S01.E04: 4

[Tara Ariano]

Noah and Alison grow closer on a day trip to remote Block Island, but they quickly realize that intimacy can be a double-edged sword.

[Primetimer]

For a change of pace, Episode 4 brings us a naughty moment that actually has nothing to do with any kind of sex.

Read the story

[GeminiDancer]

Even with the story of how Alison's son died, Alison is no longer a sympathetic character for me. In fact, she's as much of an asshole as Noah is. I still don't feel the spark between them. What I see, however, is Alison using Noah as an anti-depressant. And a big "Oh, hell no" to them for sexing up in Alison and Cole's bed.

[Blakeston]

So in Noah's story last week, he was just finger-banging her?

 

They really messed up how they shot that. Why did we hear Noah undoing his pants? And why would they only show them above the waist, in that weird position?

 

Anyway...I thought it was interesting that the detective told Noah that he was divorced, and told Allison that he and his wife are still married, and act like newlyweds. I'm thinking Noah is divorced in the interrogation scenes, and Allison is either married or a widow.

[GeminiDancer]

Was the unbuckling of the belt before or after he said that he wanted to control how fast it went? If it was before, Noah's Alison might have had the intention of banging or at least giving him a handjob before he decided to take control.

[DB in CMH]

This show is slowly but surely boring the shit out of me. I was really into it for the first two episodes, but I am rapidly losing patience. If they are going to tease the police interrogation as an Integral part of the show, then they need to give more information.

Edited November 3, 2014 by DB in CMH

[taragel]

Anyway...I thought it was interesting that the detective told Noah that he was divorced, and told Allison that he and his wife are still married, and act like newlyweds. I'm thinking Noah is divorced in the interrogation scenes, and Allison is either married or a widow.

 

THIS was the most interesting thing to me. I thought for sure they'd keep the future scenes as the lynchpin so you could tell what was what...but no! Even the detective's marriage is different in each narrative!

 

Alison's version is so much more emotional and full of shifting emotions at that, so I'm still finding it way more interesting than Noah's where it's all about the sex mostly and all the emotional cues are so much more cliched. They are falling right in line with  gender stereotypes here, with women wanting something more emotional than just sex, while he's explaining it away as just a fling and saying he's never leaving his wife.

 

The promo for the rest of the season looks CRAZY. Good stuff. 

[Blakeston]

THIS was the most interesting thing to me. I thought for sure they'd keep the future scenes as the lynchpin so you could tell what was what...but no! Even the detective's marriage is different in each narrative!

 

Are you saying the detective's actual marriage situation is different in the two narratives?

 

I think he's just lying to one (or maybe both) of them - in the belief that Noah will be more likely to confide in someone who's divorced, and Allison will be more likely to confide in someone with a long-term marriage.

Edited November 3, 2014 by Blakeston

[Indi]

The only thing this show lacks is a compelling story. I was bored out of my mind, in spite of the good acting, writing and cinematography.

I missed Helen and Cole.

[Boundary]

Noah, man, having sex with another man's wife, I get it, but doing it on that man's bed? That crossed the line for me; he shouldn't even go near that house. 

 

These people have so much baggage and still, I am yet to be told why they are having an affair. There was a lot of discussion, a lot of talking, a lot of arguing but I still didn't get why they are doing what they are doing, not really. I liked the bit about lighthouses and shipwrecks because that was probably the only part that tried to answer this question; learning about each other's passions. It's the other bit I didn't like, the drama king and queen, the back and forth. Guess what, you are both having an affair, deal with it. What I do appreciate about the show, however, is that it's clearly not some kind of Notebook-sque love affair. These people are dark, and lost; and I'm beginning to understand why murder could be involved. 

 

So who exactly was she calling? Putting their interrogations side by side, she seems way more stressed, like she's covering up something and that detective knows it. Noah seems relaxed but that could be why he's so dangerous. With the detective seemingly playing some kind of game, I'm beginning to think that Noah and Alison are  the suspects, possibly for a good reason too. 

 

 If they are going to tease the police interrogation as an Integral part of the show, then they need to give more information.

 

 

I agree with this. We are at the point where we get it now, the affair has begun and a murder interrogation is taking place. Teasing is beginning to grate rather than intrigue. 

Edited November 3, 2014 by Boundary

[Guest]

I am yet to be told why they are having an affair. There was a lot of discussion, a lot of talking, a lot of arguing but I still didn't get why they are doing what they are doing, not really.

This was my thought throughout the entire episode last night. I've complained before these two actors have no sexual chemistry together but last night made clear they have no chemistry as friends or acquaintances either. They read to me as two strangers presented with an "any port in a storm" opportunity and for some unknown reason feel compelled to act on it. What's the motivation? One has a dead child and the other has dumb and annoying kids? Um, OK?

And even in Noah's retelling, he comes across as a boring loser so it's not my imagination.

I'll stick this show out but it's not some "murder mystery" keeping me bound to it. At this point, I'll be happy just to figure out what drew these two together in the first place.

