'The Sinner' Season 3 Episode 4 Preview: Jamie Burns' maniacal violence seems to be out and we're concerned
There's a millennial concept of going full psycho that one might come across often and quite frankly, incessantly, in pop culture. It's basically unleashing one's inner maniac to embrace the inherent raging psychopath within, acting extremely uncharacteristically, in the manner of Jack Nicholson's plagued writer from 'The Shining'. And that is exactly what we see Matt Bomer's character Jamie Burns do in the upcoming fourth episode of 'The Sinner' Season 3.
So far, we have seen Jamie appear at all the wrong places at the worst possible time, in the aftermath of watching his estranged college buddy Nick (Chris Messina) die in a car crash. Jamie had watched Nick slowly pass away while he stood there, deliberately delaying the 911 call.
The second episode explored how Nick might have a possible psychological grasp on Jamie, even beyond his death. Over time, Jamie's love for violence and self-destruction has been highlighted by him, while debating to shove his hand into the gas oven or even considering walking into traffic.
Now father to a newborn and still as psychologically unstable, we see Jamie take things to a whole other level as he gives in to those violent urges and goes on what looks like a murderous spree. Or so teases the newly released promo for Episode 4 titled 'Part IV', which begins with Jamie walking along a deserted road with his voiceover slamming people who "want to believe there's some kind of order to all of this."
What looks like yet another nihilistic outburst of existential dread soon turns to scenes from Episode 4, where we see Jamie standing on the ledge of a relatively tall building, as Detective Harry Ambrose and the cops are able to stop him right on time.
When Ambrose asks him "It's you against the world?", a very frustrated Jamie, still standing on the ledge, replies "You won't stop, will you?"
An expected Jamie vs Ambrose face off aside, it is the next scene that worries us about the unstable maniac that Jamie is slowly evolving into, as we see him slamming a man's bloody face onto a surface repeatedly. Jamie's own face looks overcome with rage and a burning passion for murder, which heightens our concern for his newborn baby's wellbeing.
A montage of clips then shows Jamie confronting a man with Ambrose pointing his gun at him, only to end with a party setting, where Ambrose is present too, and Jamie says "Let's be honest, everyone's dangerous, aren't they?"
It's all jokes and laughter for Jamie at this point which hints at how normal this psychological turnover is for the new father. But the question the teaser leaves asking is whether all of this is Jamie himself, or whether Ambrose's speculations over Nick's psychological hold on Jamie are coming true.
'The Sinner' Season 3 airs on Thursdays, at 9 pm, only on USA Network.