jrlr

I hate the theme song. I hate Noah and his prose - from what we've heard - is atrocious. Eden is a cliche and yes, Noah probably is sleeping with her (if they can detach the phones from both their ears for long enough). And Alison is simply too much of a cypher: she's blissfully happy at yoga camp and then boom! she's got this ridiculous, polar-opposite apartment and lifestyle she's living. Who the hell is she? At this point in time, after one and one-half seasons, I'm finally getting more irritated than interested in her character because there doesn't really seem to be any there there. Have I mentioned that I hate Noah? His look when Alison asked if he really wants this baby screamed "no" while he said "of course." And when he reluctantly pretended to be interested in listening to the baby's heartbeat - you'd have to be a total moron to believe he's happy to be tied to Alison and a daddy-to-be. Wasn't impressed by the writing at all in this episode. The whole Noah-forgets-the-turkey incident was predictable from the first time the turkey was mentioned. And the gossip columnist, seriously? This was written as if we're living in the 1940s and Hedda Hopper is on the loose. I seriously doubt that ANYONE in 2015 would care that he's still married and she's pregnant. And Athena's switch from new age babble to wise sage about life in general and Alison in particular is jarring.

Well, I didn't see that one coming! I'd been wondering if I'd even get all the way through this season, but that pulled me back in.

Amanda still makes me clench my teeth and want to slap her. Loved (not) how quiet and thoughtful she was trying to look at the reunion until they gave her the chance to talk and out came that self-aggrandizing, cover-up-for-NO-talent, never take a breath run-on bullshit. They "didn't like" her designs? WHAT designs? Those potato sacks? Even in a generation that has made being entitled a deeply rooted psychological condition for which there is no apparent cure, she stands out as the specialist snowflake ever.

I LOVE that movie! It's not the spectator pumps, though, it's just plain old white. I grew up hearing that idiotic "rule" - no white after Labor Day. As for Uggs, jeans, etc., I'd like to know just who the "they" are who dictate these inane rules which no one pays attention to anyway. I personally don't give a hoot how old or young or thin or fat anyone is, just wear what looks good on you and what you feel good in.

Alison as the killer makes no sense to me. Even if she could live with having killed someone (which I don't see), why would she let her husband take the fall for it? And for that matter, why would the self-centered Noah be willing to take the fall? If Helen knows that Noah is not guilty (and isn't just trying to protect the kids from having a convicted killer as a father), then she must think or know who the real killer is and who Noah is protecting. If we believe that the driver has to have been either Alison or Whitney (and I'm not sure it comes down to only those two), then it has to be Whitney because Helen has less than zero reasons to help Noah get released or acquitted if it isn't Whitney - she sure as hell wouldn't care if Alison was charged and convicted.

This! I agree with everything you posted, in fact, I made a snarky comment about Candice's perception of a strong woman a few days ago. Remember when she was so impressed and surprised that a woman was the head of the 3-D printing company? I found that really bizarre. I know from what's been written and said that Candice hasn't led a particularly sheltered life (and she lives in the Bay area, for cripes' sake!), so how can she possibly be so clueless? I know plenty of women whom I consider very strong - myself included - who have dealt with terrible adversities with both strength and grace, and none of us needed black leather to prove ourselves. I'm surprised she didn't use spiked dog collars as accessories. And I liked Kelly's wood grained dress, too!

Trends come and go and then come back again with slight variations (think peasant blouses or platform shoes), so I think Kelly can/will bring back the fanny pack as a fashion item. Don't forget that Kelly's demographic (style-wise) is mostly young enough to have missed the fanny pack trend the first time, so this is a whole new look for them. Her glittery style is certainly different than the rugged nylon fanny packs of the 80's - or was it 90's? Anyway, I can definitely see club kids going crazy for them the way she makes them, and what woman doesn't love the idea of a hands-free bag for i.d., lipstick and money? I know Kelly uses hers to keep tea in, but I think younger buyers will see them as a cute and comfortable way of carrying necessities.

