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The fifth episode of Apple TV+’s edition of Presumed Innocent, Pregame, kicks off the second half. The title indicates that the focus will be on the lead-up to the start of Rusty Sabich’s murder trial.
The episode begins immediately following the previous episode’s conclusion.
Ratzer, the possible subject Rusty interrogated earlier in the episode, comes to his door, only for Rusty (Jake Gyllenhaal) to beat him up.
When Barbara (Ruth Negga) questions whether Ratzer will call the police, Rusty assures her he will not.
Next, we see Tommy (Peter Sarsgaard) looking through the photos from the night of Carolyn’s death, only to be surprised to see someone.
In the next scene, he speaks with Eugenia (Virginia Kull), Carolyn’s lawyer and friend, who said before she was nervous about testifying.
Eugenia tells Tommy that he’s discovered she will be the first witness. Tommy asks her if she has ever kissed or had any other kind of relationship with Rusty, and she reacts angrily without vocally denying it.
Then, in an ethically questionable threat, Tommy implies that her job could be in jeopardy if she fails to show “loyalty.”
At the same time, she points out that it was unethical of him not to recuse himself from the case against his own ex-colleague.
The kind of case that makes heads explode
On the other side of the case, we see Raymond (Bill Camp) preparing the case himself, and he appears to suffer from heart attack symptoms. But then, his head explodes, and it turns out to be Raymond’s dream.
It’s the sort of misdirection that this particular series has been especially prone to overusing.
He and his wife (Elizabeth Marvel) discuss the dream, in which she implies that Rusty is guilty, and Raymond is suffering the “burden” of possibly knowing his friend is guilty of murder.
Related: Presumed Innocent Episode 4 Review: The Burden
The pending case is also taking its toll on Rusty. We see him on the treadmill, thinking about when he beat up Ratzer. Next, he returns to Ratzer’s house, intending to talk to him.
The case takes its toll
In the next scene, we see Rusty in Raymond’s office, admitting what he did. Looking increasingly disheveled, Raymond expresses concern about “the direction of this spiral that you’re in.”
Rusty explains his theory, which involves Carolyn previously hiding evidence against Ratzer in a previous case. Raymond points out that prison informants aren’t usually trusted, and this theory isn’t their case anyway.
Rusty then tells Raymond that Ratzer has agreed to come to his office tomorrow.
Things are also less than great at the Sabich home. Barbara and Jaden (Chase Infiniti) have a talk in which Jaden asks point-blank whether Rusty “did this.”
“Your dad has a lot of rage inside of him, but not this,” Barbara tells her daughter. Later, Jaden and Rusty talk about his beating of Ratzer as Barbara overhears in the hall.
Tommy vs. Nico?
Then, there’s another flashback: We see Tommy and Carolyn in the office together. Tommy asks Carolyn if it’s true that she doesn’t want to work with him, and she replies that she would prefer to keep working with Rusty.
Related: Presumed Innocent Review: The Plot Thickens
This seems to change our view of Tommy’s motives, questioning whether he was jealous of Rusty and Carolyn’s affair.
In the next scene, Tommy is asked by Nico (O-T Fagbenle) about the possible lead involving the prisoner, Reynolds, and his threats against Carolyn. Tommy confirms that Rusty remains their focus.
The start of the affair
Next, we see Barbara at the bar where the handsome, flirty bartender works. When he’s not there that day, she decides to call him, and while she calls it a “mistake,” he says something about regretting the shots you don’t take (Michael Jordan? Michael Scott?)
Barbara then prepares for and goes on a date with Clifton, the bartender (Sarunas J, Jackson), and they kiss.
In the meeting in Raymond’s office, Ratzer is interrogated about whether he had sex with Bunny, the earlier murder victim. He says he may have but does not know Reynolds, the prisoner.
Grandstanding Tommy
It’s back to Tommy when reporters approach him and ask if it’s true that a plea has been offered; he denies that the office would consider such a thing.
When asked what an “appropriate measure of justice” would be, he removes his sunglasses, Caruso-style. He ties the case to “a grotesque and systematic lack of accountability that has been going on too long.”
In this speech, Tommy sounds a lot like a politician giving a stump speech, indicating that he plans to take the case to some higher political office.
In the next scene, his boss Nico asks him why giving such a grandstanding speech was “helpful to us.” Tommy clarifies that he resents “a lot of people around here” disliking and distrusting him.
Related: Presumed Innocent Premiere Review: Meet Rusty Sabich (Again)
“No murder trials at breakfast”
Back at the Sabich house, that family is at breakfast, and Rusty demands “no murder trials at breakfast, including mine.” It was noticed that Barbara was looking particularly good that day.
Things get a bit more ominous when Rusty discovers Kyle’s bike in the trash- while Kyle says it’s just that the chain is loose, Rusty wonders whether this entails suppressing evidence, so he stuffs the bike in the trunk of his car.
Next, we see Barbara with her therapist (Lily Rabe) when she admits the affair, although she acknowledges that they only kissed. She says she liked being “wanted” and “desired.”
She admits that because she resents staying with Rusty for so long, she liked the idea that she “could” have an affair.
Lawyers and clients
Rusty and Raymond have a meeting on top of a building — it’s unclear why they don’t just do it at his office — and Raymond asks if Barbara thinks he’s guilty.
Raymond tells her his wife, Barbara’s close friend, is convinced Rusty did it.
“Barbara knows that I am innocent,” Rusty says, strongly pushing against Raymond’s idea that Barbara should testify on his behalf.
Related: Presumed Innocent Episode 4 Review: The Burden
While it may not be a murder broadcast over breakfast, we learn from a TV news brief that the trial is about to begin.
On trial
Then, we see a montage of Rusty, Barbara, their kids, and the lawyers entering the courthouse and the courtroom.
Tommy delivers his opening statement, in which he emphasizes that he knew her and worked with her, while making an emotional appeal to due justice.
The episode ends with a pan towards Rusty at the defense table, where he lets out a frustrated expletive.
The Tommy question
What we learn about Tommy is the biggest development in this episode, even more than the consummation of the affair.
The character was shown beforehand as an ambitious workaholic lawyer who dislikes Rusty but does not appear unethical.
But after this episode, it’s clear that his ambition may be getting the better of him- and not only that but he may have jealous or underhanded motives as well.
Could he be a suspect himself? We’ll have to watch the rest of the trial to find out.
Stephen Silver is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. You can follow more of his work on his Substack The SS Ben Hecht, by Stephen Silver.You can follow him on X.
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