Please write a meta about how Will wasn't manipulated into codependency and that's the only reason he's obsessed with Hannibal. Like I've heard that argument so many times and it bothers me
Ugh. Honestly, I have no idea why so many people seem to enjoy taking Will’s agency from him. @bloodsmile wrote a great meta on it here.
Some more useful related reads: goals of Hannibal’s therapy + this addition; progression of Will’s darkness; Will and control; Will’s person suit; Will’s motivations; Will and his views on free will + this, and Will’s moral conflict.
All these analyses cover the foundation and nuances of Will as a character as well as Hannibal’s goals for him. But let me briefly elaborate.
I feel like the whole ‘Hannibal is cultivating co-dependency and takes everything from poor Will’ stems from E12 of S2 in particular. This is what Will accuses Hannibal of:
Will: You’re fostering codependency.
Hannibal: Is that what I’m doing?
Will: I bond with Abigail, you take her away. I bond with barely more than the idea of a child, you take it away. You saw to it that I alienated Alana, alienated Jack. You don’t want me to have anything in my life that’s not you.
This might be what Will feels, sure. But is this actually justified? Or is he misinformed, dodging the blame and refusing to take his part of responsibility? Let’s break it into parts.
1) I bond with Abigail, you take her away.
Not true. Will is resentful and hurt because he doesn’t see a whole picture yet. Abigail is alive and Hannibal intends to reunite them.
2) I bond with barely more than the idea of a child, you take it away.
Partly justified. Hannibal did raise the topic of children to Mason after learning Margot is pregnant from Will - he’s impulsive when he’s jealous. But later on, he actually tried to get Mason to accept this idea, and he was angry and regretful over what happened to Margot (which is why he risked by letting Mason live and leaving him in a vulnerable state.) You can see the analysis of this here.
3) You saw to it that I alienated Alana.
Not true. Will was the one who alienated Alana. He realized that she isn’t in love with him even before the court, in this scene. (Taking everything from the script.)
Alana: I don’t have romantic feelings for Will Graham. I have a professional curiosity.
That sits in the air. Brauer breaks it. Pleased.
Brauer: I like “professional curiosity.” It’s so… indifferent. Unless you look like you’re lying when you say it. But you didn’t.
Alana is looking at Will, the painful truth of this hurts.
Alana started losing even friendly interest in Will the darker he started to behave. In and after E5, after Will sends Matthew after Hannibal, Alana doesn’t want to have anything to do with him. She’s scared and wary of him. Instead of trying to mend the relationship with her, Will is acting creepy and menacing - just look at how he behaves after faking Freddie’s death - he scares her deliberately. He’s hostile and arrogant during discussions of his and Hannibal’s bond. It’s Will’s choices that pushed Alana away + Alana’s own absence of interest in a real version of Will.
4) You saw to it that I alienated Jack.
Not true. For one thing, Will and Jack are a team now, they technically work against Hannibal together and everything is fine. In reality, Will is actually betraying Jack over and over again. He lies to him, he sides with Hannibal, he covers for him with Mason, and he warns him in the finale. Like with Alana, it’s Will’s actions that damage and ruin the bond between him and Jack.
Now, as for co-dependency in general. Yes, Hannibal is possessive - Will is as well. Yes, Hannibal wants Will to choose him above everything. Will wants it, too. In fact, this is what Will says to Jack in E7:
Will: You have to create a reality where only you and the fish exist, where your lure becomes what he wants most, despite everything he knows.
Will himself admits that he plans on fostering co-dependency between himself and Hannibal. Will ends the conversation about Hannibal taking things from him with the following phrase.
Will: You’re right. We are just alike. You’re as alone as I am. And we’re both alone without each other.
This is like, the glaring co-dependency proof. Will is participating in it as actively as Hannibal. Hannibal is the one who’s going to give up his whole life for Will, and he has many things to lose: his excellent reputation, his patients, his multiple friendly connections, etc. Will doesn’t have much in the first place. They are both obsessed with one another, and they choose to go back to one another again and again. It’s a choice, a conscious choice on their part.
Will is an adult who makes his own decisions. Hannibal didn’t make him fall in love, become obsessed, become a killer, etc. All Hannibal did was offer acceptance and love, and create situations where Will could end someone’s life if he wanted to. Will used all that and more.
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