Varun Patel
The third season of ‘The Sinner’ is in full swing. After tediously setting up the season’s premise in the first episode, the mystery television series has been on a roll. It has picked up pace as the juicy “middle” of the narrative progresses rapidly. The show creates suspense and mystery surrounding the reason behind a crime, rather than who committed it. Each season tells a different self-sustaining story and the first two installments of the show have received some stellar reviews.
The third season stars Matt Bomer who plays Jamie, yet another compelling and complex character to take center-stage on the show. He is shown to be involved in a car crash that kills his friend, Nick. However, the series’ suspense kicks off when Jamie is shown not calling 911, on purpose, after the accident. Over the course of the first three episodes, Nick and Jamie’s past has been slowly unraveled while the latter descends into anarchic madness. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Sinner Season 3 Episode 4 Recap:
The fourth episode of the third season of ‘The Sinner’ begins with Nick and Jamie conversing in a flashback scene. Nick tells Jamie that he sees things that others don’t. He reveals the chip-chop paper game that has been teased in the previous episodes. In the present, Jamie boards a train to the city. Ambrose has decided to tail him while Vic tracks Jamie’s phone.
Sophie, a former student of Jamie’s runs into him at an art exhibit and the two exchange numbers. Then, Jamie heads to the hotel where he and Nick met (the time Nick forcibly made Jamie stab his own (Nick’s) hand). Ambrose finds Jamie on the terrace, standing on the ledge, considering jumping down. He plays the chip-chop game to decide.
Jamie is annoyed at Ambrose following him. Jamie receives an invite to a party at Sophie’s via a text message. Then, Jamie goes to a bar. Ambrose asks Jamie about the chip-chop game. Jamie says that the only thing it signifies is the fact that “chaos is god.” When Ambrose asks Jamie about Sonya, he (Jamie) tells him that Nick’s involvement with Sonya was purely out of chance.
Then, Nick approaches two random men at the bar and sets them up with two women. The group hits it off and decides to take the party elsewhere with Ambrose forced to join in.
Cut to another flashback scene: Jamie is digging the grave at Sonya’s and Nick is with him. It is hard to tell whether the scene takes place before Nick’s death or after since Jamie actually talks to Nick. However, Sonya discovered the grave after Nick’s death. So, in all likelihood, this scene happens after the car crash and Jamie is hallucinating Nick’s presence. Nick tries to convince Jamie to kill Sonya and bury her in the grave. He urges Jamie to look death in the face in order to be set free.
Back in the present, the group is pulling lines of coke at an apartment. Jamie starts to tell one of the men about how everyone puts on an act, proceeding to some philosophical-ish mumbo-jumbo (not meaningless, mind you). The man gets irritated and asks Jamie to leave.
Jamie slits the man’s throat. Ambrose removes his gun but accidentally shoots one of the women. However, it turns out Jamie had only been imagining the violence. Jamie and Ambrose leave. Then, Jamie tricks Ambrose and leaves in a taxi. He goes to Sophie’s party where Ambrose follows him.
Sophie shows Jamie a psychic man talking about death and advising a group of people. When Jamie begins to converse with him, the man tells him that he hears a voice. The man tells Jamie about an old friend who is near him and trying to reach him. However, Jamie abruptly gets up and leaves. Ambrose cannot seem to find Jamie for a moment but eventually sees him with Sophie in the backyard.
Jamie and Sophie head out to buy booze. Jamie insists on driving and tells Sophie that he wants to play a game. Jamie tells Sophie that Nick and he would drive a car without stopping to see how far they could go. Ambrose is tailing Jamie in his car as he starts to drive extremely rashly. Ambrose manages to cut him off and make him stop the car.
Cut to another flashback scene: right after the car crash. Nick tells Jamie to not call 911. Back to the present, Ambrose drops Jamie off at his house and ends up sleeping in his car outside Jamie’s house. Upon waking up, he finds a voice message from one of the officers.
Somebody was found dead in New York and the murder could be linked to Jamie. Ambrose goes to the crime scene, which is at Sophie’s house. It is revealed that the psychic man was found dead in one of the rooms, murdered…
The Sinner S03 E04 Ending Explained: Did Jamie Kill the Man?
Now, the major question at the end of the fourth episode is whether Jamie killed the psychic. It does seem highly unlikely at first, given the fact that Ambrose is with Jamie for most of the time at Sophie’s party.
Right after Jamie abruptly leaves his conversation with the psychic man, Ambrose is unable to find him for a few seconds. The period depicted is extremely short and it seems that Ambrose checks every room. Moreover, at this point, the psychic is with a large group of people. Hence, it is very unlikely that he was murdered during this time. Moreover, Ambrose soon finds Jamie in the backyard. It is quite improbable that Jamie managed to kill the psychic without anybody finding out in such a short period of time.
However, the blurb for the fifth episode reads: “Ambrose urges the NYPD to investigate Jamie for a new crime; Jamie struggles to salvage his life.” This alludes to the fact that Ambrose thinks Jamie is somehow linked to the crime. But how? The fact that the murder was depicted at the end of the fourth episode must signify something.
Could it be a crime similar to Nick’s death? To be clearer, Jamie is not actually Nick’s murderer. The only crime that Jamie committed was not calling 911 on purpose. Could the death of the psychic be related to Jamie in a small yet significant way? Could he have persuaded the psychic to “look death in the face” and take his own life? Unfortunately, there is only one way to find out…
Read More: Shows Like The Sinner