[Constantinople]

Noah, man, having sex with another man's wife, I get it, but doing it in that man's bed? That crossed the line for me; he shouldn't even go near that house.

Aside from everything else, it was stupid. What if Cole comes home unexpectedly for some reason? What if the sister-in-law stops by?

 

These people have so much baggage and still, I am yet to be told why they are having an affair. There was a lot of discussion, a lot of talking, a lot of arguing but I still didn't get why they are doing what they are doing, not really. I liked the bit about lighthouses and shipwrecks because that was probably the only part that tried to answer this question

I thought the lighthouses/shipwrecks bit was a little heavy handed, particularly when coupled with the call that Noah had with his son, discussing the difference between metaphor and simile.

Of course, much of that was in Noah's POV, so chalk up another one for Noah, the mediocre writer.

 

I agree with this. We are at the point where we get it now, the affair has begun and a murder interrogation is taking place. Teasing is beginning to grate rather than intrigue.

I agree. I think the writers aren't as good as they think they are at jumping back and forth in time, at least in a way that makes it interesting.

Oh well, I suppose I shouldn't complain. At least Noah and Allison agreed that they both visited Block Island together.

[Maximona]

 

these two actors have no sexual chemistry together

 

Huh.  Well I guess sexual chemistry is in the mind of the beholder, because as far as I'm concerned, these two actors have enormous sexual chemistry together.

 

I like how slow-moving this series is.  That it doesn't seem to be about the whodunnit standard TV plot resolution, but about the way multiple and wavering present tenses glide toward that resolution.  That there are so many small brush strokes.  For me, the problem isn't Noah and Allison's alternating realities or the discrepancies between them but the clunky way the murder mystery framing device is being used.  I'm not sure how I would correct that if Showtime had hired me as a writer -- maybe foreshadowed the police detective as a younger rookie cop in some of the Noah/Allison status detail scenes?  Dunno.

 

The detective is clearly lying to the two witnesses, feeding them what he thinks will establish empathy and trust -- to Noah, the divorced husband, he's a beleagured father whose bitch X won't let him near his kids; to Allison, who has clearly married up (stylist eye shadow,) he's in a happy marriage.

 

This makes me think that Helen's mother may have died, and Alison is now remarried Helen's father.  

 

 

[marny]

Boring. This show is just boring. I'd read somewhere that the show-runner had said that the 4th episode would be some sort of turning point that would hook in the viewer, and that if it didn't hook you, you should quit the show. Whelp, I quit.

[Darian]

 I envy and admire writers who can withhold information without it feeling coy or manipulative. These writers aren't managing it. I want to like this show, especially as I was interested in townie/summer people dynamics  (we were "summer bums" in my day). But it's just a drag. The PTV content, discussion, and analysis are so much more interesting than the show.     

[cardigirl]

The detective is clearly lying to the two witnesses, feeding them what he thinks will establish empathy and trust -- to Noah, the divorced husband, he's a beleagured father whose bitch X won't let him near his kids; to Allison, who has clearly married up (stylist eye shadow,) he's in a happy marriage.

 

 

OR, these interrogations are taking place at much different times?  Like a year apart? 

 

Most likely it is that the detective is trying to establish that he's sympathetic to their situations in the hope that they'll open up more but I also thought it's possible that the interrogations are not happening at the same time. 

 

I'm enjoying the show, I think they are doing a good job of showing how an affair can happen to people who aren't necessarily looking to leave their partners. Or they want "something," not sure what, but don't want to destroy what they already have.  Magical thinking, I think it's called.  

 

And I'm in the "chemistry" camp because I like the two leads and really have enjoyed the writing in this show.

[taragel]

Are you saying the detective's actual marriage situation is different in the two narratives?

 

I think he's just lying to one (or maybe both) of them - in the belief that Noah will be more likely to confide in someone who's divorced, and Allison will be more likely to confide in someone with a long-term marriage.

 

It's just interesting that you can't even objectively trust the narrative of the framing device because there's unreliability there too. Like maybe it will be revealed that even the interrogations are the memory of someone  and hence one is lying or remembering it wrong? Or maybe he changed his story to play one of them like you suggest (in which case--it sort of hints Alison might still be married to Cole, eh? that seems super unlikely though). BUT WHICH ONE?

 

That's a great point that the detective could have gotten divorced after the Alison interview and before the Noah interview. (Although if they were like newlyweds...)

 

No answers ever, this show. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting to be told why they're having an affair. The answer seems to be because of everything/nothing. They both want an escape from their own lives of boredom (noah)/misery and guilt (alison) and they're finding it in these other people. Sarah Treem's Huffington post interview mentioned that she got a note from Showtime asking for more of a meet-cute situation in the first episode. They wanted Noah to save his daughter from choking in Alison's POV and her to save the kid in his so that there'd be a reason for them to attach to/fall for the other person and she rejected it thinking being a hero in your own mind is more realistic. While that may indeed be true....stories have inciting incidents for a reason. It's more logical and understandable if you see a motivation for things to change than just say "oh it could have been anything."

