It’s not love- they both struggle with the idea of losve. It’s intimacy. This desire for intimacy conflicts with both Will’s duty to stop Hannibal and Hannibal’s desire to pursue his passions. Will’s sense of duty and Hannibal’s passion have been unstoppable, immutable, driving forces for their entire existences up until this point.

This sudden Achilles heel in their entire engine left them both reeling in different ways. Ultimately their mutual need to control the others’ otherness if you will, was the schism that blew it all apart.

Interesting twist on the original works.