History Awesome / Hannibal

* One of the most 'fun' moments of the fight comes after Jack decimates Hannibal's first attack and puts Hannibal's entire body half way through a heavy wooden door. Hannibal gazes up in complete shock at Jack, clearly completely taken aback by Jack's combat skills and his sheer strength. It's about the only time we see Hannibal realise he has completely misread another persons abilities and was not at ALL expecting Jack to so easily sweep him aside. It's fun trying to wonder what Hannibal did think Jack was capable of. Has he assumed all the yelling was impotent anger? Has he mistaken Jack's broad, stocky build for middle aged softness? What ever he thought, he was astonishingly wrong and it's right there on his face. Mads sells the hell out of one of Hannibal's very, very few 'Oh, Shit!' moments.

* Earlier, there's a scene just after the credits sequence where Hannibal tells Jack that he intends to begin healing from his attack by hosting a dinner party, to which Jack confirms his intention to attend. In a subtle but fantastic piece of acting by Fishburne, he manages to convey several different things in his reaction to the odd suggestion, mainly using his ''eyes''. The right side of his face, closer to Hannibal, shows enjoyment about the planned occasion and a touch of deceit in his eye. The left side shows a very stoney, scruitinising "oh really now Doctor? I think it's time for me to put Will's advice into practice and get a feeler from this event as to what's ''really your whole deal''" look. It's quite possible that even the MagnificentBastard incarnate Hannibal Lecter did not pick up on this literal display of two facedness. Jack's mouth matches the story told by his eyes, half smiling and being turned downwards into a mild grimace on the right side of his face. Of course, this also works as wonderful {{Foreshadowing}} of their later, overt antagonism.

* A very subtle one, but no less awesome, in "Yakimono", is near the end of the episode when Will tells Hannibal "I'd like to resume my therapy." And for no more than an instant, you can see surprise in Hannibal's face, which for anybody else would be the equivalant of a flat "What..." and a unhinged jaw. Will actually ''surprised'' him.

* Let's face it; there's a meta moment for the Hannibal fandom. The show was getting low ratings and in danger of being cancelled, but the fandom rose to the challenge and, through various ingenious and imaginative Twitter and Tumblr campaigns, managed to make the show one of the most talked about series of the year, ensuring its renewal for a second season.
** Plus, this is actually the first time Bryan Fuller has ''ever'' gotten to end a season of one of his shows on his own terms.

* One on a meta level: During Season 2, NBC was very skittish about referencing Margot's homosexuality, resulting in just a few notoriously vague lines about it. This season? She gets a not-ambiguous-in-the-slightest sex scene with Alana. Happy Pride!

* In a meta way, the finale of Season 3 catering fully to Hannigram fans. It's also one of the few network television shows to openly feature not one but possibly ''two'' homosexual or bisexual couples in the main cast: Margot and Alana, and Hannibal and Will. The series finale leans heavily towards the latter, due to the romantic undertones.

* In "Fromage", Hannibal is confronted by [[spoiler:Tobias, the serial killer friend of one of his patients.]] There is a fight and neither can gain any ground until [[spoiler:Hannibal tricks Tobias into punching into a ladder. He uses the ladder to break his arm and cripple him, brings him to his knees with a throat punch and kills him by slamming a heavy statue -- [[ArcSymbol of a deer, no less]] -- on his head.]] Since Hannibal has primarily been an intellectual threat rather than a physical one in all his appearances, it's good to be reminded that a highly intelligent and icily calm SerialKiller can still be pretty damn dangerous in a fight.
** Also some FridgeBrilliance: some people thought [[spoiler:Hannibal really should have done better in the fight (Tobias did ''seem'' to have an edge until the end), but watch carefully -- after he took some impressive-looking damage (his arm, his leg, a few facial wounds) he proceeds to '''[[CurbStompBattle curb stomp]]''' Tobias: first using a rope-a-dope on a rather conveniently placed ladder (that ''he himself moved'' during the course of the fight) to pin and break Tobias' arm, then an almost nonchalant larynx strike that drops Tobias like a sack of potatoes. Following that, he not only uses a tablecloth to pick up the deer statue before smashing Tobias' head with it, he uses the tablecloth to tip over the table it was on -- no fingerprints means it looks like Tobias fell against it, dropping the statue on his own head. He was making sure that he looked beat up when the law arrived. After all, an opera-loving psychiatrist shouldn't be able to easily dispatch a psychopathic murderer who took down two cops.]]
** Will also does very well in the same episode, when he's garroted from behind by [[spoiler: Tobias]], trapping his hand and his gun close to his head. So Will tilts the gun back and fires it, deafening them both and dazing his attacker, forcing [[spoiler: Tobias]] to release him.