 

If they're super squirrelly about EVERY fact and give us no real concrete answers (which I think they should be using the interrogation scenes to fill us in a little more) then it might get really old really fast. You need to set some sort of concrete narrative the audience can follow, IMO.

Edited November 3, 2014 by taragel

[Beebee111]

I was really hooked on this show for the first few episodes, but I agree that today's episode was such a dud that I fasf-forwarded through a few sections because well . . . nothing was happening.

 

I hope this was a glitch and the next episode will redeem the show. I missed Helen and Cole and lamented the singular focus on the 'adulterers' when there are so many other interesting characters to get to know. I do think they have chemistry and they are phenomenal actors, but that alone can't carry a doddling script. The writers need to start letting the audience in on critical details and moving the plot forward in a meaningful way.

 

I'll give the show one more shot next week - just because the first two episodes were stellar. There's nothing wrong with a steady pace, if it's well done, but this week felt more static than steady.

[Blakeston]

These people have so much baggage and still, I am yet to be told why they are having an affair. There was a lot of discussion, a lot of talking, a lot of arguing but I still didn't get why they are doing what they are doing, not really.

 

As I see it, they're both desperate for an escape from their lives. Noah may appear to "have it all," but he feels unfulfilled. It looks like a midlife crisis kind-of-thing - combined with his family being mostly awful (at least from his perspective). He wants to get away from them.

 

And Alison wants an escape from her grief. In the first episode, we saw her have sex with Cole out of nowhere, because she'd rather feel arousal than her usual depression.

 

And what she really wanted, when she first met Noah, was to be with someone who didn't even know she had a dead child. Cole may be supportive, but she can't look at him without being reminded of Gabriel.

[lorikauai]

This was the most boring episode yet. It was all Alison/Noah and they are the two dullest characters on the show. 

 

I felt the cop defined his relationship differently to Noah and Alison as part of his interrogation technique. He's just another divorced dad who is kept from his kid to Noah because Noah will be able to relate to that and trust him more, whereas he lets Alison know how important his wife is to him. She is justified for feeling neglected.

[stillshimpy]

I think the detective is just playing good cop/bad cop switching in the interrogations.  In Allison's he's the loyal, loving partner who lets her take smoke breaks when she's upset.   

 

In Noah's he's seemingly needling him about being divorced, but I'm not sure.  Heh. Budget cuts have him playing both roles, I guess. 

 

Again we have almost irreconcilable differences in the narratives.  In Noah's Allison remains the unrelenting sex bunny who just desperately wants to screw him (while claiming that she's never been unfaithful) and in Allison's Noah's describing her as having a darkness he likes (vs an insatiable Noah lust).  

 

I'm kind of over these people though.  In their personal accounts each is the person who is just screwing up their courage to cheat on their spouse.  Like it is jumping off the high-dive.  Something they need to get done and the other person is largely the pursuer.  It makes it difficult to understand their connection.  Whatever it was that drew them to each other.  

 

I heard an NPR segment with Dominic West talking about how Noah seemed happily married and that reviewers had wondered why he would cheat on his spouse.  The actor said it was a good question, and he that question himself, until he read a quote from a marriage therapist who said that people don't usually cheat because they are unhappy in their marriage, but rather unhappy with themselves.  Made perfect sense to me. 

 

But with the differing perspectives, each seeing the other as the person who pursued them, it gives me no real sense of why they felt so connected to each other that they would jeopardize anything.  Then I was also practically yelling at Tragic Mourning Flower Allison, macking on Noah outside of her house in the daylight (even though it was fading), but by the time they were screwing in her bed, I was just really grossed out by them both.  Yeah, I get why she would be unhappy and maybe even self-destructive, but it better turn out that Cole drowned that kid, because no one deserves that level of "screw you".  

 

Then I also agree with Tara in the recap, grown ass people who storm off like sulky teens can just go ahead and go as far as I'm concerned.  But I think that's because the interrogation premise is starting to wear a bit thin and they do need to cut to the chase a bit here by at least telling us who died.  

 

Wait you know, there's one other thing from my standpoint:  I get the Noah's mother-in-law, Helen's mother, is a pain in the ass and a condescending jerk all at the same time.  She's also an older woman and his wife's mother, so I was about ready to kick him in the shins over the "So? Take her to the hospital." crap.  Dude, even if you can't magically teleport to be of any use, it's her mother.  Her not very likable mother, but still, her mother so shut the fuck up if you can't say something even marginally supportive.  

Edited November 3, 2014 by stillshimpy

[EyesGlazed]

I heard an NPR segment with Dominic West talking about how Noah seemed happily married and that reviewers had wondered why he would cheat on his spouse.  The actor said it was a good question, and he that question himself, until he read a quote from a marriage therapist who said that people don't usually cheat because they are unhappy in their marriage, but rather unhappy with themselves.  Made perfect sense to me. 

Great point.

