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There's something about the way Hannibal says "Love" so plainly and immediately because that's truly what it is. The way he just breathes it out almost like a sigh, "Love," like he adores just saying the word when it comes in the context of Will. And the way the notes of the piano punctuate his words... It's said plain and simple, but in reality it carries so much weight.
It carries the weight of their entire relationship prior to this- betrayal and forgiveness and all... "bones and all." Loving Will gives Hannibal great joy, but it has also caused him great sorrow. Here Hannibal acknowledges that his love for Will is "beyond his conscious ability to control or predict," which mirrors his words from earlier in the episode:
"You cannot control with respect to whom you fall in love."
This scene has always stood out to me, and it's still one of my favorite moments. When I was doing my anniversary post series and came up with the idea to do the quotes for each episode, what I immediately thought of was this-
"Love. He pays you a visit or he doesn't."
I think it's safe to say Love has certainly paid Hannibal Lecter a visit.
Hannibal 3x03 - "Secondo"