S01.E05: 5

[Tara Ariano]

Alison and Noah are forced to confront new obstacles at home.

[Primetimer]

This week, both Noah and Alison have to contend with twitty female relatives. But which of them is the bigger pain in the ass?

Read the story

[CynicalGirl]

^ Tough call.

[Milburn Stone]

Who played Athena? She was great. In a despicable way.

[HumblePi]

The victim is finally revealed, Scotty.

[Pallas]

Who played Athena? She was great. In a despicable way.

 

Deirdre O'Connell.  I know her from Nurse Jackie, where she played former-Sister Helen.  She was also on Chicago Hope, but I can't pretend to remember her from there... 

 

I adored Whitney's plaintive query, "How do I un-asshole myself?"

[Sader87]

Bodega Bay??? A Hitchcockian/"Birds" reference???

 

Good stuff....loved the tension tonight......

[Boundary]

I believed that sex scene at the end, releasing some tension. I'm finally beginning to get the affair. With in-laws like that I'd seek an escape too but Cole is still a good husband and Helen a good wife, I guess no one deserves what's coming. 

 

I think Alison has remarried, and there's only one candidate for her new husband. Oh, and Noah has totally been to that club and if he could glibly lie like that ... 

[KittyS]

I'm thinking that maybe Allison's new city look could be a result of the Lockharts selling the ranch and becoming millionaires. Her marrying Noah and moving away is the more obvious choice, but I just thought I'd throw that out there.

 

I hate the way Helen's family tries to control everyone with money. They way they acted like Whitney was the victim was disgusting. I wanted to slap that little brat when she tossed her phone in the pool. Also, the idea of visiting the home of someone who recently attempted suicide seems so selfish. Why should the desire to gave your kid apologize take precedence over the victim's right to a little down time? I understand that apologizing is the right thing to do, but Noah is such a bull in the china shop with his so-called principles.

 

Noah is so proud of his working class background and college scholarship, so eager to let people know he's not one of the Ritchie Ritches, yet he's not willing to give up the perks his in-laws' money gives him. When Helen offered to return to the city immediately, you could see his principles vaporize at the thought of leaving his little fuck buddy.

Edited November 12, 2014 by AmandaPanda
taking out unnecessary tags

[Pallas]

I think Alison has remarried, and there's only one candidate for her new husband.

 

Interesting, Boundary -- I would have thought there were more candidates for Alison's new husband in the city, than there were for murder victims in Montauk.

 

Do you think it must be Noah because she has moved, it seems the interrogation scene is set not too far in the future, and she already has a child?   Or because Noah would eventually feel bound to retroactively dignify the affair -- to put a ring on it?  

[Boundary]

I really think it's Noah she's married to now (or definitely with, at least), it's an obvious route to go but it's obvious for a reason. It was heavy handed but I really think that Alison's mom was correct in noting that her daughter has some life energy again, finally. I think she had felt so constricted, that she really meant it when she said she would run away with him. Ditto for Noah, despite everything Alison is the one that feels right and yes the in-laws' money was like a yoke around his neck. So a bit of freedom, a life in the city, a new kid - it seems that's something they'd both do. But I'm still not sure whether the wedding mentioned in the interrogation was theirs, I wouldn't think they'd rub everyone's noses in it like that.

Edited November 10, 2014 by Boundary

[Milburn Stone]

Oh, and Noah has totally been to that club and if he could glibly lie like that ... 

 

My guess was that the detective has already established Noah at that scene, through witnesses. The question to Noah was therefore intended not to elicit information (which the detective already has), but to find out whether Noah would lie about it. Oops.

[Blakeston]

I liked the detective having two separate Columbo moments, when he did the "Oh, and one other question...." thing at the end of their interrogations (and presumably caught them both in lies).

[Milburn Stone]

It was heavy handed but I really think that Alison's mom was correct in noting that her daughter has some life energy again, finally. 

 

This is what's so fascinating about Athena. We naturally hate her with the fire of a thousand suns, yet, damnably, we know she's not completely wrong. (Which probably makes us hate her more.) There actually seems to be something to this Reiki stuff, and Athena actually seems to be a talented Reiki "healer" (or whatever), because the effect her healing had on Alison's friend was undeniable. (And well beyond anything that could be expected from a placebo.)

