Accused spoilers: What was Marcus on trial for, and what happened to him?

Accused season 2, episode 3 saw Marcus on trial. Here’s a look at everything that happened in the episode.

Nick Cannon starred as Marcus in the latest episode of Accused. He, along with Patrick J. Adams’s Pete, ran a tech company. When Marcus learns that his code led to the death of an innocent man, Marcus starts to feel the weight of that.

He and Pete are blackmailed with the threat to expose a flaw in the code that led to the death. It led to a breakdown of the working relationship and friendship between Pete and Marcus, and yet only Marcus ended up on trial. Let’s take a look at the events.

Who blackmailed Marcus and Pete in Accused?

It ended up being an employee within the company who blackmailed the two. She wasn’t happy because she had covered up the coding issue and wanted a higher payout. When Pete forgot all about it and refused to give her it, she decided that blackmail was the way to do it.

However, that blackmail led to Pete and Marcus falling out. This employee took the stand to give her testimony, even facing her own trial for extortion. It was in this testimony that we learned what Marcus was actually on trial for.

A fight broke out in the stairwell as Pete and Marcus argued about what to do. Pete fell over the railing, but Marcus didn’t actually push him. Marcus was close enough to save Pete, but could he have stopped Pete from falling?

Was Marcus found guilty or not guilty in Accused?

With it clear that Marcus was on trial for the death of Pete, the question became whether he would be found guilty or innocent of involuntary manslaughter. It really came down to character witnesses. The death came due to a fight, but did Marcus intend to kill Pete?

There is no doubt that Marcus caused Pete’s death, but was it murder? Was it manslaughter?

In the end, Marcus was found not guilty.

After two episodes that brought a lot of emotion and important topics of grief and psychological weight load up, this third episode was a little on the basic side. It’s a shame that the story ended up being focused on Marcus being accused of involuntary manslaughter. It only grazed the topic of systemic racism within America and how everyone can end up being complicit in it, including some Black people. This episode should have put more focus on that rather than the small speech at the very end of the episode.

Accused airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on FOX. Catch up the following day on Hulu.

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