The series Hannibal fixes its genre's worst problem when it comes to identity by making queer sexuality and attraction the focus of its emotional core. The tumultuous relationship between Hannibal Lecter and Will Graham continues to establish new precedents for queer characters in horror. By avoiding adverse stereotypes and conventions which often occur when LGBTQ+ characters and themes are represented in the genre, Hannibal ultimately proves the continual and necessary progress of a genre historically celebrated by the community.

The showrunner of Hannibal, Bryan Fuller, has stated that he initially didn't intend to spark a romance between the characters of Will Graham and Hannibal but that it became the natural course of action due to the actors' chemistry and the dialogue between them. The relationship between Will and Hannibal begins platonically, but Fuller explains that the show's eventual lean into a queer love story came from what he claims, "started out as kind of a fascination with how straight guys interact with each other in a romantic way that is not sexual." Since its cancellation, Hannibal has been the subject of both scrutiny and celebration for its subsequent handling of LGBTQ+ subject matter but the final product is undeniably innovative.

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Hannibal's fame has a lot to do with the tangible chemistry between Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy onscreen, but more importantly, the show's legacy is lent to how the relationship between their characters subverts horror's worst issue with identity. Characters who identify as queer or who are coded to be queer, especially in horror, often face demonization that explains their identity as a consequence of their moral transgressions. The LGBTQ+ representation in these stories is subsequently treated as a side effect of the genre's horrific themes and values. How Hannibal portrays the identity of its characters, namely in Hannibal Lecter's love for Will Graham, reflects a progressive momentum in television and film that proves queerness doesn't have to correlate to the darkest aspects of a horror story. Hannibal turns into a love story by its seminal finale after having built the growing feelings between the two central men up as the emotional core of the narrative. Since Lecter is humanized by his love for Will, and the triumph of the show hinges on their romantic union on the cliffside, their undoubtedly queer identities do not become something that vilifies them.

Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter

Due to a notable history of queer oppression in film and television, the isolation that accompanies villainized antagonists has appealed greatly to the LGBTQ+ community throughout time and has opened up the genre for a future of fresh opportunities. Hannibal utilizes these opportunities by taking a classic character in horror and giving him a queer identity to renew the common understanding of why queerness exists in horror. The audience is meant to sympathize with him for his ill-fated love for the profiler Will Graham which is a signifier of how far the genre has come since the constricting days of the Hays Code. Sexuality is in no way weaponized as a perversion or fault in the narrative as it instead elevates the horror into a love story. This normalization of queer identity in horror is game-changing for not only this genre but LGBTQ+ representation in general.

Horror has been a welcoming platform for LGBTQ+ representation throughout history but it has also resulted in relatively big identity issues. Hannibal manages to craft a thoughtful love story within its horrific storytelling while also normalizing the queer identity of its characters. This is true both for the main protagonists Hannibal and Will, but also for the supporting figures of Alana and Margot, whose sexuality is presented as incidental rather than something to be fetishized. It set a new standard for the genre because Hannibal proves queer identity can co-exist in horror by serving as the humanizing basis for its narrative.

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