses
- dracula — 31 uses
- dracula recaps — 3 uses
- dragon con — 10 uses
- dreams — 31 uses
- drinking games — 1 use
- drive — 1 use
- dvd — 21 uses
- easter — 2 uses
- ebay — 18 uses
- ebooks — 7 uses
- edward cat — 12 uses
- elementary — 1 use
- elizabeth — 4 uses
- emmys — 4 uses
- empire — 6 uses
- employment — 2 uses
- epic fail — 22 uses
- epic win — 45 uses
- etsy — 2 uses
- evil — 2 uses
- existential terror — 1 use
- facebook — 48 uses
- facepalm — 2 uses
- fairy tales — 2 uses
- family — 48 uses
- fan service — 2 uses
- fandom — 70 uses
- fandom wank — 6 uses
- fanfic — 1 use
- fantasy — 4 uses
- faq — 3 uses
- fashion — 11 uses
- february 13th — 6 uses
- feeds — 2 uses
- feminism — 2 uses
- fiction — 7 uses
- fight! fight!! — 2 uses
- film festivals — 36 uses
- first world problems — 1 use
- flames on the side of my face — 1 use
- flaming chicken of doom — 3 uses
- flesh-eating catbitis — 10 uses
- fonts — 1 use
- for science! — 7 uses
- formspring — 11 uses
- frankenstein — 2 uses
- fraud — 3 uses
- friends — 14 uses
- from hell — 3 uses
- fuckery most foul — 5 uses
- game of thrones — 2 uses
- games — 22 uses
- gaming — 2 uses
- garbage — 4 uses
- ghosts — 5 uses
- golden globes — 78 uses
- gondor needs no context — 2 uses
- good — 5 uses
- good cleo always helps — 2 uses
- gothic — 11 uses
- graphic novels — 3 uses
- gravity — 4 uses
- great achievements of my life — 1 use
- great inventions — 1 use
- grief — 6 uses
- hair — 3 uses
- haiti — 9 uses
- halloween — 45 uses
- hannibal — 91 uses
- harry potter — 422 uses
- haters to the left — 19 uses
- health — 85 uses
- heroine addict — 11 uses
- hidalgo — 2 uses
- hilarity — 26 uses
- his dark materials — 129 uses
- history — 6 uses
- hitchcock — 5 uses
- hoaxes — 8 uses
- holidays — 22 uses
- horror — 20 uses
- house of bark — 100 uses
- house of leaves — 3 uses
- housekeeping — 16 uses
- humor — 2 uses
- hurricanes — 24 uses
- hypomania — 25 uses
- i am never making it up — 25 uses
- i am not a twilight blogger (sob) — 4 uses
- i can't believe i just did this — 2 uses
- i don't like people anymore — 3 uses
- i have no tag for this — 5 uses
- i persevere — 5 uses
- i wrote a thing — 7 uses
- ice cream — 10 uses
- icons — 68 uses
- illustrators — 8 uses
- inception — 15 uses
- independence day — 2 uses
- indiana jones — 62 uses
- insomnia — 4 uses
- interviews — 11 uses
- iphone — 8 uses
- iron man — 85 uses
- irony — 1 use
- it's okay you can laugh — 1 use
- jack the ripper — 3 uses
- james bond — 1 use
- jane austen — 21 uses
- jane eyre — 10 uses
- jazz hands — 1 use
- jewelry — 47 uses
- jk rowling — 15 uses
- jupiter ascending — 1 use
- jurassic park — 4 uses
- justice league — 1 use
- katrina — 35 uses
- kerfuffles — 1 use
- kickstarter — 4 uses
- king arthur — 5 uses
- kingdom of loathing — 1 use
- knitting — 12 uses
- kol — 3 uses
- kurt vonnegut — 3 uses
- language — 3 uses
- league of extraordinary gentlemen — 4 uses
- leaving the house omg — 22 uses
- lemony snicket — 17 uses
- les miserables — 2 uses
- let me apologize in advance — 3 uses
- let me tell you internets — 3 uses
- let the right one in — 23 uses
- lexicongate — 18 uses
- linkspam — 14 uses
- lip gloss — 3 uses
- lit crit — 2 uses
- little women — 2 uses
- liveblog — 110 uses
- liveblogging — 1 use
- liveblogs — 1 use
- livejournal — 41 uses
- logical fallacies — 1 use
- lolcats — 63 uses
- look at my writing go — 1 use
- lord of the rings — 226 uses
- lost — 249 uses
- lost recaps — 28 uses
- lostnesday — 58 uses
- louisa may alcott — 5 uses
- lovecraft — 12 uses
- lucky — 8 uses
- m15m — 110 uses
- m15m book — 41 uses
- macros — 7 uses
- mad max — 1 use
- made of fail — 45 uses
- magazines — 18 uses
- mail — 12 uses
- makeup — 27 uses
