By JASON MARTIN (August 15, 2018)

Everything about The Sinner is working this season, and the culmination of the meeting with Dr. Sheldon Poole provided one of those endings that leaves an audience breathless for the next episode. What wasn’t surprising in the least was that the good obstetrician was indeed a Mosswood member. As soon as he clammed up when he was questioned, certainly as soon as he left the room looking for files, we all knew he was gone. I thought he might just escape or run, but before they ever visited him, it was clear he was indoctrinated and a full disciple.

We received a few pieces of interesting information during the hour, including that craziness surrounding the name of Julian, which came after Heather Novack realized Vera Walker wasn’t the killer’s mother after all. She felt something familiar in the face and the features of the boy and quickly was able to surmise it was very similar to her former friend and lover, Marin. Now THAT I did not see coming, nor did I expect Heather to open the novel and see Julian circled and underlined every time it was written. That’s when she figured out who Julian was to Marin, but there may be something far more nefarious behind it as well.

Vera has been reading up on Harry Ambrose and his work on the Cora Tannetti case, which may have eased her opinion of him somewhat. She will never trust him, and tells Julian not to either, that he’s there to put him in jail, but she does ask Ambrose why he went beyond the call of duty to hear Cora out when no one else would. “I could tell she had a story.” And, as intriguing as that story was last summer, this one is better. This season is better. It’s been outstanding drama thus far and I have faith its going to keep up that level of consistency.

She also mentions to Harry an alternate reason for the Niagara Falls trip, suggesting not only was it not an excuse for an escape from Mosswood, that it was a flat out abduction of Julian from the area.  They weren’t saving him. They were kidnapping him. “But you never considered that did you? Julian was defending himself.” We later see the flashback in Julian’s mind of hearing Adam and Bess talking outside the motel room as he looked on through the curtain. They lied to him. Lying is not an offense that can be ignored. When you lie, “you’re split in two.” He tells the psychologist in charge of his evaluation that giving them the tea helped them “pass through death” and that they’re starting over again.

We’re still not sure what the meaning of the rock is for Mosswood, more than just some kind of sacred element, part of a ritual, and as Vera screams and contorts and then begins to laugh and finally touches the stone in the barn, we’re effectively told the cult is insane, dangerous, and there are some really ugly things in store over the next five weeks. The more we learn about the group, and hopefully we’ll find out more about its past and potential cover-ups of other events, the better the season gets. Carrie Coon is so good. Whenever she’s on screen, it’s difficult to look away or to miss any of her words.

Just as he was in Season 1, Harry Ambrose is again willing to offer assistance to someone in jail. It was Cora in 2017, and now it’s Julian as he’s taken to juvenile detention when his case goes from family to criminal court. He writes his phone number on the boy’s palm and tells him to use it if he needs it, and right at the end of the episode, we see Julian stare at his hand. He’s going to reach out, and eventually, what’s likely to happen is he’s going to do it AGAINST Vera’s wishes, showing some kind of independence that’s frowned upon or discouraged at Mosswood. That’s when the breakthrough might emerge, although the season continues to twist and turn, so at this stage there is no way we can predict how it will end.

You have to wonder how much really unfortunate stuff Dr. Poole did through the years for Mosswood Grove. At this stage, I’d believe almost anything. I still don’t necessarily see this going supernatural, past the beliefs of the cult members making them think they’re above the rest of the world. Also, it’s worth noting Julian’s comments about lying and what an egregious problem it is inside the group, but Vera has been claiming to be his mother since the falsified birth certificate and the “birth” with no witnesses.

Marin’s (Hannah Gross, who has been very good) past is shown just enough for us to realize why Mosswood appealed to her. Her mother was a disaster area, screaming and yelling at her and accusing her of flirting with her boyfriend, leading her both to Heather and also to Mosswood, where she was shown affection and love, and where people listened without shouts. She was troubled in a way cults love. It’s not hard to see how certain individuals end up falling into groups like Mosswood, because they know who to go for and what to say. Impressionable kids, rebels that lack self-esteem. or the vulnerable dreamer are prime targets.

Heather avoided it, but Marin still hasn’t been seen outside of Mosswood in over a decade. I had assumed the shot of her entering that barn was the last time Heather or anyone else laid eyes on her, but that turned out not to be true. She was able to leave and ended up at Heather’s house, where she had breakfast and laughed with her friend. But, she was under the spell. She didn’t realize she was seriously hooked, but she was talking about nothing but taking Heather back there and that they would help her with her mother’s death. Marin was on the verge of full conversion, but it was gradual and gave her the false sense of free will.

Dr. Poole’s apparent suicide was pretty grisly, but expected. The sequence was executed well, with the droning, dread-inducing suspense noise growing in intensity, right up until Ambrose and Novack found him in the chair. And then, the attic revealed the place of worship or the shrine with the rock, and nothing else needed to be done this week. The Sinner accomplished a great deal within the hour and continued to push a solid story down a strong path.

You may disagree, but The Sinner is EVERYTHING Sharp Objects isn’t, including an apt descriptor of “fascinating.” While I can’t wait to see HBO’s limited series end, I look forward to the new USA episode each week, and it improves with each installment. It’s interesting that religious zealotry has been a focus of both years, but more so because of how differently it has been approached this time compared to the rigidity of the Tannetti household.

I have no idea what to expect next from The Sinner, which is a wonderful treat when you’re having this much fun amidst a well-constructed, layered mystery. I’m hoping the end this year is a little more fully realized and less clean than last season’s, but right now we’re on fire. Three great episodes, each better than the one that preceded it.

I’m @JMartZone. Remember what you told me about your dream? Two days later they took you away.