** Even cooler is when [[spoiler: Will copies this method in the season finale -- having analysed it the episode before -- using it to escape his own handcuffs.]]
* Whether you love Freddie or hate her, you have to admire her for staying calm and never losing her cool when she's kidnapped by Gideon, [[spoiler:forced to watch him operate on Chilton and then keep Chilton alive by pumping air for him.]]
* In the season finale, Alana ''finally'' figures out that [[spoiler:Will is suffering from encephalitis]] when she hears him mention [[spoiler: Hannibal having him draw a clock, which prompts her to ask him to do it again and lets her see how distorted it is, meaning that Will has a physiological reason for his behavior]]. She looks [[TearsOfJoy ready to cry from relief]] and at that point the audience is too.
* Though the context makes it rather painful, [[spoiler:what with Will being incarcerated and Hannibal getting off scot-free]], there is something undeniably awesome about the final scene of the finale: Will making it clear as crystal that [[spoiler:he knows Hannibal is the killer and, to a lesser extent, that he's fucking pissed rather than afraid]]... and Hannibal smirking in vaguely triumphant amusement. [[spoiler: The scene can be seen as an evil SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome for Hannibal too, since it's incredible for a serial killer to successfully frame the investigator of his crimes for the killings.]]

* Roland Umber, the man abducted by the eye-mural killer in "Kaiseki" wakes up and escapes at the start of the next episode, as his previous heroin usage gave him resistance to the deadly dose of opiates. After tearing his flesh from pulling himself from the glue and stitches of the mural, Umber manages to smash the lock of the container holding him and run out. [[spoiler: Of course the killer then sees Umber and hunts him through a forest and cornfield, with the victim doing well to avoid the killer's sight and rifle. Backed up against a high river cliff and facing the killer, he jumps off the edge, only just hitting the side and dying.]]
** It's implied that Umber knew [[spoiler: he would die either way, making his jump from the cliff [[{{BetterToDieThanBeKilled}} a death on his own terms]].]]

* Will effortlessly deducing the nature of the finished eye mural just from looking at a picture. [[spoiler: He quickly works out that Hannibal saw the man from the roof hole, then stitched in the murderer and took a leg as a trophy. Then he seamlessly pretends that he has no idea it was Hannibal who did it.]] Even Hannibal looks surprised with Will's speed. Best of all, Will breaks out his catchphrase for the first time of Season 2: "This is my design". Then he eerily subverts it with "''You'' are not my design," [[spoiler:when he works out how Hannibal changed the mural.]]

* The fight scene in Hannibal's basement, even though it's brief and mostly off-screen. [[spoiler: Hannibal moves almost inhumanly fast to strike out the lights as Beverly shoots at him. The camera then pans up while several gun shots are heard, before finally a bullet goes up through the ceiling. It just works as a very effective sign that Hannibal got close enough to Beverly to force her arm up, and so she's now a goner.]]

* Jack says he understands if [[spoiler: Zeller and Price want time to grieve and don't want to examine Beverly's remains, but Price is firm -- "We're not running away from this, Jack. Beverly wouldn't."]]

* Hate him or not, there is something that is both chilling and beautiful about the way Hannibal [[spoiler: sets up Chilton in "Yakimono"]]. It's obvious from the prep with [[spoiler: Miriam Lass]] that he had been planning to execute such a plan for quite some time. Conditioning someone thus does not happen overnight. But he plays everything perfectly, and once he realizes Jack is having [[spoiler: Miriam]] look at him through the one-way mirror at FBI headquarters, engineers everything so that [[spoiler: Chilton will be next at that table. He doesn't even have to be there for the execution.]]

* The exact details aren't known yet, but the animalistic killer of "Shiizakana"? Who mauled at least three people? [[spoiler: Killed by Will Graham, with his bare hands.]]

* After we spend almost the entirety of "Ko no Mono" thinking [[spoiler: Will killed and ate Freddie and has been seduced by Hannibal,]] the reveal that [[spoiler: Freddie's alive and both she and Jack are in on Will's long con]] is pretty damn satisfying.

** [[spoiler:Jack revealing that he's even keeping Will in the dark about some parts of their plan to take down Hannibal, as after a great deal of effort he's managed to locate Bedelia and get her safely into FBI custody.]]
** [[spoiler:Hannibal showing more of his fighting skills against Mason's goons, including a leg sweep a ninja would be proud of.]]
** [[spoiler:Carlo taking Hannibal down Matthew Brown-style, by bringing a taser to a knife fight.]]
** [[spoiler:Will turning on Mason by freeing Hannibal, knowing it'll get him attacked, but still getting to see Hannibal make good on the opportunity before he passes out.]]
** [[spoiler:Hannibal making sure Mason pays in full for all he's done ''without'' killing him, so that Margot will still have access to the family's money. Namely, leaving him with half a face and quadriplegic.]]
** [[spoiler:Margot standing triumphantly over the helpless Mason, and declaring that she'll be giving him the exact same level of care he's given her all their lives.]]

