"The Sinner"

Looking for escape these days I chose not to watch this show despite good reviews for the simple reason that I didn't want to be depressed.  With awards season coming around however, I was given the chance to watch season two.  It is dark, but not as dark as I had thought.  And it is very well done.  Very very well done.  Great acting (Bill Pullman is justifiably nominated for a best actor award), great writing and a directing style which brings a kind of Twin Peaks film noir to what is essentially a mystery.  I like mysteries and enjoyed watching it unfold.  There were enough surprises to keep me going but none of them came out of nowhere.  The characters who gave me the creeps early on turned out to have a secret or two and most things seemed to "fit" when it all came together.  The series has a forward momentum and I ended up watching almost all of it in one day as I simply had to see "what happens next."  One minor complaint ... at eight episodes it was dragged out a bit more than was necessary.  I could have seen it wrap up in six, and thought it would.  To get it to eight they had to add in a few more twists and a number of threads which weren't followed through on.  A major discovery in episode six or seven turned out to be a nothing and characters were introduced late in the game with little sense of what happened to them afterward.  That being said it was top notch and once again, we have a great performance turned in by a young actor, Elisha Henig.  Unfortunately, there was not a sliver of joy in the whole thing so I'm unlikely to watch season three unless I'm in a really, really good mood.