History Characters / TheSinner

* DarkAndTroubledPast: We never find out why she wound up at Mosswood, especially coming all the way to New York from Texas, but [[spoiler: Lionel makes it clear that she's not welcome at her home anymore.]]

* ControlFreak: Harry believes that what she feels for Julian isn't real love--she just want to [[MyBelovedSmother control him]]. She doesn't deny it.

!!Detective Heather Novak

!!Jack Novak

* [[spoiler: OutDamnedSpot]]: [[spoiler: Averted. It's implied that Vera killed The Beacon to protect both Julian and the women of Mosswood from his [[SlowlySlippingIntoEvil increasingly deranged behavior]]. She doesn't feel a shred of [[IDidWhatIHadToDo remorse]] over it.]]

* AbusiveParents: Of a hyper-religious flavor. Cora was raised to believe that any step out of line, no matter how inconsequential, could cause God to take [[IllGirl her sister's]] life.

* [[spoiler: [[BrotherSisterIncest Sister-Sister Incest]]]]: [[spoiler: Reluctantly crosses this line with her sister Phoebe, who is [[IllGirl virtually housebound]] and has no other romantic prospects.]]

* IllGirl: Phoebe was born with a weak heart, and has just a "touch" of Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

* BiTheWay

* TheCorrupter

* FakeFaithHealer: Used to be a genuine psychologist, but lost his licence after receiving several ethical complaints

!Season Three

An experienced detective with a troubled personal life and an eye for unique cases

* HeroWithBadPublicity: By the second season he's developed something of a reputation for stubbornly refusing to let sleeping dogs lie, even when the case in front of him seems open-and-shut.

* SafeSaneAndConsensual: Has a taste for dominant women, although he can be a bit spotty on the "safe" part. [[spoiler: His [[{{Dominatrix}} dominatrix]] breaks things off with him when he takes a [[EroticAsphyxiation kink]] too far]].
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Still has flashbacks and nightmares about the fire that burned down his childhood home. In Season Two, we find out [[spoiler: it's because he's the one who set it]].

* SympatheticMurderer: Even before the details of her past come to light, it's hard not to feel for her. She's clearly distraught by what she's done, and doesn't even try to make excuses for herself.
* TraumaInducedAmnesia/[[spoiler: LaserGuidedAmnesia]]: Cora is missing two months of her life, but assumes she just repressed the memories [[spoiler: of heavy drug addiction]]. [[spoiler: It turns out that not only does she have some pretty intense RepressedMemories, she was intentionally brainwashed to forget so she couldn't tie Phoebe's death to either Frankie or J.D.]]
** AmnesiaMissedASpot: Though she's lacking a significant amount of context and detail, she can't shake the image of a certain, distinctive wallpaper, or the sound of a [[TraumaButton certain song]].
** [[spoiler: FakeMemories: Though her flashbacks contain key, valuable insights into what happened to her, they also get certain details confused or muddled. This is TruthInTelevision, as memory recovery is controversial and known to be unreliable.]]

* FamilyMan: Family means everything to Mason, so much so that the mere suggestion that J.D. had something to do with Cora's situation prompts him to try to [[VigilanteMan take the investigation into his own hands]], and when [[spoiler: Mason's father is attacked on the job, it nearly drives him to [[RevengeBeforeReason kill J.D. himself]].]]

* TheHedonist: She is fascinated by pleasure and sexuality. Since her parents are [[SexIsEvil quite religious]], and it's doubtful she will live very long into adulthood, there's little hope she will get to experience these things personally.
* OutWithABang: [[spoiler:Phoebe dies while having sex with Frankie.]]
* [[spoiler: [[BrotherSisterIncest Sister-Sister Incest]]]]: [[spoiler: Her relationship with Cora is much closer than most sisters'. Phoebe presses Cora to share every detail of her sex life with her, and at one point even pressures Cora into "showing" her how her boyfriend touched her.]]
* [[spoiler: AGoodWayToDie]]: [[spoiler: Cora ultimately takes this view on how Phoebe died. It may have happened under horrible circumstances, but Phoebe got her heart's fondest wish in the end.]]

* NervousWreck: References having a panic attack in an airport on his way to his fancy LA internship, and blames his heavy drinking on [[DrowningMySorrows imposter syndrome and anxiety.]]

* [[spoiler: KilledOffscreen]]: [[spoiler: J.D. is killed off by another player in the drug trade before Mason can take vengeance on him for attacking his father. The murder is mostly unrelated to Cora's case.]]
* BadSamaritan: [[spoiler: J.D. first met Cora when he rescued her from a date who was even shadier than himself. Having gained her trust, he proceeded to repeatedly [[ToxicFriendInfluence take advantage of her.]]]]
* {{Polyamory}}: Was in a poly relationship with both Maddie and [[spoiler: Cora]]. However, it doesn't appear to have been a particularly healthy or ethical relationship.

* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: Zig-zagged. [[spoiler: He feeds the adults he's traveling with poison]], but it turns out that [[spoiler: it's because he figured out they were abducting him]]. He also seems to suffer from [[AmbiguousDisorder bouts of rage]] even before the murders. In general he is tense and withdrawn, and for much of the season refuses to speak to anyone other than Harry or Vera.

* [[spoiler: HumanSacrifice]]: It's implied that The Beacon intended for him to become this. [[spoiler: Thankfully, Vera [[EtTuBrute put a stop to it]]]].
* [[spoiler: ChildByRape]]: His father isn't in the picture.

* IronLady: As the leader of Mosswood, she puts up a tough, invulnerable image, and refuses to rely on outsiders for anything.

* ControlFreak: Harry believes that what she feels for Julian isn't real love--she just want to [[MyBelovedSmother control him]]. She doesn't deny it.
** [[spoiler: However, by the end of the season she [[CharacterDevelopment learns to let go]] and allow Julian to make his own decisions]].

* OldCopYoungCop: The young cop to Harry's old cop. While she's still [[NewMeat wet behind the ears]] in many ways, she's still a competent and promising young detective.
* IncompatibleOrientation: One of the reasons why her friendship with [[spoiler: Marin]] fell apart.

* [[spoiler: BeneathTheMask]]: [[spoiler: You'd never guess such a cheerful, friendly [[VillainWithGoodPublicity pillar of the community]] would be capable of [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raping a vulnerable young girl]], but you'd be [[AwfulTruth wrong]]]].
* [[spoiler: DevilInPlainSight]]: [[spoiler: By the mid-season mark, the [[DramaticIrony viewer]] should find it [[RightUnderTheirNoses suspicious]] that Jack is trying to distract Heather from the case and convince Harry to [[MoveAlongNothingToSeeHere go home early]]. However, nobody in-universe thinks this is strange until later.]]
* IdiotBall: [[spoiler: Really, Jack? You left the hotel key in your pocket?]]

* DidntThinkThisThrough: [[spoiler: Marin wants to come and be Julian's mom again, but she doesn't appear to have the means to support a child. Was Julian going to live in the storage facility with her?]]

* TheLostLenore: To Heather, who assumes she's either dead or lost to Mosswood forever.

* ChildHater: Children aren't usually allowed in Mosswood. [[spoiler: If a woman does get pregnant, The Beacon [[LackOfEmpathy forces them to get an abortion]].]] [[spoiler: Julian is the only exception, and it's implied that The Beacon didn't [[HumanSacrifice intend for him to live very long]]]].

* IncompatibleOrientation: One of the reasons why her [[RomanticTwoGirlFriendship friendship]] with [[spoiler: Marin]] fell apart.

* RomanticTwoGirlFriendship: With Heather, when they were teenagers. Unfortunately, Heather felt the love [[IncompatibleOrientation a bit more literally]] than Marin did.

Cora's younger sister, who was ill all her life and died before the show begins

!!!Actor: Creator/ElishaHennig

!!! Actor: Bill Pullman

!!!Actress: Jessica Biel

!!!Actor: Christopher Abbott

!!!Actress: Nadia Alexander

!!!Actor: Eric Todd

!!!Actor: Jacob Pitts

!!!Actor: Elisha Hennig

!!!Actress: Carrie Coon

!!!Actress: Natalie Paul

!!!Actor: Tracy Letts

!!!Actress: Hannah Gross

!!!Actor: Brennan Brown

* AppearanceAngst: Comments that it is "unfair" how much more attractive Cora is in comparison to herself.

* NaughtyIsGood: Played with. Phoebe's mischievous nature is deliberately at odds with her mother's creepy brand of puritanism and is considerably more charming by comparison. [[spoiler: Later partially subverted when Phoebe's desire for freedom from her mother's austere way of life leads to her death and Cora's ordeal.]]

* [[spoiler: [[SurvivorGuilt]]]]: [[spoiler: Experiences this after witnessing her sister's death. Is hinted at several times in the season, including when her mother implies that she "abandoned" Phoebe in the month prior to her death. In the penultimate episode it is revealed that her decision to let Phoebe go out for the night with her directly resulted in Phoebe's accidental death and covert burial.]]

* TraumaInducedAmnesia/[[spoiler: LaserGuidedAmnesia]]: Cora is missing two years of her life, but assumes she just repressed the memories [[spoiler: of heavy drug addiction]]. [[spoiler: It turns out that not only does she have some pretty intense RepressedMemories, she was intentionally brainwashed to forget so she couldn't tie Phoebe's death to either Frankie or J.D.]]

* PsychoPsychologist: Uses his twisted version of "therapy" to build a [[{{Cult}} cult following]] of drifters, and [[spoiler: encourages [[CompleteMonster psychopaths]] like Glen Fisher to indulge their violent impulses]].

* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: He is fascinated by plants and wildlife, to the point where he repeatedly interrupts important conversations in order to remark on the state of various plants he notices around him. When his [[spoiler: wife kicks him out of the house for good,]] he sneaks back in the middle of the night just to fertilize the dogwood trees.