Edited November 10, 2014 by Milburn Stone

[Boundary]

Athena probably hasn't been much of a mother or daughter but I liked that she wasn't judgemental about Noah. It could be that she can't stand the Lockharts but it's also that she didn't focus on who Noah was. She just focused on seeing her daughter alive and happy again. Which was refreshing. Oscar has also clocked in on the affair but his behaviour was curious. He meant to subtly threaten Noah with exposure in front of his wife and I'm sure there's more than a tinge of jealousy there. But he's going to hang onto the secret, maybe use it pressurise Alison to help get his development plan approved. It doesn't bode well for the two leads if it's so simple to discover their secret.

[Pallas]

Thanks, Boundary!   That makes sense, about why Alison may be married to Noah.  I've been reading her (especially) and his demeanor during the interrogation as distaste for the memory of the affair, mixed in of course with embarrassment about discussing it with a stranger, under bright lights in midafternoon, and wariness at being questioned in a murder investigation.  But the distaste may be more for the naked reminder of how their marriage was conceived: defensiveness about the circumstances rather than the outcome.   

 

But I'm still not sure whether the wedding mentioned in the interrogation was theirs, I wouldn't think they'd rub everyone's noses in it like that.

 

Blakeston offered an intriguing thought about the wedding on the spec thread, earlier.

 

I liked the detective having two separate Columbo moments

 

I think the writers did too, and I was a little surprised that Noah, anyway, didn't try to joke with him abut that. Surprised and pleased: in reality, as the detained detainee, it's something you might think of later but in the moment, you would more likely be caught up in the mixed emotions of apprehension, relief and annoyance.

 

This is what's so fascinating about Athena. We naturally hate her with the fire of a thousand suns, yet, damnably, we know she's not completely wrong. (Which probably makes us hate her more.) There actually seems to be something to this Reiki stuff

 

There's also something to this mother stuff.  

[Blakeston]

There actually seems to be something to this Reiki stuff, and Athena actually seems to be a talented Reiki "healer" (or whatever), because the effect her healing had on Alison's friend was undeniable. (And well beyond anything that could be expected from a placebo.)

 

I can't say that was my take on the reiki scene. Mary Kate seems kind of spacey to me; I could see her going nuts over something new agey, even if it wasn't actually doing anything.

 

That said, I think we were probably meant to believe that it really was effective. Athena instantly realizing that Alison and Noah had just slept together seemed like a validation of her abilities.

 

Speaking of that scene - man oh man, you are a terrible liar, Noah. There was that "my wife goes to yoga with Alison" idiocy on Block Island (which could easily lead to that woman asking Alison about her yoga class the next time she sees her). And now he tells Athena that he's staying at Phoebe's. Why would Alison be housesitting for Phoebe if one of Phoebe's friends is staying there?

[shelley1234]

This is the first time we've seen Alison's version first, isn't it?  I also noticed that in the clothes difference is was also switched.  Alison is usually more casually dressed in her version and vamped up in Noah's.  This time in her version she is wearing pretty dresses and in Noah's version she is wearing jeans and a tank top.  I found that interesting.  

 

For the first time in the series, I actually felt that Noah and Alison actually wanted one another.  I believed their relationship and how important it is to both of them.  It also showed just what they are running from when they are running to one another.  

 

Alison's mom is a wackadoodle, eh?  It also shows you why Alison would glom on to the Lockharts so quickly since it gave her a sense of security and family that she clearly never had.  She's had to be a grownup for a very long time because her mother clearly refuses to.  I also think her mother may be the window into why she needs to escape so much.

 

In Noah's version....boy could Oscar being any more of a Stage 5 Clinger.  He almost seems obsessed with Noah.  Creepy.  Of course, it is Noah's version and in Noah's version he is often all that and then some.  

[Constantinople]

Athena is a real headache

The victim is finally revealed, Scotty.

Only in Noah's version.

Who knows who's dead in Allison's version.

Speaking of, Allison's POV went first this time for the first time in the series. Don't know if that signifies anything.

[Milburn Stone]

Who knows who's dead in Allison's version.

 

:)

[GeminiDancer]

I believe Alison's version also states that Scotty is dead, albeit not as directly.

 

I don't know that Oscar is obsessed with Noah himself, but that he's obsessed with the idea that Noah now has Alison's attention. Ultimately, Oscar wants that attention for himself in however way he can get it. Side note: He'll always be my favorite actor who read from Yelp.

