The Sinner season 2, episode 8 finale recap: ‘Part VIII’

The Sinner season 2 finale took us for one hell of a ride with back-to-back shocking reveals closing out the season.

The Sinner did not let us down in its second installment as many other shows often do but instead stood apart from the season that preceded it. We never really thought to compare it to season 1 because the story was different, the characters (well most of them) were different, and the entire vibe just took us in a different direction.

In the season 2 finale, a lot of revelations came forward that wrapped up the mystery we had been following through the last seven episodes. Marin was found dead at the end of last week’s episode and we finally learned who was behind it. But this particular reveal took us down a darker that changed Heather’s life forever.

The episode picks up the day after Marin’s death where Ambrose learns from a witness that Marin was seen struggling and arguing with a man. During her autopsy, the medical examined deduced that she was holding the gun when it was fired which is indicative of a struggle. Things get murkier after Brick makes a phone call to the detectives stating that he found receipts of monthly payments that were being sent to Mosswood.

It appears that Julian is now with Vera, and while it’s unclear how that happens, we learn later on what went down. Authorities find Vera’s car only to learn that it was a decoy so Vera could get away with Julian without being caught. Meanwhile, Vera is staying with a friend in New York City, and once the night passes, she will take Julian and hop on a bus to a destination unknown.

THE SINNER — “Part VIII” Episode 208 — Pictured: Tracy Letts as Jack Novack — (Photo by: Zach Dilgard/USA Network)

Brick informed Ambrose about his receipt findings that the two began to wonder if Chief Lidell was somehow involved in all of this. Of course, when Ambrose confronts him he learns that Lidell was looking into something himself, and isn’t the culprit.

Suddenly and very quickly, things begin to come together. At the moment Lidell begins to reveal what he knows, the scene cuts to Heather finding keys in the dryer to a room in the very same motel that Marin was just murdered at. You can put together at this point that her father, Jack, is involved in some shape or form.

Ambrose and Heather meet up with Jack to confront him, and he asks Heather to leave because what he has to say can’t be said in front of her. Jack was at the motel the night Marin died because she called him for help but when she refused to listen to him, she pulled out a gun and managed to shoot herself in the struggle.

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But why did Marin go to Jack? Let’s take a trip down memory lane. The episode flashes back to a drunken night with Heather and Marin who show up at Heather’s house. Jack puts Heather to bed and then goes out to talk to Marin. What unfolds after totally threw viewers for a loop.

That night, Jack raped Marin in his home. And from there you can basically connect the dots–Jack is Julian’s father. Yup, that’s right. Marin gave birth to Jack’s son, and that is the leverage that Vera had on him and was using to get money on a monthly basis for the last 10 years from Jack.

We hadn’t quite processed this huge reveal, but the episode continued to trudge forward as the focus shifted to Julian and Vera on the run. Julian calls Ambrose and shares that he doesn’t want to run away, and Ambrose is able to keep him on the phone long enough to track the call.

Despite being scared, Julian tells Vera that he doesn’t want to run, and he’d rather turn himself in. Vera reluctantly agrees and Julian’s sentencing is reduced from incarceration to being sent to a facility that will watch over him for the next few years.

Vera ends up burning down Mosswood but hangs onto the tape from Ambrose’s session which reveals what went down during that unaccounted time and how she strangled him until he passed out. The season ends with Vera walking through the burnt remains of Mosswood (minus the giant statue that is still standing), while Ambrose and Heather take Julian to Niagara Falls.

While the entire season and the finale of The Sinner were great and intriguing, there is something to be said about the anti-climactic nature of the finale. Of course, the Jack reveal was huge but the whole Mosswood angle was a bit lost on me and it felt like they never really dove into the death of the couple as much as I would have wanted them to.

Nonetheless, it was a spectacular season of The Sinner and it’s safe to say that Jessica Biel has created a unique, riveting series and we’re hoping for the series to continue with another season!