S01.E01: Pilot

[gameoff]

 

Welcome to "The End of the World." Noah Solloway has escaped the city with his family to his in-laws' estate in eastern Long Island. He's joined by his loving wife, Helen, and their four precocious children. At the same time, local Montauk waitress Alison Lockhart struggles with her husband, Cole, to move past a recent tragedy. In a chance encounter, Noah and Alison meet and connect. But in this bucolic beach town, it's impossible to avoid someone you yearn to see again.

Hopefully I started this topic correctly.

 

The pilot is supposed to air on the 12th on Showtime, but I saw on the Showtime website that it will be available 'On Demand' on October 5th.  Just wanted to give people a heads up in case they want to see it a little early.

[ApathyMonger]

I've been looking forward to this one. Sarah Treem's episodes of In Treatment were always my favourite.

[AmandaPanda]

Feel free to start discussing the episode once it goes online. Until it airs on the 12th, however, please put spoiler tags on posts so as not to accidentally spoil anyone!

[Morbs]

I really hope a full length version of the opening credits song is released.  I love it.

[gameoff]

I really hope a full length version of the opening credits song is released.  I love it.

 

The name is 'Container,' by Fiona Apple.  

 

I watched the pilot on demand a few minutes ago.  I'm not going to say anything about it yet other than I enjoyed it.  

[Morbs]

I enjoyed it, but I'm not entirely sold on the unreliable narrator/different perspectives concept.  I think it's just tired and I end up getting bored.  

[justcris]

I love unreliable narrator books, so I liked this pilot a lot. Solid acting and it got me intrigued. I'm in.

[politichick]

I am watching while working right now and loving it so far. some of those relatives would send me into the arms of another, too!

[Morbs]

To me, it is like they said "How can we only write 30 minutes of content, then do a revision, and make it a full hour?".  I was much more interested in the first half.

[MorbidPet]

I loved it! The he said/she said parallel storylines were really interesting. And I liked how they weaved in the interrogations to the storyline, if that was what it was. It really made you, or me at least, wonder what happened/will happen.

I have a woman crush on Maura Tierney and she just looked great in this. 

Noah's family seems functional in a dysfunctional way which I loved. Flawed characters are so much more interesting to watch. Clearly Noah had some obstacles, the father-in-law the biggest I guess, but cheating is never okay in my book so I can't wait to see what will transpire between them, if I will continue to want to part with Noah (I liked that they told us his side first cause otherwise I'd probably have sided with her and not him) and if we'll ever learn the unbiased truth. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

I really hated this.  It had all the ingredients of shows that I hate.  I like the actors, so I wanted to like it, but it was a horrible viewing experience for me.  Won't watch again.

[ApathyMonger]

I'm hoping there's more of Tierney and Jackson in subsequent episodes, but otherwise I really liked it. Not sure how long they can sustain the gimmick, but I'm on board for now.

 

Also nice to see Sasha, the best Bunhead, as the eldest daughter.

[JodhaBai]

I found it somewhat intriguing but have to admit I was somewhat bored the longer it went on

 

Good to see Maura again

[Ellaria]

I'm hoping there's more of Tierney and Jackson in subsequent episodes, but otherwise I really liked it. Not sure how long they can sustain the gimmick, but I'm on board for now.

Agree about Tierney and Jackson - not enough of them.

I enjoyed it but I also wonder how long it can go forward in its current format. Is this show designed to be a multiple season series or a 13 - episode mini-series? Its most likely the former and, if so, then I worry that it cannot realistically sustain the story (and the suspense) over a few seasons.

[taragel]

I quite enjoyed it and wanted more. I'd read the script so was spoiled for the ending but wondered how it resonated for people who went in cold. Because on page it seemed like a very blatant arrow pointing to an unreliable narrator, but on film...there were other possibly more honest answers. 

 

I think often Rashomon-style narratives can be very repetitive by nature because you're treading the same ground multiple times, but I did feel they differentiated enough and really though about the ways memory and tricks of it, influence your recounting of a story. That's often missing from these kind of pieces, even though it shouldn't be. 