- maleficent — 1 use
- margaret atwood — 5 uses
- marie antoinette — 12 uses
- matched — 2 uses
- matrix — 1 use
- meko — 3 uses
- memes — 35 uses
- memoirs — 4 uses
- mental health — 14 uses
- merchandising — 1 use
- mmmcake — 11 uses
- monsters — 6 uses
- monty python — 1 use
- mortal peril — 1 use
- moulin rouge — 1 use
- movie discussion — 80 uses
- movies — 957 uses
- mst3k — 12 uses
- murder sparkle — 1 use
- music — 233 uses
- music discussion — 5 uses
- musicals — 9 uses
- my grandmother — 7 uses
- my heart grew three sizes — 3 uses
- my life is so hard omg — 6 uses
- my little pony — 33 uses
- my little ravenstag — 1 use
- my mother — 68 uses
- my next garage band — 9 uses
- my sister — 3 uses
- myspace — 18 uses
- nail polish (shut up) — 2 uses
- nancy drew — 14 uses
- nanowrimo — 11 uses
- narnia — 143 uses
- nbc dracula — 9 uses
- neil gaiman — 87 uses
- new orleans — 34 uses
- new year's — 11 uses
- new york — 6 uses
- nick cave — 8 uses
- nora roberts — 9 uses
- norovirus — 9 uses
- north by northwest — 1 use
- not okay — 2 uses
- not one of my better moments — 6 uses
- numbered thoughts are organized thoughts — 6 uses
- nun clown — 1 use
- o rly — 5 uses
- o snap — 10 uses
- oh dramatize — 10 uses
- oh hell no — 18 uses
- oh why not — 1 use
- olympics — 24 uses
- om nom nom — 111 uses
- omfg — 3 uses
- omgwtf — 7 uses
- omgwtfpolarbear — 24 uses
- onoz — 20 uses
- oscars — 217 uses
- ow — 4 uses
- pacific rim — 1 use
- pallas cats — 8 uses
- paranormal — 7 uses
- passions — 7 uses
- pcos — 1 use
- penny dreadful — 4 uses
- people at my front door — 1 use
- pete — 11 uses
- petite lap bear — 2 uses
- pets — 5 uses
- phantom of the opera — 23 uses
- philosophical ramblings — 19 uses
- phobias — 5 uses
- picasso — 2 uses
- picnic at hanging rock — 2 uses
- picspam — 48 uses
- pirates (arrrr) — 32 uses
- pirates of the caribbean — 139 uses
- pizza — 4 uses
- plagiarism — 30 uses
- podcast — 11 uses
- podcasts — 49 uses
- poe — 20 uses
- poetry — 19 uses
- politics — 9 uses
- polls — 18 uses
- pony hugs — 3 uses
- potterdammerung — 8 uses
- poufwa — 4 uses
- predictions — 2 uses
- press — 1 use
- pride and prejudice — 10 uses
- prince — 23 uses
- procrastination — 1 use
- project runway — 1 use
- prometheus — 14 uses
- protests — 2 uses
- proust — 1 use
- psychology — 1 use
- pthoolhu — 3 uses
- public unrest — 1 use
- publishing — 59 uses
- pure awesomeness — 2 uses
- queens — 2 uses
- quelle scandale — 13 uses
- questions — 35 uses
- rants — 21 uses
- ray bradbury — 3 uses
- reader comments — 5 uses
- recaps — 120 uses
- recipes — 1 use
- red dragon — 2 uses
- reign — 1 use
- relationships — 3 uses
- relevant to my interests — 6 uses
- reposted — 7 uses
- research — 15 uses
- resolutions — 2 uses
- reviews — 16 uses
- robin hood — 34 uses
- romance — 1 use
- rome — 2 uses
- rooster — 1 use
- rose hannah — 1 use
- rx for writer's block — 3 uses
- sad — 1 use
- sag awards — 39 uses
- salvador dali — 17 uses
- sam — 28 uses
- sast — 5 uses
- savannah — 5 uses
- scary — 8 uses
- schadenfreude — 12 uses
- school — 73 uses
- science — 6 uses
- scientology — 7 uses
- scifi — 46 uses
- scout — 18 uses
- scout and shelby — 1 use
- screencaps — 3 uses
- sdcc — 1 use
- seasonal affective disorder — 3 uses
- senior wtf correspondent — 1 use
- sex — 11 uses
- sexism — 3 uses
- shakespeare — 29 uses
- shelby — 24 uses
- shenanigans — 22 uses
- sherlock holmes — 64 uses
- shopping — 57 uses
- short films — 1 use
- sick — 22 uses
- sin city — 22 uses
- sister girl — 51 uses
- skating — 7 uses
- sleeping beauty — 3 uses
- sleepy hollow — 7 uses
- smashup 2006 — 3 uses
- smashup 2007 — 6 uses
- snow white — 5 uses
- snow! — 19 uses
- snowboard — 1 use
- soap operas — 47 uses
