She lectures him on his ~~responsibility for the crimes in the season premiere because she's uncomfortable with his insistence on his innocence
That's not so surprising when you consider that she doesn't believe in his innocence. I mean, there's already a pretty high threshold of entry to the show in that you have to accept that absolutely no one on it seriously considers Will's claims of innocence and of Hannibal's guilt, but if you do accept that, Alanna's behavior makes sense. As you say, she's trying to impose a certain interpretation on Will's actions that accommodates her own feelings for him, and that interpretation has the effect of negating his agency and perception of the world, but refusing to consider Will's innocence as an alternate explanation isn't an unreasonable choice given the show's givens.
What I've found interesting is Beverly Katz, a character who seemed just sort of there in season 1 but who is stepping into a very interesting role now. She's pretty much alone in taking Will on his own terms - including accepting his insistence on his innocence (and at this point she's the only one who is still hearing that story) - without allowing those terms to overwhelm her own perception of reality.
*nods* I find Alana's love for Will, inspite of or despite her belief in his guilt to be the Pathos to the Eros that is between them. I don't think I've ever seen anything quite so realistic before in TV. But then again, this Show has become Everything in my eyes.
As to Beverly. She really was important in S1 but got pulled into the Greek Chorus of the three medical examiners more than being individuated. She was the FIRST one to declare Will "unstable" in S1.1 and she was the first one he called to help him with the Walking Corpse. Their relationship is important but I fear for her. Her neutrality will not be tolerated in this morality play. Not when the Devil himself is involved.
I think Alana's attitude toward Will is realistic, I just think it's scary, to the same extent and maybe the same way as Jack was last season? Because she is also a person who is sincerely trying to do good, but she structures her behavior not around "what would be most useful to Will-as-subject if I want him to be as effective a crime-solver/healthy a person as he can be," but around "how do I feel about Will's deviance relative to my normalcy," and I just chafe at that character-imposed subject/object dynamic, regardless of if it's "oh I am here to help my woobie" or "I am going to brook no weakness!" Will's life is defined by the way he has to fight so hard to get out of other people's heads and trust his own, and the people who present themselves as - and sincerely mean to be - dependable to him simply cannot put themselves in his shoes enough to do more good than harm.
Maybe it's the subject/object aspect of the show that is so intriguing to me? It's called Hannibal; the protagonist is Will, and Will is the protagonist because he has this ability to experience the subjective reality of others.
Oh, I think it's scary, too! The tumblr cry of "Someone Please Help Will Graham" is so accurate. No one is getting it! And I love that Will is just going to save his own life. But........what will that do to the relationship between him and Alana? I'm not seeing/feeling alot of dismay from her for her belief in his guilt.
It's concerning how many people trust Hannibal and that's one of the delicious tensions that the show has brought to the viewer. We love and trust Jack and Alana and they trust Hannibal and that's just wrong. Bedelia really turned that on its head with her episode and I nearly leaped off the couch cheering for her.
It is not Hannibal's show. I agree. It is Will's wrestle with the devil.
It's concerning how many people trust Hannibal and that's one of the delicious tensions that the show has brought to the viewer. We love and trust Jack and Alana and they trust Hannibal and that's just wrong.
I think I can actually deal okay with them being sucked in by Hannibal and disbelieving Will? People get played. I wouldn't expect them to buy his story wholesale on faith, or to have completely understood him even before Hannibal set him up. I don't know that anyone can help Will Graham. I just want someone to pay attention to something he says when he's not channeling a murderer. It works wonderfully with the dream logic of the show, a nightmare where you can't scream. But it's so tough to watch.
I get that Hannibal did a pretty good job setting Will up, but Alana's specific comments toward Will are really not consistent with that being the only issue. Saying Will "is responsible" for the crimes suggests that he does have some level of culpability; then in the next episode she's insistent that it's not his fault (ie, he did it physically but he's not responsible for it). That's a really big thing to go back on, whether she's trying to support him by making him feel better or support him in terms of providing stability. Though the most telling, and the most frustrating, was the comment at the end of last week that "I hoped a conviction would be less frightening for you," which strikes me as a scaled-up version of the condescending "everything happens for a reason!" that people like to give when they're trying to make themselves more comfortable with someone else's suffering. I think it's a very realistic picture of someone who's so deep in I Feel Your Crisis losing so much perspective that they're actually prioritizing that personal emotional experience over trying to figure out what the person in crisis needs. That's different from not believing Will's story. She could believe Will did it and still keep her head enough to ask him what he thought about getting a breather from being on trial for his life.
I think i must have skipped most of the episodes Beverly was featured in last season, because I didn't know much more about her than who she was, but I've been finding her interesting as well. I like her pragmatism. I'm also not surprised that it's someone who doesn't feel as much personal investment in Will has been the steadiest, probably most helpful, influence on him in the last few episodes.
That's not so surprising when you consider that she doesn't believe in his innocence. I mean, there's already a pretty high threshold of entry to the show in that you have to accept that absolutely no one on it seriously considers Will's claims of innocence and of Hannibal's guilt, but if you do accept that, Alanna's behavior makes sense. As you say, she's trying to impose a certain interpretation on Will's actions that accommodates her own feelings for him, and that interpretation has the effect of negating his agency and perception of the world, but refusing to consider Will's innocence as an alternate explanation isn't an unreasonable choice given the show's givens.
What I've found interesting is Beverly Katz, a character who seemed just sort of there in season 1 but who is stepping into a very interesting role now. She's pretty much alone in taking Will on his own terms - including accepting his insistence on his innocence (and at this point she's the only one who is still hearing that story) - without allowing those terms to overwhelm her own perception of reality.
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As to Beverly. She really was important in S1 but got pulled into the Greek Chorus of the three medical examiners more than being individuated. She was the FIRST one to declare Will "unstable" in S1.1 and she was the first one he called to help him with the Walking Corpse. Their relationship is important but I fear for her. Her neutrality will not be tolerated in this morality play. Not when the Devil himself is involved.
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Maybe it's the subject/object aspect of the show that is so intriguing to me? It's called Hannibal; the protagonist is Will, and Will is the protagonist because he has this ability to experience the subjective reality of others.
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It's concerning how many people trust Hannibal and that's one of the delicious tensions that the show has brought to the viewer. We love and trust Jack and Alana and they trust Hannibal and that's just wrong. Bedelia really turned that on its head with her episode and I nearly leaped off the couch cheering for her.
It is not Hannibal's show. I agree. It is Will's wrestle with the devil.
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I think I can actually deal okay with them being sucked in by Hannibal and disbelieving Will? People get played. I wouldn't expect them to buy his story wholesale on faith, or to have completely understood him even before Hannibal set him up. I don't know that anyone can help Will Graham. I just want someone to pay attention to something he says when he's not channeling a murderer. It works wonderfully with the dream logic of the show, a nightmare where you can't scream. But it's so tough to watch.
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I think i must have skipped most of the episodes Beverly was featured in last season, because I didn't know much more about her than who she was, but I've been finding her interesting as well. I like her pragmatism. I'm also not surprised that it's someone who doesn't feel as much personal investment in Will has been the steadiest, probably most helpful, influence on him in the last few episodes.
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