The Rainmaker, although based on John Grisham’s novel by the same name, leaves plenty of room for season 2 speculation. The show creators have taken creative liberties, and it’s evident that the idea was to explore the universe from Grisham’s novel and contort it into a time-appropriate legal drama that could be expanded into a few more seasons. Considering the show is centered around Rudy Baylor, the ending was predictable, but the show managed to build tension until the very end. In this article, I’ll discuss the ending of episode 10 of The Rainmaker, and I’ll also propose a few season 2 theories that I believe will likely be explored in the upcoming season.
Spoiler Alert
Did Sarah take over Tinley Britt?
Sarah had established that she was ready to spill blood on the floor for the sake of winning a case. Tinley Britt was not in a great position, they were rapidly losing clients, especially after the feds started investigating them and their recent failure in Keeley’s case. Leo was busy answering the feds and keeping his name in the clear, and Brad was in prison, so Sarah was the only one who didn’t have a role to play in the messy bit, but she got a chance to make it to the top pretty soon. Brad’s arrest opened up the position of associate, and Sarah was a brilliant replacement. Leo advised her to enjoy the cityscape from her office window, and Sarah had every intention of taking it all in. While she hadn’t yet gotten her hands dirty, as long as she works for Tinley Britt and continues to represent clients with a shady past, she’ll be dragged into the mud just like Brad. She was smart enough to deal with things more tactfully, but Leo will soon make it very clear that she is expected to do certain things that she won’t necessarily like. Considering how little Sarah cared about doing the morally right thing, she might as well participate in concealing truths. She will become the next Leo Drummond, perhaps even more ruthless and cunning. Since we’ve seen Sarah’s soft side as well, we can only hope that someday she’ll realize that it is not always about winning a case and making money; sometimes it is about doing the right thing without any expectations. Maybe when she actually has blood on her hands, she’ll reassess everything she’s done so far.
What happened to Dot Black?
Dot Black was finally served justice. It has been a long fight, but the verdict made it worth the wait. The jury found Great Benefit guilty of concealing the truth, and she was awarded $82 million in compensation. It was never about the money for Dot; had it been so, she would’ve accepted Keeley’s offer a long time back. All she wanted was to know the truth. She knew her son hadn’t lied to her. She believed him even when everyone around her doubted. When Melvin confessed, her heart ached for her son, but she was also relieved because she had finally found out what had actually happened to her son. From the money she’d received, she’d decided to transfer most of it to the institute that had helped Donny during his rehabilitation. She’d also adopted a mutt and planned on donating to the shelter he was from. When Rudy announced that he’d bought Prince’s bar and needed someone to handle the kitchen, Dot showed interest. Perhaps she’ll occasionally manage the bar to help out Rudy, and it’ll also be something to keep her busy. Rudy is one of the hottest lawyers in town at present, so he’ll likely have a lot of cases to choose from. Bruiser seems keen on supporting Rudy, and perhaps they’ll continue to work together. Considering the Fed is investigating her as well, she might not officially work with him, but she’ll continue to support him.
What does the future have in store for Deck?
Rudy had ignited a spark in Deck, and he felt he was ready to take the bar again. Helping Rudy build the case had made him feel confident. There were moments when Deck guided Rudy, and clearly his experience came in handy. Rudy and Deck’s camaraderie is worth rooting for. While Rudy brings the seriousness and passion, Deck is all about humor and calculated risks. Together, they form an awesome pair, and in season 2 we’ll hopefully find out that Deck has successfully passed the bar. Watching Deck argue in court will be quite emotional. The man has spent most of his life working in the shadows and never crossed the bar. So, the day he will finally manage to do so, it’s going to be an important episode on the show. Presumably, Rudy and Deck will work on cases together. And every time, Rudy would plan on doing something drastic without considering its outcome, Deck is going to step in like a true elder brother and help him think logically about the situation. Rudy passing Deck the coin his brother had gifted him suggests that he’d accepted Deck as his family, and their bond is only going to get stronger.