 

I'm enjoying this show, and apparently I like the 2 protagonists better than Tara and most posters here.  The show gives me enough detail so that I can sympathize with both Noah and Alison instead of just judging them for being cheaters.  One of the lessons of growing up is that people are a mixed bag, and even otherwise "good" people make mistakes and do unfortunate things.  I especially liked the characters' discussion of whether they were "good" people.  So typical that the man would want to be assured that the woman is "worth" the hit that his self-esteem would take by cheating with her.  Alison shot that shit down pretty fast.  The writing and acting on this show are great.

 

Also, I don't think that Helen is some saint either.  Or maybe I just dislike her horrid parents so much that it rubs off on her.  Or maybe I just dislike their horrid kids so much that it rubs off on her.  

 

Finally, question to TV casting directors:  why oh why do you insist on casting young women (actress who plays Whitney) who are so thin that even on camera their arms and legs look like sticks?!?  It's such an unhealthy example for normal girls.

Edited November 3, 2014 by EyesGlazed

[Boundary]

This show was always going to be a hard sell, the two protagonists are cheaters and for many that's hard to overlook. For me, however, it provides a compelling, perhaps even honest, picture of why fidelity fails at times. The casting was spot on, Ruth and Dominic are very good, if not unconventionally beautiful, actors. They have a compelling premise to start on. And the different POVs allows them to shine. I am in no way ready to dismiss this show. 

 

As I see it, they're both desperate for an escape from their lives. Noah may appear to "have it all," but he feels unfulfilled. It looks like a midlife crisis kind-of-thing - combined with his family being mostly awful (at least from his perspective). He wants to get away from them.

 

And Alison wants an escape from her grief. In the first episode, we saw her have sex with Cole out of nowhere, because she'd rather feel arousal than her usual depression.

 

And what she really wanted, when she first met Noah, was to be with someone who didn't even know she had a dead child. Cole may be supportive, but she can't look at him without being reminded of Gabriel.

 

I get that, I really do, especially the Gabriel and midlife crisis thingy. But it's exactly what they would tell the cop, isn't it? The truth is messier and makes them selfish. With time, though, I can see how they will discover that they are kindred spirits, emotionally and intellectually even. That's why I liked seeing him talk passionately about lighthouses, and that scene in the museum/gallery, when he was connecting with that piece of art because it recalled Alison. It would be the sort of thing maybe his wife, and definitely his in-laws, wouldn't have room for.

 

Yet that whole time on the Island they both held back. When given the chance to let the other in they both balked. I wanted them to let go, to be selfish, at least for the one day they managed to carve out for themselves. But instead I found myself wondering if they even wanted to be in each other's company, wondering if they are both so repulsed by the idea of having an affair that they repulse each other, in a away. I got all that because the writing and acting is good. But all that brilliant acting, in the end, didn't really tell me why. Noah asked, "Why me? Why now?" and I never got the answer, not a full one anyway. It's only four episodes in, so it's early days, we should get the full answer in due course. That's why I think this episode was important, these people are about to unleash a heap of misery on their families, we needed to understand why. I didn't get the answer but I did get the promise of an answer.

 

The premise of the show could have been based on a number of different obvious scenarios, none of which were used: hot young girl and midlife crisis guy; hot young wannabe writer tempting a married woman; sordid affair to make up for sexually deficient marriages; as a way of flipping the finger to unloving marriage partners etc. None of these (and more) are applicable here. They didn't even get a friendship properly at first, from which the temptation would come. So the way I interpret it is: they saw and fell in love with each other. But they are not there yet, and I've raced slightly ahead. It's confusing.  And compelling.

 

ETA: has anyone been paying attention to the clock in the interrogation room. Alison's interviews are somewhere around 3.25 pm (this episode)  and Noah's 4.20pm (last episode). Any significance? There's probably a continuity error waiting to happen, so paying attention to such things is probably futile.

Edited November 3, 2014 by Boundary

[Constantinople]

It's just interesting that you can't even objectively trust the narrative of the framing device because there's unreliability there too. Like maybe it will be revealed that even the interrogations are the memory of someone  and hence one is lying or remembering it wrong? Or maybe he changed his story to play one of them like you suggest (in which case--it sort of hints Alison might still be married to Cole, eh? that seems super unlikely though). BUT WHICH ONE?

I'm up for any theory that explains the discrepancy in the detective's marital status -- divorced for Noah; happily married 25 years for Allison -- provided both interrogations aren't just going on in Noah's head as part of writing his novel.

Noah told his father's agent that the male antagonist of his new book kills the female protagonist at the end. Perhaps, in the course of writing his novel, Noah decided to write a different ending with a different victim.

I hope that's not the case.

The only thing that could be worse is if everything, or almost everything, is going on in Noah's head as part of writing his novels. The Noah POV in each episode, are his Noah chapters; the Alison POV are his Alison chapters.

[Higgs]

Noah asked, "Why me? Why now?" and I never got the answer, not a full one anyway.

"Why me?" has been answered implicitly by both parties: physical attraction and the emotional hooks engendered by an open sharing of vulnerabilities.

