Contrary to what my ex tells people, I can admit when I’m wrong. So it is with no hesitation that I acknowledge that I was so wrong about Presumed Innocent and what actually happened to Carolyn Polhemus. I had been sitting on the edge of my seat waiting to hear what happened to the hot prosecutor, whether scarf-stealing Jake Gyllenhaal killed his preggo mistress, and what was up with her creepy kid. The finale of Presumed Innocent is officially out, and we finally know who killed Carolyn and whether Rusty Sabich was found guilty of the crime. Because, my betches, those are two very different things!! Okay, enough edging, let’s climax this shit and get into explaining the Presumed Innocent finale.

No shit, there are spoilers ahead. Don’t read further unless you’ve watched the finale of Presumed Innocent or like to read about shows you never intend to watch.

The ‘Presumed Innocent’ Finale, Explained

Was Rusty Sabich found guilty of killing Carolyn Polhemus?

Image Credit: Apple TV+

The finale saw the closing arguments of both the prosecution and defense. Rusty insisted on speaking on behalf of the defense — such a stubborn girlie, I can relate to feeling the need to yap! He did everything Raymond told him not to do, including accusing Carolyn’s son and ex-husband, drawing suspicion on Tommy, and pretending to be the good guy. Seeing him gaslight an entire room made me realize how Taylor was so fooled by Jake Gyllenhaal.

Then Tommy took to the stand and, in a surprising turn of events, played the role of someone you could actually sympathize with – I know, crazy!! He discussed how Rusty was trying to pin the blame on just about anyone and that if he cared about finding Carolyn’s killer so much, he wouldn’t have impeded the investigation. Mmmm… it pains me to say that anyone named TOMMY has a point, but he does.

The jury went to deliberate, and drum roll…. They found Rusty Sabich not guilty of the murder!!! People were celebrating, and Tommy looked ready to cry, but Rusty just stood there like he’d taken a double dose of whatever his friend was carrying in his back pocket. Maybe because his guilt was impeding his joy? Hmmm…

Who killed Carolyn Polhemus on Presumed Innocent?

Image Credit: Apple TV+

Rusty Sabich was found not guilty of murdering Carolyn Polhemus, but did he kill her and just do a great job of covering his tracks? Yes and no. Because Rusty did not kill his preggo lover, but he did cover up the crime, or at least attempt to.

Let’s go through the reveal. Rusty goes to the home gym, which has honestly been the setting of far too many scenes in this show. We get it; they work out!!! They’re fitspiration!! Stop running and biking and just talk like adults, please. Barbara is biking away, and Rusty confronts her about the getaway bag she’s packed. She claims it was suggested by her therapist in case Rusty ever repeats this shit — the affair? The accusation of murder? Which part? (Side note: at this point, I said, “Aha! It was the therapist who did it!!!!”)

Apparently, Rusty cannot compute this hypocrisy, so he confronts Barbara. He says that he knew all along she did it but was shocked at how little she seemed to care or react to killing someone. Barbara is all “what??? Dude??? Huh???” So Rusty explains that he went back to Carolyn’s that night and found her dead, and immediately KNEW Barbara had done it, so instead of calling 911, he did the obvious thing and tied her up like a rotisserie chicken to frame a man in jail….

Two questions. Firstly, why did you assume it was your wife despite her not knowing the affair had restarted, having no link to the crime scene, and not being a cold-blooded killer? Secondly, why was that the only option you had?

In the book, Barbara murdered Carolyn, but without Rusty cleaning up the scene. At this moment, it seemed like this was Apple TV’s big twist. Nope!

Barbara denies murdering Carolyn, and Rusty continues his Disney villain monologue to reveal he had put a tracker on her car and found she left the murder weapon and note at Tommy’s (Where is the trust??). This really seems to bother Barbz as she is like woah, call me a killer, okay, but I would never go to Tommy Molto’s house. Cue dramatic entrance as their daughter Jaden walks in and reveals she did it. She left the mess at Tommy’s, oh, and she murdered Carolyn. The way I gasped at that reveal.

Clues Jaden killed Carolyn?!

Image Credit: Apple TV+

I had a lot of theories about who killed Carolyn Polhemus, and I even created some new, very credible, non-chaotic ideas after episode seven. But I can honestly say that I didn’t suspect Jaden. I’d love to know if I was the only one??? Out of the two kids, I would’ve thought Kyle, as he biked over to her house that night and threw his bike out.

So Jaden revealed that she went to Carolyn’s that night after Rusty had left to tell her papa’s mistress to stay away from their family. IDK how she knew the affair was going on; maybe she spoke to her bro after he spied on them getting it on (perv). Carolyn said Rusty wasn’t leaving her alone and then revealed their lives would be intertwined longer as she was carrying his baby. Why would you tell his teenage daughter that? Jaden then grabbed the fire poker and went into a rage, brutally killing Carolyn. She then left and went home.

Rusty indeed arrived later, found the body, and staged the death to look like Bunny Davis. Now we know why Rusty always tried to push Reynolds or Razter being responsible, as he had set up the scene to appear like this. It also reminds me of when he claimed she was tied up the same way, and Mya corrected him to say it was ALMOST the same way. ALMOST because he didn’t quite get it right.

Jaden claimed that the next morning, she cleaned her mom’s car to cover her tracks and buried the fire poker. After seeing Tommy rip into her dad on the stand, she angrily brought the fire poker to his house and fucked shit up. An excellent way to handle things.

Could we have known Jaden was the killer? It’ll take a rewatch to be sure, but Apple TV made this a subtle one. I guess the main clue is her conversation with her dad about dissociation. Rusty initially took this as Jaden accusing him, and later believed that this was what had happened to Barbz. But Jaden was talking about herself! She initially felt like the murder had been a dream. She always claimed that she believed her dad didn’t do it. Maybe this is also why she offered to come to court with her dad, as she felt guilty that he was being accused of her crime. This also explains why Jaden constantly asked her dad for updates surrounding the trial.

Rusty immediately went into father mode at the reveal and blamed himself for setting these events in motion. He said they’d never discuss it again and pretend all was fine. Barbara was literally too stunned to speak but seemed to go along with it. Jaden seems super chipper in later shots, so I guess the whole murder thing isn’t getting her down; she’s just a teenage girlie finding herself.

So now, what the fuck is going to happen in season two of Presumed Innocent? And what am I supposed to do with my life in the meantime?