The stag being a projection of the trauma Hannibal’s violence inflicts upon Will; then Will growing antlers when he decides to kill Hannibal from prison, somehow becoming part of it, it growing out of him; and dreaming about being birthed from its stomach as he plays tango with the devil, ripping himself out of his own trauma and screaming his first cry after overcoming it, regaining agency but rebirthed as a consequence; then it collapsing on the floor and dying alongside it fresh out of mizumono because there is nothing left anymore for Will and he genuinely anticipates death. He sees it for the last time after being gently kissed and thrown off a moving train, betrayed again and being told that violence isn’t the only way of persuasion. On the other side of the love coin, Hannibal, to Will, is a wound that never heals. What makes Will truly amazing is that he keeps going back for more and apparently can’t stop himself until he has to throw them both off a cliff.