"Why now [i.e., while married]?" has not even been approached, neither singly nor jointly, and therein lies the key shortcoming of the series to date. Unlike pure sex (oxymoron?), an affair needs reasons, even if it's just that both are self-serving shits (which I don't believe they are).

Alison's direct involvement in the exchange of "fish" and cash makes me unsurprised that she's the more nervous interviewee, but then again, the "fish" could be a red herring and I a bottom-feeding sucker for detail.

[Ellaria]

Well, the perspectives offered here are much more thought provoking than this episode. Too much time with Noah and Alison who are the least interesting people in this show.

 

I'm kind of over these people though.  In their personal accounts each is the person who is just screwing up their courage to cheat on their spouse.  Like it is jumping off the high-dive.  Something they need to get done and the other person is largely the pursuer.  It makes it difficult to understand their connection.  Whatever it was that drew them to each other.  

 

I heard an NPR segment with Dominic West talking about how Noah seemed happily married and that reviewers had wondered why he would cheat on his spouse.  The actor said it was a good question, and he that question himself, until he read a quote from a marriage therapist who said that people don't usually cheat because they are unhappy in their marriage, but rather unhappy with themselves.  Made perfect sense to me. 

 

But with the differing perspectives, each seeing the other as the person who pursued them, it gives me no real sense of why they felt so connected to each other that they would jeopardize anything.  Then I was also practically yelling at Tragic Mourning Flower Allison, macking on Noah outside of her house in the daylight (even though it was fading), but by the time they were screwing in her bed, I was just really grossed out by them both.  Yeah, I get why she would be unhappy and maybe even self-destructive, but it better turn out that Cole drowned that kid, because no one deserves that level of "screw you".  

 

I'm over these two, also. I am uncomfortable watching Noah and Alison when they are interacting with their families. It is so clear that these two individuals are unhappy with themselves. Both actors are doing a great job demonstrating that dissatisfaction and, as a result, their vulnerability. And yet, when I watch them together (screwing or otherwise) I keep thinking, "Well, this isn't the solution. A temporary release, maybe, but life will still there be staring you in the face." I don't believe that there is always a concrete reason why people are drawn to each other beyond physical attraction. Alison is dealing with a monstrous tragedy that could make anyone lose their way. Noah...not so much. I don't dislike him; I just am having a harder time with his frustrations.

 

I, too, think that the detective is offering different stories to each of them, hoping to get them to talk. The interrogation part of this story needs to pick up steam because its dragging down the overall narrative.

Edited November 4, 2014 by Ellaria Sand

[stormy weather]

wow, what a snoozefest. I get it, the show is called The Affair, it kinda says it all, but this show is ONLY about an affair. All the info we have at the end of the 4th episode are exactly the same we had received within the first 20 minutes of the first episode (Allison and Noah are having an affair, he has 4 bratty kids, a rich wife he loves and a father-in-law he hates, she cuts herself, has a cowboy husband, a pletora of in-laws and a dead son, and someone was killed.) Now please, show, do progress. We got all that info down already, securely hammered in our little brains. The two-sided narrative is an interesting device, but not when you already know what each side is hiding from the other.

If in the next episode they won't tell us at least who died, it's going to be bye forever McNulty and co. for me.

Though I must admit I might have missed some probably fundamental pieces of information because I was too distracted by the odd-shaped lips of both West and Wilson. Those kisses were weeeeird.

Edited November 4, 2014 by stormy weather

[Neurochick]

I'm enjoying the show, I think they are doing a good job of showing how an affair can happen to people who aren't necessarily looking to leave their partners. Or they want "something," not sure what, but don't want to destroy what they already have.  Magical thinking, I think it's called.

 

 

I'm really loving this show.  So much on TV is about the quick fixes and hurrying stuff along; but that's not how life is.  

 

I get this affair, I really do.  Noah spent his teenage years taking care of a sick woman, he didn't go out as a teenager; I think part of his attraction to Allison is because she is damaged, troubled.  His wife is self-assured, put together, wealthy and I think that makes Noah feel inadequate where Allison makes Noah feel safe.  

 

I think Allison wants Noah because she really hasn't dealt with her son's death.  She said he drowned, but gave no details, where and when did this happen?   Was she there?  Maybe Cole's family blames her?  At any rate, she wants to escape and doesn't know how, so she's doing it by having an affair.  

[izabella]

So who exactly was she calling? Putting their interrogations side by side, she seems way more stressed, like she's covering up something and that detective knows it. Noah seems relaxed but that could be why he's so dangerous. With the detective seemingly playing some kind of game, I'm beginning to think that Noah and Alison are  the suspects, possibly for a good reason too

 

That interested me, too.  She did seem stressed out, and I'm not sure if it's just because she's being interrogated, or because she is guilty of something. 

 

I'm never sure if they're going into as much detail with the detective as we see on screen.  It seems like too much, but if they're not sharing all we see, what are they telling the detective?  The interrogations feel really odd.  It's like they're being interviewed for a novel, and not like a police investigation.  They aren't under arrest, but they don't seem free to go, either.

