What would you do if you unknowingly were put on a jury for a murder trial only to discover that you may be more involved in the situation than you could have known? That’s the basic premise for Clint Eastwood’s crime drama movie Juror No. 2, starring Nicholas Hoult as conflicted jury member Justin Kemp. So what does Justin do as he is put in a near impossible situation?
Stating the obvious, but before we discuss the Juror No. 2 ending, which will include plenty of SPOILERS, if you haven’t seen the movie but are hoping to then it’s probably best if you wait before reading on. And with the movie being one of the better reviewed movies of 2024 — “Certified Fresh” from critics with 91% and audiences giving it a 92% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes — the wait may just be worth it. But if you’re good to plow ahead, let’s get into the details of Juror No. 2.
Like so many of us, Justin doesn’t want to be part of jury duty, especially because he has a pregnant wife, Allison (Zoey Deutch) at home approaching her due date. But nevertheless he is selected as juror no. 2 on the case, the murder trial of James Michael Sythe (Gabriel Basso), who is accused of murdering his girlfriend Kendall (Francesca Eastwood). However, once Justin hears the details of the case he realizes that not only was he at the bar where James and Kendall were last seen together, getting into a fight, but after leaving that night he hit something while driving. He thought it was a deer, but now worries it might have been Kendall and perhaps he is the one who is actually responsible for her death.
Justin, a recovering alcoholic, goes to his AA sponsor and lawyer Larry (Kiefer Sutherland) to express his worries and ask whether or not he should come forward. Since Justin bought a drink, even though he says he didn’t drink it, his past DUIs would mean no one would believe he didn't drink and he would be looking at a vehicular manslaughter charge and many years in prison. Larry tells him to remain on the jury and say nothing, but help them reach a verdict that will allow this situation to blow over.
But that's easier said than done as the jury is conflicted about their perception of James, how lead prosecutor Faith Killibrew (Toni Collette) conducted the investigation and built her case and ultimately, whether or not James is guilty or innocent. So what happens to James, Justin and others involved in the case?
What happens to Justin in Juror No 2 ending?
As the jury enters deliberation, Justin is unable to just let James get a quick guilty verdict like the rest of the jury appears ready to do, urging them to discuss the details of the case. On their own, a few of the jurors come up with the idea of a hit and run, which as we learn through flashbacks is exactly what happened, as Justin was indeed the one that killed Kendall, albeit accidentally.
The longer-than-anticipated debate amongst the jury and critiques of Harold (J.K. Simmons), one of the jury members who gets removed from the trial for independently investigating the case, causes Faith to have questions of her own. She takes the research that Harold did about cars that had body work around the time of Kendall’s death to see if she can find any leads.
Through this she meets Allison, who is the registered owner of the car Justin was driving that night. Faith doesn’t realize Allison and Justin are married, while Allison doesn’t realize that this is related to the case Justin is serving in. Ultimately, Allison repeats the story that Justin told her (which involved him not going to the bar and instead taking a different way home and the damage coming from hitting a deer), which Faith has no reason not to accept; though for Allison a bit of doubt creeps in.
Meanwhile, the jury is dug in, with half believing James is innocent and the other half not willing to waver on him being guilty, much of it being based on his past as a member of a dangerous gang. Justin needs a verdict for this to all go away and with him having led the initial resistance to the guilty verdict, he has some sway over the jury. So ultimately he decides to convince everyone to vote guilty.
Some time later, Justin and Allison’s child is born, but Justin still can’t fully move on from the case. He goes to James’ sentencing, where he is sent away for life without the possibility of parole. Faith, who won her election to become District Attorney on the back of winning the case, sees Justin in the gallery she remembers that during jury selection Justin mentioned that he had a wife that was pregnant and she connects the dots that Allison is Justin’s wife.
Faith goes to talk with Justin outside the courthouse, wondering about the justice of this situation. While doing everything but outright admitting it, he asks where’s the justice in destroying his family for something that was an accident, then he throws in how her political career will be ruined as a result as well if she wavers from the now official verdict.
It seems as if Justin convinced her, as he is able to leave. But one morning there is a knock at his door. He opens it to find Faith waiting for him.
The movie ends there, but we can infer that Faith has decided that revealing the truth of the case is more important to her than the potential ramifications of backtracking on the conviction and admitting she mishandled the case. As for Justin, though it may be an accident, we can expect that he is going to be punished for not choosing to do the right thing and come forward.
Juror No. 2 is now playing exclusively in movie theaters.
