so this is my theory on who killed cassandra and why: i believe will killed her . ( READ MORE NOW DOESN'T WORK ON THIS BECAUSE IT'S SO LONG , YOU NEED TO CLICK KEEP READING TO READ IT . )
in episode one will and kelly talk on the street, kelly asks him why he’s making a move on her now:
they’ve been stranded in a parallel universe for a day and he thinks it’s the right/appropriate time to make a move on kelly who is obviously upset? his only focus is getting kelly to agree to be with him.
his ‘we’re all orphans now’ line is REALLY strange , he doesn’t know how long they’ll be there . it’s only been a few hours but he’s already acting like they’ll never return home. i understand that he’s had a tough life , but his friends , kelly , they’re all upset about the situation they’re in . wouldn’t you feel empathy from them ? instead he tries to steal kelly away from harry by saying they’re on the same footing now that no one has anything , as if kelly is so shallow that all she cared about was harry’s cars ?
in episode two will breaks into a large home and claims it as his, when he sits down on the chair he smiles to himself. fair enough , he’s lived in foster homes for most of his life but this further proves the fact he’s a character we never see properly upset. it’s almost like he’s enjoying it?
in episode three , it’s clear he’s in charge of the kitchen / has a fair amount of power . he seems fairly content again . he wants to bring kelly to prom , she agrees and he asks her for a jacket . all normal . then at the prom , he dances with kelly , allie’s not even on his mind until towards the end of the night when he then decides to dance with her . pretending like he’s been looking for her ? he couldn’t find her in a small hall ? it wasn’t even dark . he just didn’t care , he didn’t actually want to find her . but he needs to keep her close , so does the bare minimum . i also believe he shoots cassandra at the end , she looks betrayed in my opinion , shocked at who was stood there with a gun . now for WHY he killed cassandra , there’s a number of reasons i think , firstly , she was likely the only person who could work out what’s going on ( with help from gordie + bean ofc ) and the only person to work out how to get back , will doesn’t want to go back . his life now is likely far better than it was before . secondly , i feel he had to kill cassandra so he could have more control . cassandra relied on gordie and bean a lot , will wasn’t that relevant , but he knew that allie liked him from when she kissed him in episode one . he knew that she would be an obvious replacement for cassandra . and if allie was in charge , he’d be her righthand man .
in episode four comes will’s first big display , when campbell and harry walk into the church will gets up and causes a scene , saying he knows how they felt about her . to me this was an attempt to make himself look like a martyr and to cast suspicion on them as suspects . even if harry didn’t get on with cassandra at school , that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t go to her funeral ? she died . she was a part of his life . it would have been strange for harry not to go . ( saying you want someone dead is NOT the same as killing them . ) campbell is literally her cousin , and either way , you don’t get up and make a big scene during a funeral when allie is sitting there . he wasn’t subtly asking them to go , he purposely made a big deal . will also tells the guard ‘we may have to enforce the worklists’ , knowing we didn’t include him because he’s not part of the guard . this is where will gains just a tiny bit more control by telling them what needs to be done. also when allie storms off clearly upset in that same scene , why isn’t it will , her best friend , who goes after her to comfort her ? why is it grizz ? later in the episode comes his second big display , in the cafeteria when there’s that stand off , will ( the martyr ) crawls out and puts himself between the two guns . another big scene to prove he’s mr nice guy ? the thing is with will , he’s not as nice in private . this episode is also the one where he begins to appear in every scene with allie , he’s always behind her / beside her when other people are around . i do think this is symbolic , like she’s his puppet or his ventriloquist dummy . they’re closer now than in the first three episodes . like he’s ALWAYS behind her , the guard are always there with her so it’s not for protection , he’s there to help her make decisions / nudge her in the direction he wants . allie says she wants them with her every step , that couldn’t be a more perfect setup for will .
