Presumed Innocent Season 1 Episode 3 Review: Discovery

In order to be found guilty, a jury must do so beyond reasonable doubt. As an experienced lawyer, Rusty knows that, but how far is he willing to go to find a new suspect? We discover that on Presumed Innocent Season 1 Episode 3, “Discovery.”

From the very beginning, Rusty has been trying to cast doubt by bringing up the Bunny Davis case. Someone else, other than Liam Reynolds, slept with Bunny and could now be considered a suspect.

However, Raymond tries to shut this down. If they claim another person is guilty, they must bring this person forward. Can they actually do that?

When Rusty finds out Carolyn’s son texted him and saw him that night, he knows there is enough to cast doubt. If he was there, who else could have been present?

Even if Carolyn’s son didn’t kill her, it gives them enough to present to the jury the possibility that Rusty might not have killed her.

When Barbara is talking to the bartender about Carolyn’s murder, she suggests she might have several enemies for being a beautiful woman. That opens the floor for other suspects. Could Barbara be considered one of them?

Even though the episode still presents moments in which one might believe Rusty did it, the end of Presumed Innocent Season 1 Episode 3, “Discovery,” introduces a very plausible suspect: his son.

He is the one who, at the dinner table, suggests his father take a plea. He later apologizes, saying it is simply because he is afraid to lose his father, but could he be doing it because he is afraid the truth might come out?

On a show like this, it wouldn’t be crazy to think that Rusty’s son knew about the affair and decided to end it. It is also reasonable that he might have had access to the Bunny Davis’s files to know how to tie Carolyn.

Up until this point, Rusty has been set on proving his innocence. Could seeing his son as the only other suspect make him change his mind and take the fall for Carolyn’s murder? After all, what would another lie mean to him?

The beginning of Presumed Innocent Season 1 Episode 3, “Discovery,” uncovers yet another lie when Rusty tells Barbara that he saw Carolyn the night of his murder. Even though he claimed to his therapist on Presumed Innocent Season 1 Episode 2, “People vs. Rozat Sabich,” that he wasn’t a liar, all we have gotten from him are lies.

The only time we have seen him be open and honest is when he talks to his children about the evidence the prosecution has against him.

Maybe it is because he doesn’t want to lie to his children, but his record tells us otherwise. Chances are he is choosing to be honest because he knows the evidence will be public, and they will eventually find out.

But even if this is the moment Rusty chooses to finally be honest, it seems the prosecution is set on making him the guilty man. Rigo is the only one bold enough to voice this to Nico when he threatens her with consequences for obstructing the investigation.

However, Nico isn’t the one leading the hunt. Tommy is obsessed with Rusty and making him pay for Carolyn’s murder. Could he know more than he leads on? Or, as Nico points out, does he simply hate Rusty?

One thing Presumed Innocent has gotten right from the beginning is the introduction of flashbacks throughout the episodes. Those flashbacks are the essence of the show, the glue that keeps everything together.

Without them, we wouldn’t know how far and deep the affair went or who Carolyn was before her death. It will probably be the flashbacks that lead us to the real killer (whether it’s Rusty or not, we have yet to discover).

The beginning of “Discovery” tricks us into believing that Rusty hitting Carolyn is a flashback until we realize it is Raymond’s dream. This makes us see how easily someone could believe another is guilty of murder.

After that dream, Raymond tells Rusty not to say anything compromising when meeting the person who texts him, such as how he hit her in the head. This makes us wonder if Rusty has confessed something to him, is pulling from his dream, or is simply highlighting their evidence against him.

Nothing is ever straightforward on the show, so as viewers, we must take everything as evidence and decide what helps us solve the murder and what is irrelevant to the case.

Presumed Innocent has so far made us doubt everything that was presented. “Discovery” makes us wonder if Rusty truly loved Carolyn, something that might make or break his defense.

Now that we have heard his conversation with Carolyn, we know Tommy will make it seem as if Rusty was stalking her, chasing her down, and insisting on having a relationship she no longer wanted. But is that enough to find him guilty?

Everything changes, however, now that the only other suspect is Rusty’s own son. One ends the episode believing he will do everything he can to protect his son, but will he?

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Presumed Innocent streams Wednesdays on Apple TV+.

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