The Sinner Roundtable 1×05 “Part V”

Is Cora being framed? And could that country club in the middle of the woods get any creepier?

WOW. So much went down on this week’s episode that it was almost too hard to keep track! At this point in the series, Cora (Jessica Biel) is still in jail and is waiting to make her plea of guilty or not guilty. Mason (Christopher Abbott), on the other hand, is shown several times in scenes visibly struggling to cope with his wife’s incarceration. At one point in the episode, Mason’s parents even try to convince Mason to leave town (bad idea, by the way). Poor thing.

While this is happening, the episode shifts back and forth between Cora and Detective Ambrose’s (Bill Pullman) perspectives. Cora tries to remember what happened on July 3rd (again), while Ambrose tries to put the pieces of Cora’s story together even more. He decides to do so by not listening to his team and going into the middle of the woods to search for more clues. Here, Ambrose finds a country club that is a pretty significant landmark in Cora’s mind. In fact, by the end of the episode, it was revealed that the country club was where Cora met James or J.D. and Maddie for the first time. And we can only assume this is when the events of that night began…  Later on, we were introduced to Detective Ambrose’s new partner, Detective Farmer (Joanna Adler). We’re not too fond of Farmer, considering she tried to make Cora plead guilty, but let us know what you all think of her. Is she helpful to the case, or should she just take a few steps back?

RELATED |  THE SINNER ROUNDTABLE 1×04 “Part IV”

Let’s see what our roundtable has to say. Please welcome:

Sophia (@sophiarxcx) – Host, Student, TV enthusiast

Myra (@aj12sr13) – Spanish Teacher, TV Enthusiast

Michelle (@gollegly) – Freelance blogger – Jessica Biel Central @jessicabielcom

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1. Do you like the new detective, Detective Farmer, who is working with Ambrose on Cora’s case?

Sophia (@sophiarxcx): I don’t. She doesn’t know much if not anything about Cora or her situation. I do think that having Detective Farmer on Cora’s case will push Ambrose to look even deeper into the mystery of what happened on July 3rd.

Myra (@aj12sr13): I’m not sure but Mason seems like a nice guy- I think he just wants to help his wife and nice past this situation.

Michelle (@gollegly): No. She is trying to close the case without doing any investigation. She has a suspect, and it doesn’t matter if that person really committed the crime or not.

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2. What is the deal with this weird country club? Who do you think was involved with this place?

Sophia (@sophiarxcx): Cora, J.D, and Maddie. I think that this is the place where Cora’s repressed memories stem from. It doesn’t help that a party was going on upstairs at the time.

Myra (@aj12sr13): Everyone is involved with this place. I think that a lot of secrets lie in this place and Cora may not have been the first victim to arise from the country club. When Ambrose found out about the country club, the other detectives and cops working with him seemed very off and suspicious looking. I don’t know.

Michelle (@gollegly): The country club is behind everything. I think they are tied in with everyone. The lawyer, the mayor, even some of the cops. At the end when we see the creepy masks lining the wall, it proves that they are covering something up, and detective Ambrose just needs to dig some more.

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3. Do you feel like prayer or the act of praying is triggering to Cora?

Sophia (@sophiarxcx): Yes, I feel like prayer is triggering to Cora. It seems like this act brings up a lot of bad memories for her- which makes sense considering her childhood.

Myra (@aj12sr13): I do. In the scene where she is praying at jail with her inmates, we could see how stressed Cora became by even closing her eyes. I think Cora’s worst enemy is herself and praying, which is a singular and individual act, makes her repressed memories come out.

Michelle (@gollegly):  I think praying allowed Cora to go into the same state of mind the hypnosis did. Which allowed her to connect with the repressed memories. She grew up praying everyday, and as much pain as she has surrounding it, it brings her to a comfortable place.

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4. Why do you think Phoebe is so comfortable with using Cora? She’s always pushing Cora to do something she doesn’t want to (go on dates, etc).

Sophia (@sophiarxcx): I have no idea. I have not been a fan of Phoebe since episode 2, and am still struggling to understand her. I do not know why Cora listens to her either. I think that Phoebe wants to be a lot like Cora.

Myra (@aj12sr13): I think Phoebe makes herself sick. The brain is such a powerful organ, that it is physically possible to make yourself ill. It doesn’t help that Phoebe and Cora’s mother reinforce the notion that Cora being healthy means her sister will too. Perhaps Phoebe sees a little of herself in her sister and admires her so much to the point of putting her own interest onto Cora.

Michelle (@gollegly):  Phoebe is trying to live her life through Cora. She is unable to do all the things Cora can. But at the same time I think Phoebe is trying to help Cora see that there is a life outside of what her parents tell her is the only way.

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5. Do you think Cora really had something to do with the murdered body Detective Farmer claimed to have Cora’s DNA all over? Or is someone trying to frame her?

Sophia (@sophiarxcx): I think so. Cora had memories of the school bus, which is where Ambrose found the body. I do not think that she killed whoever died (maybe Maddie?). I have a theory that Cora was with J.D in the woods, and J.D had Cora’s DNA on his hands/body.

Myra (@aj12sr13): I think that someone planted Cora’s DNA on the murdered body. The detectives and police Ambrose are working with were probably tipped off by someone that Cora told Ambrose about this place and are now trying to place the blame on her.

Michelle (@gollegly):   I think Cora and Maddie were both injured, but Cora survived. Which is why she was in the hospital gown with bandages under the bed. So the blood matches her on the blanket because she was bleeding, not because she killed Maddie. I think the country club is trying to frame her. Ambrose found the room with the wallpaper and the basement with the creepy masks. All signs are pointing to the masked men from the country club.

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6. Who do you think Mason was going to shoot at the end of the episode?

Sophia (@sophiarxcx): J.D! This seems a little too easy, so J.D probably won’t be there when Mason reaches his house.

Myra (@aj12sr13): Probably JD considering that Mason was walking towards his car. I’m so excited for next week!

Michelle (@gollegly): Mason was walking towards JD’s house and vehicle. So that would say that it’s JD that he will be shooting. But, this show has a way of twisting everything. Who knows what could happen.

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Final Verdict: We’re almost at the end.

Our roundtable had some pretty amazing ideas this week! Episode 5 of The Sinner brought us just one step closer to the end. Although not as action packed as previous episodes, tonight’s episode provided us viewers with a lot of details and information about the night of July 3rd. We now know that the country club is at the center of it all: it is the place where Cora and Maddie meet, where Cora gets abused, and where these masked people are lying. We don’t know who is behind the masks just yet- but we definitely have some ideas brewing. Are you excited to see what happens next? So are we, we’ll see you next week The Sinner squad.

The Sinner returns next Wednesday, September 6th at 10/9C on USA.