‘Presumed Innocent’ Episode 8 Recap & Ending Explained: Why Did Rusty Confront Barbara?

Episode seven of Presumed Innocent ended with Tommy finding his home being ransacked and a demeaning message being left for him. Tommy lived with his pet cat, and he was worried about it and himself as he felt violated. Just before that, earlier that day at the trial, he was successful at cornering Rusty about the reason why he had beaten up Brian Ratzer. This admission went some way towards establishing the fact that he may have killed Carolyn as well. 

Spoilers Ahead

Who did Tommy blame for his home invasion?

Tommy had informed his office and the cops about his home being ransacked by someone. The police had no clue so far who might have broken into the house and left the fire poker, which was from Carolyn’s home. Tommy, as usual, blamed Rusty for the threat, as he believed the accused might be trying to intimidate him now that the case had swung in the prosecution’s favor. The police so far had no evidence to suggest Rusty was the intruder. 

What was the status of the trial?

The judge was also informed about the attack at Tommy’s home, and the judge suggested they move for a mistrial. The prosecutor was not interested in a mistrial, as they believed the case so far was in their favor, and that Rusty’s cross-questioning helped them gain some momentum. DA Nico said the evidence found at Tommy’s home would not be used in the trial, which his associate did not want. Rusty, however, was clueless, as he knew he was not the one who had intimidated Tommy by gatecrashing his apartment. He also suggested they look for other suspects and stop targeting him. Raymond, however, was right when he mentioned that the jury would again see him as the culprit for going after Tommy and would not blame anyone else. 

Raymond wanted Barbara to be put on the stand, but Mya was against the idea because Tommy would take up this opportunity to ask way too many personal questions that might affect her. She did not want any morality conundrum thrown at her during this crucial phase of the trial that might influence the jury against Rusty. 

What did Rusty claim during the closing statement?

Rusty came forward to Raymond and Mya and declared he would deliver the closing statement. The two were against it, but he was insistent, as he believed the jury needed to hear from him about the case, which would have a deeper impact. During the closing statement, he claimed to have erred and hurt his family and friends because of the affair. It was the affair that caused the trouble and him being tried as accused. He also did not shy away by putting the blame on the prosecution, which only focused on him as the culprit but did not go after any other leads. He claimed there was a vendetta against him, as Tommy made it very clear from his actions in court how much he disliked Rusty. Rusty also claimed the prosecution never had any solid evidence to prove he killed her as the DNA was bound to be found at her place as he and Carolyn had had an affair. That does not establish him as a killer, as there was no murder weapon found, and the police and prosecution never investigated that part of the murder case. 

What was Tommy’s conclusion during the closing statement?

Tommy’s closing statement was the opposite of Russell’s. Tommy did not miss the chance to state that Rusty conveniently never revealed the fact that he had had an affair with Carolyn, and that he was at her home on the night of the murder. Rusty took over the investigation of the case way before the district attorney election, knowing it would be a conflict of interest. His wanting to make sure the affair was not leaked could be seen as a sign of guilt, and the fact he never revealed this information to anyone also pointed towards him being a killer. Tommy went all guns blazing during the closing statement. Since both had given a powerful ending to this long, strenuous trial, there was confusion on who would win. 

Was Rusty declared guilty?

Rusty was declared not guilty by the jury by the end of the trial. It was an end to the stress of the last few months for Rusty, his family, and the entire prosecution team. Rusty’s family was relieved, but Tommy and Nico were stressed. Rusty went to the media to claim the killer was still out there and the prosecution needed to find out who killed Carolyn. Tommy was not happy with the result, as expected, but it was obvious from his mannerism and conversation with Nico post the declaration of the verdict that he was in love with Carolyn. He disliked Rusty only because Carolyn chose him over Tommy. Nico also asked him about his love for her, and he probably had to move on since the case was over. It was obvious from Tommy’s overall reaction that he only wanted Rusty behind bars as an act of vengeance, not because he was genuinely trying to find out who killed Carolyn. 

Why Did Rusty Confront Barbara?

A while after the trial was over, Barbara had packed and was taking a well-needed solo vacation away from all the drama that drained her out. Rusty knew what she went through after knowing of his affair and the ordeal that ensued in the name of the murder trial. He was, however, aware of her behavioral pattern and began to question her role in Carolyn’s murder. He accused her of probably having dissociative personality disorder, which was why she was devoid of emotion after the news of Carolyn’s murder broke. Rusty was a lawyer, which was why it was easy for him to make his deductions. He probably knew it was Barbara from the start that made him take the fall and hoped to divert the case so that the police or the prosecution did not begin to investigate his family’s role. 

Rusty finally revealed he had gone back to Carolyn’s home only to find her dead. Instead of calling the police, he’d tied her up to make sure the suspicion would fall on Liam Reynolds, but as seen in the show, things went south. Luckily Rusty was out, but he was still keen on finding out who killed Carolyn. It was cliché to see Rusty as a husband taking the fall for Barbara as his ultimate sacrifice for cheating on her. He did not want Barbara to pay for the mistake he made, as it was his affair that almost broke her and the family they built. 

Who killed Carolyn Polhemus?

Rusty’s accusation only shocked Barbara, as she claimed she’d never committed the crime. He did not believe her, as he revealed he had begun to track her car since he was made aware of the Clifton situation. It was hypocritical of him to be going after his wife while he was the one who had almost broken the family by continuing an affair with a colleague, which resulted in her pregnancy as well. At first, it could be assumed he did not let any problems befall his family because of the guilt. It seemed Rusty was only trying to retain the sanctity of the family he respected, which was why he sat on the case initially to make sure all of his personal links to Carolyn were not revealed. Rusty does come across as an egoistic man who would go to any extent to save his face and family.

Before an argument could break out between Barbara and Rusty, Jaden walked in and revealed herself as the murderer. Her reason was simple, she’d wanted to save her family. Jaden was exactly like her father, who had a temper during extreme moments and as a result she killed Carolyn. Jaden wanted some normalcy for her family, and to achieve that, she threatened Carolyn to move to another city so that her father never followed his lover. Carolyn claimed things could be complicated as she was pregnant. Jaden also claimed she felt all of this was a dream as her action to kill her father’s mistress was a split-second decision. Since Jaden and Rusty were a family, there was a possibility her DNA was passed off as Rusty’s. It was not clear how the police did not come across any evidence that would point towards Jaden. The police did have Jaden’s laptop, and they found no evidence of her involvement in the murder. It seemed a little outlandish, and the ending of the show was different from the one in the movie released in the year 1990 starring Harrison Ford. 

Presumed Innocent finale ended with Rusty claiming responsibility for Jaden’s action, as it was his relationship with Carolyn that led to his daughter taking steps to protect all of them. Jaden wanted her family to remain intact, and since she was attached to her father, she never wanted him to leave their home to move to another city. Jaden was promised her father would do anything to save her now that the cat was out of the bag. There was no way the police would track Jaden down, even though she was the one that spooked Tommy to divert the case. 

The last shots involved Tommy, Nico, Raymond, and his wife Lorraine moving on to their respective lives long after the case was over. Rusty’s family, as expected, was intact and together as he wanted, and he thanked Babara for keeping all the secrets to themselves.