** Despite all of the advantages that Hannibal has in the episode, Will still manages to give him a brutal WhamLine that confirms just how much he has affected and changed Hannibal throughout their time together. Whether he wants to admit it or not, Will ''has'' managed to creep under the doctor's emotional walls and make him feel more than anybody else since Mischa, [[spoiler: including hurting him with an inevitable betrayal.]] Hannibal doesn't deny it.

** After being manipulated by Hannibal for most of the second season, Alana finally gets the opportunity [[spoiler: to confront Hannibal and she doesn't hesitate to point a gun at him, especially after discovering that Jack was trapped and injured in the pantry. If Hannibal hadn't removed the bullets ahead of time, there's no doubt that Alana would have shot him dead right there in his own blood-soaked kitchen.]]

** Honestly, credit where it's due: Hannibal managed to [[spoiler: beat Jack in hand-to-hand combat (allegations of cheating aside), and then outmaneuver both Alana and Will with schemes he had arranged prior to the confrontations. This is one of the crowning examples of both his short and long-term planning skills. TheBadGuyWins, indeed.]]

* The flashbacks in "Antipasto" show that even as [[spoiler: Gideon is slowly eaten piece by piece, his predicament doesn't stop him from sniping at Hannibal, particularly towards the latter's increasingly unhealthy obsession with Will. Not bad for someone who's paraplegic, [[AnArmAndALeg almost entirely limbless]], and [[FaceDeathWithDignity is about to die soon]].]]

** Not to mention Jack's refusal to let Hannibal distract him by [[spoiler:trying to talk about Bella's death]]. Jack is so determined in this battle that [[ShutUpHannibal he just won't play along with Hannibal's mind games]].
** Hannibal gets points for [[spoiler:surviving his fall by grabbing Pazzi's hanging body, then limping away after falling the rest of the considerable distance]].
* Will surviving [[spoiler: getting thrown off a train, then quite quickly getting up and following the Ravenstag.]]

* The downfall of Mason Verger is easily the most awesomely satisfying of all three versions that have been produced, including [[spoiler:Hannibal's OffscreenMomentOfAwesome stopping Cordell from cutting off Will's face and instead cutting off his own and putting it over Mason's to let him wake up to, followed by Margot and Alana giving him a tag-team TheReasonYouSuckSpeech that includes how his hold over Margot is gone thanks to Hannibal having harvested his sperm while he was unconscious, meaning Margot can get his money after he's dead. They proceed to feed him to his eel together.]]

* Doubles as NightmareFuel, but Dolarhyde's infamous "You owe me awe!" speech to [[spoiler: Chilton]]. Creator/RichardArmitage absolutely knocks it out of the park.

* Even when Will [[spoiler: accepts that he enjoys killing and reciprocates Hannibal's feelings, he still shows one last act of defiance towards Hannibal by [[TakingYouWithMe throwing them both off the cliff]].]] Even if you rejoice at the fact that [[spoiler: they finally become a couple, it's still great to see Will finish off his long-time nemesis -- who has caused him no end of suffering -- thus pulling an act that results in quite the literal cliffhanger.]]
* In a meta way, the finale of Season 3 catering fully to Hannigram fans. It's also one of the few network television shows to openly feature not one but possibly ''two'' homosexual or bisexual couples in the main cast: Margot and Alana, and [[spoiler: Hannibal and Will.]] The series finale leans heavily towards the latter, due to the romantic undertones.

** Jack opening the fight by pulling an EnemyRisingBehind on Hannibal.

--> '''Will:''' I'm going to remember, Dr. Lecter. And when I do, there will be a reckoning.

---> '''Matthew:''' Maybe your murders will become my murders. I'll be the Chesapeake Ripper now.
---> '''Hannibal:''' Only if you eat me.

--> '''Matthew:''' Maybe your murders will become my murders. I'll be the Chesapeake Ripper now.
--> '''Hannibal:''' Only if you eat me.

-->'''Hannibal''': Do you think you could change me? The way I've changed you?
-->'''Will''': [[ArmorPiercingResponse I already did]].