 

Personally, I'm a huge Josh Jackson fan, too, so I'm really hopeful this will give him some good material. I like the sharp edge to his character. 

[Misslindsey]

 

I enjoyed it but I also wonder how long it can go forward in its current format. Is this show designed to be a multiple season series or a 13 - episode mini-series? Its most likely the former and, if so, then I worry that it cannot realistically sustain the story (and the suspense) over a few seasons.

I saw Josh Jackson in some interview where he said that the creator designed it to be a three season show. That was pretty much all that was said and it wasn't really elaborated on. So who knows.

[Freckles101]

I think often Rashomon-style narratives can be very repetitive by nature because you're treading the same ground multiple times, but I did feel they differentiated enough and really though about the ways memory and tricks of it, influence your recounting of a story. That's often missing from these kind of pieces, even though it shouldn't be.

Yeah, the stories were different enough that it wasn't like you were just watching the exact same thing two times. (Though I'm a fan of this style anyway.) Like, in Allison's story she's the one who saved Noah's daughter from choking and in his version he was the one; in his version she was wearing a dress in that nighttime scene, in hers she was wearing a tank top and shorts, and there were lots of other differences.

 

I hadn't read any spoilers, so I didn't go into the pilot knowing that they were playing the unreliable narrator card at first, although I realized it pretty quickly once we got into the second half of the episode. I preferred that section, as Ruth Wilson and Joshua Jackson are my main draw in wanting to watch this show in the first place and so far I'm finding Noah a pretty unlikable character. Well, maybe not unlikable, but I can't find much of a reason to "root" for him so to speak. (I somewhat sympathize with him when it comes to his kids though. As someone with six siblings, that diner scene kind of made uncomfortable in a familiar way because that kind of like madness and the kids being so loud is totally something I recognize as real life.)

[Rickster]

I guess I fall in the camp of those skeptical that the format will work long term. I was pretty engaged in the first half of the episode, but got a bit bored with the second half. I ended up wanting to fast forward through parts until I got to an interaction with Dominic West so I could see where the recollections varied, but the rest I was not so interested in.

 

I wonder if they will reverse the order of the interviews in each episode, if in fact they keep the interview framework. It would seem to make sense to do it that way.

[Constantinople]

I really hated this.  It had all the ingredients of shows that I hate.  I like the actors, so I wanted to like it, but it was a horrible viewing experience for me.  Won't watch again.

I'm not sure if I'll keep watching this, but I didn't hate it.

 

It did, however, have a number of ingredients that I hate. I'm just not sure if we hate the same ingredients

Here are some of the elements I didn't like

 

• The low wage high end lifestyle because they either married money or their grandparents bought property for a song.

   

• Kids who can't behave (the diner) or seemed destined for a Darwin award (the marble).  Then there's the one who's doing his Harold & Maude shtick.

   

• The rather generic and overused motivations for the affair: mid-life crisis (him) / dead baby (her).  This occurs in real life, and many people get divorced after a child dies, but it just seems like I've seen this before.  In particular, I'm finding it hard to sympathize with Noah, especially since his take on reality may not be reliable

 

But for now, I am enjoying Noah & Alison's totally different takes on their interactions, each pointing to the other as the instigator.  Perhaps Alison is so totally out of it that she is sending rather loud signals to Noah without realizing it.  But until I know more, I'm going with her account as the more reliable one.

 

Another thing I liked:  the tarot card reader in training.  That was rather amusing

 

In some bizarre way, the show reminds me of The Leftovers, with Noah as the Chief of Police and Alison as Nora Durst.

ETA: Another small little thing that I don't think was coincidence, but I also don't know what it means, if anything. When Noah was drinking beer, his father in law said the Mexicans must have left it.  Later, when Allison was at her in-laws house (I guess), it looked as if everyone was drinking Dos Equis.

