So the big day has arrived and as we begin, Hank is getting ready for his trial. While in front of the mirror he tells Karen he looks like a FBI agent. He seems worried though and when Karen asks what he’s afraid of he replies ‘everything, which is weird because I’ve spent my whole life practicing zen and the art of who gives a fuck.’ He goes back into the washroom and throws up in the toilet before hitting the road. But, before he leaves the house, he shares a family hug with Becca and Karen. As they stand there in embrace, we cut to the opening credits.
At the courthouse Hank is greeted by the media and a number of supporters yelling ‘free Hank.’ Karen drops him off and before he gets out of the car, he apologizes for everything. He tells her he loves her but she doesn’t reciprocate. On his way up the stairs he runs into Bill, Mia’s dad. It’s an awkward encounter to say the least. Hank wants to apologize but Bill tells him to save his breath. He gives Hank a piece of his mind then walks away.
Hank then meets up with Abby and they head inside the courtroom. Abby gets up and begins the case, telling the courtroom that Mr. Moody did indeed have sexual intercourse with a teenage girl. She is quick to point out though that Hank did not knowingly have sex with a minor.
The first witness is then called, and it’s none other then Runkle. We then flashback to Hank and Runkle attending a movie screening. They look incredibly bored and start drinking out of Hank’s flask. After the screening they run into Carl, the director who turned Hank’s book into a movie. They exchange words and as he walks away Hank tells Runkle that he’s had it and he’s going to fuck the director’s wife to get back at him. To be more specific, Hank says ‘revenge is a dish best served with my dick.’
We then come back to the courtroom, and Charlie is telling the story on the stand and the prosecutor is cross examining him. We then get another flashback. Hank is having sex with the Carl’s wife in the washroom at a party. He then heads out of the washroom and starts talking to Carl. Hank tells him the film was a bloody abortion and calls him a hack. They once again exchange words and things get heated. Hank tells him that he fucked his wife and as Carl is about to lose it, Hank tells him he was just kidding and walks off.
Back to the courtroom. The prosecutor starts to get to his point. He asks Runkle if Hank expressed any similar desire for revenge when Karen moved in with Bill. And so we flashback to Hank and Runkle sitting in Hank’s car, and sure enough Hank is talking about getting back at Bill. They pull up to Bill’s house and Hank takes a dump on Bill’s car. Bill walks outside and sees Hank. Furious, he starts to chase Hank but Moody gets away.
Now Abby comes up and talks to Runkle, asking him about his friendship with Hank. He ends up painting Hank in a really bad light, telling the courtroom about one of Hank’s wilder nights. And then Karen comes up and we flashback. We see Hank at Bill’s house, asking for his family back, clearly drunk. Karen comes to the door and tells Hank to grow up. She tells him it’s over and he has to get used to it.
Back in the courtroom, Abby comes up for the cross, pointing out Karen’s roller coaster ride of a relationship with Hank. Karen replies with ‘wow, you make me sound crazy when you say it like that.’ Satisfied that she has made her point, Abby tells the judge she has no further questions.
During a short recess, Hank grabs a smoke and coffee with Abby. They are then joined by Runkle and he apologizes for his outburst. Hank forgives him but Abby is still quite upset. After a quick break they return to court and Bill goes up to testify. The flashback this time takes place at Bill’s house. He returns home to see Hank talking with Mia. Hank is once again drunk and throws up in the pool. Bill pleads with him to ‘get the fuck out.’ Hank agrees and actually apologizes to Bill, telling him that he just misses his family. After a few more words, Bill escorts Hank out. As we come back to the courtroom, the prosecutor points out that Hank was talking to Mia before the incident, meaning he had met her before they hooked up. He then asks Bill if he thinks Hank set out to sleep with his daughter just to get back to him. Bill replies that he does indeed think that.
Abby then comes up to cross examine Bill and we flashback again, to that same day. We see Mia and Hank chatting by the pool. This is the first time they’ve met. They go through the introductions and chat a bit before Bill walks in.
As we go back to the courtroom, Mia is on the stand. Telling Abby about that day by the pool. She tells Abby that it was insignificant, Hank was so drunk that he wouldn’t have remembered. She goes onto explain that at the bookstore when they crossed paths, he had no idea who she was. Abby then asks about Mia and Karen’s relationship. We flashback to Bill’s house and see Karen and Mia getting into a bit of an argument. Things heat up and Mia looks at Karen, telling her to fuck off, before storming out. Back on the stand, she tells Abby that she just wanted to go out and get into trouble and when she found Hank in the bookstore, she had found the trouble she was looking for.
After court ends for the day, Abby tells Hank that the jury is under the assumption that Hank knew Mia before he slept with her. Hank doesn’t quite get her point but she hammers it home when she tells him that ‘this changes everything’ and storms off. He then sees Karen, who is also under the impression that he knew Mia before he slept with her. He says he doesn’t remember meeting her, in fact he doesn’t remember much from those days. Karen responds by telling him that while he may not remember, she will never forget. She storms off, but not before telling him to fuck off.
Left all alone, like so many times before, Hank heads to the street, gets in a cab and the episode ends.
As expected, the episode took place almost entirely in the courtroom. That isn’t a bad thing though. It was pretty interesting. I really enjoyed the flashbacks and seeing Bill again was great since I’ve always loved his character. It’s been ages since he was on the show. Mia, who we also haven’t seen for some time now, made an appearance as well, which was nice.
In regards to the trial, it’s not looking good. The fact that the jury thinks Hank knew Mia before he slept with her can easily bury him. Hank really needs someone or something to come in and rescue him. I’m sure it will happen I just can’t think of what it would be. What will Hank’s saving grace be? Will it be someone’s testimony? A new piece of evidence?
Guess we’ll have to wait for next week to find out.