in episode five dewey says this:
when i watched it the first time i didn’t even think anything of it, but dewey implies that will makes the rules. i think dewey referring to will as allie’s “black boyfriend” is done to take a lot of focus away from the fact he says that will makes all the rules, you focus more on dewey’s irrelevant reference to will being black. also , earlier in the episode allie says something about how when she imagined her and will having a sleepover she didn’t imagine it would be like that ( them in separate beds etc ) and he said it is how he imagined it, thus shutting her down again . he doesn’t need to pretend to like her yet , everything’s going well now they have a suspect for the murder and allie’s properly taking charge . i don’t believe dewey did it , i believe he confessed thinking he’d get some brownie points from harry , thinking if he did what harry wanted he’d keep him around . he had no idea they would execute him . that box in his room WAS planted , why would he leave the shoebox out on the floor when there was plenty of drawers and places to hide it ? but it had to be planted by someone who knew the pre-dawn raid was going to take place . will was there , he knew the raid was happening .
onto episode six , when allie asks about will and kelly he plays it off , and yet again acts the martyr by saying he doesn’t have time to pursue her, that he needs to be there with allie:
then, he tells allie the committee for going home is meeting again the next day, he says: ‘ i said it was okay, even considering.’ so he approved the meeting , gaining more power yet again . he’s now making decisions without even consulting allie .
in the same scene he gives allie hope that they’ll be together ( in my opinion ) , the way he acts , she talks about when they used to get a boat and go out on the lake and he suggests they can do it again . she’s visibly happy/excited by this , he looks like he couldn’t care less . later in the episode , he implies that people are talking shit in the kitchens about allie not deciding what to do about dewey and campbell . i know luke/grizz/gordie are eager for allie to make a decision too , and also push for a harsh punishment , but their intentions are clear . with luke and grizz they know they can’t watch dewey indefinitely , they need a decision to be made for the sake of their jobs . will is the first person to suggest the option of killing them .
allie is clearly upset at the idea , like ANY normal person would be . then, when allie makes the decision to let campbell go, will says this:
as if it should have been a joint decision , will now believes he has quite a lot of power/sway . he’s actually shocked/annoyed allie made the decision without him . then in the next scene, allie tells him she doesn’t want the power anymore , will replies with “ it doesn’t matter what you want , we’re talking about survival.” he then argues with her about how dewey needs to be executed to make people feel “safe”, he’s desperate for dewey to die so that the mystery surrounding cassandra’s death dies with it . then all of a sudden, next scene is allie telling everyone dewey is sentenced to death . even campbell is surprised she’s executing him . onto the execution scene , when helena is saying a prayer next to dewey , everyone looks sad , will looks unbothered . while she’s saying the prayer he actually looks annoyed ? like why even bother with the prayer just hurry up and kill him . like look at the guard , they look horrified / upset . helena is obviously really upset . even gordie keeps his eyes lowered when dewey starts begging for his life . but not will .
so then , when luke prompts allie to confirm she wants to do this and then when allie says on the count of three , the camera does this strange zoom in on will’s face for no apparent reason ? it’s hard to capture in a still image , i recommend watching the scene .
so when the guard miss with the bullet , will looks really annoyed , i don’t have the screenshot but take a look at the scene . i understand it’s frustrating they missed but everyone else’s emotions are shock , he’s the odd one out . then when grizz can’t do it a second time , will offers again , another public act of him being the martyr . also, back to the fact luke/grizz wanted a harsh punishment , the difference in their reaction and will’s reaction is scary . grizz literally throws up , cries , can’t pull the trigger . luke sits crying at the end of his bed , claimed by guilt . allie tells will at the end of the episode that she doesn’t want to see him for a long time .
in episode seven , allie has a nightmare where will has his throat slit ,will is back in his place sleeping on allie’s floor , he’s noticeably softer now , more agreeable . he reassures her she did the right thing etc . probably because he doesn’t want to risk being asked to leave and losing his power . allie instructs people at a meeting in the church to bring their ingredient lists to will for thanksgiving so he can make sure he has ingredients , at this point it’s clear he runs the kitchen . then will actually gets up to speak about food supply instead of allie just doing it ? will is yet again noticeably more encouraging to allie , perhaps still afraid of the repercussions of pushing her last time . he suggests they should have elections , but she shuts him down . he’s still not romantically interested in her though , he’s still obsessed with kelly . later in the episode , he tells allie not to dismiss him/his ideas . he then uses emotion to try and make her feel guilty by telling her people have dismissed him his entire life and that he won’t take it from her but he accepts her apology immediately ( because he can’t afford to damage their relationship , can he ? ) later on at thanksgiving , he’s making progress with kelly . there’s a point where allie is talking to him and will is blanking her because he’s too busy watching kelly from where he’s sat at the table . of course he still has to sit beside allie , second most powerful seat after all .
