After four huge cases, with a whole load of trauma, Detective Harry Ambrose (Bill Pullman) has worked his last ever case. Season 4 saw him investigate the disappearance and murder of Percy Muldoon (Alice Kremelberg) and in true The Sinner fashion, there has been a whole load of shocking twists and turns that jeopardized getting justice.
Showrunner Derek Simonds told Newsweek ahead of the finale that Harry Ambrose “is going to get pushed to his absolute limits.”
He continued: “I think we’re going to see a much broader web of characters and responsibility for the crime at the center of this story. The tease is sort of like this is Ambrose’s kind of last, last, last chance at some kind of redemption and to see him get pushed to his limits in trying to reach for that and not always the right way.”
Here’s what happened in the last ever episode of The Sinner.
Despite, uncovering the Muldoon people-smuggling ring in the penultimate episode, Ambrose does not believe her family’s illegal side business was what led to her death. In true Ambrose fashion, he won’t settle and wants to get to the bottom of why Percy jumped that evening.
His investigation took him back to his first suspect, CJ Lam’s (David Huynh) who has believed his entire adult life his older brother Bo had returned to Hong Kong and abandoned the family.
However, Ambrose had a hunch about the Lam’s land, known as Crescent Island, a piece of land that used to be in Percy’s father Sean’s (Neal Huff) name. Ambrose approached Sean who confessed his family had a role to play in Bo’s death.
Two years ago, Bo was accused of stealing products from the Muldoon’s traps and selling the product for a profit. At the time, Sean suggested taking him out on the boat to lay down the law, but Meg (Frances Fisher) suggests the whole family go, to teach him a lesson. Whether she meant killing Bo is unknown, but she knew something sinister was bound to happen to him.
Bo denied ever stealing from the Muldoon’s, insisting he had only borrowed their traps to go out on trips with his father. However, a heavily intoxicated Sean was not listening and things turned violent pretty quickly. As Bo fell into the side of the boat, he knocked over the star that had the boat name Valerie inscribed on the back, the same star found near the site where Percy went missing.
In the flashback we learn Percy shot dead Bo, to protect her father Sean and Uncle Colin (Michael Mosley), who was being beaten up by Bo in retaliation. In the end, it was Bo’s death that was haunting Percy and the hooded figure in her visions was Bo himself.
Bo’s death also explains the war with the Lam family. The Muldoon immediately came clean to Lam’s parents about his death on the boat, explaining it was in self-defense. Percy also confessed to the family she was the one who pulled the trigger.
Meg also begged the family not to go to the police and the Muldoon’s offered to make a deal with the Lam family. In return for their silence, the Lam family would receive one of their fishing permits, the biggest one they have. Sean then explained to Harry after they gave up the permit, the Muldoon men turned to trafficking and smuggling, to help make ends meet.
Michael Tompkins/USA Network
Not only did Bo’s death come as a huge shock to Ambrose but also to Bo’s younger brother CJ, who happened to be in love with his brother’s killer, Percy. The truth being broken to CJ also led him to realize his parents were covering up his own brother’s murder, even if they did have good intentions.
The finale of The Sinner also revealed what happened before she took her own life. After Percy was dropped home by Officer Josh, she told her family how she could no longer handle the guilt of killing Bo Lam.
The Sinner came to an end with Ambrose coming face to face with Percy’s ghost, where he confronted his own past. Ambrose ultimately sees himself in Percy and hopefully, his moment of reflection brought him some inner peace.
Reflecting on the storyline of Season 4, Simonds shared: “The whole intention was to follow Ambrose more closely, even more than seasons past so that he’s even more in the centre of our storytelling.
“I was really interested in exploring the theme of guilt this season and the guilt that Ambrose feels not only for Jamie Burns, the death that he’s responsible for in Season 3, but you know, the sort of life lifelong accrual of things that we’ve learned about him over the course of the show.”
He added: “I was also interested in exploring how this idea of what happens if the perpetrators of a crime are the people who are responsible. I think I was looking in previous seasons much more this idea of one person’s grappling with morality and right and wrong and I’m now more interested in what happens when a collective or a group of people grapple with right and wrong.
“I think it’s easier for people to slip morally when they’re in a group of people who agree with them on their own, and I was interested in that dynamic, because I think it’s very much at play in the world.”
Sadly, The Sinner will not be returning for a fifth series. The crime anthology was canceled by the USA Network in November 2021.
The Sinner is streaming on the USA Network now.