[Pallas]

The son who lost his mother, and the mother who lost her son, are compelled toward one another. It takes one to know one, and they each have an instinct for that particular anguish. What mesmerizes them -- what disarmed their separate defenses -- is that the other is a real mirror: alike, yet opposite.

Alison and Noah "met" the moment Noah's daughter seemed briefly in danger of dying before their eyes, on the birthday of Alison's son. And when the crisis passed, the nice waitress didn't beam and say, "Okay, who wants free ice cream!," she fled to the bathroom and Noah followed her, where he may have heard her throwing up. She was more upset than he was, or his wife. Like his son pretending to hang himself rather than go to Ben Butler's house for the summer, Alison was acting out for Noah. And if it was Noah who saved his daughter (as I think it was), that's what Alison saw and what she began reacting to, despite what she may remember. First the stranger saved his daughter, then he came looking for her.  

Later that night, they found each other. On the beach where she was sitting alone, mourning her son, within view of her friends and family. The same people that Noah projected were "the cool kids" --  the crowd from whom he'd been far removed as a teenager, while witnessing his mother's death. They spoke of Peter Pan, a story about children who only seem to have left their parents forever. All return except for Peter, whose mother actually abandoned him.  

From the beginning, the cracked reflections and off-key harmonics keep seducing them. It's those things that have the charisma, the chemistry, the fatal glamour. The thing Alison feels, every minute, is wrong with the entire world, is the thing that Noah had all but forgotten is wrong with him. 

[LoveLeigh]

Alison is just so sulky and Noah is just so annoying... and they have zero chemistry. When he says to her that he thinks of her all the time, i wondered why. What about Alison is so compelling? And why did he become so instantly attractive to her the moment she saw him in the diner... saddled with a wife and 4 kids? 

 

I think Alison is up to something. Is she Kathleen Turner in "Body Heat?" The writers are taking too long to get to the heart of the matter. You can't build a mystery story around a plot that remains a secret. 

Edited November 4, 2014 by DakotaLavender

[stillshimpy]

I've also wondered if this is their carefully constructed cover story for something, but for what,  I'm uncertain.  

 

There's something that's been bothering me a little bit though, and that is that the detective would give a rip-roaring hang about the minutiae of their connection to one another.  That's part of why I think they need to cut to the partial chase and reveal who has died, because there is a very, very short list of people who it would make even a lick of sense for a police detective to spend hours questioning them about how their affair started unless it was someone directly related to Allison or Noah's marriage.  That should mean Helen or Cole, but it's fairly clearly not Cole, Helen was eliminated when Noah referred to "this fella" , but Cole should have been too, that's too detached for the spouse of his paramour.  

 

Anyway, here's one of the inconsistencies: 

 

 

 

They spoke of Peter Pan, a story about children who only seem to have left their parents forever.  All return except for Peter, whose mother actually abandoned him.

 

This is one of those details that really points to someone purposefully lying.  In Noah's version they speak of Peter Pan at that spot and eventually, after a lot of flouncing drama, end up in the hotel room.  However, in Allison's version, they end up at that spot and she tells him about a drowned child, being heard on the wind calling for his mother.   It seems unlikely that at one point she was telling mischievous Peter Pan memories, only to circle back and talk of mournful haunting. 

 

Also, Pallas! Grog! (the non-alcoholic version).   Good to see you outside the Wall.  Glad to see you survived Wedding Season ;-) 

Edited November 4, 2014 by stillshimpy

[cardigirl]

Moved to speculation thread.

Edited November 4, 2014 by cardigirl

[Indi]

Very interesting, indeed! I'll have to rewatch and see if the detective looks older,

while he's interrogating Alison.

[stillshimpy]

It's an interesting theory, but it isn't just that simple.  There'd have to be 25 years between the investigations for the detective stuff to hold true.  In Noah's the detective says he is divorced.  In Allison's he's been married for 25 years and still acts like a newlywed.  Noah has a cell phone in The Affair memories, it's not that long ago.   So for the narrative difference with the detective, that theory (and it's an interesting theory, but it's just a theory, so I'm forgoing spoiler tags) puts forth that Allison's interrogation takes place after Noah's and for the detective to be doing anything other than lying, the reverse would have to be true.  Allison sports a different look, but she doesn't look 25 years older. 

 

However, I do like the theory that they are being investigated for different crimes, but I also think Allison's demeanor vs. Noah's might simply have to do with Noah being actually innocent of a crime, whereas Allison at least knows about it.  

Edited November 4, 2014 by stillshimpy

[Boundary]

However, I do like the theory that they are being investigated for different crimes, but I also think Allison's demeanor vs. Noah's might simply have to do with Noah being actually innocent of a crime, whereas Allison at least knows about it.  

 

Oh Alison knows about a crime, her phone call was simply too curious and she also tried to hide it from the cop. I've been coming back round to the idea that Cole is the dead guy, but she's had a child in the meantime and so doesn't have to grieve Cole the way she grieved Gabriel. The cop thinks it's something to do with the affair but it's probably something to do with the Lockhart secret family business. At this point, that is the simplest explanation. She goes by her maiden name because wants nothing to do with the Lockharts, and after the affair they want nothing to do with her.