Will Rudy start his own legal firm?
They will likely continue providing their services to people like Dot Black, who don’t have the resources but are driven to fight for justice, maybe for themselves or their loved ones. Since he is not driven by greed, Rudy will likely accept more pro bono cases he genuinely believes in.
During The Rainmaker’s ending, we discover that Rudy bought the bar previously owned by Prince; as someone who once made ends meet working there, he had an emotional connection to the place. Since Rudy will be too busy to look after the place, and perhaps Dot will step in. It’s always going to be the place he will come back to to unwind after a long day. Dot treated Rudy like her own son, and considering they’ve almost become family now, she’ll continue to be an important part of his life. She is going to inspire Rudy to be honest with himself and to always do the right thing. Considering Rudy has won his first case against one of the most prominent law firms in the country, it is somewhat expected that Rudy will start his own law firm.
Will season 2 explore Sarah and Rudy’s enmity?
With Brad out of the picture and Leo busy answering the feds, Sarah is pretty much in charge of Tinley Britt at the moment. She reminded Leo of his early days; she had the same spark in her eyes along with the determination to make it big. Sarah’s transformation is one of the most exciting developments on the show. She started out as a loveable character, but now she is pretty much shaping into a villain. Even after knowing the truth, she continued to defend Great Benefit, which suggests that she does not care about doing the morally right thing. She will continue to defend similar clients with shady pasts as long as the checks clear on time. Rudy had hoped that Sarah would back out once the truth was out, but the moment he realized that she wasn’t affected by it, he finally came to terms with the fact that the woman he’d fallen in love with in college was long gone.
Sarah has completely changed; she desperately wants to be the next Leo Drummond. Tinley Britt might not be the best in the business anymore, but that doesn’t mean that it will shut down completely. Clearly, Tinley Britt has a very shady past that involves murdering witnesses and shutting down cases, and perhaps with every case of The Rainmaker, we’ll gradually watch the complete collapse of the law firm. Since Rudy and Sarah are pretty much on the opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to the moral meter, it’s very likely that their rivalry will continue. Unless Sarah experiences personal loss, she’ll not really realize how ‘just doing her job’ can permanently damage people’s lives.
Will Kelly return in season 2?
Kelly left a little abruptly this season, so I’m really hoping she returns in the next. Perhaps more evolved and more in tune with herself. She needed to figure out her life on her own, instead of diving into another relationship after years in an abusive marriage. So maybe, after taking the time to recover from the abuse and rebuild her life, she will decide to reconnect with Rudy. They shared mutual love and respect, and it only makes sense for them to find their way back to each other. Also, considering there is a slim possibility for Rudy and Sarah to get back together, a romantic relationship with Kelly is likely on the cards!
Will Brad and Melvin team up?
The final episode of The Rainmaker ends with Brad Noonan waving at Melvin in prison. It is fun to see Noonan feel so intimidated! From abusing Sarah to finally paying the price for his loyalty to a toxic boss, Brad has come a long way, and hopefully he’ll learn some valuable lessons during his time in prison. Since Brad was involved in the firm’s plan of getting rid of Melvin, it only makes sense that he wanted Melvin to know that he came in peace. Brad was already kicked out of the firm he’d pretty much dedicated his life to, so he has all the more reason to team up with Melvin, though it won’t be easy. Maybe their shared hatred for Tinley Britt will bring them together. Brad will definitely cooperate with the feds in exchange for a lenient sentence, so he might as well admit that Leo was responsible for the fire in Melvin’s house and therefore for the death of his mother. Although Brad knows all the secrets, we don’t know if has any concrete evidence. Since he was dealing with the messy illegal stuff, his name and pictures are all over the place. Brad will have to come up with a strategy, and who knows, maybe Melvin will help him; this will surely be an interesting twist!
