Summary
Maja’s trial begins and with it comes more revelations and troubling discoveries. “The Trial” includes some very hard to watch scenes and sets us up for the climax to the series.
Here we go, its showtime. Maja’s trial will now begin. She is sat in the back of a car on the way to court, the radio blares out news stories all about the case, and it seems the public think she’s either guilty or just crazy. The judge opens proceedings and the prosecutor stands to start to make her case. They plan to push for every conviction they can.
We cut to the hospital room where Sebastian is resting, Maja is sat by his side. We learn that Sebastian had gone out and got wrecked with his dealer and attempted suicide. Handsome Dad is nowhere to be seen and Sebastian is all alone. Marja has no choice but to stay with him.
The defense attorney opens his arguments – to be honest, I’m not convinced he’s up to the task. His speech is in way too much legalese. After the opening exchanges, Maja seems a bit defeatist; she knows how the media have been portraying her and is convinced that everyone has made up their minds.
Maja and Sebastian return to Sebastian’s big house from the hospital, and it’s empty. Handsome Dad has totally abandoned his boy. Doorbell: it’s Amanda and Labbe come to visit the patient. Amanda asks Maja ‘does he know you cheated on him?’ Nope, not yet anyway…
Back to court, and we hear the sound recording of the emergency services call alerting the police to the shooting. We get a graphic description of the death of Amanda; the forensic evidence is not looking good for Maja.
Doorbell (the director seems to like the use of the doorbell to transition between timelines): Sebastian is buying more drugs, which I doubt very much will do much for his mental health. Maja heads off to school and bumps into Samir in the corridor at school and they have an awkward exchange.
Class is coming to an end and Sensible Teacher pulls Maja to one side to check in (seriously, is he the only adult that gives a s**t?!). Maja frantically calls Sebastian, who has been ignoring her calls, and rushes to his house and finds him in the pool. Natura,lly she assumes he has drowned himself, but it turns out he’s just having a fully clothed swim (what?).
Handsome Dad is home and making jokes over drinks about his f**k-up of a son. Maja confronts him and demands to know where he has been and basically what his general problem is.
Back to court, now we’re looking at the text messages that Maja and Sebastian swapped about Handsome Dad shortly before he was murdered. Let’s just say they are not flattering. Next, the prosecutor tells us about how Maja must have either been stupid or guilty to have carried a bag full of guns through the school without querying what was in it.
Maja’s turn to testify. Her lawyer asks her to describe Sebastian’s mental health following his suicide attempt. She describes how it was mainly just the two of them since Sebastian was unmanageable, Handsome Dad was nowhere to be seen and their relationship had broken down. “What happened on your last birthday?”
Cut to said birthday and we have a family party. Sebastian is drunk and causes a big scene. Her parents want to know how long Sebastian has been a druggie waster for (at last!) and that they would rather she not go home with him. She ignores them. Sebastian and Maja go home, and she confronts him about his behaviour on her birthday. Sebastian hits and then rapes her in a really troubling scene. On her way out of the house, she bumps into Claes who, oblivious to what his son has just done, advises her to get away from him.
The prosecutor is unmoved. She puts Maja through some very unpleasant questioning and implies that Maja made the whole thing up. She destroys Maja’s credibility and then reveals the mystery witness who saw the whole thing won’t be able to testify until next week.
The bleakest and hardest episode in the series yet. “The Trial” sets us up for a conclusion that will presumably tie up all the loose ends and finally reveal what happened in that classroom.