- sockpuppetry — 2 uses
- software — 1 use
- something finally going right — 1 use
- spam — 5 uses
- sparkle consultant — 3 uses
- sparkle motion — 309 uses
- sparklemas — 12 uses
- spelling complex — 2 uses
- spider-man — 60 uses
- spoilers — 1 use
- spring — 1 use
- squee — 8 uses
- stage and theater — 16 uses
- stage magic — 4 uses
- stain removal — 2 uses
- star trek — 110 uses
- star wars — 79 uses
- stardust — 23 uses
- steampunk — 28 uses
- stephen king — 27 uses
- stoker — 1 use
- storify — 5 uses
- storms — 5 uses
- stress — 14 uses
- strikes — 23 uses
- stupidcrackmusic — 7 uses
- sundance — 11 uses
- super bowl — 6 uses
- superman — 46 uses
- surveys — 1 use
- sweeney todd — 35 uses
- synesthesia — 3 uses
- talk like a pirate day — 5 uses
- tarot — 4 uses
- tax panic — 17 uses
- tea — 8 uses
- teal deer — 2 uses
- teh kraken — 7 uses
- terminator — 84 uses
- terry pratchett — 18 uses
- thanksgiving — 6 uses
- that was way harsh — 1 use
- the avengers — 2 uses
- the daily something — 4 uses
- the dark crystal — 3 uses
- the dark knight — 4 uses
- the dark tower — 4 uses
- the day after tomorrow — 1 use
- the force awakens — 1 use
- the fountain — 5 uses
- the gift of fear — 1 use
- the girl with the dragon tattoo — 14 uses
- the golden age — 15 uses
- the great gatsby — 5 uses
- the happening — 9 uses
- the horror — 2 uses
- the horrors of etsy — 1 use
- the hunger games — 29 uses
- the illusionist — 5 uses
- the king in yellow — 1 use
- the little prince — 1 use
- the lodger — 1 use
- the lovely emily — 10 uses
- the more you know — 2 uses
- the neverending story — 1 use
- the prestige — 10 uses
- the princess bride — 1 use
- the ring — 1 use
- the secret life of dolls — 122 uses
- the sparkledämmerung — 1 use
- the toast — 2 uses
- the unbearable capslock of being — 2 uses
- the wolfman — 29 uses
- the women — 7 uses
- the x-files — 5 uses
- theater — 34 uses
- this is going to end well — 49 uses
- thor — 3 uses
- thunderstruck — 1 use
- tiny moist hand — 1 use
- titanic — 14 uses
- tl;dr — 2 uses
- tmi — 3 uses
- tonner — 54 uses
- too many damn snow whites — 6 uses
- tori amos — 4 uses
- toys — 46 uses
- trailers — 29 uses
- travel — 8 uses
- travels — 1 use
- tribulations — 88 uses
- troy — 5 uses
- true blood — 84 uses
- true crime — 4 uses
- true detective — 2 uses
- tumblr — 8 uses
- tv — 443 uses
- tv discussion — 9 uses
- twilight — 526 uses
- twilight again for some reason — 2 uses
- twilight recaps — 10 uses
- twilight reimagined — 2 uses
- twilight zone — 8 uses
- twin peaks — 3 uses
- twitter — 105 uses
- u2 — 8 uses
- ufo — 6 uses
- uh oh — 1 use
- unfiction — 9 uses
- v for vendetta — 10 uses
- vacation — 1 use
- valentine's day — 19 uses
- valentined — 7 uses
- vampires — 180 uses
- van helsing — 61 uses
- varney the vampire — 5 uses
- veronica mars — 7 uses
- via ljapp — 1 use
- victoriana — 20 uses
- video — 30 uses
- viral marketing — 1 use
- viruses — 2 uses
- voice posts — 3 uses
- wamphighers — 7 uses
- wank — 41 uses
- wanted — 26 uses
- war of the seasons — 3 uses
- watchmen — 159 uses
- we do not speak of it — 14 uses
- webcomics — 7 uses
- websites — 7 uses
- weird — 7 uses
- well that happened — 15 uses
- werewolves — 31 uses
- where is your god now — 19 uses
- why god why — 12 uses
- why we can't have nice things — 33 uses
- wide wide world — 1 use
- wiki — 4 uses
- wikipedia — 8 uses
- wisdom teeth — 6 uses
- wizard of oz — 10 uses
- wonder woman — 14 uses
- writer's block — 7 uses
- writers — 59 uses
- writing — 211 uses
- wtf — 140 uses
- wuthering heights — 12 uses
- x-files — 59 uses
- x-men — 123 uses
- yard safari — 5 uses
- yay! — 11 uses
- young adult — 1 use
- young wizards — 1 use
- youtube — 8 uses
- zombies — 49 uses