 

It's cool that there are two people right off the bat who know that there is an affair going on, even if there's no outright proof. Also, Alison's version intimates that Cole suspects something right off the bat, which I like. It makes me sad for Helen, who doesn't have a slightest clue until Oscar shows up to the house.

[jrlr]

This was the first time I've thought that Noah and Allison might have ended up together, but why would either of them be a suspect in Scotty's death?  There have been some intense looks exchanged between Allison and Scotty, and to me that hints at some underlying problem or secret between them.  I think it's really interesting that Noah is the one who is cracking under the pressure of his double life, while Allison seems to handle it more easily (or maybe she just acts like she does, since Allison obviously has layers and layers that are being revealed).  It seems really odd to me that Noah, an educated liberal, would have refused to let Helen get therapy for Whitney, who is either just a spoiled entitled brat or verging on some kind of mental illness.  

 

Helen's parents are a living nightmare, and while Noah has obviously been chafing about their control for years, it seems like it's the affair that's the catalyst to letting all his resentment show.  But I'm confused about what the hell Oscar is doing - and I was kind of hoping that he was the victim.  Is Allison a nurse?  When she was talking to Noah about having wanted to go to med school, she didn't mention that she's a nurse, did she?  And what were the meds she stole from the hospital when she went there seemingly to get her old job back?  

Edited November 10, 2014 by jrlr

[taragel]

So many interesting bits this week to mull over:

It was odd to me that Alison's mother didn't figure at all/show up in Noah's version. I would think meeting her would make some impact, even with all the crazy at home. I also thought his fight with Helen was fairly rough/escalated quickly. They've seemed to this point to have a fairly good marriage so actually telling each other "F you" was a kind of extreme I wasn't expecting. 

 

It seems like the show's two POVs might be diverging more and more wildly with each week, given what we've seen so far. The pilot overlapped their stories pretty closely and each week since has taken them further apart. I noticed the provocativeness of Alison's clothing did get switched around too. Even her personality was a bit less fragile flower and more bold in her POV this week.

 

One thing I keep seeing in interviews/twitter stuff with the creator is that Cole is a man who avoids talking about things--and that scene when he comes in and finds Alison dressing and not sleeping is the first time we've really seen that in effect to my thinking. I just don't get a closed-off vibe from Cole at all, and I don't think Joshua Jackson is the actor to cast if you're trying for that. He has a charm/glibness to him that is so natural. That's sort of discordant for me. 

 

Oscar's growing on me. He could've/should've been such a minor, unnecessary character in all this--but the last two weeks for sure have been giving him a fairly interesting lynchpin kind of role. He's the one who's gonna tumble this whole house of cards down, possibly.

 

And so Scotty it is (poor Colin O'Donnell dying again!) Will he bite it at Hal and Mary Kate's wedding? 

 

I was also intrigued that they hung a lantern on the fact that the memories are so beyond what the cop would be asking about in Noah's POV. If he has no further questions for them, I wonder how we'll be shown those present-day bits in upcoming episodes.

 

Looks like next week might get into the mystery of the drugs/fish smuggling.

[Blakeston]

I don't know that Oscar is obsessed with Noah himself, but that he's obsessed with the idea that Noah now has Alison's attention. Ultimately, Oscar wants that attention for himself in however way he can get it.

 

Agreed. I never read Oscar's attempt to "befriend" Noah as being even slightly genuine.

 

He figured out that Noah and Alison are screwing, and when he saw Noah on the side of the road, he realized that Noah had just come from Alison's. I think his reason for staying until the tow truck operator arrived was to a) size up his "competition," and b) find some reason to show up at Noah's later, and wreak havoc.

 

I think he knew that it was unlikely that Noah told his wife that he was anywhere near Alison's house. Bringing up the name of that road in front of Helen seemed like an attempt to fuck up Noah's life.

[shelley1234]

I read Oscar's intentions differently.  Unlike Cole who wants the Island to belong to the townies....Oscar desperately wants to be in with the rich, summer folk.  Oscar saw his chance encounter with Noah as a way to get himself "in" with the Butlers and move up his social standing a wee bit.  That is why he wanted to invite Noah fishing and why he went to the house to follow up.....not for Noah, but to get in with the in laws.  

[WaltersHair]

I thought the detective called allison 'Mrs. Bailey'. my closed caption said so.

[shelley1234]

I thought the detective called allison 'Mrs. Bailey'. my closed caption said so.

 

Bailey is Alison's maiden name.

