Lying didn't go over quite as Cora planned.

Her lies put the fire into backfire on The Sinner Season 1 Episode 3, when she decided that being a heroin user was as good a story as any. But once it was out of her mouth, she regretted it.

Whether Cora failed to remember how quickly Mason learned about JD, or she was trying to unintentionally push him away, she lost access to her son instead. That hurt.

At least we know the truth.

Cora knows nothing about the months she was missing. Or relatively nothing, anyway. The sparks of memories she has are as good as it gets.

Maybe she was kidnapped and tortured.

She wasn't a heroin abuser selling herself for her habit.

Ambrose figured it out by asking Cora to demonstrate the task. She couldn't even give it the old college try. Hell, I've watched enough crime shows that I could have given Ambrose a run for his money. 

Wrap the thing around my arm above the crook of my elbow, pull it with my teeth (which is probably for visual effects as much as to get it tight), smoosh the heroin with something, put it on the spoon, light it on fire, get it into the syringe, get the bubbles out, look for a vein, plunge.

Oh. You probably wrap the thing after all the spoon stuff. But you get the gist. 

Cora did, however, do well on the recollection of getting her chest cracked by a shoe.

Like I said, she was obviously kidnapped and tortured, and now that we've met her parents, my vote is on them being the ones to do it to her.

They are crazy m&th$rf#ck$rs, aren't they?? 

For some reason, I imagined they'd be older than they turned out to be. Everything associated with Cora's memories has an almost gothic feel to it, so it wouldn't have been shocking to see them dressed like the farmers from American Gothic, complete with pitchfork.

The hair on the back of Ambrose's neck must have stood up when mom said Cora ran away. How do adults run away, exactly? They move out. If she'd had dementia, maybe she could have gotten lost.

Blaming her for Phoebe's death in front of Ambrose only helped the situation, but he unwittingly set forth the circumstances that led to Cora pleading guilty.

Cora hadn't intended to plead guilty at all, but when she saw her parents in the courtroom, she had no desire to return to a life in which they were present, so she did. Is that what happened? She wasn't living in a world in which they were a part before the crime, so why would she have to afterward?

Lying must be relatively new to Cora because her sister practically begged her to do it if it meant she could save herself some pain in the past. Cora didn't lie and was always in trouble with her mother.

The scenes with the sisters were sweet, and I'm glad at least their relationship survived the horrible reign of their parents. Cora could have held Phoebe accountable for things her mother did, but she didn't.

Mason is totally confused about what's going on with his wife, and he should be. Cora doesn't even know what's happening to herself. She needs to talk to him and tell him that, though.

He thinks she's been lying to him all during their marriage about some horrifying things. She has been, but not the things he thinks. It's highly doubtful he has a clue about her parents and how they treated her.

If they are involved in whatever happened to her that caused her to go into a murderous rage, shouldn't he be aware of their current status just in case they try to get their hands on Cora's child? The odds aren't good they'd think Cora would be a good mother since they think she killed Phoebe. That's two murders already.

The power of Christ compels her, apparently.

I'm ready to stop with the mental detours and get into whatever the hell happened to her that triggered that kill. It's been interesting watching Ambrose tie together the pieces and have his balls squeezed by a hair clasp, but let's move along.

No more lies, Cora. 

If you want to see what all the fuss is about, you can watch The Sinner online to get caught up.

Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.