The Rainmaker Season One Finale: Breaking Down All the Burning Questions
There's still so much at stake after the Season One finale.
The season one finale of The Rainmaker is now in the books, and though it delivered justice and juicy revenge, it also left plenty of questions hanging in the balance. As we cross our fingers for a season two, USA Insider is breaking down the biggest cliffhangers so far.
The finale brought all the drama to the courtroom, as Rudy Baylor (Milo Callaghan) and Leo Drummond (John Slattery) faced off in the case against hospital giant, Great Benefit. Spoiler: It didn’t go Leo’s way!
The hospital was found guilty of conspiracy to conceal murder in an $82 million judgment for Rudy’s client, Dot Black (Karen Bryson), whose son died of an opioid overdose administered by a serial killer nurse, Melvin Pritcher (Dan Fogler). Meanwhile, Leo and his firm, Tinley Britt, are under investigation by the FBI.
How exactly did Rudy outfox Leo?
Rudy’s first power move in the finale was to put a serial killer on the witness stand.
Turns out, Prince kidnapped Pritcher and hid him in the basement of his bar, eventually handing him over to Rudy before high tailing it out of town. And with the help of Bruiser (Lana Parrilla), Rudy brokered a deal: Pritcher would testify to avoid the death penalty (plus get payback against the hospital that tried to burn his house down and killed his mom instead).
On the stand, Pritcher confessed to murdering Dot’s son — and fourteen other patients — sending shockwaves through the courtroom. Leo tried to tear him apart as a witness, but the damage was already done. Even a jaw-dropping moment when Pritcher lunged over the stand to attack Leo couldn’t save the defense.
Still, Rudy had another clever trick up his sleeve. He called Leo himself as a witness, peppering him with questions about Tinley Britt’s private investigator, Jane Allen, and a murdered corporate whistleblower, Rosalie Sutton. As expected, Leo denied knowing them, and it seemed Rudy was wasting everyone’s time.
But in a satisfying twist, the judge kicked a smirking Leo off the case, citing an obscure rule that barred defense attorneys from testifying. With attorney Brad Noonan (Wade Briggs) demoted, only rookie Sarah Plankmore (Madison Iseman) was left to handle closing arguments.
What’s up with Rudy and Sarah?
Rudy’s sweet law school girlfriend became ruthless and power-hungry with each passing minute. Still, Rudy held out hope, urging Sarah to walk away from Tinley Britt before it was too late. Instead, she sank to a new low by using Rudy’s dead brother in her closing arguments to suggest his judgment was clouded by emotion.
Will Rudy and Sarah become full-blown adversaries in a second season, or will they reconcile? Rudy shared many tender moments with Kelly Riker (Robyn Cara), but romance was not in the cards for them—at least not yet.
Will the FBI take down Tinley Britt?
By the finale, the FBI had Tinley Britt in its crosshairs, suspecting the firm orchestrated the murder of Rosalie. After all, before vanishing, she was set to testify about fraud at a fertilizer company linked to Great Benefit. But, she never made it to court. J. Lyman Stone (Bruiser’s dad) served jail time in connection with her disappearance.
Desperate, Brad agreed to wear a wire for the FBI (in exchange for immunity) and confront Leo. But the plan unraveled when Leo discovered it in seconds. We knew Brad’s fate was sealed as the all-around fall guy when Leo told him, “Well, now you’ve killed yourself.”
At the end of the finale, however, the FBI pulled Leo aside for questioning. After losing the case and his biggest client, could Leo also lose his freedom? Or will he outmaneuver the Feds and pivot to an even bigger case?
RELATED: The Rainmaker's John Slattery Warns: You "Can't Trust Anything" Leo Drummond Says
What will Brad’s role be?
Brad has a lot to be angry about. When hospital CEO Wilfred Keeley was implicated in the cover-up, Sarah and Leo hatched a plan to frame Brad. In court, Sarah argued that as the hospital’s corporate attorney, Brad had access to incriminating data about Pritcher’s deadly overdoses, data that had been destroyed.
In the end, Brad was detained by the FBI and thrown in jail, though we don’t have all the details just yet. One thing we do know: He’s in the same lock-up as Pritcher, and there’s no telling how that situation will unfold.
Will Deck Shifflet finally pass the bar?
After failing the bar so many times he calls himself a “para-lawyer,” Deck (P.J. Byrne) finally proved himself alongside Rudy in such a wild case. And now, he’s ready to try again. In a touching moment, Rudy gave Deck his most treasured possession for good luck—a coin from his late brother, hinting that someday soon there might be a new lawyer in town.
The Rainmaker finale will make its way to Peacock on Oct. 31, where you can catch all of the past episodes.
