Presumed Innocent ending explained: Who killed Carolyn?

Apple TV+ have been providing fans of high-quality crime dramas with some serious entertainment of late. Subscribers have recently had the likes of Sugar, Criminal Record and Manhunt to enjoy.

The streamer’s latest, Presumed Innocent, is based on the 1987 legal thriller of the same name. Harrison Ford fans will know it from Alan J. Pakula’s big screen adaptation that hit cinemas three years later.

This taut courtroom thriller has been a smash hit for the streaming service. Here’s everything you need to know:

What’s the basic plot of Presumed Innocent?

Successful Chicago prosecutor Rusty Sabich (Jake Gyllenhaal) becomes the prime suspect in the homicide of one of his close colleagues, Carolyn Polhemus (Renate Reinsve). The case begins to look strong for the prosecution when it’s revealed that family man Rusty and the victim were much closer than they should have been.

As even his family begin to doubt his innocence, Rusty must conduct his own investigation while ensuring that his legal defence is as strong as possible.

The cast of Presumed Innocent – who’s in it?

Heading up the cast is a true heavyweight, the Hollywood A-lister Jake Gyllenhaal. Ably supporting the Zodiac and Prisoners star is an extremely capable ensemble cast of some of the best character actors around.

Ruth Negga (Ad Astra, Preacher) is Rusty’s frustrated artist wife Barbara. The Night Of’s Bill Camp appears as Rusty’s boss, friend and defence attorney Raymond, while Peter Sarsgaard from Shattered Glass, Jackie and Dopesick comes in as the oily DA’s assistant intent on sending Rusty down.

O-T Fagbenle, Gabby Beans, Lily Rabe, Noma Dumezweni, Chase Infiniti and Kingston Rumi Southwick fill out the rest of the cast.

What happens in the final episode?

Warning: spoilers ahead.

Seven tightly plotted and smart instalments led us up to an eighth – and final – episode. Titled ‘The Verdict’, with good reason, we saw both the defence and prosecution’s extremely convincing closing statements and the jury’s ruling.

Despite a compelling plea by the DA’s Chief Prosecutor Tommy Molto, the jury find Rusty not guilty. While it seems likely many of them suspect that he did kill Carolyn, the ‘burden of proof’ wasn’t there. But ‘reasonable doubt’ was.

Free to go, Rusty returns home to his family. Yet while he was technically not guilty, he wasn’t exactly innocent. Details of his fraught affair and the scope of his infatuation with Carolyn look likely to cause serious issues for the Sabich family.

On spotting that Barbara had an emergency bag packed in case Rusty ‘decided to try and destroy the family again’, his face drops. Then, a plot rug pull. Rusty explains how he knows that Barbara killed Carolyn. Now it’s her turn to be shocked. He knew all along that it was her. He admits to finding the body and staging the hogtying in order to help his wife get away with the murder.

So, Barbara did it? Well, no. As she protests her innocence, the couple’s daughter Jaden walks into the room. She reveals that she’d found out about her father’s affair and gone to Carolyn’s house to confront her and warn her off. On hearing that Carolyn was pregnant with Rusty’s child, she snapped and attacked Carolyn with the fireside poker, killing her.

What we know so far about Presumed Innocent Season 2

Just like the jury in Rusty’s case, Apple and the producers were left with something of a dilemma as the viewing figure data came in recently. Due to the nature of the story, the series is really only a one-off. The ‘trouble’ is, viewers loved it even more than the critics.

The legal thriller is already the single most viewed drama in Apple TV+ history. So, a renewal was inevitable. And the producers David E. Kelley, J.J. Abrams and Jake Gyllenhaal have agreed to create one. There’s no official word yet about how the second season will pan out. All that’s been revealed is that the sophomore series ‘will unfold around a suspenseful, brand new case.’

Will it see the return of one or more of the lead characters from the debut run? Or are we looking at more of an anthology situation for future instalments? We’ll have to wait and see…

Did you watch Presumed Innocent on Apple TV+? What did you think of the ending? Let us know in the comments below…