in episode eight , while the improv play is going on and lexie has highjacked it and made it about allie , martyr will steps up for yet another public show , he tries to end the play . then when they arrive home and allie says she feels sick , she walks upstairs and does will bother to check on her ? does he try and comfort the fact lexie publically mocked her ? no , he’d already pretended to care in public . he simply goes over to kelly’s instead to sleep with her . then we get to the hospital scene , allie asks him where he was . he says this:
what is he talking about ? she told him to his face she felt sick , when she was heading up the stairs to bed she even looked around at him , as if she was waiting for him to follow but he didn’t . even when she’s talking about how she wants to die , he still doesn’t cry ? it seems like he’s more afraid that if she dies he loses the control he has . then when he goes to see kelly later in the episode , she tells him he likes allie , and he’s like lol probably yeah guess so . like he was so excited to be with kelly and then all of a sudden realizes he likes allie when kelly tells him he does ? it’s strange , i think it’s the moment he realized he can’t have kelly and keep his place next to allie . so then he gets closer with allie and climbs into her bed and just lays down like this:
it’s almost like he’s mimimicking affection , this is just my opinion but he looks uncomfortable . like his hands are tucked into his chest , she’s not touching him . then he puts his arm around her and holds onto her shoulder . it’s just strange and forced .
onto episode nine , allie asks will what was that last night ( him getting into her bed etc ) and he replies with “did you like it?” like he’s checking if he made the right choice . then his emotions come out at convenient timing when he’s telling allie he likes her . but he liked kelly the day before so .. it’s sketchy . it seems tactical . then later on the episode , allie tells him them being together isn’t a good idea , he says he doesn’t understand . what i took from this is that he thought he was giving her what she wanted , and what he needed to stay close . allie tells him there’s a lot of big decisions she has to make and he says:
because that’s what it always comes down to, isn’t it ? making decisions and him having input into those decisions . this parallel universe is a fresh start from him , he’s having a better life here and he wants it to go the way he wants for once . this scene is where things start to fall apart for will , he thought them being involved romantically would mean he stays by her side constantly . he didn’t know she’d decide that it wouldn’t look good if they were together . it’s almost as if allie has realized how much he influences her decisions ( dewey being the biggest example ) . this scene is the only time we see him actually cry , but i don’t think it’s because allie wants them to just be friends , i think it’s because he’s losing the power he thought he’d gained . there’s a scene later again in the same episode where will tells allie she should have talked to him about elle and allie replies with: ‘ yeah well i didn’t think i needed your permission to make decisions. ’ will then replies with ‘ yeah, well you could have used some help with this one. ’ i recommend watching this whole scene, will tells allie to treat him like her political partner . he also says things like ‘ you don’t get to make the rules, not for me’ and ‘there’s some things you’re not in control of. ’ his whole moody has shifted in this scene compared to the breakup one , it’s strange . but he’s less bothered about what he says to her now because he knows she’ll likely lose the election . this works in his favor though , because allie soon joins him in bed and they makeup .
in the final episode , episode ten , will suggests postponing the election . therefore leaving allie in charge longer , allie is the one who refuses to do this . allie says she knows she’s going to lose the election and that she’s okay with it but she needs to know will is okay with it too . i think allie on some level knows will likes the power he has and doubts he’ll be okay with losing it . later in the episode when kelly comes with the theory about the bus driver will shoots it down, he says: “ people break contracts all the time. you take it to court. i’m telling you, we’re getting it wrong.” he says this so definitively, this is the best lead they’ve had yet he’s dismissing it straight away ? when becca goes to the hospital , will mouths: ‘are you okay ?’ to kelly . firstly i don’t understand why he couldn’t say it normally , secondly the way he looked at her felt like he still liked her . further proving his “relationship” with allie isn’t what allie believes it is . he could never have foreseen what happened to him and allie , them getting arrested . it all happened so quickly .
so that’s my theory on will , basically i think he doesn’t want to go home , his life is much better in this parallel universe but he wants to be able to control what happens , how things are run so he can continue to enjoy his new life .