After hearing the court ruling against politician James Whitehouse, what happens next?
Notice to readers: this article contains a discussion of topics including rape and sexual assault.
Spoilers for ‘Anatomy of a Scandal’ below.
‘Anatomy of a Scandal’ had some plot twists and surprises at the end of its first season, which shows us the conclusion of the court case against a parliamentarian accused of raping one of his assistants. In the Netflix series, based on the novel of the same name, MP James Whitehouse denies rape and alleges the night’s meeting was consensual and that he was part of a five-month relationship that often involved the two of them having sex at work. His wife Sophie supports him against the accusations. However, aide Olivia Lytton alleges that while they did have an affair, James forced himself on her while they were alone in a lift in the House of Commons.
So what exactly happened? Did the defense attorneys manage to convince the jury that Olivia made the accusation against James because she was bitter about their breakup, after falling in love with him? Or was James convicted of rape and took advantage of Olivia after assuming her consent and ignoring her pleas for her to stop? And what did Sophie think about all that happened as the story unfolded in front of her during the trial, calling into question her seemingly perfect life with her husband and her two children?
Here’s everything that happened when the truth was finally revealed.
‘Anatomy of a Scandal’: The Verdict
After a long and highly publicized trial, James Whitehouse is free after being found not guilty of rape in court. The jury took only four hours to deliberate before returning a verdict, and it is likely that they reached their conclusion even sooner.
It appears that since the jury took into account victim Olivia’s five-month affair with James, the defense successfully argued that the attack in the House of Commons was a “moment of passion”and Olivia was upset that James had ended their affair a week earlier.
‘Anatomy of a scandal’: The truth
Unfortunately, although James was found not guilty by the jury in court, yes he was guilty of that crime of rape.
In fact, he had even done it before during his time at Oxford University, cornering and assaulting Sophie’s fellow student Holly Berry while she was drunk in the hallway. While Holly initially allows James to kiss her, he ignores her attempts to stop things from going any further.. In an awful parallel, James calls her a “finger warmer,” the same way he would call Olivia nearly two decades later.
After the incident, Holly dropped out of Oxford, started a new life, and began using her middle name, Kate.. When she married, she took the surname Woodcroft, meaning the Kate Woodcroft who had been fighting to convict James in court.
Sophie begins to understand that Kate and Holly are the same person after learning from an anonymous source that Holly had been attacked by James in college. Later, she notices the lawyer’s rigorous note-taking and colorful Post-it notes while she was in the courtroom.
Nevertheless, Instead of helping her husband and alerting the courts to her discovery, she remained silent, further cementing her doubts that James was telling the truth..
Sophie finally confronts James about everything that really happened. Although she continues to insist that her actions do not constitute rape, does not deny that Olivia’s statements at the trial were the real truth. That she asked him to stop, and he ignored her to continue the act anyway.
horrified, Sophie realizes that James used deceitful tactics for a long time and twisted the truth to hide his guilt.. Because “the Whitehouses always win.” As a result, his entire life has been a lie.
‘Anatomy of a Scandal’: The Denouement
Now that you know the truth about what happened, Sophie packs up the kids and leaves Jamesdespite his protests.
Later he reconnects with Kate/Holly to talk about what really happened to him that fateful night in Oxford. Women connect thanks to that shared fury for the lack of justice that James has received. But Sophie reveals her latest move: she’s found a way to finally get him brought down for something, even if it’s not a rape conviction.
Sophie tells Kate James’s big secret: the night of the dance where Holly was raped, the now Prime Minister of the United Kingdom caused the death of one of the Libertines (an exclusive society of wealthy college students) after supplying him with heroin, and James helped cover it all up and disposed of the evidence.
So while James may not have been convicted of any rape, there’s a chance he could end up in prison for something, or at least have his career and the Prime Minister’s reputation tarnished as a result. In the final moments of the series, we see James being taken away by the police. Will justice be done this time?
Source: Fotogramas

Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.