"Paul Levinson's It's Real Life is a page-turning exploration into that multiverse known as rock and roll. But it is much more than a marvelous adventure narrated by a master storyteller...it is also an exquisite meditation on the very nature of alternate history." -- Jack Dann, The Fiction Writer's Guide to Alternate History

Thursday, December 2, 2021

The Sinner season 4: The Festering Seaside



The Sinner starring Bill Pullman as Harry Ambrose came to a hard end last night -- hard in terms of it's not only the end of the season but the series (unless another enlightened network or streaming service picks it up), and hard in terms of everything is difficult for Harry, as he tries to navigate his life through the murders and mayhem he's always prone to investigate.

Harry is really a detective like no other.  Plagued with his own problems, including his masochistic taste in sex, utterly devoted to his investigations, to seeking the truth, with or without a badge, no villain or pervert wants Harry on his or her case.   But each investigation, even though it results in the truth at last revealed, takes its toll on Harry.

At the beginning of the fourth season, Harry is so distraught he's on the verge of taking his own life.  What saves him is witnessing a suicide, as Percy, whom Harry has briefly established a connection with as some kind of kindred sufferer, jumps off a cliff, literally, before Harry's very eyes.  He cannot help but be drawn into an investigation of why that happened, even though it's not a murder.   His investigation uncovers all sorts of underbellies of life, in a sleepy seaside town in Maine festering with crime, resentment, dysfunctional families, and touches of depravity. Fans of Hightown will recognize the environment.

Harry finds some peace in the end in working through the labyrinth to finally understand why Percy jumped.  But he doesn't yet have much peace in his soul, and this means there's ample opportunity for future stories in the world of The Sinner, Harry's world.  I hope we can see them sooner rather than later.  But Harry is such a timeless character, and Pullman brings him to life so well, that I'd be up for seeing more of Harry any time that's on a screen.

See also The Sinner 3.1: Second Degree Murder, First Degree Detective ... The Sinner 3.2:  The Contractor and the Contractee ... The Sinner 3.3: The Baby Monster ... The Sinner 3.4-5: Why Doesn't Harry Just Arrest Jamie ... The Sinner 3.6: Faustian Bargains ... The Sinner 3.7: Confession and Connection ... The Sinner season 3 Finale: Short Hair, with a Beard

And see also The Sinner 2.1: The Boy ... The Sinner 2.2:  Heather's Story ... The Sinner 2.3: Julian's Mother ... The Sinner 2.5: The Scapegoat ... The Simmer 2.7: Occluded Past Unwound - Mostly ... The Sinner Season 2 Finale: The Ambiguity of Harry





No comments:

InfiniteRegress.tv