Characters / The Sinner

Detective Harry Ambrose

Actor: Bill Pullman

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

• Dark and Troubled Past: Still has flashbacks and nightmares about the fire that burned down his childhood home. In Season Two, we find out it's because he's the one who set it.
• Defective Detective: Tends to keep his distance even from those who are closest to him, to the point that his wife believed he wouldn't notice if she disappeared. By the end of the first season, he's alienated both his wife and his mistress.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: 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.
• Interdisciplinary Sleuth: Knows a great deal about plants, mushrooms, and wildlife, and uses this knowledge to break a case more than once.
• Nature Lover: 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 wife kicks him out of the house for good, he sneaks back in the middle of the night just to fertilize the dogwood trees.
• Safe, Sane, and Consensual: Has a taste for dominant women, although he can be a bit spotty on the "safe" part. His dominatrix breaks things off with him when he takes a kink too far.
• Self-Made Orphan: In a sense. The fire he started destroyed his childhood home and also led to his mentally ill single mother being committed to a psychiatric institution. He became a ward of the state, after that.

Season One

Cora Tanetti (nee Lacey)

Actress: Jessica Biel

A seemingly ordinary woman who commits a grisly murder out of the blue, for reasons unknown even to her.

• Abusive Parents: 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 her sister's life.
• Living Emotional Crutch: To her sister Phoebe, who otherwise lives a trapped and miserable existence.
• Nice Girl: How she is known in Dorchester before the murder. Partially subverted as we find out more about her past, as she has a history of drug use and association with some shady characters. However, most of the rebellious things she does are as a result of toxic people in her life manipulating her, and at the end of the day she never wanted anybody to get hurt.
• Sister-Sister Incest: Reluctantly crosses this line with her sister Phoebe, who is virtually housebound and has no other romantic prospects.
• Survivor Guilt: 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.
• Sympathetic Murderer: 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.
• Trauma-Induced Amnesia/Laser-Guided Amnesia: Cora is missing two months of her life, but assumes she just repressed the memories of heavy drug addiction. It turns out that not only does she have some pretty intense Repressed Memories, she was intentionally brainwashed to forget so she couldn't tie Phoebe's death to either Frankie or J.D.
  • Amnesia Missed a Spot: 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 certain song.
  • Fake Memories: Though her flashbacks contain key, valuable insights into what happened to her, they also get certain details confused or muddled. This is Truth in Television, as memory recovery is controversial and known to be unreliable.

Mason Tanetti

Actor: Christopher Abbott

Cora's devoted husband, who struggles to understand what has happened to his wife.

• Family Man: 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 take the investigation into his own hands, and when Mason's father is attacked on the job, it nearly drives him to kill J.D. himself.
• Momma's Boy: Mason and Cora live right next door to Mason's parents, work for his father's family business, have dinner with them every night, and spend most weekends with them as well. He and Cora argue about how he has a hard time telling his mother "no."
• Undying Loyalty: Remains committed to his and Cora's relationship, even when she tells him it's okay if he has to move on.
• Vigilante Man: Impatient and distrustful that the police have Cora's best interests at heart, he tries to take matters into his own hands. Subverted. Because he has little actual knowledge of the law or how policing goes, he ends up doing more harm than good. He gets Caitlin in hot water for feeding him information, alerts J.D. that he has been connected in the investigation, and manages to gather inadmissible evidence by actively committing a crime.

Phoebe Lacey

Actress: Nadia Alexander

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

• Appearance Angst: Comments that it is "unfair" how much more attractive Cora is than herself.
• Did Not Die That Way: Phoebe is believed to have died of non Hodgkins lymphoma. She actually died of a heart attack.
• Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: By virtue of having lived inside almost all her life and been seriously sick.
• A Good Way to Die: 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.
• The Hedonist: She is fascinated by pleasure and sexuality. Since her parents are 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.
• Naughty Is Good: 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. Later partially subverted when Phoebe's desire for complete self-indulgence via drugs and sex leads to her death.
• Out with a Bang: Phoebe dies while having sex with Frankie.
• Sister-Sister Incest: 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.
• Too Good for This Sinful Earth: A definite subversion. In contrast to Cora's plain and innocent disposition, Phoebe delights in being as vulgar as possible.
• Toxic Friend Influence: Phoebe pushes Cora into increasingly reckless behavior out of a desire to live vicariously through her.

