Hannibal smiles at Will's difficulty undoing his tie. He knows and uses a variety of knots: the windsor, the eldridge, the trinity, the balthus. Right now he's wearing the balthus, a knot that looks simple yet requires a fair amount of skill to produce its smooth elegance. His ties are another subliminal message revealing part of his true nature. Like so many aspects of his presentation, one may feel unsettled yet have no true understanding why. The traditional men's necktie is a dark symbol, a noose around one's neck, and his command of the knots suggests his abilities to bind his subjects and render them helpless.

Hannibal recognizes Will's desperation, and decides to take advantage. He pulls back, locks his eyes on his friend's, and undoes the knot in very slow, very deliberate motions, watching Will's torment to determine when it would be even more intense to slow down further. He wants to see how Will reacts to the languid delay of satisfaction.