 

Edited to remove spoilers now that the episode has aired

Edited October 13, 2014 by Constantinople

[absnow54]

I liked the unreliable narrator and the changes in details between the two perspectives, especially since they generally landed on the extremes. I hope we'll get interviews from other characters in later episodes so we can get a different perspective on the other characters involved and flesh them out more. I'm still not sure how this format can be sustained over multiple seasons, but I've seemingly made some sort of blood pact with Joshua Jackson where I'll follow him anywhere, even subscription premium cable shows, so I'll be in for at least a few more episodes. 

 

Important question though, what is Maura Tierney's connection to The Wire? JJ was on Fringe with Lance Reddick, Ruth Wilson with Idris Elba on Luther, and Dominic West I'm sure knows someone from the Wire cast... how'd Maura get in on this project?

Edited October 10, 2014 by absnow54

[Primetimer]

Dominic West returns to TV, but this time as a devoted family man! Just kidding.

Read the story

[Cirien]

I noticed in the final scenes Alison... looks wealthier? the costuming she's in looks very different to what flashback Allison was wearing.

 

I wasn't going to watch this because cheating is always indefensible, IMO. but I really liked the unreliable narrator aspect of this because our memories *are* faulty, and I liked seeing how two people can see things differently, it's always been one of my problems with the Outlander series, that the books are told from Claire perspective so her views of Frank, do him a disservice, (as well as the slow demonization of him).

 

As someone else pointed out I liked how you saw the same scenes from two different angles. The beach scene in particular stuck out to me because not was Allison in her version wearing a tank top and shorts,(not a dress like she was in Noah's version) but he looks like he's wearing a button up and a pair of jeans. In Noah's version, he's wearing the same outfit he was wearing in the convo with his father in law.

 

And the way Noah's older daughter was wearing trendy sunglasses, but in Allison's version she wears Lolita ones (perhaps influenced by her recollections of how young she was when she first had sex herself?)

 

And of course the ending scene between Joshua and Ruth, where Noah sees as rape, whereas from Alison's perspective it was consentual

[panthergirl13]

I really liked it and I have nothing clever or snarky to say. I need to go take my temperature now.

[bilgistic]

I will probably keep watching because Showtime, but I couldn't quite believe that was Joshua Jackson. In his first scene, it didn't look much like him, and he's menacing or controlling or abusive and I can't reconcile my Fringe Joshua Jackson with this version.

The crime angle bores me, too. It's like, "We couldn't just make this about peoples' relationships, so let's throw in some standard CBS fare."

Edited October 11, 2014 by bilgistic

[chick binewski]

It says something when fictional children make you elated that you had to have a radical hysterectomy.

Here's one thing that bugged so maybe I'm misremembering? In Noah's version (where he was the hero in the choking incident) Allison pocketed the marble when it rolled on the floor. But she didn't do that in her own version, right? That seems an odd detail for Noah's view, no?

[bilgistic]

It says something when fictional children make you elated that you had to have a radical hysterectomy.

I proactively had my tubes tied at age 29, and I understand completely. Those kids were unholy terrors. And there were FOUR of them. At one point, I was literally counting, because there were so many.

I live in a city with lots of very fertile people, and I literally shudder when I see a mother with a kid under five, a toddler in a stroller and one on the way. It's not at all uncommon here, and I just want to scream, "We don't need that many of you!!"

Edited October 12, 2014 by bilgistic

[BooBear]

Wow... those kids.

 

I thought it was ok but I don't think I will be turning in. It didn't *grab* me and I can't quite see why these two ended up in an affair.  I don't find Dominic West that attractive and I can't quite see what she sees in him?

[Neurochick]

I liked it.  I thought it was interesting and I liked the different versions of what happened when.  I thought it was interesting that in Noah's version Allison pocketed the marble, but in Allison's version, we don't see what happened to Noah's daughter.  

I also wonder, if this show is supposed to take place over a period of years.  At the end, in the interrogation scene, Allison mentions having to get her kid, also the detective asked Allison how old was she when it started, Allison's hair is also shorter.

