Presumed Innocent Season 1 Episode 5 Review: Pregame

Presumed Innocent has done a great job of making flashbacks the show’s centerpiece. However, Presumed Innocent Season 1 Episode 5, “Pregame,” proves to viewers that nightmares are just as important.

Raymond’s nightmares are particularly important because they always hint at Rusty’s guilt. Even though he claims he believes in his friend, the details of his nightmares say otherwise.

For viewers, the nightmares are an insight into what’s happening underneath the surface. For Raymond, they are a reminder of why he needs to defend Rusty and make sure he is found not guilty.

Was it Tommy?

While Raymond is set on proving Rusty’s innocence, Tommy is set on proving his guilt. However, there has always been something behind Tommy’s pursuit of Rusty’s guilt.

Presumed Innocent Season 1 Episode 5, “Pregame,” proves Tommy might be after Rusty because he was jealous of him and Carolyn. 

Even though Carolyn’s son believes the man who scared her in the office was Rusty, this episode makes viewers wonder if the real man she was afraid of was Tommy. Eugenia herself points to this.

When Tommy questions her professional objectivity, she asks him if he shouldn’t be the one to recuse himself. This immediately makes us think there was something going on between him and Carolyn.

This is further explained to us in a flashback, once again proving the importance of these scenes. Tommy questions Carolyn because he’s been told she doesn’t want to work with him.

Her first reaction is to say he is stalking her, which makes us wonder how often he approached her. Even though she claims it’s only because her career would benefit from working with Rusty, everything points to her being afraid of Tommy, the stalker.

If the flashback with Carolyn and Eugenia’s comment aren’t enough to make us doubt Tommy, Nico himself is wondering what is going on.

Tommy acts as someone who has already won a case that hasn’t even started. He talks to the press as if he knows exactly what will happen next. His ego might be his downfall in the end.

But Nico picks up on this. Even though Tommy tries to make him feel bad about doubting him, Nico’s question, “What’s happened to you in the last month?” makes us think further.

Could he have killed Carolyn because he was the one stalking her? Could he be trying to pin the murder on Rusty because he was jealous of them?

The truth is that at this point, no matter what actually happened, Tommy feels invincible. He mentions that what he says is so.

So, couldn’t it be that he is only presenting the evidence relevant to his point of view? If he says Rusty is the murderer, it must be him. But what is he truly hiding?

Barbara’s “Affair”

From Presumed Innocent‘s beginning, Barbara has been portrayed as a loyal, forgiving, and loving wife. She forgave Rusty for his affair and now seems to have forgiven him for dropping this chaos on their lives.

She even goes as far as to defend his innocence on “Pregame” when Jaden asks if her father killed Carolyn. It is that strong belief that she has in him that Raymond knows might end up winning the case.

However, her loyalty might be running thin when she meets with Clif and kisses him—but only her loyalty to her husband.

It seems her loyalty to her daughter and what she might think is winning now. She worries about what Jaden may think about her forgiving Rusty for the affair and loving him.

Maybe having a revenge affair would make her daughter proud.

Even then, her kiss with Clif is about feeling safe. Her world has been turned upside down, and she no longer feels safe. Clif makes her feel wanted and desired, pulled into a place where no one can judge her for her husband’s actions.

The episode is a roller coaster of evidence, flashbacks, and nightmares that remind us the trial is about to start. Yet there’s a tiny moment that makes everything seem normal.

The scene in the kitchen between Rusty, Barbara, and the kids gives us a glimpse into what life was probably like before the affair and the murder. Jaden herself says, “This is nice.”

It is nice for viewers to understand better what this family was like, how they acted around each other, and how terribly this trial has changed their lives.

But even then, the normalcy doesn’t last long as Rusty finds Kyle’s bike in the trash. Instead of leaving it in the trash or bringing it back in, he hides it in the trunk.

What could possibly go wrong with that? Wouldn’t that be considered hiding evidence?

Minutes before Presumed Innocent Season 1 Episode 5, “Pregame,” ends, the trial begins, and Tommy shows why Nico chose him for the case.

One can easily understand how the jury could be convinced of Rusty’s guilt. Tommy dives into Carolyn as a coworker, a woman, and a mother, tugging at the heartstrings of every jury member.

Even if Raymond believes the evidence isn’t enough to prove Rusty’s guilt, Rusty begins to feel he is in trouble. This becomes very clear when the episode ends with him saying, “F*ck,” and realizing (probably for the first time since the show started) that he is in trouble.

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What did you think of this episode of Presumed Innocent? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Presumed Innocent streams Wednesdays on Apple TV+.

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