The Presumed Innocent season finale answered a lot of viewer questions but also left some things up in the air. The Jake Gyllenhaal -led series became a phenomenon thanks to social media after its Apple TV+ premiere in June 2024, becoming the streamer’s most-watched drama. Based on the bestselling book of the same name by Scott Turow , this eight-episode series wasn’t the novel’s first onscreen adaptation.
The 1990 Presumed Innocent film starred Harrison Ford — but has a completely different ending. Spoilers for Presumed Innocent ahead. Gyllenhaal stars as Chicago prosecutor Rusty Sabich, who was accused of a brutal first-degree murder after his colleague Carolyn Polhemus ( Renate Reinsve ) was found dead in her home.
It’s later revealed that married man Rusty and Carolyn were having an affair — which she tried to end, much to his chagrin. While it looked dicey for Rusty as the trial went to court, he was eventually acquitted of the crime. As for who killed Carolyn, it initially seemed that viewers would be left without answers.
However, in the final moments of the season 1 finale, the killer is revealed. The night of Carolyn’s death, Rusty returned to her home, discovered her brutalized corpse, and staged the crime scene — falsely linking Carolyn’s killing to the M.O.
of a previously convicted killer. After tracking his wife Barbara’s ( Ruth Negga ) car, Rusty confronts her about committing the crime. Barbara, horrified by her husband’s accusation, star.