Presumed Innocent episode 8 (finale): Carolyn’s killer revealed!
The Presumed Innocent season 1 finale on Apple TV+ was meant to provide answers; yet, who would have thought them to be so satisfying?
After all, David E. Kelley and the entire creative team behind the scenes deserve immense credit for resolving the murder case of Carolyn in a way that felt, somehow, like a massive surprise. They even, at one point, leaned into the idea that her killer would be Barbara, who was responsible for her death in the source material.
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Let’s explain further: After Rusty received a verdict of Not Guilty at the trial, he admitted to his wife that he was the person responsible for tying up her body. He did this under the assumption that Barbara had killed her, and was working actively to cover it up. After all, he saw the car! He say evidence that it was clearly her!
Or, was it? This is when the reveal came out that it was actually Rusty’s daughter Jaden who was responsible. She blamed Carolyn for destroying her family — though really, she should have looked no further than her cheating father for responsibility there. They both had their roles to play. When Jaden learned that Carolyn was pregnant, there was something within her that snapped and by virtue of that, she killed her quickly with the fire poker, bludgeoning her again and again. Rusty then ended up covering up his daughter’s crime. They promised to never speak of it again after the fact.
Were there clues throughout the season?
If you were looking for them, they were there, including the true killer at one point doing some research on dissociative identities. The series presented it as though she may have been looking for it in relation to her father when in reality, she was looking at it in regards to herself. There was something within her she was trying to answer.
As for every other clue out there, whether it be Tommy’s HR incident with Carolyn, Michael’s disdain for his mother, or even Kyle getting rid of the bicycle, go ahead and consider them all to be classic murder-mystery red herrings that were laid out convincingly.
The most interesting message
For us at this point, it is rather simple coming out of the finale: Don’t judge a man’s actions solely based on his character. Rusty was a pretty terrible person through much of Presumed Innocent, but that does not make him a murderer. Should there be comeuppance that comes his way eventually? We hope so; perhaps the most distressing part of the finale for many may just be the lack of justice for Carolyn in general. Tommy failed, and there are no answers. There are many who may still feel in this world as though Rusty is guilty.
Related – When will a Presumed Innocent season 2 premiere?
What did you think regarding the Presumed Innocent season 1 finale over on Apple TV+?
Share right now in the attached comments, and also come back — more coverage will be coming throughout the off-season.