[shelley1234]

 

The promo for the rest of the season looks CRAZY. Good stuff. 

 

Yep, it definitely looks like it is going to ramp up to being about a lot more than just two people having an affair.  

 

I missed Helen and Cole.

 

Me too.  I wanted to see what they were up to, but I guess since the story is being told by the adulterers that it leaves time when they spouses just aren't around.  Still, I find their characters so much more intriguing...mainly because I also like the actors who play them SO much more as well.  

 

Huh.  Well I guess sexual chemistry is in the mind of the beholder, because as far as I'm concerned, these two actors have enormous sexual chemistry together.

 

 

 

I don't think they have enormous chemistry, but I definitely felt they had more chemistry this week than in previous episodes.  However, I didn't feel the chemistry during the "romantic" or sex scenes.  I felt the chemistry when they were just talking to one another and getting to know one another.  I also think having Alison share her secrets and pain with Noah helped build some chemistry between the two.  

 

Oh Alison knows about a crime, her phone call was simply too curious and she also tried to hide it from the cop. I've been coming back round to the idea that Cole is the dead guy, but she's had a child in the meantime and so doesn't have to grieve Cole the way she grieved Gabriel. The cop thinks it's something to do with the affair but it's probably something to do with the Lockhart secret family business. At this point, that is the simplest explanation. She goes by her maiden name because wants nothing to do with the Lockharts, and after the affair they want nothing to do with her.

 

I absolutely think Alison knows more than she is saying about the crime.  In my mind, she is calling Noah on the phone and asking him where the hell he is since she is down here being interrogated.  I had always assumed that they were being brought in on different days...I just wonder in the timeline who went first Noah or Alison.  

 

Here is my problem with how the show is presented....the amount of info that the audience in told as if they are telling it to the detectives.  That makes absolutely no sense to me.  If it was that each of them were meeting with the lawyers or with a therapist...then fine, but it just seems so incredibly unlikely that either of them are going into such detail about their affair while they are being questioned about an accident that the cop clearly believes was not an accident.  

 

I still think the dead person is Cole, however with each passing week it becomes even more obvious to me that it is Cole, so that probably means it isn't Cole.  

[stillshimpy]

I agree, I don't think there's been 25 years between questioning, just that it's an interesting thought about it being about two different events at different times.

 

I agree, I think it would be interesting if there were two different events.  There is one other thing, that was revealed in the press that isn't the realm of a spoiler either, just something from an interview with Dominic West and we've discussed it in the episode threads before:  According to West the showrunners envision this as a three season series, so just judging from what we are seeing so far, it seems as if there pretty much has to be more to it than would currently seem to be the case.  

[Pallas]

I think it has to be a Lockhart family member.  Alison's demeanor about the victim is entirely different from Noah's, and she noted, "I'd give anything to bring him back."  It was someone who is at least supposed to have been close to her. Still think the brother-in-law.

 

I briefly wondered if it might be Alison's prospective second husband, but (1) that really pushes the fast-forward from the affair's beginning in 2014 to the interrogation, and (2) Alison would not be an incidental suspect in any husband's death.  

 

All hail to you, shimpy!  

 

 

[izabella]

I think it has to be a Lockhart family member.  Alison's demeanor about the victim is entirely different from Noah's, and she noted, "I'd give anything to bring him back."

 

Could the detective be asking about Allison's son's death?  Maybe that's the reason for the "couldn't it be an accident?" question from Noah.

 

If he is asking about her son, I'd expect her to be more freaked out.  But maybe she's finally made peace with his death since having another child and trying to move on.

[meep.meep]

I'm happy to let the show take me on a long slow ride to wherever it's going.  It's the mysteries that keep you hooked.

 

So why did Alison come back and find him on the island?  She had stomped off onto the ferry to Connecticut, he wanders around town for an hour or two, then she turns up in the shop.  Did someone make her come back?  She doesn't look very happy, ever, in her recollection.

 

Having her literally looking into a mirror when the sex mirrors what she had with her husband seemed like a cheap move.

 

The shirt he buys to replace the coffee stained one is the exact color of the shirt he wears in the interrogation, but that's not a button down.

[Pallas]

Could the detective be asking about Allison's son's death?

 

Hmm.  I'd have to check; it's possible that this moment of conversation was a misdirect, and at that moment, Alison's son was the subject.  The victim Noah is discussing is definitely not Alison's son: that person was run down on the road after a wedding; Noah suggested that the police speak to the owner of the diner; Noah's demeanor is not what one would show authorities investigating the death of a child. 

[Boundary]

I think it has to be a Lockhart family member.  Alison's demeanor about the victim is entirely different from Noah's, and she noted, "I'd give anything to bring him back."  It was someone who is at least supposed to have been close to her. Still think the brother-in-law.