Frankie Belmont

Actor: Eric Todd

A young doctor who is suddenly murdered for unclear reasons.

• Karmic Nod: A witness to Frankie's murder suggested that Frankie could easily have resisted Cora's attack, but stopped himself when he recognised her, likely because he had still not forgiven himself for Phoebe's death and on some level felt he deserved to die for his cowardice in the aftermath.
• Love at First Sight: Frankie seems to have genuinely loved Phoebe even though they were only together for a single night.
• Nervous Wreck: References having a panic attack in an airport on his way to his fancy LA internship, and blames his heavy drinking on imposter syndrome and anxiety.
• Nice Guy: This is Frankie's reputation among all who know him. Subverted as we find out more about his past connection with Cora, and then double subverted when we find out Phoebe's death was an accident, and Frankie genuinely tried to save her life.
  • Can be considered zig-zagged in that, even though Phoebe's death was genuinely an accident, he either knew what his father did to cover up the incident, or chose not to ask questions.
• Spoiled Brat: Can be read this way. Regardless of whatever redeeming qualities he possesses, his first instinct when he kills his one night stand by accident is to call his wealthy father to come and fix it. Which he does.

J.D. Lambert

Actor: Jacob Pitts

• Asshole Victim: He's killed by a random player in the drug trade.
• Bad Samaritan: 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 take advantage of her.
• Divide and Conquer: Refers to Phoebe as a "parasite" holding Cora back in life. Though to some degree this is a case of Jerkass Has a Point, his motive is likely to separate Cora from her loved ones so he can gain greater influence over her.
• Killed Offscreen: 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.
• Lack of Empathy: Though superficially charming enough to have gotten both Maddie and Cora to fall in love with him, he clearly has very little actual regard for anyone other than himself. He uses both girls as enticements in his business dealings, nearly drove Maddie to suicide, and his reaction when he witnesses Frankie kill a girl in front of him is to simply capitalize on the opportunity.
• Polyamory: Was in a poly relationship with both Maddie and Cora. However, it doesn't appear to have been a particularly healthy or ethical relationship.
• Smug Snake: Can't help but make digs at Mason about Cora's past promiscuity when he comes to confront him, and when he's questioned by the police he confidently spins a series of transparent lies until his lawyer comes to collect him. All the while, wearing an arrogant smirk and speaking like he finds the entire situation very funny.
• Would Hit a Girl: After Cora becomes violent due to Phoebe's death and accidentally hits him in the face, J.D. picks up an object and strikes her across the head, knocking her out and leaving her with a long-lasting concussion, as well as a scar visible years after the incident.

Season Two

Julian Walker

Actor: Elisha Henig

A thirteen-year-old boy accused of murdering his parents while the family was on their way to see Niagra Falls.

• Child by Rape: His father isn't in the picture.
• Culture Clash: Has no idea how the world outside of Mosswood functions.
• Human Sacrifice: It's implied that The Beacon intended for him to become this. Thankfully, Vera put a stop to it.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Julian initially believes it was okay to poison Bess and Adam, because death only means starting over. He slowly comes to the realization that things are more complicated than that over the course of the season.
• Oblivious Adoption: Julian has no idea that Vera isn't is real mom.
• Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Zig-zagged. He feeds the adults he's traveling with poison, but it turns out that it's because he figured out they were abducting him. He also seems to suffer from 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.

Vera Walker

Actress: Carrie Coon

The leader of Mosswood, a local commune that prefers to keep away from outsiders.

