Varun Patel
‘The Sinner‘ is a whydunnit television series that presents a different murder mystery each season. Detective Ambrose investigates a self-sustaining mystery each season, trying to figure out why the crime was committed as opposed to who committed it.
The third season of the show stars Matt Bomer as the character who commits the crime and his psyche is delved into to provide the reasoning for him doing so. In the first episode, Bomer’s character, Jamie is shown letting his friend, Nick die after a car crash by not calling 911 on time. Then, Jamie actually ends up killing someone in the fourth episode. After that, the series has focused on Ambrose attempting to frame Jamie for the murder and bring him to justice.
The Sinner Season 3 Episode 6 Recap:
Leela meets Ambrose. She asks him if it was Jamie who killed the psychic in New York City, and Ambrose tells her it was. Leela tells Ambrose of an affair that she had had and how Jamie had asked her if he had done anything wrong instead of being angry.
In a flashback scene, Jamie is shown becoming friends with Nick at school. Both of them connect over their imperfect relationships with their parents and Nick is shown carving the word “ubermensch” on Jamie’s bed. In the present, Ambrose and Sonya spend time together. Jamie sees them doing so from outside Ambrose’s house.
Sonya seems Jamie enter her property through a CCTV camera. She does not call Ambrose and holds a shotgun for safety when Jamie walks in. Jamie sees a photo of himself and asks Sonya if she has been stalking him. Sonya keeps the shotgun away and starts clicking pictures of Jamie. Then, she asks him to strip and takes pictures of him naked.
Jamie and Leela meet in public. The former opens up about how he feels about death and his relationship with Nick. Jamie admits to killing the psychic when Leela asks him. On the other hand, Sonya and Ambrose talk about Jamie’s past trauma and how men do not get the intimacy they need because they are conditioned to not be vulnerable.
Jamie proctors an exam at the school, but the principal reminds him that he cannot be there. Emma has a seizure because of an Adderall overdose. Jamie talks to her when she regains consciousness at the hospital but is asked to leave by Emma’s mother.
In another flashback scene, Nick and Jamie go atop a bridge. Nick tries to urge Jamie to jump, but he does not. Nick jumps into the river. In the present, Ambrose’s daughter asks him about the altercation with Jamie since her son has been acting out because of that. She tells him that she does not want him to see her son for some time and has decided to spend Thanksgiving with her mother (Ambrose’s former wife).
Jamie goes to a fundraiser where Leela has set up a stall. Leela does not want him there. Jamie gets worked up and shouts at her brother. Vic is present at the fundraiser and escorts him outside. He sees him get angry and smash a chair on the wall.
Flashback: Nick convinces Jamie to jump on another occasion and he does. In the present, Leela finds a blood-stained tissue paper and keeps it in a plastic pouch. Ambrose calls Jamie to talk. Jamie agrees to meet him. Jamie wants to show Ambrose what he used to do with Nick.
The two go to the site where Jamie and Nick had dug the grave (at Sonya’s property). Jamie tells Ambrose how Nick and he would take turns burying each other. They would keep a pipe in the grave for air, and would free the other person after an undisclosed amount of time. Jamie wants to do the same with Ambrose.
He gives Ambrose a confession letter as a form of assurance of him removing Ambrose on time. The two flip a coin to see who would go first and it turns out to be Ambrose. Jamie starts burying him. However, after he is done, Jamie removes the pipe from Ambrose’s grave…
The Sinner Season 3 Episode 6 Review:
Throughout the third season, ‘The Sinner’ has made viewers wonder what was coming next with a narrative structure that has been different from the previous installments. However, the sixth episode seems to be less focused when it comes to the plot and turns out to be extremely slow and repetitive.
To begin with, not many new revelations are made. In fact, there is almost no new information provided. One gets the feeling that the writers of the series underestimate the viewers when it comes to connecting the dots. The flashback scenes involving Nick and Jamie could have been omitted since viewers are already aware of the kind of relationship that they have shared. Moreover, the exploration of Jamie’s psyche is also getting repetitive as there is a limited amount of change being observed.
As a matter of fact, the entire sixth episode can be omitted altogether, save for the final scene and probably the one involving Sonya and Jamie. Viewers are now left wondering where the season will head next, in a bad manner. It feels like the premise cannot be milked for more drama and a conclusion would be very welcome. However, there are still two more episodes to go and we wonder how the show would justify the necessity of those.