[GeminiDancer]

I agree that Oscar definitely wants to be in with the rich folks. I think he found his way in through Noah because of Oscar's obsession with Alison (did that make sense? It did in my head).

[Maximona]

I thought the detective called Allison Miss Bailey.  That would make her divorced but not remarried.  The glam new look would have to come from a divorce settlement -- presumably Mother Courage finally sold the ranch.

 

(And this is really picky of me, but nobody on the East coast refers to a place where horses are kept as a "ranch."  We say "horse farm!"  Every time I hear ranch, I roll my eyes.)

 

I liked this episode a lot.  It's interesting that Allison remembers the sex as rhapsodic, and Noah remembers it as hurried and (one assumes) no particularly satisfactory since it definitely is not front and center in his memories of the day.

 

I think Oscar was looking for a way to ingratiate himself with Noah as a way to get in more tightly with Noah's Famous Writer father-in-law.  Maybe he wants to cater their next big party; maybe he's star-struck.

 

Both sets of in-laws were horrible in their own ways.  Mother Courage and the patriarchal horse farm boys are marginally more bearable than Helen's parents, but just barely.  Poor Allison!  A smart girl forced to go the way of so many smart girls in small towns -- early marriage, pregnancy, a husband she's fallen out of love with.  I thought the first scene in Allison's POV was really subtle and well-done.  I don't think Cole knows she's having an affair per se; I think he knows she thinks watching him surf is bor-ring!  And that signifies the end of the marriage when the guy has muscles and good look,s but very little understanding of what his wife is all about.

 

I love Athena.  I assume that she went through her own version of what we see Allison going through before she ditched Montauk.

[Pike Ludwell]

I'm not a big fan of Dom. W. "The Wire" was good more in spite of him than because of him. He strikes me as in a similar boat to Woody Harrelson (and Woody's True Detective deal). His contract for this show was because he is just about aged totally out of the sex appeal phase, so he takes a contract guaranteeing sex scenes with a woman 14 years younger, and lots of opportunities to try to preserve his image as a sex appeal guy, which he psychologically cannot let go yet. 

 

The whole risky, attraction at first sight, thing might be more plausible if they'd used an actor closer to her age. I can't believe an attractive young woman like that would get involved so quickly like that, in such a risky situation, with a man 14 years older, who looks it, and who has the baggage of a family travelling with him. It's all a gift setup for the actor, DW.

 

Also, the writers just are not presenting Noah as an intelligent enough guy to be a good, publishable novelist. He seems a rather dim bulb to me. But, hey, it's all beefing up DW's image!!

Edited November 10, 2014 by riverclown

[taragel]

The Affair was just renewed! 10 episodes for 2015! 

 

Really glad to hear this--because we also may get to see other perspectives in a season 2!

[stillshimpy]

By the way, I don't think Athena (validity or bunk of Reiki not withstanding) was alone in figuring out that something is going on with Alison's sex drive/life/energy, because MIL Mare Winningham choosing to give Alison her wedding ring was a BIZARRE choice for that moment.  I mean, just one of the weirder "out of the clear blue sky" moments and whereas I didn't like Athena up until that moment?  I liked her one hell of a lot for calling MW's character on the bullshit pressure that was giving that ring to Alison and then basically parading that in front of the rest of the family.  

 

Not to mention talking about how she knows it seems like Cole doesn't need her, but he does! <---  I think this is evidence of how unwise it is to screw around in a town where everyone knows you.  

 

So I thought Athena rocked pretty hardcore for stepping in and saying what her daughter absolutely couldn't in that moment, but it was manipulative as ever living hell to nip inside and give your DIL that wedding ring.  Holy hell.  

 

 

 

I adored Whitney's plaintive query, "How do I un-asshole myself?"

 

That scene was marvelous, although I take a little bit of exception to the way the rich are presented in this and perhaps it's just supposed to be Helen's parents.  I grew up in one of the poorer areas of the country and then moved to one of the more affluent in my late teens and I have to say, there was not a denser population of jackasses based solely on socioeconomic differences.  It's just a little Evil Cartoon-ish to have gramps and grandma just brush aside something like that, when they'd just as likely be appalled without the pearl-clutching over assets.  

 

Also, I think Oscar is pretty clearly trying to get leverage over Noah about trying to get his in-laws backing for that silly bowling alley.  So that's what I think Oscar is up to, having noted that Noah is a good avenue to Helen's parents, he promptly starts stocking up on blackmail and extortion material, since Alison didn't back him at the town meeting.  

