Picking Up From Last Episode’s Cliffhanger
In this week’s episode, The Sinner – Part II – Cora (Jessica Biel) goes through with her plan to plead guilty. Since only a crazy person would plead guilty, the judge orders an exam to determine Cora’s fitness to stand trial. This makes Cora angry. Why? It’s like she wants to be in prison for some reason… or maybe she just doesn’t want her life anymore.
Official Investigations
Detective Ambrose (Bill Pullman) visits Cora and digs deeper. He says he knows she must have known Frankie and almost begs for something to go on. As TV watchers, we rarely see cops portrayed as seekers of actual truth. Most often, if they have a confessed killer behind bars, they are O-U-T. Ambrose provides a refreshing, yet ponderous change in that kind of role. Cora responds, “What makes you think I want my life back?” See what I mean about her -wanting- to be away from her old life?
Stuck without a lead, Ambrose goes and talks with Leah (Teri Wyble), Frankie’s girlfriend. She gives up one useful piece of info: Frankie and an unknown woman had a relationship five years earlier, but they couldn’t make it work following an accident. Is the mystery woman Cora? Ambrose needs to know as bad as we do.
On The Homefront
Mason (Christopher Abbott) doesn’t want to visit the jail, so instead he decides to go to work. His stray thoughts lead to a flashback depicting Mason and Cora’s first meeting. She worked as a waitress at a restaurant/bar. Given how Mason recalls all this, it must have been love at first sight for the guy. He threw himself at her.
Meanwhile, Detective Ambrose proves he is a complicated man. He, in fact, wants to save his marriage and goes to marriage counseling. Who saw that coming after his misadventures with Sharon?
Something Still Isn’t Right
Detective Ambrose takes a new tack with Cora: he harasses her. She finally says, “I met Frankie on July 3rd, 5 years ago.” We viewers learn shortly this is Cora’s first lie and our first sign the truth will take the entire season to unravel. She also says Frankie went by the name of J.D. (but lied). She goes on to say Frankie / J.D. gave her pills and took her to his place (which she can’t remember the location) and spent the night together. The song from the beach triggered the stabbing because, according to Cora, Frankie kept playing the same exact song during their tryst. Anyone could guess the next part. She got pregnant and Frankie / J.D. stopped answering the phone. Overcome, she walked in front of a car and woke up at the hospital, no longer pregnant and with a fractured hip.
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Fact Finding
Both Mason and Ambrose attack from the problem, but from different angles. Mason reconnects with a former classmate, who is now a cop. Through her sympathy for him, he finds out about a “J.D.” and a pregnancy Cora admitted to behind bars. Ambrose goes the official route and visits everyone important at the bar involved on the July 3rd in question. He asks the bar tender if she remembered Cora and if she was there with Frankie while providing pics of them. Conveniently, the bar tender remembers all about July 3rd from five years ago. (What? Kind of a stretch, but ok.) She tells Ambrose it wasn’t Frankie dancing with Cora that night. The guy from her memory had blonde hair. Suspicious, Ambrose meets with Frankie’s parents, who have proof Frankie was not even in the city July 3rd! What the heck?
The hits keep coming! Ambrose gets a call from his partner saying the hospital Cora claimed she went to after she was hit by the car did not in fact exist AND Cora’s parents (the ones she said were dead) are actually alive! Cora told FOUR lies during her little heart to heart with Ambrose!
How Long Is Too Long to Wait to See Your Imprisoned Wife
Mason eventually visits the jail and talks with Cora. He tells her he knows about J.D. and asks why she lied. Cora remains unresponsive. Good talk. I’m so glad I came down to see you. I’ll have to check my calendar about next time…
Mason meets with some friends and asks about J.D. His friends tell him they can easily find J.D., but implies he’s trouble. Mason may be trying to get himself killed (without knowing it) by pursuing his own investigation this way.
Ambrose moves back into his house. Hurray for marriage counseling! LAter, at work, Ambrose takes the cell phone with the murder song that triggered Cora to the jail and plays it for her. Cora responds by punching him in the same formation she stabbed Frankie. Ambrose and his partner agree this shows a pattern, but no idea what caused it in the first place. This episode ends with her in jail laying on a mattressless steel bed frame.
Reviewer’s Take
Another great episode! This show is smoking hot on social media right now and rightfully so. I look forward to following and reviewing the series until we have the truth. Det. Ambrose captured my “favorite character” title in the show. The murder song is starting to get very catchy also.
Buckle up folks! I think this show is about to take a u-turn from the direction it was going.