I was recommended Season 3 of
The Sinner, a crime drama anthology starring Bill Pullman as a cop drawn into different adventures every season. I'm not much into crime dramas, but there are reputedly gay subtexts, so here goes: Episode 1.
Scene 1: Jamie (Matt Bomer) a guy in a scruffy suit, sits in a toilet stall, smoking marijuana. He walks through a ritzy private school, getting drooled over by all the coeds. They need another chaperone for the LGBTQ Alliance field trip. "Sure, I'm happy to do it." So he's bi?
Then he teaches his class -- something about the Treaty of Versailles --in a small, crowded conference room. Only female students?. Is this a girls' school, or are we emphasizing that he's a hetero horndog?
After class, a girl hangs back to flirt while her friends glare jealously from the door. Don't worry, you'll get your turn. She's decided to apply to Brown, and she needs a letter of recommendation. "Sure, you write it and I'll sign it." Sleazing on co-eds, and now forgery? This guy is a jerk.
Scene 2: The Big Boss congratulates elderly cop Harry (Bill Pullman, left) on his retirement, although his replacements, Soto (Eddie Martinez) and McCafferty, are awful. They have verve and energy, but no experience.
Scene 3: A train chugging by a river. Inside, Jamie the Sleazoid Prof is staring angrily at the other passengers as they scroll through their cell phones. He gets off and chases after one, a bald guy in a business suit.
Meanwhile, Harry the Retired Cop, at the same station, greets his daughter and grandson: "Welcome to the Northern Territory." So this must be Darwin, Australia. They drive to the creepy, isolated house that he bought to retire in -- a former army barracks. Daughter disapproves -- what if he need help? Cell phones don't even work out here. "I can get bars in the front yard."
She also disapproves of her son's interest in reading. "That's all he does. He's got no friends." Especially that one fantasy novel -- he won't put it down. Plot dump: she's recently divorced, and ex Andy has vanished to London.
Scene 4: Jamie the Sleazoid Prof is barbecuing, while his wife Leela complains about the customers in her shop. Wait -- what happened to the guy he was chasing? I thought he'd end up dead. Suddenly Jamie has the urge to stick his hand onto the barbecue grill, but Wifey interrupts him. They smooch. .
Doorbell rings: Amazon Delivery. Jamie is shocked and horrified. "What are you doing here? I told you not to come here." So he prefers brick-and-mortar bookstores?
Nope, the Amazon stuff was a misdirection. It's actually Nick (Chris Messina), whom Jamie knows but hates. Maybe a downlow hookup? They argue and sputter at each other, but when Leela shows up, Nick is all smiles, and gets a dinner invitation.
Scene 5: Jamie the Sleazoid Prof and Hookup Nick glaring at each other across the dinner table, while Leela drones on about her shop. I don't really understand what she sells, but there are candles and "essential oils" Nick criticizes Jamie for forcing his wife to move to Australia, when she wanted to stay in Brooklyn. He makes more ominous, threatening statements, but Leela is oblivious. Not very smart for someone named after a space pilot on "Futurama."
Scene 6: Night. Harry the Retired Cop is asleep on the couch. He gets a phone call. Hey, no cell phone reception in the house, remember? There was an accident off Route 9, so he has to go investigate. Hey, retired, remember?
And now he's driving on the right side of the road. This can't be Australia! But the only Northern Territory I'm familiar with is in Australia. There's a Northwest Territory in Canada, but I don't think Yellowknife has that huge train station. Maybe he was riffing on the remoteness of his community, and expected viewers to have the sound on, so they could hear the accents.
Accident scene: The driver crashed into a tree. "He's ok -- at St. Emilia's getting checked out." But he got splattered all over the car. WTF? Lady, you just said he was ok! Are we watching events in parallel worlds simultaneously?
What was the driver doing on private road that leads to just one house, where the owner wasn't expecting him? The cops scratch their heads, baffled by this mystery. Harry checks out the driver -- it's Hookup Nick!
Scene 7: The other "he," the one that's ok, is Jamie the Sleazoid Prof. He sits on an examination table, looking sinister, staring at his hands.
Scene 8: Retired Cop Harry works while his replacement, Soto, glares at him. He calls a lady to tell her that the cops have some of her father's stuff. Does she want it? "No. Ok, I'll give you my home address." Now he says he's in Dorchester, New York 11332. The zip code is Flushing, Queens. I was not aware that Queens was called the Northern Territory. So when Nick got angry because Jamie forced his wife to move to the other side of the world, he meant ten minutes by subway?
Jamie the Sleazoid Prof comes in for the insurance interview. After dinner, they went out for a drink at Nick's hotel. On the way back, Nick was driving too fast, and crashed No big mystery.
"But where were you going? You were nowhere near your house or his hotel. "Um...um...we were looking for an overlook, and got lost." An overlook in the middle of the night?
Gay subtext: "I saw Nick die. It was like seeing him for the first time. The way he looked at me..." This makes Harry suspicious. So what if Nick and Jamie were boyfriends? How would that affect the case?
More Bomer after the break
