A Mind-Blowing Scene In ‘Presumed Innocent’ Episode 5 Inspired My Loudest Scream Of The Year

When I first started watching Apple TV+ ‘s eight-episode limited series, Presumed Innocent , I thought that all I had to fear were gory crime scenes and a nail-biting murder mystery. Boy was I wrong!

As someone familiar with the the 1990 film starring Harrison Ford , I assumed the latest adaptation of Scott Turow’s novel would be fairly predictable, but Episode 5 reminded me that anything can happen this time around — including (but likely not limited to!) a mind-blowing scene that made me scream alone on my couch.

The series, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as chief deputy prosecutor/chief murder suspect Rusty Sabich, keeps viewers on the edge of their seats week after week. But thus far, the legal thriller has only made me yelp once — and the scream-worthy scene wasn’t even related to Carolyn Polhemus’ brutal murder.

‘Presumed Innocent’ Episode 5 Recap: A Portrait of the Prosecutor as a Middle-Aged Man

Throughout Presumed Innocent ‘s first four episodes, the Apple TV+ adaptation emphasizes characters’ extreme stress through dreams, or rather, nightmares. In several instances, disturbing images play out on screen, making it difficult to determine whether the actions actually happened or are mental images conjured by characters. We’ve seen characters wake up in a sweat after particularly perplexing sequences, and suddenly everything makes sense. But at the start of Episode 5, “Pregame,” when Raymond Horgan (Bill Camp) was alone in a conference room sipping coffee, working late, and feeling ill, I was sure I was watching reality.

It’s no secret that Raymond had been off since learning about Rusty’s involvement with Carolyn, but the fact that he kicked off the scene belching and passing gas initally made me think he was simply battling a bad case of heartburn. When he started sweating, uncomfortably shifting in his chair, and looking like Chuck McGill in a tense Better Call Saul scene , I though perhaps a panic or heart attack was in progress. But no! It was so much worse.

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Instead, Raymond’s head straight-up EXPLODED, and the loud burst — plus the unsettling sight of red wine-colored liquid, flesh bits, and bone fragments projecting throughout the room — made me involuntarily shriek.

After surviving Presumed Innocent ‘s successful jump scare and realizing just how ridiculous the scene was, I screamed “WHAT?!” alone in my living room and realized I’d gotten played. Again.

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In true Presumed Innocent fashion, the scene cuts to Raymond waking up in a sweat in the comfort of his home, head in tact. Later that morning, he tells his wife about the terrifying trauma, and she suggests, “All these nightmares — they’re all telling you the same thing, which is what the evidence tells you.” Raymond argues that the lack of evidence pointing to Rusty suggests he may still be innocent, and though his health undeniably seems in jeopardy as a result of the trial, Raymond carries on. (Unlike me, who’s still stuck on the exploding head.)

While making the cursed GIFs above, Decider’s trusty Digital Editorial Designer Dillen Phelps offered incredible insight into the mind-blowing scene, excitedly noting that it appears to be an exciting homage to Scanners , David Cronenberg’s 1981 sci-fi horror film, which features — yep, you guessed it — exploding heads !

So there you have it folks, Presumed Innocent ‘s exploding head scene is a terror, a treat, and a potential reference to another classic all in one.

Presumed Innocent is now streaming on Apple TV+.

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