Hannibal and the submission kink of it all.

Why is it that Hannibal didn’t yield to Will’s “please don’t lie to me,” yet folded so easily for “I need you, Hannibal, please”? What kind of submission truly excites him?

As someone who is, objectively, more dominant than most people around him, Hannibal rarely finds anyone genuinely enticing. Submission born from weakness bores him. Franklyn is a prime example of this, and even Tobias, to an extent. There is no thrill in dominating someone who was never a challenge to dominate in the first place.

Will, of course, is the opposite. Had Alana been more intelligent, she might have been as well, Hannibal admires those who are not easily controlled. This is precisely why he likes Bedelia. And Will knows this, which is why he hates her. Both Will and Bedelia are dominant individuals who submit selectively, of their own volition. For Hannibal, the pleasure lies not in forcing submission but in earning it, making a dominant individual choose to yield.

This is where Will distinguishes himself from Bedelia. While she is dominant and an active agent in her fate, her submission leans toward subtle coercion, as she relishes the role of the beast’s chosen one. There is a degree of arrogance in that. Will, on the other hand, actively resists Hannibal, challenges him outright, yet still allows himself to submit, gradually, deliberately. And after season one, those moments of submission come freely, no longer from fear or what Hannibal would perceive as weakness.

Which raises the question: is Hannibal truly the dominant one?

In any power dynamic, is the dom truly in control when it is the sub who decides to trust, to open, to place the weight of choice into the dom’s hands? Will constantly manipulates situations to make it appear as though he has no agency, as though Hannibal is the one pulling the strings, tossing him around like a helpless pawn. But the truth is, Will is always choosing. He saw the red flags and still chose to trust Hannibal. He chose to lead him on, despite knowing how unnatural the dynamic was. He chose to lure him in, then to switch sides. He chose to go after him, to betray him, to leave, and then, to return…again and again.

No one calls the shots more than Will.

And Hannibal loves to see it.