I think this is the most emotionally and psychologically convincing description I've read here. It's kind of the Occam's Razor of explanations for the motives and the actions of the characters, especially the intense initial pull between Noah and Alison. But now things have shifted. Now Alison understands that her previous self-destructive and reckless behavior was in response to Gabriel's death - that's huge character development. And then we have Noah who - aside from seeming a little wistful over the formerly close family he abandoned - doesn't seem to have learned anything about himself at all. They're an ill-matched pair from the start, and even though I don't admire Alison's character, she gets points for at least trying to push past the pain and grow, whereas Noah just seems to be exactly the same character we met at the beginning of Season 1 - but with success, which has only made him more obnoxious and grandiose.

LMAO!! You nailed it. I am a writer who's the child of a writer, and I know a few others - we are definitely not the easiest people in the world to live with. First of all, it's a tweaky gene to inherit to start with and second, whether we cop to it or not, we are always in competition with our writer-parent. Just think about how Bruce treats Noah (I know they aren't father and son, but the situation is close enough)and you'll get a pretty good idea of what it's like. Having said that, Trevor is a horrible little monster.

In the previews for next week at a dinner party, there seems to be some sort of tension between Alison and some woman named Eden(?) I think as well as Alison and Noah. Does anyone know who Eden is?.

Noah is such a pig that I'm actually beginning to lose interest in a show I NEVER thought I would lose interest in. So Helen has grown up - and done a surprisingly good job of it - and Alison has grown up or at least come to terms with her past, but Noah hasn't budged from his carved-in-stone assholiness. The sex/rape scene with Alison made me want to puke: Noah seriously wants to destroy her now that she has become more or less independent of him, dared to criticize his masterpiece and worst of all, befriended Sebastian Junger who is a better writer with his hands tied behind his back than Noah could ever hope to be. Unfortunately for the story line (IMO of course) Alison's pregnancy now strikes me as a completely trite plot point to pull these two people who truly seem to have nothing in common back together. So all of that bullshit reichi stuff was Noah's vision of a new ending for his book? Or what? Despite cheering for Helen's emotional growth spurt, I found this episode alternately irritating and unsettling, but in the end, not particularly compelling..

Everything that could be said about this farce has already been said eloquently (and with great, funny snark) here, so I'm just going to ask about something that really made me angry. Was anyone else offended when Candace talked about her clothing being for "strong" women? I call complete bullshit. Just because you wear something that looks like it came out of Mistress Wanda's dominatrix closet doesn't make you a strong woman. It makes you a rock star or a sex worker (oh God I HATE that euphemistic phrase!). Hey Candace, strength is an interior quality, not an effing costume in black and/or black and red that can't be walked or breathed in. Go see "Suffragette." Having said that, I really loved her first look, the cherry blossom dress. What a ridiculous season.

I'd rather eat ground glass than watch that POS with adolescents acting like mini-adults imitating Christian and Mondo and who knows else. Personally, I find the entire idea repellent. Ashely's win was a slap iin the face to what this show once was. And Nina practically offered her a job on Marie Claire, too. Ugh.

Tim's POV on the season (doesn't give anything away): http://www.ew.com/article/2015/11/03/project-runway-tim-gunn-hated-season-14

Was there a reason given that Alison and Noah haven't seen each other for six weeks? Where the hell is he supposed to be, on vacation?

And another possible clue is that Max previously mentioned that he wanted to buy a house in Montauk - although he may have cooled on that idea since Helen rejected him.

What did I miss? Wasn't it just "The Lobster Roll" last season? When did it become Lockharts' Lobster Roll?

This! Yes, Alison's story to Robert was definitely cringe-worthy. I've always found Alison's character to be sympathetic in her grief and self-loathing, but last night's episode made me impatient and annoyed with her. How can she be so consistently blind to how inappropriate her behavior is? Okay, so she's shocked at being fired, she's shocked at what Noah wrote, etc., etc. Yvonne's iciness was perfect, but who would be surprised by it? Yvonne has been nothing but a carnivorous bitch - even when she's being "kind" - the whole time. Likewise, what normal man is NOT going to get a hard-on when a young woman is massaging his thigh right after he has read about how she is the sex goddess of all times? And showing up at Helen's, really? Great for Helen who knocked it out of the park, but Alison's descent (sorry) into a woman destroyed by what she sees as Noah's betrayal is so over-the-top and juvenile that it did nothing but make me angry at her. It's getting really tiresome to see Alison react to every hurt feeling by sleeping with someone other than her partner. STD's must be spreading like wildfire in Montauk.

