‘Presumed Innocent’ Is Already Making Its Case for the Show of the Summer
Apple TV+ has a knack for delivering iconic characters, doesn’t it? There’s Severance’s Mark S., Silo’s Juliette Nicholas, and Ted frickin’ Lasso. Now the streamer is welcoming a new Complex Character to the club: Rusty Sabich, the prosecutor from Presumed Innocent.
Jake Gyllenhaal plays Rusty on the series, which debuted its first two episodes today. And I just have to say: He’s all I’ll think about for the next eight weeks. Presumed Innocent is inspired by Scott Turow’s novel and the 1990 film of the same name. For those who aren’t familiar, Rusty is accused of murdering his colleague Carolyn Polhemus. The clean-cut and well-spoken family man has a wife, Barbara, and two kids, Jaden and Kyle. He’s the type of guy who goes to work and makes it home in time for dinner. Tells his wife that she’s beautiful! Plays catch with his son. The man doesn’t seem capable of murder, but he’s nonetheless a key suspect in Carolyn’s death.
Episode 1 begins with a brief flashback: Rusty is in his element, preaching about the sanctity of law to a group of jurors. “My job is to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt,” he says. “I will live up to my duty and I ask that you rise up to yours. Let’s do this, shall we?” For the rest of the summer, we’ll moonlight as jurors, too, while Carolyn’s murder trial unfolds.
So how did Carolyn die? I’ll spare you the explicit details, but she was bludgeoned and hog-tied. Her cleaning lady found her. Once he hears the news, Rusty rushes to the crime scene. He’s told not to go inside (“It’s bad,” his boss says), but he storms in anyway. Somehow Rusty remains stone-faced. His lack of tears is odd, but everyone grieves differently…right? Maybe he’s in shock? Maybe he shut down? Either way, he’s appointed as the head lawyer in her case. His coworker Tommy Molto isn’t happy about it.
That evening, Rusty’s wife says something strange. “I will try and be here for you. But I can’t do the memorial.” Rusty is silent, but he agrees. He attends Carolyn’s funeral with his boss, Raymond, and they do some recon. Carolyn’s ex is there with their son, whom Rusty didn’t know about. The ex has an alibi, so he’s off their suspect list.
After the service, Rusty tells Raymond that Carolyn’s murder reminds him of Bunny Davis—a woman they represented who died similarly. It’s an interesting theory, but they already caught the guy. Later, Rusty goes to the morgue to speak with the medical examiner, while Tommy asks his boss, Nico De LaGuardia, about Carolyn’s connection to Bunny. “It’s not our case,” Nico says. “Not yet,” Tommy replies. Why do they care? Because Carolyn’s case—tragic as it may be—could also signal a power shift at their firm.
Before we get any further, there are three things you need to know:
Nico is running for state attorney against Raymond, who currently holds the position.
Raymond selected Rusty as chief prosecutor because he needs a win. If Rusty can convict someone in Carolyn’s case, the public might decide to keep Raymond in power. An unsolved murder doesn’t bode well for the community's safety.
Tommy wants Rusty’s job. If Nico is elected, he’ll demote Rusty and appoint Tommy as chief prosecutor.
Rusty speaks with the medical examiner and then heads to the courthouse to visit Liam Reynolds—the man serving time for Bunny’s murder. “So, am I a suspect?” Liam asks. “Hope so. It’s pretty fucking boring around here.” Arrogance aside, his involvement doesn’t seem likely. Still, Rusty pushes for more information. Could Liam be connected to Carolyn’s murder? Did he order a hit? Rusty tries his best to pull a confession, but Liam is tired of his antics. “If you want a statement from me, I’ve got a statement for ya. Yippee.” Ouch! “Carolyn Polhemus ruined my life—you helped.”
Just when you wonder what this man is so damn mad about, we flash back to Liam’s trial. After the sentencing, he turns to Carolyn and yells, “There’s two things that I never forget. Faces and being fucked over.” Okay, maybe he is involved?! Then again, why now? Rusty appears to wonder the same, so he leaves. Next up is Carolyn’s ex. He doesn’t have any information, either—just bad memories. “Carolyn was a very compartmentalized person,” he says. “Whatever I did see and know was what she wanted seen and known.”
That night, Barbara confronts Rusty with a few critical questions. First, is he handling Carolyn’s case? Second, why?!? Rusty explains that if he didn’t accept, Tommy would be the head lawyer and let the case remain unsolved to ruin Raymond's chance at reelection. “What if it gets out that the two of you were involved?” Barbara asks. “What’s that going to do to your case? Your career. Our kids. Me?” Rusty is at a loss for words.
The next day, Rusty meets with his therapist to talk about infidelity. His father was a cheater, he says. “I swore to myself that I would never do that. Now I’m here.” His therapist tries to uncover the root of his and Carolyn’s affair, though, honestly, it sounds like good old-fashioned escapism. “B and I met when we were twenty,” Rusty says. She got pregnant six months later. They had two kids and stuck it out. Carolyn was a breath of fresh air. “She just woke me up,” he says. “She was funny and strong. She was brilliant. Just fucking brilliant.”
That evening, Nico wins the district-attorney position. The next day, Rusty meets with Tommy to transfer his files and walks into an interrogation. His fingerprints were found at the crime scene. “When was the last time you were in Carolyn’s apartment prior to the murder?” Tommy asks. “We had cases together,” Rusty stutters. “Trials. And sometimes we’d discuss at her apartment.” Uh-oh.
Finally, Tommy asks the question we’ve been dying to hear. “Were you and Carolyn romantically involved?” You can practically see the beads of sweat drip from Rusty’s temples. “My personal relationship with Carolyn Polhemus is not relevant to this investigation.” The pathology report says otherwise—Carolyn was pregnant when she died.
And that’s a wrap, folks. To recap the recap: Carolyn was Rusty’s mistress, Barbara knew about it, Raymond loses the election, and now Rusty needs a lawyer.
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