 

The man playing Noah's father in law was also in The Wire.  

[Temperance]

Those kids were awful. A friend of mine mocked me for reading Michael J. Fox's book, but in the book, he explains how he was injured unexpectedly when a hanging scene in Back to the Future part 3 went badly. My point is faking a hanging is incredibly dangerous and incredibly dumb. But the other kids were awful too. The younger ones acted too young for how they looked, and the oldest is a teenage stereotype.

As for the rest of the show. I liked the first half. I didn't mind seeing things in a different perspective, but I felt her perspective seemed more cliched. I felt like he really in the beginning seemed to be more responsible and less a victim of his family, but frustrated with the fact everything felt off.

The investigation seemed a typical television interrogation and less real life. In tv, people always ask impertinent questions about feelings and of course sex. In real life I think (so it seems on the real life investigation series I've seen) that cops are more interested in cutting to the chase and getting to meat of whatever it is they are investigating. I could be wrong though.

[laprin]

Given the positive reviews, I expected to like the pilot more. I wanted to like the pilot more as a big fan of Dominic West. However, it just felt forced - from the annoying kids to the four sex scenes in the first 31 minutes. Yes, we know it's cable, but slow down. Also, wish that I had Alison's side of the story first becase by the time Noah's side ended, I couldn't stand her and found it hard to rehab my dislike - not that her story painted her as adorable or anything.

[bilgistic]

However, it just felt forced - from the annoying kids to the four sex scenes in the first 31 minutes. Yes, we know it's cable, but slow down.

Yes. I'm always amused at how much sex is on cable because, really? Who has the time and energy? I have even less sympathy for the male lead (not that I have any for him in the first place) because he and his wife still seem to have a healthy sex life--we were shown just how active they are despite all those damn kids, which, well, they had to have sex to get.

The female lead and her husband are still "active", too, but something's off there.

I think that showrunners think they have to depict x amount of sex at y level of graphicness to titillate viewers, or to fill some imaginary coffer. It's not why I watch a show. If I cared about that, there are resources online I could use.

[Temperance]

Hey did anyone else think of the Notebook? In the Notebook, the man's name is Noah and the woman's is Allie, full name Allison. (Yes I know it would be historically accurate to be Alice, but it's Allison. Blame Nicholas Sparks)

[ToniG]

I loved Ruth Wilson in Luther, meh on Dominic West, happy to see Deacon Palmer on TV again-wonder if he'll have a beer with Doug Heffernan when his shift ends?

I'll watch the next 2 episodes before deciding whether to continue, but I'm curious as to what prompts the police interviews.

Who played the woman reading the tarot cards? I've seen her somewhere recently, and I just can't place her.

[Amethyst]

I really enjoyed it.  Strong performances all around.  The dual storytelling was well done, and you could spot these small but important changes; Allison pocketing the marble, Noah offering the cigarettes.  One thing that really stood out was that Allison's hair was down and free-flowing in Noah's version, but in her own, her hair is pulled back.

 

But wow, those were some bad ass kids.  I couldn't believe the boys were jumping on the benches in the cafe.  And that suicide joke...wtf was that?  Why would Noah be proud of his son that kind of thing?

 

Really wish grandma hadn't told the daughter to lose any more weight, assuming that really happened.  

 

The crime angle bores me, too. It's like, "We couldn't just make this about peoples' relationships, so let's throw in some standard CBS fare."

 

Yeah, this really didn't interest me either, but I guess they need another gimmick to keep audiences hooked.

[AlliMo]

If my kids were giant assholes like those kids were, I'd be desperate for escape, too. Also, call me petty but if they wanted me to find Maura Tierney's character unlikable from the get-go, her whole, "Who cares that you didn't tip" would do it. Particular pet peeve of mine.

 

I'll stick around just for the stellar cast. I'm interested to see where this goes.

