'The Trial'/'Il Processo' Ending Explained: Who killed Angelica, and will there be a Season 2?
Spoilers for Season 1 of 'Il Processo'/'The Trial'
'Il Processo' or 'The Trial', created by Alessandro Fabbri, focuses on the titular trial following the murder of a 17-year-old girl, Angelica Petroni. The show stars Vittoria Puccini, Francesco Scianna, Camilla Filippi and Alessandro Averone, among others.
After Angelica's body is discovered in a river, prosecutor Elena Guerra (Puccini) is called in to investigate the murder. Over the course of her investigation, Elena comes to know that Angelica is the daughter she gave up for adoption years earlier. However, in order to bring the culprit to justice, she hides this information from others and continues her investigation into the murder.
Elena is at first sure the murderer is Claudio Cavalleri, who was recorded to have spent time with Angelica. However, when he commits suicide towards the end of the first episode, and when further clues are revealed, Elena is convinced that it was in fact Linda Monaco—Claudio's wife—who killed her daughter. We also find out that Linda's father is a very rich and powerful man who has many people on his payroll.
The following episodes revolve around Linda's trial where she's being defended by Ruggero Barone, a rampant lawyer who is a hungry go-getter.
With both Elena and Ruggero eager to succeed, the two clash at many points and try to discredit each others' witnesses often.
However, when Ruggero learns that Elena is Angelica's mother, she is taken off the case. Elena is then forced to keep up with the trial from a distance.
Later, when cleaning out her office, she discovers what she realizes could be crucial evidence—a receipt from the bar near where Angelica is suspected to have been murdered—that would indeed prove that Linda is innocent. She takes this evidence to the judges who then acquit Linda.
Linda and Ruggero start dating, and when Elena goes to the bar with her father, she realizes that the timestamps on the receipts at the bar are always wrong. This leads her to realize that Linda is indeed guilty.
In the meantime, Ruggero—who already suspects Linda's father—is becoming more unsure of her innocence himself. When Elena tells Ruggero what she learned, he tries to dig up the truth.
Throughout the show, Linda keeps referring to her lucky heels, and how she wants to wear them all the time.
When the heel on one of Linda's shoes breaks while they are on a date, Ruggero takes the heels and has them examined for organic matter. He is able to deduce that Linda did, in fact, kill Angelica by stabbing the latter's eye with her heel.
At this point, Ruggero unites with Elena, despite knowing the danger it poses to his career and life. With the murder weapon in their possession, the former prosecutor and lawyer now have a stronger hand to win the case.
Of course, whether they succeed or not will only be known if the series is renewed for a second season.
'Il Processo' originally aired in Italy towards the end of 2019. The original producer, Mediaset Play, has not announced whether the show has been renewed. Moreover, Puccini has also signed on for other shows in the meantime, so the fate of the show is even more uncertain.
However, should the show be a success on Netflix, Mediaset Play might renew it. If not, maybe Netflix themselves can take up 'The Trial' and renew it for additional seasons the way it did for 'You' when it was canceled by Lifetime after the first season.
All episodes of Season 1 of 'The Trial'/'Il Processo' are now streaming on Netflix.