Will Graham’s Person Suit
Hannibal is famously known to wear ‘person suit’ as coined by Bedelia. He carefully built his life and reputation as a surgeon/ psychiatrist and socialite in Baltimore, presenting himself as the sociable doctor while living his philosophy of eating the rude on the other side on the veil. He takes off his person suit rather dramatically at the end of season 2 and declares the world as he does that, he also did take it off privately during his interactions with Will in season 2.
Will’s person suit is however far less dramatic and more complex than Hannibal’s. What makes it so complex is the fact that it is difficult to point out which aspect is Will’s true nature and which aspect is a deliberate attempt to hide that nature, and often it’s Will’s subconscious which governs him. Will had woven for himself an intricate web of self deception and denial.
The person we see in s-1 seems to be vulnerable, helpless, not the most sociable, careless about appearances, also described to be on the spectrum while at the same time having high empathy. He has this fictional gift of being able to empathise with killers and joins Jack to use the ability to hunt down killers. Almost a savant on the quest of ‘saving lives’. Will’s situation seems more helpless when Hannibal steps up his agenda of exploring and then framing him.
But there are some moments when we see an entirely different person peeking from behind that vulnerable person. Like him fuming at Hannibal and jack in their first meeting, or when he is selectively, malicious towards Freddie or later towards Alana. This link explores it in further details - https://hannibalized.tumblr.com/post/617791108328652800/tasteless-rude-will-grahams-trouble-with
Is saving lives the only thing that makes Will hunt killers ? Or is it something he has convinced himself of because it gives legitimacy to his deeper urges ? Or is it the yearning to belong that he tries to for himself into a world that he isn’t designed for ?
HIDE , BE NORMAL and BELONG
What are some of the components of his person suit ?
The plaids and the scruff of season 1 to polish in season 2.
Point to be noted that he never went back this old style after resuming his therapy. It might not have been difficult to switch back to the old hair and plaids after Hannibal left him stabbed, or after he married. He didn’t, making me think that the plaids and scruff weren’t his style.
This isn’t exactly evidence but there are some anecdotal information that some of his clothes and bags from s-1 were actually designer, may be he was hiding behind a persona he built.
A great deal of well researched meta has already been written about the glasses. He uses the glasses to create a barrier between himself and people he wants to keep distance from is canon.
There is another interesting details about the glasses though. In his first meeting with Hannibal he had glasses on. His first ‘murder’ was done with glasses on, he gunned down Hobbs in his kitchen and blood splattered on the lens. It breached the barrier. In every sense.
Clothes and props as metaphors used in the series - Alana’s clothes / Randall Tier and more
It is not the only time clothes and props are used as metaphors of change or character motivation. Randall Tier donned self-made designer cave bear suit to ‘become’ a beast. Hannibal was just out of shower sans clothes when he declared he has taken off his person suit. He wore his most flashiest clothes in Europe while trying the most hedonistic experiments with his killing and living philosophy. When Alana transformed into her colder vengeful powerful self, she changed her wardrobe to power-suits, a switch from the more feminine dresses.
Will’s choice of vocation - law enforcement.. is interesting. It allows him to flirt with darkness from a relatively ‘safe’ distance.. and more importantly with a convenient set of justifications.
The show does not depict any real world profile or realistic conditions, as a creative choice. Will’s profile is a fictional mish-mash of contradictory traits like autism spectrum and too much empathy. If we dig deeper, we see that beyond s-1, empathy is not discussed at length and Will doesn’t seem to empathise uncontrollably, and does not or cannot empathise with normal people. Also, his social skills seem to be selective and voluntary. As the series progresses, he seems to make eye contact and engage with people (specially dark people) as necessary.
Though an actor’s or creator’s words are not last say in art, Bryan and Hugh have mentioned that Will mimics traits of being on the spectrum to limit his interaction.
Notions of Normalcy - family
A major drive behind Will’s person suit is to be seen as normal and to belong. While he cannot be normal in any true sense, Will adopts some notions of normalcy. Like family. His doomed marriage with Molly or going to kiss Alana are some blatant examples of him trying for ‘clutch of balance’.
Here I am also making a mention of how sexuality has been used as metaphor throughout the show. Killers are attracted to one another, killing is sometimes equated to consummation and so on. Will’s heteronormative attempts are layers in this story, where he is a closeted killer. Hannibal calls him out on his marriage - that his wife and son are means to normalcy. He also pointed out how his attempt to kiss Alana was for clutch of balance.
May not be intended intention, but the clocks struck me as a brilliant metaphor for self-deception. Will’s clocks were telling a different story while Will kept saying a different story. Will’s handle to reality was warped. In this case by encephalitis. But in a thematic sense by his conflicting urges.
When Hannibal / Bedelia calls Will out
Hannibal to Alana “you have dressed Will in moral dignity pants”
Hannibal points out to Will’s web of self-deception and how people around him are in denial.
BEDELIA : I wasn’t myself. You were. Even when you weren’t, you were.
WILL : I wasn’t wearing adequate armor.
BEDELIA No. You were naked.
Another apparel metaphor exchanged between the two. The conclusion is simple that in presence of Hannibal, Will’s person suit is off.
We see a man very different from who we met in s-1. He is wearing formals, no glasses, is at peace and completely attuned to Hannibal in mood and posture.
“It really does look black in the moonlight.”
Another aspect of Will’s true self is the image of him revelling in darkness. We see him after the duo killed Francis, drenched in blood and admiring the macabre. No barriers.
Quoting Hugh Dancy “We have seen so many moments of Will is covered in blood and shaking and horrified and this moment he suddenly realises it is his true self.”
Tl;DR - It’s not just Hannibal who had a person suit for the ‘normal world’. Will Graham had his own too, a more complex one where the boundaries between the suit and the real person were blurred by inner conflicts at conscious and sub-conscious levels.
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