Powered by LiveJournal.com
MOD NOTE
https://twitter.com/cleolindajones
Edited at 2015-08-30 01:01 am (UTC)
Re: MOD NOTE
Though can we get a 'no spoilers in the comments until that moment has aired'? I know people like to comment during the show, and I know some people have seen it already.
Wow, live-tweeting is so much fun!
*CapeSwoosh and disappears*
Edited at 2015-08-30 02:43 am (UTC)
Did what I think just happened just happen, etc? I've never actually shipped them, but I can't read murder husbands as anything other than canon now.
Anyone wanna talk about it?
I mean, love the show, love the ending, it's just not My Ship.
But I have dealt with too many emotionally messed up and manipulating people. So I just keep watching this being all "no no - this is bad - this is TOXIC - I don't care HOW they feel about each other GET AWAY. RUN!"
The ending didn't disappoint me persay, it felt like a natural conclusion. I just sort of feel bad cause Will lost his humanity and got absorbed into this toxic fucked up relationship. So I can't ENJOY or rejoice on any of the shipping cause, yes it happened. Yes it's canon. But I feel more like I watched a character fight and lose a moral battle.
2. I loved the sequence where the bullet shattered first Hannibal's bottle of wine, and then the glass window behind. I'm sure it's a popular trope, but I immediately thought about the dream-like, wackadoo 2009 indie film "Franklyn" which starred Eva Green. (Hey, "six degrees of Hannibal" and all that...)
3. Near the end we got this "reprise montage" of Dolarhyde burning away his old life, the Ledger, the (replica) Blake watercolor, the entire house... and we get a shot of his silhouette in front of the flames. Am I the only one who was reminded of that iconic shot of "V For Vendetta" where V blew up the concentration camp and the survivors only saw a black silhouette figure amongst the flames?
Edited at 2015-08-30 06:13 am (UTC)
I'm so sorry.I could try and talk about something other than the last ten minutes of the show, but who are we kidding. Though I kind of can't believe I have this many thoughts about something so open ended and semi-cliff(ha)hangery.The plan to let Hannibal 'escape':
First, “I wanted to share with Lecter. Lecter betrayed me.” Lecter betrays everyone, sweetie. It’s his M.O. No one is special to Hannibal but Will, and Hannibal betrayed him, too. Will wants to use Hannibal to get Dolarhyde, and visa versa. So we’re back to that, sending killers after each other again, lol. I’ve actually lost count of how many times this has happened. But yeah, they’re going to transport Hannibal and fake an escape. I SEE NOTHING THAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG HERE. I've tried to figure out Will's head space in this episode, which I suspect is a mistake, because I'm not sure even Will knows what's going on in there. What were his real intentions? Another try at killing Hannibal (none of which he's been able to go through with), or did he intend to actually let Hannibal escape? Previously in the season, I was frustrated with Will's back and forth from Hannibal-like behavior to wanting to kill Hannibal. But when looked at in the light of the finale, as well as in the light of Will's struggle with himself, it makes a lot more sense. He has to kill Hannibal or become him. And well, he never succeeded at killing him, so… As an aside, Hannibal's behavior in the bungled escape was hilarious. Hannibal climbing out of the transport and casually getting the dead policeman out of the car while talking about Will needing to relax and stop worrying was glorious. “Going my way?” was practically flirtatious, as he chivalrously opens the other door from inside the car and shoves a corpse out.
