This is an in-depth analysis of the season 3 (and for now, series) finale of Hannibal. In other words, for the love of God, stop reading if you haven’t seen it. You owe it to yourself.

If you’re still with me, let’s get down to it.

If you’ve seen The Wrath of the Lamb, then you know how it ends: Will and Hannibal fall off a cliff together. It’s been heralded as the ultimate “cliffhanger,” despite the fact that it’s functionally the series finale.

On my first pass, I was sure I knew what happened. I believed that Will “became” and joined Hannibal, and the two simply collapsed together. And I was happy with that.

Then I went on the internet (always a bad move) and discovered the pretty pervasive interpretation that Will instigates the fall, sacrificing himself to stop Hannibal once and for all.

Never read online about the things you love. It’ll only bring you down.

Then I read that Bryan Fuller has all but confirmed that Will is in fact responsible for the fall. If the showrunner says it, what can you do?

You can write a lengthy, obsessive analysis of the entire episode, is what.

(You can also acknowledge that a revival of the show is still likely, and obfuscation may be in Bryan Fuller’s best interest).

There’s no denying that Hannibal goes over the cliff first. Will wraps his arm around him, and it’s probably his weight that sends them over the edge. But is it Will’s design?

Or more essentially, is Will’s final action the acceptance or denial of his true self? The ascent or descent of his soul?

That’s the question I want to answer, and I’m sure you can tell already which side I’m on.

I want to examine Will’s motivations throughout the episode (and, obliquely, throughout the show). A good place to start is probably his line in the house, just before the fight:

I don’t know if I can save myself. Maybe that’s just fine.

Regardless of motive, Will does not save himself in the end. He falls off a cliff. But is that really what he means by “saving”?

Let’s take a look at that whole conversation.

The Conversation in the House

You’re playing games with yourself in the dark of the moon. It wasn’t surprising when I heard from the Great Red Dragon. Was it surprising when you heard from him?

Yes and no.

Do you intend to watch him kill me?

I intend to watch him change you.

My compassion for you is inconvenient, Will.

If you’re partial to beef products it is inconvenient to be compassionate toward a cow.

The opening of this conversation feels relatively straightforward. Hannibal brings up, yet again, the darkness that he sees in Will. If Dolarhyde can see it, too, that must mean that it’s real.

Save yourself, kill them all?

Now we’re getting somewhere. This is the line Hannibal gave Dolarhyde as an impetus to kill Will’s family. Dolarhyde was struggling with the Dragon inside him — on one hand he wanted to become, but on the other hand, he had finally found love and normalcy. Where have we seen that before?

I don’t know if I can save myself. Maybe that’s just fine.

This is a big line for Will, and it ends with a long and pointed look. But what does it mean?

It could be about Will’s life.

In any normal situation, this would be the most obvious interpretation. Will doesn’t know if he can survive, but he’s come to terms with the fact. This pairs well enough with Hannibal’s reaction:

No greater love hath man than to lay down his life for a friend.

By using the word “life,” Hannibal perpetuates the idea that Will is talking about a physical sacrifice. It’s possible, but does it make sense?

The biggest problem with this interpretation is that it doesn’t follow the theme of the show, which has very rarely touched upon the struggle between life and death for Will. Although he was facing the death penalty for a while… And Hannibal did almost cut his head open… And he almost got his face ripped off… And he was disemboweled…

…So maybe Will hasn’t led a risk-free life. But those near-death experiences have been more unique moments of tension in a greater story, and that story is the struggle inside Will. Is he really the killer Hannibal believes him to be? That has been the central question all along — it’s been the source of all our conflict and ambiguity.

And if we follow through with the sacrifice of life interpretation, what can we make of Hannibal’s line? Who is laying down his life for whom? The obvious answer is Will, but Hannibal speaks in terms of love and friendship. Is he suggesting that Will would sacrifice his life to bring Hannibal down out of love? Probably not. Or is he referring to his own life? If Will gives his life to bring Hannibal down, would Hannibal give himself up out of love to make Will’s sacrifice worthwhile? He never has before.

In essence, neither of these interpretations of Hannibal’s line makes a whole lot of sense. If Will has implied that he’s willing to sacrifice his life to stop him, then maybe Hannibal is telling him how silly that sounds. He knows that’s not what this tension is about. Maybe he’s been watching the show.

It’s much more likely that this about Will’s soul.

This show is big on surrogates (and not just the pig kind). Dolarhyde is a clear parallel for Will, struggling between the Dragon inside him and a chance at love and normalcy. Hannibal’s “save yourself, kill them all” line referred, the first time, directly to that struggle. If we follow that same reasoning, then Hannibal is suggesting that Will’s plan is to kill him and Dolarhyde in order to preserve his chance at normalcy. He’s asking Will if he thinks he can overcome his Dragon.

But Will doesn’t think he can. Preserving his normal life is linked intrinsically with preserving his soul, and he knows that both are forfeit. (To be clear, what I’m calling the “descent” or “loss” of Will’s soul is his becoming, the acceptance of his true nature that Hannibal has always seen. It’s one of those life-affirming losses of soul). Will can’t save his soul, and he admits, finally, that that’s okay.

No greater love hath man than to lay down his life for a friend.

Hannibal’s next line can still be read in two ways. If it’s Will’s life (or in this case, soul) that’s being laid down, then the implication is that he’s becoming out of love for Hannibal. In a way that’s probably the case, but it doesn’t quite ring true with their relationship. Will’s becoming is done out of necessity — it’s the emergence of a vital, innate darkness that Hannibal brought out. He’s not choosing to become out of love for Hannibal — he can’t help but become because Hannibal loves him.

But what does it mean if Hannibal’s life is the one being laid down? He did say his compassion for Will is inconvenient. If Will is prepared to sacrifice his soul, then what kind of sacrifice could Hannibal make to help him? (Bearing in mind, of course, that Hannibal wants him to lose his soul).

Why are they in this house, anyway, waiting for Dolarhyde to come to them? Maybe Hannibal is willing to risk a confrontation with the Dragon so that he can draw Will into killing him. He cares so much about Will that he risks his own life to aid in his final becoming.

I think this final interpretation of Will and Hannibal’s lines is the most solid, not least of all because it is what winds up happening. Will says he doesn’t think he can stop becoming, and he’s okay with that. Hannibal says he’s willing to risk his own life to help Will become, because he’s his friend. Now isn’t that nice?

That being said, it’s far from the only interpretation, and it still doesn’t get us to the edge of the cliff. To understand Will’s final action, we need to understand his motives. It’s always been hard to tell where Will stands, mainly because he often doesn’t know himself. But in this episode in particular, he seems to make a real about-face. In the beginning he’s ready to go home. He drops the mic. So what changes?

If you’re in the mood for some more reading, join me in Part II.