What Did Hobbs Feel for Abigail?
This was the first enigma for me when I watched the show for the first time. A lot of time was spent in contemplation, endeavoring to unravel the emotional underpinnings that drove his intent. Reflecting on the question Abigail herself grappled with: what did he feel that made him want to kill? If you try to look up answers on Reddit, most people sexualized it, It's striking how prevailing these interpretations disregard Will's explicit dismissal of such notions. Societal inclinations often distort profound paternal affection, inherently mired in gut-wrenching love, into a sexual lens and I'm 100% sure it wouldn't be seen like that if it was a son. Anyway, it took me awhile, well actually, it took me Hannigram, to finally understand Hobbs.
The very first episode, a seminal moment, underscored Hobbs's pivotal role, elucidating the show's core thematic fabric.
Will saw. He understood deep in his bones. That's why he was losing himself in Hobbs. Not just because he killed him, but it was their (including Hannibal's) shared traits—meticulous control, unwavering commitment to self-preservation—that forged a parallel between them. Their fortifications, meticulously erected, were fractured by the intrusion of love, "No forts in the bone arena of your skull for things you love."
They were showing us since day one. Do you see now?
Hobbs's prior proclivity towards violence becomes evident, given Abigail's atypical response to the horrors she endured—her silence rather than seeking help reveals her skewed upbringing. To everyone else, running away or seeking help might seem the obvious recourse, yet her actions, or lack thereof, bear testimony to her entwined mentality, an echo of her upbringing in atypical circumstances. She was groomed in an environment devoid of divergent perspectives, anchoring her actions to an unconventional paradigm. This is essentially proof that her father didn't suddenly snap when she decided to go to college. Her selection as a surrogate daughter transcended mere happenstance; she mirrored their essence, their way of thought. It wasn't just because she was in the first case and because she was an orphan. I'm 100% sure Hannibal has orphaned children before, with his victims. Abigail was the chosen one because she had a similar essence.
Her actions—such as leaving with Will to Minnesota despite the inherent dangers—epitomize her submissive obedience, a product of her conditioning. Same thing in Mizumono.
Hobbs loved her daughter, but love shatters us, it requires flexibility to love, we must take the other as a part of ourselves, love is union, anathema to unyielding identities, it wields a destructive force upon them. For those entrenched in staunch individualism, love serves as an existential threat, rending their fortified facades. It's perceived as a vulnerability, weakness, compelling violent reactions aimed at obliterating or evading its source—the cherished object that exposes their vulnerability.
Specially, when that object isn't compliant. Hobbs began losing control when she was leaving for college, when his love for her started to hurt him. When he began to lose control over her.
The intricate dynamics of love, rejection, and acceptance underpin the pivotal relationship between Hannibal and Will. Had Hannibal unveiled his true self earlier, leveraging Will's trust and reciprocating his love, the ensuing cataclysm might have been averted. Will's unwavering trust in Hannibal stemmed from the rare solace found in genuine acceptance and care. The betrayal pierced deeper not for his identity but for the unwavering trust reposed in him. Will's reluctance to believe Hannibal's love for him, seeking affirmation from Bedelia, stemmed from a fear of abandonment and the shattered expectations it brings. "Abandonment requires expectation", he says so himself.
This show is truly about the consequences of love on those unwilling to surrender to it. It is portraying the reverberations of it on those adamantly resistant to its entreaties.