• The Confidant: Was this for Lionel Jeffries, the original leader of the Mosswood cult. It's never made clear why he trusts her so much. Also becomes a confidante for Marin after she joins the cult.
• Control Freak: Harry believes that what she feels for Julian isn't real love—she just wants to control him. She doesn't deny it.
  • However, by the end of the season she learns to let go and allow Julian to make his own decisions.
• Dark and Troubled Past: We never find out why she wound up at Mosswood, especially coming all the way to New York from Texas, but Lionel makes it clear that she's not welcome at her home anymore. She also mentions that Lionel "healed her," implying that she had her own significant trauma to work through.
• Determinator: Will stop at nothing to protect Julian.
  • She also insists on continuing Lionel's "work" even after being severely and publicly abused during a session, and refuses to be pitied or consoled about it.
• Iron Lady: As the leader of Mosswood, she puts up a tough, invulnerable image, and refuses to rely on outsiders for anything.
• The Shrink: Vera functions as Mosswood's religious leader/therapist. She's almost certainly unlicensed, though.
• Thicker Than Water: Averted. Blood ties or no blood ties, Vera loves Julian as fiercely as if he were her own child.

Detective Heather Novack

Actress: Natalie Paul

A detective in training who calls on Harry Ambrose for help solving a difficult case.

• By-the-Book Cop: Is dismayed when Harry crosses the line by breaking into Glenn's house without a warrent.
• Daddy's Girl: Is quite close with her father, Jack. As it turns out, their close relationship hinges on them not talking about several important things.
• Incompatible Orientation: One of the reasons why her friendship with Marin fell apart.
• Old Cop, Young Cop: The young cop to Harry's old cop. While she's still wet behind the ears in many ways, she's still a competent and promising young detective.

Jack Novack

Actor: Tracy Letts

Heather's single father and an old friend of Harry's.

• Beneath the Mask: You'd never guess such a cheerful, friendly pillar of the community would be capable of raping a vulnerable young girl, but you'd be wrong.
• Bumbling Dad: Has a warm and friendly disposition, and is always ready to comfort his daughter with a plate of sandwiches.
• Devil in Plain Sight: By the mid-season mark, the viewer should find it suspicious that Jack is trying to distract Heather from the case and convince Harry to go home early. However, nobody in-universe thinks this is strange until later.
• Idiot Ball: Really, Jack? You left the hotel key in your pocket?
• Old Friend: He and Harry grew up together in Keller. They've managed to keep in touch, even though Harry is a tough friend to have.

Marin Calhoun

Actress: Hannah Gross

A childhood friend of Heather's who went missing before the series began

• Broken Bird: After growing up as an unwanted child, being being raped, giving birth to a child, and probably suffering from postpartum depression, Marin doesn't seem quite right.
• Didn't Think This Through: 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?
• The Drifter: spends years after leaving Mosswood struggling with addiction, and later joins a convent. She's shown living in a van and also for a short time in a storage locker.
• The Lost Lenore: To Heather, who assumes she's either dead or lost to Mosswood forever.
• Parental Abandonment: Marin left Mosswood after giving birth to Julian because she felt she was a failure as a parent. Subverted when she returns, wanting to try again.
• Red Herring: At first, the detectives think that Marin is the dead woman they dredge up from Purple Lake. It turns out that woman is completely unrelated to Julian's case.

Lionel Jeffries (The Beacon)

Actor: Brennan Brown

• Child Hater: Children aren't usually allowed in Mosswood. If a woman does get pregnant, The Beacon forces them to get an abortion. Julian is the only exception, and it's implied that The Beacon didn't intend for him to live very long.
• Fake Faith Healer: Used to be a genuine psychologist, but lost his licence after receiving several ethical complaints.
• Psycho Psychologist: Uses his twisted version of "therapy" to build a cult following of drifters, and encourages psychopaths like Glen Fisher to indulge their violent impulses.
• Slowly Slipping Into Evil: According to Vera, the "work" they do at Mosswood used to be a lot more figurative. By the time they're committing ritual animal sacrifice, it's clear that something is not quite right with The Beacon's leadership.

Season Three

Jamie Burns

• Ambiguous Disorder

Nick Haas

• The Corrupter
• Übermensch: Nick doesn't care about society's codes, he's just as likely as to crush another man's phone for the kicks as to randomly choose one of Jamie's neighbors to kill her.