Since season 1, The Sinner brings a different look on the usual thriller/crime stories. The most obvious is the perspective: The Sinner doesn't look for who, or how, committed the crime. What's important, and what moves Detective Ambrose, is the why.
The show tries to reveal to us what lays down in a tortured mind. What drives it? How can a regular person, suddenly, become a murderer?
This season is no different. The protagonist is Jamie, a family man, soon to be a father that apparently lets his best friend bleed to death. The first two episodes are a bit slow, which you may find a bit boring. Yet, things change significantly after the third one.
As soon as the mystery thickens, you won't stop. You'll want to know more.
Jamie and Nick
At first, Jamie and Nick's relationship is hard to understand. It is clear that Nick had an extreme influence on Jamie, but why? And what kind of influence exactly?
With the development of the show, we conclude that they were involved in some sort of game—a game with random and dangerous (possibly fatal) results. Nietzsche's reference as a justification for all of this was a clever choice. It gives purpose and logic to what seems illogical.
Nick is quite creepy, yet, Jamie is (more) disturbing. Something about him makes you unease, especially after the baby is born. I felt a little anguish anytime he come close to his son.
The peak of their relationship and the so said game's beginning was in college. Yet, we realize that it was Jamie that reached out for Nick, after years of silence. Why? We are never sure of what Jamie wants. Does he want to go back in time? Does he simply want to live on the edge? What's the goal? It seems to me that he doesn't know either.
He is suffering. His mental state, already unstable, degrades through the story. All we're sure is that he might be dangerous.
What’s Sonya’s role?
Sonya is a painter and lives alone in the property where Jamie and Nick dig a grave. As a character, she seems interesting enough, but what's her role in the story? Does she have any impact on the mystery?
She gets fascinated by Jamie. A mix of fascination and fear. Yet, it seems that the only reason for this character's existence was to find Detective Ambrose a girlfriend.
How professional is Ambrose?
Talking about the detective, he is all kinds of unprofessional. The relationship he establishes with the suspects is always a bit too much. In this case, it is unhealthy. Does the end justify the means?
He involves himself too much with the cases. Until a certain point, it is his way of working, but then… he gets involved in the sick games Jamie plays. How can he trust such a disturbing man, when he is the one stating how dangerous Jamie can be?
He not only jeopardizes his career, but he puts his life on the line.
Nothing is what it looks like
As in the previous seasons, the most critical question in The Sinner is never what happened, but why? What leaded that person to that? This is the real mystery. What turns your life can take? How can you get there? Said so, nothing is what it looks like. Especially in the first episodes, you can feel a little confusion.
A dangerous teenage game comes back many years later. More dangerous. More fatal. With the right amount of suspense, The Sinner worths your time.
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