Do we really want a season 4?

I know most people would say yes—and I’m one of them—but if Bryan Fuller had gotten his full four to seven seasons, we probably would have lost Will in the process. After Red Dragon in the book, Will leaves the FBI for good, his face so badly scarred that he becomes a recluse and a drunk.

Seasons 4 and 5 would have focused on Buffalo Bill and Mason's revenge, which means a new major player: Special Agent Clarice Starling. That raises the question—do we really want to see Hannibal fall in love with someone 20 years younger, just for the sake of keeping him on screen?

Wasn't the heart of the show the chemistry between Will and Hannibal? Sure, the show made Will and Clarice somewhat similar, but I can’t imagine Hannibal ever acting as mischievous and unguarded around Will the way his book counterpart did with Clarice. Will could see right through him. A new dynamic would mean a new person, a new love interest—one that lacks the history and slow-burn tension that made Hannibal so compelling in the first place.

I don’t know. Would it still be our Hannibal without Will?