I doubt that Alison has any desire to worm her way into the kids' lives. First of all, she's seen Whitney up close and personal, and who in their right mind would want to take that shitty little borderline into their home or heart? Second, and I think this is more to the point: Alison - who is truly "starting over" from scratch probably wishes that Noah was as unencumbered by his former life as she is. She will always carry the pain and grief over Gabriel's death, but Noah has four (or three if give Stacy a pass) living, breathing, spoiled rotten kids he has to deal with - and I don't believe for a moment that the supremely self-centered Noah really wants custody of the kids anyway.

There have been some incredibly thoughtful and thought-provoking posts here, and if I read them all with an objective mind, I see valid points on all sides of the "are they or aren't they" in love angle. From my POV, it's still a waiting game to see if these two characters are genuinely in love or just in the first infatuation stage, which lasts for 2-3 years and then either flames out or develops into a more realistic and mature kind of love. Noah is a self centered schmuck who is definitely infatuated with Alison, and he genuinely seems to want to get married - does that mean he loves her? - and start his life over (good luck with that fantasy, Noah). But Noah is also profoundly destructive to people in his life, and if the way his two older kids behave is any barometer, that destructiveness began long before he started an affair with Alison. Alison is a more difficult read for me because she has been so shut down with grief and anger, and because all of her truly awful acting-out behavior has been in direct association with her relationship with Noah. But right before the pretend shooting of the dog when Robert asked her how much she loves Noah she replied "very very much" and I believed her - although I also wonder if any reasonably successful and attractive man who fell for her wouldn't have fit the escape-bill as well as Noah does. No problem with ambiguity for me - and I LOVED the ending of The Sopranos. The movies The Affair reminds me of most are Woody Allen's "Crimes and Misdemeanors" and Mike Nichols' brilliant "Closer." Smart, dark, funny and scathing examinations of the range of human emotions and behaviors that leave you (or me, at least) certain that there is no such thing as a complete resolution to difficult, complex human relationships. And if a complete resolution (like a happy ending) is what we are given in a smart book, series or movie, that's simply fiction. In real life, 'resolution' is just like the weather: wait five minutes and it will change.

I did the same thing and I thought the Geico ad was smart and funny even though I'm entirely fed up with the Geico lizard . I'm confused about the bomb formula that Frank recognized as his own math: does that mean the Germans are building their bomb based on erroneous math? And what propaganda is the American public being fed - the Nazis are worse than they thought or the Nazis aren't as bad as they thought? I keep getting distracted by the actors who appear in other shows. I keep looking at Rachel Brosnahan and thinking, oh, wait - she's dead in House of Cards, not Manhattan; or Richard Schiff who is now dead on Manhattan but very much alive as a character on The Affair.

Much as I love this show, I thought this episode was really weak although Ruth Wilson's amazing acting almost carried it AFAIC. Like a lot of you, I want to see more of Helen and Cole and couldn't care less about the rest of the characters (although I did think that Max's "gift" of $50k to Noah was hilarious - what a weird, doofus-y thing to do!). Whitney is a monster-teen, but still, almost nothing about either version of her behavior rang true to me. Noah is a weakling and so wrapped up in his own drama that he doesn't even notice anyone else's feelings - including Alison's. His off the cuff remark about how he doesn't want to have any more children was such clumsy writing: what 45 yr old and 32 yr old who are planning to get married wouldn't have discussed kids by this point with each other? The Robert/dog scene was awful and completely unnecessary. And is Alison already pregnant? The swimming pool scene seemed to indicate not, since she had no problem stripping down to her bikini; but most of the time she seems to be hiding behind her dresses and skirts.

No dog in this fight - i have no feelings about the actress one way or another. Botox has been around forever, and it was in the 80's that it started to be used as a cosmetic fix, so Gleason might very well have been getting injections in the late 80's.

I hope this is okay to post here - it will give everyone who loves Swapnil more reason to wish he could have seen fit to work up to his real potential on PR:

Thanks Julia & Lucinda - I don't know how, but I guess I missed all of that.