Character Relationship Map: Hannibal

Characters

• Dr. Hannibal Lecter (played by Mads Mikkelsen) — protagonist

  Forensic psychiatrist assigned to supervise Will Graham. Secretly a serial killer and cannibal who manipulates the FBI from within. Fascinated by Graham's empathy, he attempts to push Graham's fragile...

• Will Graham (played by Hugh Dancy) — protagonist

  FBI profiler recruited by Jack Crawford to investigate a serial killer in Minnesota. He possesses a strong ability to empathize with psychopathic murderers, which attracts Lecter's attention and threa...

• Jack Crawford (played by Laurence Fishburne) — supporting

  Head of the Behavioral Sciences division at the FBI. He recruits Will Graham for the Minnesota case and assigns Dr. Lecter to supervise him due to the psychological toll the investigation takes on Gra...

• Dr. Alana Bloom (played by Caroline Dhavernas) — supporting
• Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier (played by Gillian Anderson) — supporting
• Beverly Katz (played by Hettienne Park) — supporting
• Insp. Rinaldo Pazzi (played by Fortunato Cerlino) — cameo
• Garret Jacob Hobbs (played by Vladimir Jon Cubrt) — cameo
• Louise Hobbs (played by Krista Patton) — cameo
• Freddie Lounds (played by Lara Jean Chorostecki) — cameo
• Abigail Hobbs (played by Kacey Rohl) — cameo
• Molly Graham (played by Nina Arianda) — cameo
• Dr. Frederick Chilton (played by Raúl Esparza) — cameo
• Kade Prurnell (played by Cynthia Nixon) — cameo
• Miriam Lass (played by Anna Chlumsky) — cameo
• Francis Dolarhyde (played by Richard Armitage) — cameo
• Margot Verger (played by Katharine Isabelle) — cameo
• Mason Verger (played by Michael Pitt) — cameo
• Bella Crawford (played by Gina Torres) — cameo

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Garret Jacob Hobbs → Abigail Hobbs (Father and daughter)

  "Garret Jacob Hobbs is Abigail's father and a serial killer who abducts victims. After his crimes are exposed, Abigail and the investigators return to...

• Jack Crawford → Bella Crawford (Husband and wife)

  "Bella is Jack's wife and is living with cancer. She considers suicide and takes a lethal dose of morphine; Hannibal treats her and encourages her dec...

• Will Graham → Jack Crawford (Profiler and supervising director)

  "Jack recruits Will for the Minnesota case and assigns Hannibal to supervise him. Jack later takes responsibility for pushing Will too far at trial, w...

• Dr. Alana Bloom → Margot Verger (Romantic partners and co-parents)

  "In Season 3 Margot has sex with Alana and asks her about harvesting sperm. Later Alana is described as married to Margot and as the mother of their s...

• Jack Crawford → Miriam Lass (Supervisor and missing investigator)

  "Miriam was an FBI investigator working on the Ripper case. Jack remains haunted by her disappearance, and her return in Season 2 helps expose that th...

• Will Graham → Molly Graham (Husband and wife)

  "Molly is Will's wife in the Season 3 account. Dolarhyde attacks Molly and her son Walter, and Will arrives at the hospital after Molly is shot; Will...

• Will Graham → Beverly Katz (Profiler and forensic colleague)

  "Beverly brings Will crime-scene photographs in Season 2 and works with the FBI investigation. Hannibal kills her, and her body becomes a display that...

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Dr. Hannibal Lecter → Will Graham (Psychiatrist, manipulator, and defining adversary)

  "Hannibal supervises Will in Season 1 while concealing his own crimes and withholding Will's encephalitis diagnosis. Will is framed and imprisoned, th...

• Will Graham → Francis Dolarhyde (Profiler and serial-killer adversaries)

  "Will studies Dolarhyde's family murders and works with Hannibal to catch him. Dolarhyde attacks Molly and Walter, and Will ultimately helps arrange a...

• Will Graham → Abigail Hobbs (Protector and surrogate family bond)

  "Will is involved in the investigation of Abigail's father and accompanies her back to the Hobbs cabin. In Season 2 he invokes her memory in his deali...

• Dr. Hannibal Lecter → Francis Dolarhyde (Influencer and recruited correspondent)

  "While imprisoned, Hannibal communicates with Dolarhyde and gives him the Grahams' address. Dolarhyde admires Hannibal and wants to be changed by the...

• Dr. Hannibal Lecter → Mason Verger (Captive and retaliatory enemy)

  "Hannibal encourages Margot's attempt to kill Mason and later manipulates Mason during therapy. Mason captures Hannibal and Will in Season 3 and inten...

• Dr. Hannibal Lecter → Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier (Confidants and accomplices)

  "Hannibal visits Bedelia in therapy and manipulates her into involvement in Neal Frank's death. In Season 3 she travels with him in Europe under an as...

• Dr. Alana Bloom → Mason Verger (Therapist and strategic associate)

  "In Season 3 Alana introduces herself to Mason as his therapist and offers help catching Hannibal. She later advises him about buying out the Florence...

• Will Graham → Freddie Lounds (Subject of reporting and reluctant collaborator)

  "Freddie observes Will's profiling, writes an article presenting him as dangerous, and later receives Will's permission to publish about him and Hanni...

Story Analysis

Across three seasons, Will's work with Hannibal develops into a conflict over identity, control, violence, and attachment. The FBI investigations repeatedly expose the cost of their bond while widening the threat to those around them.

Plot Progression

1. Season 1: The Case and the Frame
2. Season 2: Trial and Counterplot
3. Season 2: Flight and Consequence
4. Season 3: Europe and the Vergers
5. Season 3: The Dragon Case
6. Season 3: Final Confrontation