Reviewer Rating: 4/5.0
4
The ending of “Presumed Innocent” is here. At this point, we may have answers to two questions: Who killed Caroline, and what was the outcome of Rusty’s murder trial?
(There are spoilers for the ending of “Presumed Innocent.”)
This episode picks up right after the previous one, as the suspected murder weapon – a fire poker – is found in Tommy’s house. We now see the police checking the scene, Nico with him, and asking Tommy if he’s okay.
No, Tommy said, although he seemed more concerned that his cat was “freaking out.”
poker problem
At the Sabich home, Rusty can’t seem to sleep, although sleep doesn’t seem to be much of a challenge for his wife. Rusty gets the call, presumably to let him know about the murder weapon that was found.
In the next scene, the lawyers argue with Rusty about what to do with the new evidence – should the jury see it? Before the scene descended into arguments, the judge again moved to declare a mistrial.
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As they considered the possibilities, Raymond told Rusty that if the jury found the weapon, “they’re going to think it was you” because Rusty was somehow free during the murder trial and could Sleep in your own house. Therefore, it appears that the resolution is to proceed with the trial, but the jury will not know about the poker situation.
At home, Rusty admits to Barbara that he knows the poker belongs to Caroline because he once used it to start a fire in her house.
the last witness
Back in the courtroom, a familiar face appears on the show: 24-year-old Mary Lynn Rajskub, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” serves as an expert defense witness and talks about gastric digestion. A seemingly impossible topic.
Raymond questioned her about the food that Caroline had received on the night of the murder, and the witness claimed that Dr. Zombey had incorrectly described the time of death due to the time it took to digest it.
During cross-examination, Tommy questioned whether Caroline could have been killed before she had a chance to eat. The witness later admitted she could not prove with “medical certainty” that Caroline had not eaten Chinese food, after which lawyers sought to impeach her credibility as a “professional defense witness”.
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At the Sabich home, the attorney tried to establish that if Caroline was killed at 10 p.m., Rusty would have been home at that time, so he could not have killed her. This increases the likelihood that Barbara will testify.
ready to close
Mia then begins questioning Barbara in court like a lawyer, including mentioning Clifton the bartender. After Mia admits that they hired a private investigator, Rusty declares that they should put the case on hold.
He then made another demand: He had to make his own closing argument, but Raymond dismissed the idea out of hand.
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In the next scene, Raymond’s wife asks Raymond to withdraw from the case. After all, his client didn’t listen to him, and “this trial nearly killed you once.” He then promised her, probably in jest, that he would retire once the trial was over.
Next, we see Rusty practicing his closing argument on his own, when his daughter interrupts him. She tried to talk him out of giving his closing argument and then hugged him.
Meanwhile, Rusty’s son was throwing baseballs at high speed in the family’s garage.
Back in court, as Rusty prepares to present his case, he fantasizes about sleeping with Caroline.
closing argument
He introduced himself as both prosecutor and defendant.
He later admitted that he had betrayed his family. But he vehemently denied killing Caroline and pointed out that there was no real physical evidence to prove his guilt.
While circumstantial evidence points to him, it also points to others, including Michael Caldwell and his father.
Rusty continues to accuse Tommy of being out to get him. “I accept your contempt,” he told the jury. “I deserve your scorn.” Then he told them, “I’m not honorable, but I hope you are.”
It’s Tommy’s turn
In this case, unlike most, the prosecution spoke after the defense. Tommy relies heavily on Rusty’s actions early in the case, including hiding evidence and beating people up, as well as his many text messages to Caroline. Tommy also made it very personal, specifically pointing out what Rusty said about him.
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We see flashbacks to Rusty and Caroline, who are facing a similar situation, awaiting the jury’s verdict.
At the prosecutor’s office, Nico tells Tommy to go home because the jury may be out for a while. Tommy speculates that the playing cards left at his house are an “insurance policy.” Then he asked, “What did she see in him?”
Nico then asked Tommy: “How much do you love her?”
Before he could answer, they were told the sentence was in effect.
The judgment is in
As dramatic music plays, the jury comes in, signaling that the verdict has arrived, even though there are still nearly 20 minutes left in the episode.
The verdict is…not guilty. Prosecutors had earlier charged him with obstruction of justice, but Nico and Tommy dropped that charge in the third episode, so he got off free.
