As the writers began to transition Will and Hannibal to more explicitly romantic storylines, they also introduced another compelling queer romance between female leads Margot Verger (Katharine Isabelle) and Dr. Alana Bloom (Caroline Dhavernas). While Margot is canonically a lesbian in the books, Alana was a gender-swapped version of her book counterpart Alan Bloom. Prior to her relationship with Margot on the show, she had been romantically linked to both Will and Hannibal.

When Fuller received criticism for the storyline, he replied, “No, she’s bisexual, she’s always been bisexual, and stop being so narrow in your perception of sexuality.”

Regardless of their sexuality, all of the characters on the show are incredibly well-written, intelligent, complex, damaged, and often deeply traumatized. Their sexuality does not define them but is rather just a ray of light on a bright, multi-dimensional prism. These relationships also helped challenge viewers’ perspectives on queerness, altering the assumption that characters must be straight unless they verbally say otherwise.