Californication "The Trial" Review

"The Trial" was a nice little episode to show us how we got here. There was some high comedy, a little "OK I knew that already" and one little bombshell. In the end nothing has been resolved but we are set up to see what fate has in store for Hank Moody.

My biggest complaint with this episode is that I think we deserved an entire episode of Runkle on the witness stand. Hell, I might go for a "Charlie Runkle: Lawyer to the Stars" series. If we never heard mention of the squirter incident again it would have been a crime. Kudos to the writers for that but I think we could have used a flashback to help illustrate.

I'm a proponent of more screen time for Mia but I thought her performance on the witness stand was a little hard to believe at best. The last we saw of her she was getting Hank loaded, trying to have a threesome with him and Sasha and causing him more trouble by posing for pictures with her hand down his pants. I don't dispute that she feels guilty about what is happening to him but her testimony on her relationship with Karen was way too hokey.

Lets get to the point of the episode. Hank's going to jail. The whole point of the flashback to a blitz Hank talking to Mia with the sun in his eyes was to give the jury the evidence to convict him but the views the inside knowledge that Hank really didn't knowingly sleep with a 16 year old. Hank's going to prison probably for 6 months to a year. Next season will pick up with his release. My assumption is Hank trying to put his life back together after prison will be the basis for season 5. Maybe I'm wrong but doesn't it seem like the Hank Moody character needs a life altering event like this to grow and move forward?

I would welcome Karen finally breaking ties with Hank but I'm not a fan of her reaction to learning that Hank and Mia had met before the bookstore encounter. Hank is a lot of things bad but a liar has never been one. If anyone besides Runkle is going to believe Hank isn't lying about not knowing Mia it should be Karen. She should know that if anything Hank is truthful to a fault. His inability to lie or smooth over the truth gets him into as much trouble as anything else.

What does the road ahead look like? Like I stated before, I think Hank will be found guilty. The rest of this season will involve Hank coming to terms with his childish behavior and the damage he's done by refusing to take anything seriously. He'll have to get his affairs in order before he goes away for a while. Those affairs, I assume will include mending his relationship with Becca and hopefully resolving to let Karen go her own way. We still have the issue of Marcy being pregnant. Runkle has to find out it's his kid, right? It'll be an emotional ride either way with Hank getting enough sex on to last his extended stay at the Hotel State Penitentiary.

Random Notes:

• That was a much needed break from the Stu saga.
• I haven't mentioned this before but casting deserves a lot of credit for finding an actor and actress with matching butt chins to play Bill and Mia.
• I'm still waiting to see some great lawyering out of Abbey.