Rusty decides to go out and speak to reporters as we see various people involved in the case, including Michael and his father and Tommy and his cat, watching the interviews on television.
Tommy looks frustrated, even though Nico tells him that he “tried a great case. But he lost because the facts they had were circumstantial. Tommy believes that Caroline’s death will not be avenged because I am not good enough”. Nico told him to stop investigating the case and get revenge on Rusty.
The truth is finally revealed
At the Sabich home, Rusty saw that his wife had packed a suitcase. He went to the garage and saw Barbara riding an exercise bike.
“Should there be a next time?” she said. “Should you strike out impulsively again and destroy this family?”
Rusty went on to say, “I knew it from the beginning, and then I didn’t know it…” and then accused Barbara of killing Caroline. He added, “It was someone inside you, just like there was someone inside me that tied her up… to cover you.”
We see a flashback where Rusty returns to Caroline’s house and finds her dead. At this point he realizes that Barbara must have killed her, so he ties her up to avoid his wife’s suspicion.
However, Barbara denies this through some very intense performances from Ruth Negga. But then Rusty admitted that he had been following her car and knew she had left the poker at Tommy’s house.
However…
But the final twist is when their daughter Jaden (Chase Infiniti) interrupts and says, “No, she didn’t — I did.” After Rusty’s testimony, Jaden drives his mother’s car to the burial Playing cards.
Jaden admitted that she went to Caroline’s house to confront her and tell her not to disturb the family. Later, Caroline reveals her pregnancy and Jaden kills her with a poker.
In doing so, Jaden somehow failed to produce any DNA or physical evidence to prove her guilt and got away with it throughout the trial, even though she was probably a total novice criminal, let alone a murderer.
Rusty became a lawyer and told Jaden not to bring it up again and vowed “we will survive as a family.”
The season ends with another montage of Chicago, followed by Raymond gardening, implicitly fulfilling the promise of retirement.
We see Jaden lying on a blanket with a guilty look on his face, and Tommy watching a Chicago Bears game alone. We see the Sabich family, still a full family, having Thanksgiving dinner. Suppose the other three hid the truth about the murder from Kyle.
The biggest difference between movies and TV series
The producers made considerable differences between the 1990 Innocent film and the Apple series, starting with the trial and resolution of the murder mystery.
In the movie, the trial ends in a mistrial due to a piece of evidence involving contraceptive devices. This was inconsistent with the news that Caroline had undergone a tubal ligation. Some people associated with the show say this ending wouldn’t work in a world with modern DNA technology.
Then, after some misdirection, Rusty briefly appears guilty… and it turns out the murderer is Barbara (played by Bonnie Bettia in the movie).
She killed Caroline herself and framed her husband. The Apple version strongly hints at a version that uses that ending before turning to Jaden’s confession.
Instead of two children, the couple in the movie had one child (played by future Swimmer star Jesse Bradford) who was much younger and had nothing to do with the murders. Although the film anonymizes the geography, the entire show is Chicago, including various interstitial skyline shots.
two rusties
These are the biggest differences, but there are some smaller ones. While Rusty in both versions was an adulterer and dishonest, the Apple show portrayed him as an angry case. Barbara was given more depth and characterization, including her own affair.
Caroline (Greta Scacchi) gets even worse treatment in this movie. In addition to Rusty, she had affairs with many men (including the Judge and Raymond). imaginary.
Harrison Ford, who played Rusty in the movie, is now starring in another Apple TV+ show, Shrinking.
Many of the male characters in the movie, including the judge, the second defense attorney, and the detective who helps Rusty, were replaced with women in the show.
Although Raymond Horgan appears in the movie and is played by Brian Dennehy, he was Rusty’s boss early on. He never acted as his attorney. That would be Sandy Stern (Raul Julia), who is mentioned on the show but doesn’t appear as a character. Additionally, the film never has Rusty serve as his own attorney or push for one.
What’s next?
For such a standalone story, it’s somewhat surprising that “Presumed Innocence” has been renewed for a second season. Apple hasn’t said exactly what form future seasons will take.
Still, it’s easy to imagine it becoming an anthology show, probably always set in Chicago, always about a different mix of murder trials and mysteries, sprinkled with love affairs and obsessions, probably directed by David · David E. Kelley supervises a diverse cast of A-list actors.
Either this season or every season, Rusty’s new mistress is murdered, and Rusty is repeatedly accused of each crime.
