S4E10: It’s all catching up to Hank Moody. The girls, the drinking, the whole act of not-giving-a-fuck. It’s time for him to deal with the consequences of his actions — deal with his sins, deal with what he’s brought upon himself and deal with, specifically, the pain and suffering he’s brought upon his family. But, “The Trial” presented itself as more than just dealing with Hank’s problems. Instead, it gave us the world outside of Hank Moody — a world we don’t really see too often. And for one of the first times, we actually witnessed the consequences of Hank’s actions, outside of his self-loathing, and with that came one of the season’s strongest episodes.
“All I want to do is get in the Porsche and drive.” -Hank
We open with Hank dressed in a suit, preparing for the trial. Karen comes in and Hank admits that he’s terrified. He doesn’t know how to handle these types of situations. After all, he’s the guy who just doesn’t care about anything, right? He drinks. Parties. Lives. That’s it. Well, in this situation, he’s actually being forced to care — and it scares the hell out of him. As he says, he just wants to get in the Porsche and drive. And who could blame him? Even if he’s not found guilty, he’ll forever be known as a tried rapist. That’s something that’s pretty difficult to deal with. So after throwing up all his nerves, Hank heads to the courthouse, ready to face the music.
“You knew her before?” -Abby
Then, Mia and Bill testified and with their statements, we discovered something for the first time. Apparently, Hank had met Mia before the incident — but there’s a catch. He was really, really, really drunk. So drunk that he doesn’t even have recollection that it happened. So drunk that he, in fact, threw up in Bill’s pool immediately following their brief meeting. And then, as Abby says, “This changes everything.”
Now, even though Mia claims Hank didn’t know her when they had sex, the jury believes otherwise. There’s been a “seed of doubt” planted. The jury will probably dismiss Mia’s testimony — her claim that Hank’s innocent — as young and juvenile. As I was watching, I tried to put myself in their position — not someone who knows Hank and knows his personality — and honestly, I’d probably think the same way. I’d assume that this kid, Mia, was crazy. She was an obsessed fan who had some issues and Hank took advantage of her. Sure, I’d think that Hank was one of those crazy “writer-types,” but in reality, I would genuinely believe that he did all of this on purpose. Plus, in a weird way, I’d be trying to set an example because Hank is such a public figure.
It’s a terrible situation, all around, but I think Californication is dealing with this as realistically as the show can. I’ve always viewed the series as something that operates outside of reality, like a farce, so its “realistic” moments never feel genuinely real, but that’s okay. Shows don’t need to be realistic to give us a good story, and right now, Californication is telling a story full of heart, love, humor, and loss. And it’s good — really good.
