MovieChat Forums > Hannibal (2013) Discussion > Did will have Stockholm Syndrome?

Did will have Stockholm Syndrome?

posted 7 years ago by JuandePareja
7 replies | jump to latest

How much do you think Stockholm Syndrome contributed to Will's motivation throughout the series?

[–] magicmtn 7 years ago

Hannigram shippers would probably say it's more like Hybristophilia lol

[–] keonkwa 7 years ago

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[–] DreamersxDisease (817) 7 years ago

Wow, I never heard of this, or rather I never knew there was a specific word for it, but...of course there is! Is this Will? I don't know, I suppose in a way it was. He was definitely attracted to Hannibal because of his darkness, but there was much more going on there too including, maybe even more importantly, his own darkness lingering under the surface.

Most of the time, I just say those two cannot be so strictly defined.

[–] AlmostReal 7 years ago

I think it certainly could be interpreted that way. Round about the middle of season 2 when his motivation gets muddy. Then certainly in season 3 with the " I forgive you." moment. After that false imprisonment, the pipe down the throat the disembowelment and murdering of the pseudo daughter and the deliberately driving insane and medical abuse... Not unreasonable to interpret that as Stockholm Syndrome. ;-) Not to mention what happens later...

Hes a prime candidate to develop Stockholm as he literally can't turn of his empathy, so its just a matter of manipulation to get him to sympathise with his abuser basically.

[–] DylansFearFiles 7 years ago

I think he is able to forgive and embrace Hannibal because he understands him. His empathy is key to their relationship. Hannibal wants to be accepted and understood, and the only one who can do that is Will Graham. Will wants the same thing and Hannibal is able to understand his loneliness, isolation, and mind. They're both alone without each other because they are completely and utterly unique.

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[–] lennonforever (2453) 7 years ago

That's a good point, and I tend to agree with it. This is much more palatable to me than the "bromance" crap.