 

I think it was something along the lines of "Of course I'd want his killer caught" but your point stands. She was being expected to be sympathetic to the police's investigation, implying the victim is indeed a Lockhart most likely. Noah, on the other hand, is unconcerned and seemingly hadn't considered his death a murder. But Noah's lackadaisical attitude worries me. He obviously knows more than he's letting on. And if he's really that unconcerned, then probably the affair isn't really the cause. The same questioning bothers Alison though.

 

 

  I had always assumed that they were being brought in on different days...I just wonder in the timeline who went first Noah or Alison.  

 

 

I've checked a few things: the cop is wearing the same suit and tie, without a jacket when talking to Alison and with a jacket when with Noah. I've looked at the clock, 3.25 pm with Alison and 4.20 pm with Noah.

[Blakeston]

Any significant time difference between the investigations is difficult for me to believe, because it seems odd to bring in one half of the cheating couple, and ask for extreme details about every step of the affair, and then wait a long time to interview the other person.

 

As for the possibility that Alison is being questioned about her son's death - I don't see why the detective would ask Alison all those questions about her affair with Noah if the death in question happened before she met Noah.

Edited November 5, 2014 by Blakeston

[LoveLeigh]

The detective tells Noah he has twin boys that he barely sees because his wife got full custody in the divorce. Then the detective tells Alison he has been married for 25 years and they still act like newlyweds. What's with the two versions of his own marriage? 

[LotusFlower]

The detective tells Noah he has twin boys that he barely sees because his wife got full custody in the divorce. Then the detective tells Alison he has been married for 25 years and they still act like newlyweds. What's with the two versions of his own marriage?

You haven't read this thread, have you?! :)

[Milburn Stone]

This just occurred to me: We're understandably spending a fair amount of brain time wondering what the truth is. And we're assuming that at some point, the show will tell us. But what if the show's point of view is that there is no truth, only seven billion versions of the truth to correspond to the seven billion individuals who inhabit the planet? That would not only be interesting, it would be accurate.

 

Whatever the detective decides is the truth is only what he thinks is the truth, filtered through the lens of his own subjectivity. If it comes to a jury, whatever they decide is the truth is only what those twelve people were able to agree was the truth. In no case will any truth be truer than Noah's and Alison's truths.

 

If that's the show's truth, it will be a truth I've never seen on television before.

[JudyObscure]

I'm still intrigued but my dislike for Noah keeps growing.  I can understand Alison having an affair for the same reason she cuts herself, to distract herself from the pain. Noah, on the other hand, just seems like he's feeding his own ego.  I hate the way he wants to have an affair while constantly reassuring himself that he's still a good person.  He reminds me of all the cheaters' clichés of fifty years ago -- " I never do this sort of thing!   She is so sexy! She kept coming on to me!  It's bigger than both of us! What are we doing?"  When he stopped in the middle of the hotel room and said, "We barely know each other,"  I really wanted Alison to call his bluff and say, yeah you're right, bye.  The only thing new is that all this coyness is usually the woman's role.

 

 

Finally, if we we're going to have all these high def close ups of kissing, they should have cast an actor with an upper lip that moved.  It's like watching a Muppet kiss.

[HumblePi]

I agree, I think it would be interesting if there were two different events.  There is one other thing, that was revealed in the press that isn't the realm of a spoiler either, just something from an interview with Dominic West and we've discussed it in the episode threads before:  According to West the showrunners envision this as a three season series, so just judging from what we are seeing so far, it seems as if there pretty much has to be more to it than would currently seem to be the case.  

This season has focused entirely on Noah and Alison and that's understandable of course since the title is 'The Affair'. But if it turns out to be a three season series as Dominic West envisions then of course more of the other characters will have to be given more depth. Maura Tierney will surely be getting more focus and who knows, maybe even an affair of her own. Aha! we never considered that did we? That poor, neglected Helen may actually find out about the affair and start one of her own in retribution. The others in this cast have really been only supporting digits to the main hand of Noah and Alison and I think the show will dig deeper into the other characters in order to keep us interested.  How many times can we go up and down on the same seesaw without wanting to jump off? Noah and Alison's continual lust and guilt back and forth gets old and predictable. The introduction of sub-plots will surely begin to develop or this series will lose viewers. The children of Noah will also begin taking some priority over Alison at some point. The older son has an obvious problem since he 'joked' in New York with his pretend suicide. Yep, I think there's going to be a lot more depth and twists coming into the story plot than what we've seen so far.

Edited November 5, 2014 by HumblePi

[Boundary]

Milburn Stone, interesting view. But the justice system is based on the notion of a reasonable belief in what the truth is. Assuming the flashbacks are exactly what they tell the detective, then his role (and ours as viewers) is to pass those accounts through a "reasonableness test" of some kind. At one point or another, one account is more reasonable or makes more sense than the other. If the difference is on minor issues (due to memory fallibility or ego) then it really doesn't matter. But we are going to get to an important point, one which impacts directly on the murder investigation, and then the judgement of who is lying and why will be immense. That judgement will directly affect the deceased's family and the suspect. So at that point, we really need the closest approximation to the truth we can get.

Edited November 5, 2014 by Boundary