The fight with Dolarhyde:
Will is just sort of standing there, watching Hannibal about to be executed, but before he can make a decision about stopping this or not, Dolarhyde stabs Will. And then you get Hannibal's angry lip twitch at seeing Will hurt, before he attacks and they tag team it against Dolarhyde. Really, the fight was over the second Hannibal got a sharp object in his hand, lol. But I think this next little moment was Will's point of no return. The moment after Hannibal had delivered the second axe strike to Dolarhyde, and he and Will are circling Dolarhyde, this LOOK passes between them, and it's like Will goes from fighting for survival to something more, to finding pleasure in it. Will and Hannibal share a look and you know they're finishing Dolarhyde together even though they can both barely walk, and then they're moving in tandem like they were made to do it. They just function as a unit, even when there's no time for planning, or even thinking. They were moving as one on instinct, in perfect deadly unison with each other. It only took them a few moments to dispatch Dolarhyde once they were working together, even though both of them were severely injured and Dolarhyde was quite the badass. That whole sequence was brutal and glorious. Like all of this show's fight scenes, the physicality of it was amazing. Hannibal was fully in his element (no one should get to look that attractive while swinging an axe), and Will was pretty comfortable in that element, lol. And Hannibal FINALLY BITES SOMEONE.
Yes, I think a lot of Will's actions come down to 'I don't know until the moment occurs.' Hence standing around sipping wine while Hannibal's bleeding on the floor (I lolled). And then deciding that no, he's not gunna let Dolarhyde 'change' Hannibal.
Although, however ambivalent he felt about it, talking Dolarhyde into going after Hannibal also served the immediate effect of stopping him from killing Will right there. It's the not telling Jack about that that's... sketchy. Did he tip D off to when they'd shift Hannibal, or is D just that good? ('Ex-military' is a great catch-all for possessing these skills.)
OMG just casually tossing corpses out of cars, 'relax!'. And nff that fight.
Edited at 2015-08-30 12:37 pm (UTC)
After thinking about it, I feel like the cliff dive is totally tied up with Will accepting his darkness and his connection to Hannibal. Cleo brought up in a previous recap whether Will was a good man fighting his darkness or a dark man fighting to be good, and that really could go either way the last season and a half. Hannibal unleashed something in him, and there may be no putting it back. I think something in Will changed when they killed Dolarhyde together, and afterward he admitted it was beautiful. This show started with a murder that fucked Will up, and ended with a murder that fucked him up even more. But I think back to the conversation they had in Italy, about being conjoined, and would either of them survive the separation. To me, Will went over the cliff with Hannibal, intending to die. An actual death, or a death of the person he’s been to this point. Symbolically and literally, it was a fall. Not a fall from innocence, as Will lost that along time ago, but a fall from everything, perhaps. I don't think there's any coming back from going over that cliff for Will. I think he went over because he had accepted Hannibal's feelings, as well as his own. And I just think that after that, after they survived, Will was just done, and had already given into it. Going over the cliff, I think he thought something like 'one way or the other, this is it.' If he died, fine. If he survived, fine. But it would be the death of 'good Will' no matter what. That would be a very Hannibal-like thing to do (like flipping a coin on whether to revive Bella or not). Take a plunge and embrace whatever the result is: death or rebirth. And even though the line was not Will's, I can't help but think it has massive significance: "I'm so happy you chose life. Suicide is the enemy."
