Watching Barbara Sabich on Apple TV’s Presumed Innocent is like watching a punching bag navigate an endless loop of BattleBots.
Following the release of Presumed Innocent , much of the discussion, mostly negative, dealt with various aspects of Jake Gyllenhaal’s portrayal of Rusty Sabich.
It’s easy to think of Rusty as the antagonist throughout the series. This guy is terrible in so many ways, from his penchant for narcissism to his full embrace of serial infidelity.
“Presumption of innocence” is misleading. Of course, fair justice systems in free countries revolve around this bond, but Rusty is anything but.
His actions catalyze everything and remind me of Presumed Innocent‘s worst, immersion-breaking character: Barbara Sabich.
unshakable
Today’s question is: How on earth did Rusty Sabich get through all eight episodes of Presumed Innocent without getting the Barbara Fire Poker Treatment?
The fact that Rusty did not follow the path of Edward II is hard to accept.
It’s one thing for a spouse to discover that the other person has been unfaithful. It’s another thing to rub your face with it all season long.
Still, Barbara Sabich stoically carried on, occasionally in tears but mostly with dry, sullen eyes. No anger. No vitriol.
If you’ve seen the movie with Harrison Ford as Rusty, it’s not hard to hone in on Barbara’s murderous side.
a series of insults
Rusty is a narcissist in many ways. He absorbed the prosecutor’s version of the doctor-god complex. He’s also a serial liar, like an ant who can’t stay away from an open container of food.
He cheated. He was caught. He cheated again. When we learn how obsessed Rusty is with his lover, Barbara… twists her hands.
While we’re busy waiting for a rock to fly across the screen, a gun to fire, or another poker to be swung down, we feel helpless.
Barbara Sabich insisted that Rusty tell the children this time, and she had a lonely moment of defiance.
This has the effect of reducing Rusty to a certain extent, really reducing it. However, the overall development had no lasting impact.
Of course, it’s easy to say that Barbara was not a violent woman. Most people are not. But Rusty never came home to an empty house. There was no squeal of tires as Barbara dragged the children toward the horizon.
There’s the saying “Support your man” and there’s the stubbornness of the weak.
To further complicate the situation
If everything Barbara had been through wasn’t enough, she found out that her daughter, Jaden Sabich, was the one who beat poor Caroline to death with a fire poker.
After a while, both Barabara and Jaden smiled. Wearing oven mitts, they roasted the turkey and laughed while eating a Thanksgiving meal.
Rusty so heartbreakingly expresses his undying love, devotion and obsession with Caroline (Barbara looks on), sharing a deep, loving look with his wife.
Most husbands would spend the day in apathetic silence waiting in line at a convenience store to catch a glimpse of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition.
If Carolyn had asked Rusty to do this, he would have raised a fire hydrant, triggering a scene of murder, broken families, and no lasting impact on Barb.
Not to mention this opens the door for Jaden to become a murderer and live with him for the rest of his life. But Rusty was lucky. His wife, Barbara Sabich, is an unmoved monument.
At the end of the day, condoning murder, narcissism, lust, infidelity, and lies is nothing compared to a warm Thanksgiving dinner filled with love, laughter, joy, and… trust.
What do you think? Maybe a little harsh? Let us know in the comments!