Edited October 13, 2014 by AlliMo

[Irlandesa]

I like all the actors involved.  I don't even mind the interrogation setup even if it is a cliched device to allow for differences in perspectives.   I'm okay with the differences in perspectives but I do agree that it might get old after a while.

 

My biggest problem/worry so far isn't the one I thought I'd have given the fact that I like Ruth Wilson and think Dominic West is attractive in a charismatic way--I don't think they have much romantic/sexual chemistry.  And if I'm going to watch a show about an affair,  I need to absolutely feel their pull.  They have more chemistry with respective current partners.  Maybe that will develop as the series progresses but the show was working hard to show their lust for one another but it was so blah to me. 

[Indi]

I don't find Dominic West that attractive and I can't quite see what she sees in him?

 

Same. I found it funny that in Noah's version young women threw themselves at him (I was like "why?"), but he made sure to let know he was faithful up to his affair with Allison. I'm not sure I believe him.

 

The acting is great, but I didn't see any chemistry between Dominic West and Ruth Wilson. They had better, even if not much, chemistry with their other on screen partners. The relationships left me cold for the most part. I did feel for Allison and Cole, but their loss is not going to make me very sympathetic to Allison cheating on Cole, although I'm not that sorry for Cole either. Supposing Allison's version is more accurate and he didn't rape her, he still seems a controlling jerk. Who am I supposed to root for here? Maybe Helen, but then she and her husband sowed the world with FOUR!!! horrible children.

 

I started watching this for Joshua Jackson, but a show about bland sad people having sex is not very interesting to me, so I'm glad there's a mystery raising the stakes.

[Espy]

I enjoyed the episode in general. However I wasn't expecting the two perspectives and memories to differ so much. At times they were so different that it strained credulity to me. I get that two people have different interpretations of the same event, but these were so incredibly different that I have no clue who is the more reliable narrator - Noah or Alison? I suppose that's the point. To me Dominic West has more chemistry with Maura Tierney than with Ruth Wilson so I can't see the appeal of this affair at all - for either partner. Is Ruth Wilson a good actress? I've never seen her in anything before and here I found Alison to be bland and weepy, so I'm wondering if it's the character or actress I just can't get on board with.

 

I liked that Noah's family life was shown to be overall pretty good. Alison's was less interesting. It seems like for a female character to be considered 'complex' (or to justify cheating) these days she needs to have had a great loss or trauma so the audience can sympathise with her. I could've done without this aspect, to be honest.

 

I'm intrigued though; can't wait to see the next episode.

[Milburn Stone]

I loved the writing, and had no idea Sarah Treem was behind it until the end credits. But when her name appeared, I went, "Well, no wonder!" (Big In Treatment fan here.)

[Neurochick]

Is Ruth Wilson a good actress?

 

 

Just watch Luther, that's all I can say.

[Guest]

I enjoyed the first episode save for Ruth Wilson's enormous upper lip that I couldn't help staring at every second she was on the screen. I don't know whether she has some physical deformity or her plastic surgeon was over zealous in the use of fillers, but all I kept seeing was that overhang. Looked like Lindsay Lohan's. Distracting.

[bilgistic]

a show about bland sad people having sex

You have just described every show on premium cable.

[TexasGal]

On Dominic West, I agree he's physically not all that (although, you know, he's certainly not bad either!) but he's got some kind of charisma going on for me.  Maybe it's my abiding love for McNulty that bleeds over into how I see him in every part.  But others must agree with me or else he wouldn't continue to be cast as the-husband-who-serially-cheats.

 

Ruth Wilson's American accent slipped in a few places, most notably at the grave site and that ruined the moment for me.  

[HumblePi]

Wow, I'm sitting here reading the comments and I'm wondering if I saw the same show as everyone else. Showtime's 'The Affair' was something I hadn't heard about so I went into the episode shown Oct 12th with a blind eye and no opinion. I was just looking for something worthy of watching after Boardwalk Empire.