Beyond the fall:
I can't read the ending scene with Bedelia in any other way than that both Hannibal and Will survived. This show has fantasy physics, and fantasy logic, and fantasy 'how much blood the human body contains', so I don't see a cliff dive as that deadly. Plus, this was intended to lead to S4, and Fuller said there was more of Hannibal and Will's story to tell. I remember a discussion (here?) about the show possibly giving Clarice’s ending to Will, and it resonated with me as it would feel more organic to the story here. Because I can see Will actually doing this and going with Hannibal and letting Hannibal do things, and even do things with him, whereas I had a hard time seeing Clarice (who had always been so morally upstanding) do so and seem IC in the ending of the Hannibal book. I thought that ending might be coming down the line in a hypothetical future season, but I never thought we’d get it now. But since the show ends here, it’s pretty perfect (to me, at least). It's amazing how much it felt like a series finale because of the 'end of a journey' aspect. I mean, it's really the worst possible scenario, with Will embracing his darkness, but hey, this is the show of psychological horror. Running away with Hannibal is beyond fucked up. But at the same time, it's perfect for where these characters were going. Will has been leaning towards the darkness all season long. It's beautiful and terrible. This might not be good for Will, but that it’s an excellent ending to the series. Having Will spiral into Hannibal’s dark world is fitting. And really, I think Hannibal being happy and everyone else being miserable and fucked is a pretty fitting ending as well. Though if Will actually gave in to his dark urges, I suppose he’s not miserable. Will has had darkness for a while, and whatever life he's going to have with Hannibal from now on, I can't imagine he'll be anything but an active participant. Hannibal might be getting what he wants, but Will has walked into this with his eyes waaaaaay open, and by choosing it, it means he wants it, too. All of this is completely my take, but I just can’t help imagining what happiness looks like for Hannibal, and now Will, who by not killing Hannibal, has become fully like him.
And yeah, I'm with you on the fact they both survived and I can well imagine that they've decided to place Clarice's ending with a character who it more truly suits at this point.
I never really shipped them, though I was all over their fucked up connection. But whether they're together platonically or actually romantically, I can’t read the ending as anything but that they're alive and together. Though I see them more as twisted soulmates; it might not be traditionally romantic, but they NEED each other on a level that goes beyond any other relationship. (The way Hannibal looked so genuinely happy as Will embraced him, and then didn’t even fight as Will started to move. If Will was going over the cliff, so was he.) They find each other fascinating, and while they're not exactly the same, they can't get enough of how the other one works. They understand each other like no one else ever will because they're two halves of the same whole or two sides of the same coin, and they’ve finally stopped fighting each other. And it is SO FUCKED UP that I can't even, yet at the same time, it's perfect. I mean, I can’t believe this series isn’t continuing, but if it’s not, this ending has just left me with so much glee, I can’t even.
This is Hannibal's triumph. He's basically Satan, and he's done horrors to every character in the show including Will, but he wins in the end. He, almost impossibly, gets what he wants--a Will to kill with, talk with, confide in, and truly understand. Also, if Will really has given in, together they're probably the most dangerous team you could imagine. Hannibal Lecter is THE serial killer on a show of psycho killers, and Will's skills make him a nearly impossible to out-think. Imagining the open ended future for them with no more seasons to give us a story, I just sort of see them as murder urban legends. I mean, no one could even know they're alive at all, until it's too late for them, of course. Hannibal is perfectly capable of killing without showing off (his two year dry period as the Ripper), and now that he has Will, he doesn't need to get attention. There might be the odd murder that's suspicious, a murder that could have been them, but no one will know for sure. Plus, Hannibal might play games with his own incarceration, but having Will taken from him now that he finally has him is something he wouldn't risk. Keeping with the near-mystical, dream logic tone of the show, Will and Hannibal would just drop off the radar completely, only perhaps leaving a hint of their brutal existence before disappearing into the darkness again.
Given Fuller's upcoming American Gods adaptation, I'm seeing a crossover fic as the New Gods of Murder/Cannibalism/Ridiculously Inventive Serial Killing.
Edited at 2015-08-30 10:23 pm (UTC)
So, that final scene. Pretty much all the discussion I’ve read seems to think Bedelia did it to herself. (Which is ridiculous on the face of it, but this is show whose pilot had a man hopping from Minnesota to Baltimore with a pair of lungs in his carry-on, so.) But I could have sworn that was a MAN’S hand reaching for a carving fork, which I took as Fuller saying one of them had survived but we’d never know which one. What’s your take?