All the unanswered questions we have after watching The Sinner.

*Content warning: This post contains some pretty massive spoilers.

The Sinner has been named the best show of 2017 by some very important TV critics (*cough* me *cough*).

If you haven’t already binged your way through Netflix’s latest offering you might want to leave now, lock yourself in a dark room for eight hours, and come back to us once your mind is completely blown.

The Sinner is a why-dunnit, a twist on the ole’ who-dunnit and it’s honestly one of the best shows you’ll see all year.

As we all know (if you don’t know, you have to GO. WATCH. NOW) episode eight seemed to wrap up Cora’s storyline in a neat little bow.

LISTEN: The Binge hosts discuss The Sinner’s most controversial scene and it’s biggest plot hole. 

We found out the thing that happened to Cora in her past which led her to kill Frankie Belmont on the beach. Everything seemed to fall into place… or… or did it?

You see, we have a few little answered questions that we NEED, erm, answers for so we can all move on with our motherflippin’ lives.

Here are all the unanswered questions we have after watching The Sinner finale:

Why doesn’t anyone look for Phoebe?

Probably the biggest plot hole/unanswered question from the whole series is why no one seems to give a goddamn when Phoebe goes missing.

Both girls disappear on the same night. Cora will not see or hear from her parents for five years.

When Cora is finally reunited with her parents during her trial they tell her that Phoebe died two months after Cora left home. Cora seems to accept that explanation without questioning it in the slightest.

Five years earlier when Cora turns up at rehab neither Cora, or her aunt, or her parents, wonder about Phoebe’s whereabouts.

Yes, Cora was missing herself for two months and she believes she’s now a heroin addict, but at no point does she even consider going to visit her terminally ill sister or wonder why she hasn’t heard from her.

The girls’ parents also don’t seem to wonder where their terminally ill daughter is.

This is partly explained in episode eight when Elizabeth (the mother) tells Cora that she overheard the two girls talking about running away to Florida together. The girls’ mother says when they disappeared she assumed they went through with the plan and they were “dead to her” from then on.

But… that’s totally out of character for this ~ slightly unhinged ~ mother. Elizabeth lived through her terminally ill daughter and her sickness. There’s no way she would have just turned her back on Phoebe.

So did the parents know more about that night then they let on?

Why do the parents pretend Phoebe is dead?

When Detective Ambrose visited the parents’ house, Elizabeth pointed at an urn indicating that Phoebe was dead.

If they really thought that the two girls run away together, why did they pretend Phoebe was dead?

Also, why didn’t anyone else in Phoebe’s life ask about her or question her alleged death? Didn’t the neighbours wonder where she was? Didn’t her doctors ask questions? Why didn’t Detective Ambrose check to see whether there were records of her death?

The plot thickens, people.

Why does Maddie leave town and change her name?

When Detective Ambrose finally catches up with Maddie in episode eight she has changed her name and moved cities. Why?

We find out earlier in the series Maddie also disappears that night. She appears to have vanished into thin air and left all of her belongings behind.

Then in episode eight we find out that she started a new life to get away from J.D. and the spell he had over her. But this seems extreme as J.D. had already moved on and was showing no interest in Maddie at this point.

Did Maddie know more about that night than she was initially letting on? Did she know about Cora’s case and was she hoping to stay hidden and out of it?

Listen: There’s a major plot hole in The Sinner. And all the TV shows you need to be watching this week. 

Frankie’s parents seem to come out of nowhere as the villains?

As we find out in episode eight, it’s Frankie Belmont’s dad behind the mask.

After Frankie accidentally kills Phoebe he calls his father. Frankie’s dad then buries Phoebe’s body in the woods. He plans to kill Cora but then realises he can’t go through with it. So he locks her in a bedroom in their house for two months and plies her with heroin so she doesn’t remember what happened that night.

This is all well and good – but it kind of comes out of nowhere.

Usually, the “baddie” in this kind of thriller has been hiding in plain sight the whole time – and when they’re finally revealed it makes a whole lot of sense.

But Frankie’s dad is kind of a ring in. He doesn’t even have a character name except for “Frankie’s dad” and his motivation for the crime is a bit far-fetched.

Also, why does the mum just stand by while he husband keeps a strange girl captive in the house for two months?

This whole storyline seems a bit unbelievable and far-fetched and like it was thrown together at the last moment by the writers.

Having said all that – I still bloody love The Sinner.

Do you have any other unanswered questions? Share them in the comments section below. 

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