The Sinner season 1, episode 2 recap: Lies, lies, lies

Photo by: Peter Kramer/USA Network, Image Acquired via USA Network

The Sinner is full of twists and turns that keep you paying close attention.

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This week’s episode of The Sinner begins with Cora pleading guilty, but the judge ordering her to a psych evaluation. Her husband questions it, even though plenty of witnesses saw her do it. Detective Ambrose then asks her why, too, and says she should have gone with the insanity plea. I understand why the detective wants to know what the motive is, but it’s clear she committed the crime. However, from his point of view, there’s also something deeper wrong with her and that’s where this psychological thriller gets good.

This episode brings more flashbacks, and they’re worth noting because there are two different sets of them. There are flashbacks dating back to her childhood that show the family dynamics and more recent ones that show her meeting Mason and some of her time with him. The fact that this show took her psychological problems back further than just whenever she first heard that song that triggers her is great. It gives you a deeper understanding of the character piece by piece and there’s a lot to unravel with Cora. The flashback to meeting Mason is charming, but then there’s one where she chokes him with her legs. It’s two drastic differences and it works well to show the two sides of her.

Detective Ambrose gets more attention this episode, too. We dive into his personal life and his marital problems during a therapy session. His wife is played by Kathryn Erbe, who is largely known for her role in Law & Order: Criminal Intent. It’s a nice look into what he’s going through while trying to solve this mystery that Cora stuck him with. He’s an interesting guy, as you can see from him standing outside in his partner’s yard at 3am in his boxers. He is vigilant, though. He doesn’t want to give up on the case because he knows there’s something deeper going on with Cora. He even baits her by playing the song, which is a bold move. It results in him being beat to the ground by her and he later realizes a pattern. She hit him in the same spots that she stabbed Frankie. It’s intriguing and you just want to know why she has such a violent reaction to a single song.

Photo by: Peter Kramer/USA Network, Image Acquired via USA Network

Cora does a lot of lying this episode, as well, which adds to the mystery. She says she met Frankie on a weekend when there’s proof he was in Los Angeles and she also says she was pregnant from a one night stand with him. There’s no hospital records from when she then says she stepped in front of a car and lost the baby. Lie after lie is being spun, and at this point, it’s hard to tell if she’s straight up lying or believes that what she’s saying is actually true.

Mason remains the most normal of the main cast. He’s concerned and doesn’t want to deal with the press. He tries to go back to work to have some sort of normalcy, but then overhears a customer talking about him on the phone. It’s one of those moments where you just completely feel for him because you know “normal” isn’t really something he’s going to be able to have again.

Cora claims that Frankie was going by J.D. when she talks to Detective Ambrose early in the episode. Then when Mason visits, he says he knows of someone named J.D. and it wasn’t Frankie. Cora doesn’t have much at all to say to that and now we have to just wait and see who this J.D. guy really is.

Next: 3 theories about USA’s ‘The Sinner’

So far, the pacing of the various reveals is nice. We get a lot of information this episode, but they hold back just enough to keep you wondering what they’ll uncover next. If you’re looking for a good psychological thriller to check out, this should be on your list.

The Sinner airs Wednesday nights on USA.

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