 

It's funny how the mind has the capacity to switch gears so abruptly from 1930's something to New Jersey 2014 Manhattan, but luckily, our minds can do that effortlessly. I found the East Side Brownstone surprisingly comforting after being absorbed in back alley shootings and the velvet wallpapers and tassels of post-prohibition thugs. It didn't take very long for me to get pulled into the subtle nuances behind the day to day goings on of Noah and Helen Solloway and their four precocious children. Noah is evidently beginning a mid-life crisis and is gratified that any woman still looks at him as though he was still young and unattached. Two of their children, Whitney (how white is that?) and Jake, are suffering from affluenza. Their obvious upper middle class financial privilege is affording them all benefits of their lifestyle disease.

 

Making this brief, I thought the writing was just a tad short of superb but absolutely first-rate. It was all brilliantly synchronized with the sullen and foreboding drone of the background score. The way the episode was segmented in half with 'his and hers' interpretations of events was really interesting and it illustrates how the same story can be interpreted by ones perception of the events, not the reality or truth of it. I'm looking forward to the next episode. I found 'The Affair' intriguing especially with the stellar cast they've scored for this one. 

Edited October 13, 2014 by HumblePi

[abbyzenn]

I was fairly bored with the show.  None of the people seemed very likable to me.  But I will admit I am curious as to what happened that caused them to be interrogated.  I don't know if I'll watch or catch up on here.

[TaraS1]

Admittedly, I am just here for Maura Tierney, but I think I'll stay because of the mystery, which is much more interesting to me than the affair.   I love Dominic West and Ruth Wilson, but I don't see any real chemistry between them here.  As others have said, they work better with Maura & Joshua Jackson than with each other, spark-wise.  And surprisingly I wasn't blown away by Ruth, like I was practically every time she was onscreen on Luther, so hopefully that changes.  And hopefully Helen doesn't die LOL

 

Oh and the kid pretending to hang himself?  I couldn't believe Noah ended up laughing that off like it was no big deal, I would have killed the little shit for scaring me to death like that.

 

ETA:  Am I wrong or were they calling Alison by a different last name in the interrogation?  I thought they were saying Daily or Bailey.  But her husband's last name is Lockhart, right?

Edited October 13, 2014 by TaraS1

[Lemons]

Oh and the kid pretending to hang himself?  I couldn't believe Noah ended up laughing that off like it was no big deal, I would have killed the little shit for scaring me to death like that.

 

Teen suicide is never funny.  Why did the kid think his father would be proud of him?  Creepy kid.  None of the kids appear related to each other. 

[Neurochick]

Wow, I'm sitting here reading the comments and I'm wondering if I saw the same show as everyone else. Showtime's 'The Affair' was something I hadn't heard about so I went into the episode shown Oct 12th with a blind eye and no opinion. I was just looking for something worthy of watching after Boardwalk Empire.

 

 

I'm with you (when you wondered if you watched the same show as everybody else).  I wish I had seen it AFTER Boardwalk Empire instead of before.  

[iMonrey]

 

The low wage high end lifestyle because they either married money or their grandparents bought property for a song.

 

That's especially problematic because even if she owns the house outright, a waitress's salary and tips isn't going to cover property taxes in the Hamptons.

 

I thought it was OK. I'm intrigued enough to keep watching but I'm not head over heels. I like the "two perspectives" gimmick, but I have strong reservations about the interrogation gimmick. That's definitely not something I want to see dragged out for three seasons.

[Bcharmer]

I thought it was OK. I'm intrigued enough to keep watching but I'm not head over heels. I like the "two perspectives" gimmick, but I have strong reservations about the interrogation gimmick. That's definitely not something I want to see dragged out for three seasons.

A premise like this (with the two perspectives and interrogation gimmicks) seems perfect for a mini-series, but it's difficult to envision how this can stay interesting and engaging beyond one season (if even that long).  I can see it wearing thin real soon. Still, it's too soon to tell, so l'm willing to give it a few episodes to see what they do with it.