After four huge cases, with a whole load of trauma, Detective Harry Ambrose (Bill Pullman) has worked his last ever case. Season 4 saw him investigate the disappearance and murder of Percy Muldoon (Alice Kremelberg) and in true The Sinner fashion, there has been a whole load of shocking twists and turns that jeopardized getting justice.Showrunner Derek Simonds told Newsweek ahead of the finale that Harry Ambrose “is going to get pushed to his absolute limits.”He continued: “I think we’re going to see a much broader web of characters and responsibility for the crime at the center of this story. The tease is sort of like this is Ambrose’s kind of last, last, last chance at some kind of redemption and to see him get pushed to his limits in trying to reach for that and not always the right way.”Here’s what happened in the last ever episode of The Sinner.Despite, uncovering the Muldoon people-smuggling ring in the penultimate episode, Ambrose does not believe her family’s illegal side business was what led to her death. In true Ambrose fashion, he won’t settle and wants to get to the bottom of why Percy jumped that evening.His investigation took him back to his first suspect, CJ Lam’s (David Huynh) who has believed his entire adult life his older brother Bo had returned to Hong Kong and abandoned the family.However, Ambrose had a hunch about the Lam’s land, known as Crescent Island, a piece of land that used to be in Percy’s father Sean’s (Neal Huff) name. Ambrose approached Sean who confessed his family had a role to play in Bo’s death.Two years ago, Bo was accused of stealing products from the Muldoon’s traps and selling the product for a profit. At the time, Sean suggested taking him out on the boat to lay down the law, but Meg (Frances Fisher) suggests the whole family go, to teach him a lesson. Whether she meant killing Bo is unknown, but she knew something sinister was bound to happen to him.Bo denied ever stealing from the Muldoon’s, insisting he had only borrowed their traps to go out on trips with his father. However, a heavily intoxicated Sean was not listening and things turned violent pretty quickly. As Bo fell into the side of the boat, he knocked over the star that had the boat name Valerie inscribed on the back, the same star found near the site where Percy went missing. In the flashback we learn Percy shot dead Bo, to protect her father Sean and Uncle Colin (Michael Mosley), who was being beaten up by Bo in retaliation. In the end, it was Bo’s death that was haunting Percy and the hooded figure in her visions was Bo himself.Bo’s death also explains the war with the Lam family. The Muldoon immediately came clean to Lam’s parents about his death on the boat, explaining it was in self-defense. Percy also confessed to the family she was the one who pulled the trigger.Meg also begged the family not to go to the police and the Muldoon’s offered to make a deal with the Lam family. In return for their silence, the Lam family would receive one of their fishing permits, the biggest one they have. Sean then explained to Harry after they gave up the permit, the Muldoon men turned to trafficking and smuggling, to help make ends meet. Bill Pullman as Detective Lt. Harry Ambrose in The Sinner Michael Tompkins/USA Network Not only did Bo’s death come as a huge shock to Ambrose but also to Bo’s younger brother CJ, who happened to be in love with his brother’s killer, Percy. The truth being broken to CJ also led him to realize his parents were covering up his own brother’s murder, even if they did have good intentions.The finale of The Sinner also revealed what happened before she took her own life. After Percy was dropped home by Officer Josh, she told her family how she could no longer handle the guilt of killing Bo Lam.The Sinner came to an end with Ambrose coming face to face with Percy’s ghost, where he confronted his own past. Ambrose ultimately sees himself in Percy and hopefully, his moment of reflection brought him some inner peace.Reflecting on the storyline of Season 4, Simonds shared: “The whole intention was to follow Ambrose more closely, even more than seasons past so that he’s even more in the centre of our storytelling.”I was really interested in exploring the theme of guilt this season and the guilt that Ambrose feels not only for Jamie Burns, the death that he’s responsible for in Season 3, but you know, the sort of life lifelong accrual of things that we’ve learned about him over the course of the show.”He added: “I was also interested in exploring how this idea of what happens if the perpetrators of a crime are the people who are responsible. I think I was looking in previous seasons much more this idea of one person’s grappling with morality and right and wrong and I’m now more interested in what happens when a collective or a group of people grapple with right and wrong.”I think it’s easier for people to slip morally when they’re in a group of people who agree with them on their own, and I was interested in that dynamic, because I think it’s very much at play in the world.”Sadly, The Sinner will not be returning for a fifth series. The crime anthology was canceled by the USA Network in November 2021.The Sinner is streaming on the USA Network now.