* Though the context makes it rather painful, [[spoiler:what with Will being incarcerated and Hannibal getting off scot-free]], there is something undeniably awesome about the final scene of the finale: Will making it clear as crystal that [[spoiler:he knows Hannibal is the killer and, to a lesser extent, that he's fucking pissed rather than afraid]]... and Hannibal smirking in vaguely triumphant amusement. [[spoiler: The scene can be seen as an evil CrowningMomentOfAwesome for Hannibal too, since it's incredible for a serial killer to successfully frame the investigator of his crimes for the killings.]]

* The first scene in "Kaiseki" with Will and Hannibal on screen together. Will is no longer the confused investigator of the last season, and he can actually see Hannibal for the villain that he is. What really makes it a CrowningMomentOfAwesome is the BadassBoast at the end:

* Earlier, there's a scene just after the credits sequence where Hannibal tells Jack that he intends to begin healing from his attack by hosting a dinner party. In a subtle but fantastic piece of acting by Fishburne, he manages to convey several different things in his reaction, mainly using his ''eyes''. The right side of his face, closer to Hannibal, shows enjoyment about the planned occasion and a touch of deceit in his eye. The left side shows a very stoney, scruitinising "oh really now Doctor? I think it's time for me to put Will's advice into practice and get a feeler from this event as to what's ''really your whole deal''" look. It's quite possible that even the MagnificentBastard incarnate Hannibal Lecter did not pick up on this literal display of two facedness. Jack's mouth matches the story told by his eyes, half smiling and being turned downwards into a mild grimace on the right side of his face. Of course, this also works as wonderful {{Foreshadowing}} of their later, overt antagonism.

* Earlier, there's a scene just after the credits sequence where Hannibal tells Jack that he intends to begin healing from his attack by bosting a dinner party. In a subtle but fantastic piece of acting by Fishburne, he manages to convey several different things in his reaction, mainly using his ''eyes''. The right side of his face, closer to Hannibal, shows enjoyment about the planned occasion and a touch of deceit in his eye. The left side shows a very stoney, scruitinising "oh really now Doctor? I think it's time for me to put Will's advice into practice and get a feeler from this event as to what's ''really your whole deal''" look. It's quite possible that even the MagnificentBastard incarnate Hannibal Lecter did not pick up on this literal display of two facedness. Jack's mouth matches the story told by his eyes, half smiling and being turned downwards into a mild grimace on the right side of his face. Of course, this also works as wonderful {{Foreshadowing}} of their later, overt antagonism.

* When Will enlists Hannibal's help in discovering the identity of the Tooth Fairy, Alana is all too aware that Hannibal plans to play mind games with Will again. She visits him in the asylum and reminds him that all the privileges he currently has are there under one condition: his cooperative behavior. She proceeds to warn him that if he tries to do anything to Will, she'll take them away in an instant. It's satisfying to see her having complete power over Hannibal after she spent half the second season being manipulated by him.

-->'''Alana''': I know what you're afraid of. It's not pain or solitude. It's indignity. [...] I'll take your books, I'll take your drawings, I'll take your toilet. You'll have nothing but indignity and the company of the dead.

** The scene may also be [[TakeThatScrappy especially cathartic]] to those who have grown annoyed with Alana's unsympathetic and GenreBlind behavior, as she undoubtedly feels extremely foolish when she finally puts the pieces together.

** Different character, same episode: Will Graham [[PapaWolf chases down Abigail's kidnapper]] and saves her bacon.

* Doubles as NightmareFuel, but Dolarhyde's infamous "You owe me awe!" speech to [[spoiler: Chilton]]. RichardArmitage absolutely knocks it out of the park.

** What's even better? Hannibal can't make a proper comeback for a second time, only silently staring at Will in pure shock upon knowing that he was manipulated yet again but he never realized it until now. Yo elaborate: Will was playing him like a fiddle the entire time during their conversation in "Digestivo", knowing what words would provoke Hannibal to turn himself in. Even then, no matter the outcome, Will would have won: if Hannibal left, then he would be really gone from Will's life. If he surrendered, he would finally be imprisoned for his crimes, which was Will's original plan in Season 2.

** What's even better? Hannibal can't make a proper comeback for a second time, only silently staring at Will in pure shock upon knowing that he was manipulated yet again but he never realized it until now. Will was playing him like a fiddle the entire time during their conversation in "Digestivo", knowing what words would provoke Hannibal to turn himself in. Even then, no matter the outcome, Will would have won either way: if Hannibal left, then he would be really gone from Will's life. If he surrendered, he would finally be imprisoned for his crimes, which was Will's original plan in Season 2.

