Episode 3 opens with Will dreaming about pulling the switch on himself in the electric chair, showing how much is at stake with his trial. This episode really portrays Hannibal as a walking contradiction, as he doesn’t want to get caught, as this is the exact reason he framed Will in the first place. Yet, he seriously considers Will a friend, and that concern might well be what lands this series’ namesake cannibal behind bars. Hannibal can’t tear himself away from Will, even when it endangers his own freedom.
This episode marks the beginning of Will’s trial and his efforts to manipulate Hannibal into confessing at least in part haven’t worked yet, so he seemingly drops that line of questioning while pursuing it in secret with Beverly, which plays a major role in the next episode. Will’s team is presenting an unconsciousness defence which as Kade Purnell points out is an admission of guilt. The question they are posing to the court isn’t whether or not Will committed the crimes, but how aware he was while committing them. This makes sense in the grand scheme of things as there is a mountain of evidence against Will, including Abigail’s ear in his stomach which he can’t rebuff. As the first day of the trial comes to an end, with Jack almost committing professional suicide on the stand, Will’s lawyer gets a package containing another ear, and it seems Will has an admirer.
There is a lingering question hanging over the trial as to whether Hannibal is Will “admirer” and he is the one making it seem like someone else is killing in the same fashion as Will supposedly did, in order to get him a mistrial and free his friend. However, this doesn’t serve Hannibal’s agenda as it would give Will the freedom back to prove Hannibal is a murderer. However, the admirer’s M.O. isn’t the same as Will’s as this person opts for bullets through the heart over mutilation, and Will doesn’t hesitate to say so. Although he does allow his lawyer to argue a case he knows isn’t true, probably because he finds the unconsciousness defence so revolting on account of being innocent.
Between the bailiff’s charred corpse and the judge’s more elaborate display, we’ve got more than our fair share of the murders-as-art-installations that Hannibal makes its name on. Will also gets his mistrial, which the defence attorney describes early on as a win, but I don’t think this is the end of Will’s fight, in fact, it has only just begun. Hannibal’s almost desperate need for the jury to believe that someone else did it drives him to take the stand and lays out a defence that the judge rules inadmissible. This deals Will’s case a major blow as Hannibal replaced Alana on the stand. Speaking of Alana, she developed into a more interesting character as she urges Will to accept what she’s done. While she never actually takes the stand in “Hassun,” we see her try to fake impartiality and describe Will as a “professional curiosity” and fails miserably.
In reality, she’s trying to “save” him, which is even more desperately misguided quest than Jack’s. Will doesn’t need saving, though he needs help from someone who considers him an equal, not a basket case who’s lost control of himself. Which makes the episode’s final visual reversal so touching; as Will has come to grips with his situation, Alana has grown increasingly panicked. In the final moment, he reaches out to comfort her, even as he’s bound in chains. This moment was profound along with Will often retreating to the river where he used to fly-fish in his mind, we feel that despite his situation Will has found some measure of peace.
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