By JASON MARTIN (@JMartZone – September 19, 2018)

Remember me saying last week that it was shot and timed to make it appear like Julian killed his mother, but that I didn’t buy it? Remember me also saying to anticipate one more twist and that there HAD to be some deeper reason for us spending so much time learning about the inner-workings of the Mosswood Grove utopian cult?

Well, it turns out those were intelligent statements on my part, as they all proved to be true in some way or another.

The twist? Julian is Jack Novack’s son. Julian is the love child of Jack and Marin, as Heather’s father basically forced himself on her best friend and former lover at the tail end of the drunk night we saw weeks ago in a flashback. She didn’t fight hard, but it still appeared to be rape. She didn’t scream or claw, but she said, “I think I need to go,” as he held her down on the couch and had sex with her.

Now we know what she meant when she told Heather in the phone call, “No you don’t,” in respect to her friend saying she knew what Marin had gone through and was on her side. She knew about Mosswood, but she thought Julian was Lionel Jeffries’ boy. She had no clue it was Jack, even though she would tell him in the interrogation room she always believed something happened that night and could feel there was a problem afterward.

As a season, 2018 was stronger than 2017. It was a better overall story with more depth, but as we compare the two finales, there is an even more direct winner in Season 2. The first year ended more on a whimper, whereas this one brought a twist very few expected, that delivered. And then came that audio recording of Harry Ambrose engaged in “the work” at Jeffries’ cabin with Vera Walker. This is the first we’ve seen of this Harry since his odd sexual tastes from last year, but we get more an explanation of it with the discussion of a mother that couldn’t even touch him and simply had no affection to give him.

As Harry shuts the tape off and his head droops, we recognize how damaged he is, how ashamed he is, and how broken he is. He’s headed back home, but after doing so much for Julian, for Heather, and for his hometown of Keller, New York, he’s on his way to what, exactly? Nothing good. He’s hurting and he’s alone and he’s empty. There’s a darkness inside him and he doesn’t like himself, even though he can empathize and lend an ear to those no one listens to or trusts. Bill Pullman has done an exceptional job over the past two seasons and the Ambrose character, cryptic and sometimes confusing, is the best kind of hero for a show like this. He couldn’t be pristine. It wouldn’t fit.

He’s flawed. That’s why it works.

Julian got to see Niagara Falls after all in a feel good closing scene that mixes with shots of Vera touching the sacred Mosswood rock. It’s the one thing left standing after she burns the barn. It appears the entire camp has disbanded or gone elsewhere. She’s by herself, and she still appears to be a true believer. Nothing changed, but what we did discover was although she was manipulative and controlling at times, she also was willing to listen to Julian.

When he told her he wanted to go back, to face his crimes and his punishment, rather than continuing to run, even if it meant separating from his “mother,” she could have lied to him and still tried to force him to flee, or just tie him up and make him go, but she took him back. That’s something Vera Walker and Harry Ambrose have in common. They both listened to Julian and they both were at least open to the idea of another way. Ambrose speaks up in his hearing and keeps him out of jail. She thanks him. Julian thanks him. He saved the boy’s future, seeing so much of himself in Julian Walker.

The reason we saw so much of Mosswood was to show Vera and Julian’s life, to misdirect us as to the father of Marin’s child, to enable the break between Heather and Marin, and to create questions amongst town members from Glenn Fisher to Chief Tom Lidell as to who might be a member, or at least in line with the group’s teachings. We also saw some of it so we could get the reveal of Harry and Vera in the cabin, and finally because the show does hinge on religious extremism or rigidity that crosses faith into obsession and oppression. Both seasons have used it in this way, but without anything particularly offensive. We didn’t end up getting much from Lionel Jeffries as a character, but in the end, we really didn’t need it.

As great as Pullman, Carrie Coon, and Elisha Henig were, not to mention Hannah Gross and Natalie Paul, the real star may well have been Tracy Letts. Jack Novack was a complex figure that required some deft acting, often without words. When Heather asks him why he would do what he did, Jack can’t say a word. Letts was able, multiple times, to try and speak and not do so in the most believable of ways. That character had to be filled with shame, regret, remorse, and discouragement. Letts nailed it. He’s almost always good, but this was one of his better recent performances.

Sadly, I fear we may not get a third season of The Sinner, as good as the first two have been, particularly this one. The ratings dropped fairly significantly, likely because of the absence of Jessica Biel. The first season averaged a 0.53 rating in the 18-49 demographic, with around 1.8 million viewers per week. This year, it’s down to a 0.29 and 1.095. That’s a shame, because the show was so well done and such a fun mystery to follow this summer. My fingers are crossed they don’t just cancel because of the numbers, see the critical response, and do one more year, maybe contingent upon landing a major actor or actress to bump the possibilities up alongside Pullman.

If I had to guess today, I’d say we’re probably done. But I hope to be wrong. If it’s two seasons and out, it’s still a creative success. Season 1 was a pleasant surprise and Season 2 produced one of my favorite limited dramas of the year. My fingers are crossed.

I’m @JMartZone. May I never own a brown Volvo for any reason.