** What's even better? Hannibal can't make a proper comeback for a second time, only silently staring at Will in pure shock upon knowing that he was played yet again and but he never realized it until now. It was made clear that Will was playing him like a fiddle the entire time during their conversation in "Digestivo", knowing what words would provoke Hannibal to turn himself in. Even then, no matter the outcome, Will would have won either way: if Hannibal left, then he would be really gone from Will's life. If he surrendered, he would finally be imprisoned for his crimes, which was Will's original plan in Season 2.

-->'''Will''': ''[[ArmorPiercingResponse I already did]]''.

** What's even better? Hannibal can't make a proper comeback for a second time, only silently staring at Will in pure shock upon knowing that he was played yet again and but he never realized it until now. It was then made clear that Will was playing him like a fiddle the entire time during their talk in "Digestivo", knowing just what words would provoke Hannibal to turn himself in. Even then, Will would have won either way: if Hannibal really left, then he would be really gone from Will's life. If he surrendered, he would finally be imprisoned for his crimes, which was Will's original plan in Season 2.

* Even when Will [[spoiler: accepts that he enjoys killing and reciprocates Hannibal's feelings, he still shows one last act of defiance towards Hannibal by [[TakingYouWithMe throwing them both off the cliff]].]] Even if you can't help but rejoice at the fact that [[spoiler: they finally become a couple, it's still great to see Will finish off his long-time nemesis -- who has caused him no end of suffering -- thus pulling an act that results in quite the literal cliffhanger.]]

* Jack vs. Hannibal, Round 2. Unlike their first fight, Jack completely ''owns'' the whole thing, smacking Hannibal around with almost contemptuous ease until the heretofore invincible-seeming MagnificentBastard is forced to limp away bloody and broken. Highlights include:

** Hannibal gets points for [[spoiler: surviving his fall by grabbing Pazzi's hanging body, then limping away after falling the rest of the considerable distance.]]

-->'''Will''': ''I already did''.

* When Will enlists Hannibal's help in discovering the identity of the Tooth Fairy, Alana is all too aware that Hannibal plans to play mind games with Will again. When she visits him in the asylum, she reminds him that all the privileges he currently have are there under one condition: his cooperative behavior. She proceeds to warn him that if he tries to do anything to Will, she'll take them away in an instant. It's satisfying to see her having complete power over Hannibal after she spent half the second season being manipulated by him.

* Will giving Hannibal yet another WhamLine. Hannibal surrendered to the FBI after Will told him he wanted nothing more to do with him, just so that Will could never be free of him. Will then reveals that when Hannibal thought his surrender was of his own terms, it was actually because that was what Will ''wanted'' him to do. Therefore he is hammering in the fact that he succeeded where he failed last time: [[BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame playing with Hannibal's obsession with him to get him into prison]].

* Doubles as NightmareFuel, but Dolarhyde's infamous "You owe me awe!" speech to [[spoiler: Chilton]]. RichardArmitage absolutely knocks it out of the park.

* Even when Will [[spoiler: accepts that he enjoys killing and reciprocates Hannibal's feelings, he still shows one last act of defiance towards Hannibal by [[TakingYouWithMe throwing them both off the cliff]].]] Admit it, even if you can't help but rejoice at the fact that [[spoiler: they finally became a couple, it's still great to see Will finish off his long-time nemesis -- who has caused him no end of suffering -- thus pulling an act that results in quite the literal cliffhanger.]]

* Even when Will [[spoiler: accepts that he enjoys killing and reciprocates Hannibal's feelings, he still shows one last act of defiance towards Hannibal by [[TakingYouWithMe throwing them both off the cliff]].]] Admit it, even if you can't help but rejoice at the fact that [[spoiler: they finally became a couple, it's still great to see that Will has retained enough morality to kill his long-time nemesis, who has caused him no end of suffering -- thus pulling an act that results in quite the literal cliffhanger.]]

* After we spend almost the entirety of "Ko no Mono" thinking [[spoiler: Will killed and ate Freddie and has been seduced by Hannibal,]] the reveal that [[spoiler: Freddie's alive and well and both she and Jack are in on Will's long con]] is pretty damn satisfying.
** The scene may also be [[TakeThatScrappy especially cathartic]] to those who have grown annoyed with Alana's unsympathetic and extremely GenreBlind behavior, considering how foolish she undoubtedly feels when she finally puts the pieces together.

* The flashbacks in "Antipasto" show that even as [[spoiler: Gideon is being slowly eaten piece by piece, his predicament doesn't stop him from sniping at Hannibal, particularly when he subtly mocked the latter's increasingly unhealthy obsession with Will. Not bad for someone who's paraplegic, [[AnArmAndALeg almost entirely limbless]], and [[FaceDeathWithDignity is about to die soon]].]]