 

Normally I'd agree that the fight between Noah and Helen escalated far too quickly, but nothing brings out the cracks in a relationship like something that would reasonably terrifying the living hell out of a parent.  

Edited November 10, 2014 by stillshimpy

[Texasmom1970]

I liked this episode a little better because it wasn't just all Noah and Allison. Still lIke COle and Helen better, I hope the two cheaters do run away together. Then I don't have to look at them and their no spark affair.

Oh and I figured out why Ruth Wilson's lips bug so much. First she has no upper lip and on top of that what little upper lip she has sticks out like Howard the duck!

[HumblePi]

The Affair was just renewed! 10 episodes for 2015! 

 

Really glad to hear this--because we also may get to see other perspectives in a season 2!

I can't even imagine how a second season of this would proceed. The only thing I can imagine happening is that Noah and Alison decide to go their separate ways after Noah and Helen go their separate ways. I can see Alison moving away from Montaug and her dead-end life with some cash she gets in a divorce settlement from Cole's inheritance and moving to the city. There's one thing that sticks with me after watching this episode and that's the importance of Athena showing up. I wasn't just for some comic relief. Athena said something in the car to Alison about her forgetting some important things from her childhood. And why wouldn't Athena's mother know her? People with Alzheimer's disease are closer in memory to the past than the present and I don't think she'd forget her own daughter. We automatically judge Athena to be a free spirit and forward thinker but I think there was something in her family that made her leave to search for herself. Oh, my friend Marcelo Zarvos does the score and I'm proud of him on this one, good job I think.

[stormy weather]

So, 5 episodes of excruciating details on the affair including farmer's markets, cocktail parties, teenage issues, field trips etc etc and the victim is... Scotty?! But...

we've seen him maybe twice so far and I would barely remember who he was if they didn't make it a priority to say his name in a loud and clear voice and show his face right afterwards during the "can I use your phone" scene at the restaurant. Also, I don't believe Noah has ever even met him apart from that brief encounter at the ranch. So why the endless interviews with the detective? Even if there's some sort of sketchy drug-related business going on in those fishing ice boxes that Allison carries, it still wouldn't explain Noah's involvement or the pertinence of his and Allison's affair. I suppose we are still to receive further info.

 

That first scene where Cole sees Allison fully dressed up two seconds after she said she'd spend the morning in bed left me wondering if he really is the most naive person on the planet, he really trusts his wife or he just doesn't care anymore. If I had a husband and that happened, I think I'd ask a couple questions.

 

I think Oscar has caught on to what's going on between Noah and Allison and he's going to use it to his advantage somehow.

[Pallas]

I take a little bit of exception to the way the rich are presented in this and perhaps it's just supposed to be Helen's parents.  I grew up in one of the poorer areas of the country and then moved to one of the more affluent in my late teens and I have to say, there was not a denser population of jackasses based solely on socioeconomic differences.  It's just a little Evil Cartoon-ish to have gramps and grandma just brush aside something like that, when they'd just as likely be appalled without the pearl-clutching over assets.

 

Beautifully put, shimpy (and bolding mine, for the phrase that made me laugh and tip my hat).  I guess we'll have to see if the I've-Gotta-Butlers are being badly distorted in Noah's retrospective view.  Perhaps in season 2, if we do see events from Helen and Cole's perspectives.  

 

And how true, that arguments between parents being parents spiral into frustration and blame even more quickly than those over money or sex.  

 

And why wouldn't Athena's mother know her? People with Alzheimer's disease are closer in memory to the past than the present and I don't think she'd forget her own daughter.

 

She does remember her daughter, in the past.  What she doesn't remember is how that connects to the face of the grown woman she sees so infrequently.  I imagine there are days that she calls Alison "Shelley."  Or at least more days than she ever called Shelley "Athena."  

[HumblePi]

So, 5 episodes of excruciating details on the affair including farmer's markets, cocktail parties, teenage issues, field trips etc etc and the victim is... Scotty?! But...

we've seen him maybe twice so far and I would barely remember who he was if they didn't make it a priority to say his name in a loud and clear voice and show his face right afterwards during the "can I use your phone" scene at the restaurant. Also, I don't believe Noah has ever even met him apart from that brief encounter at the ranch. So why the endless interviews with the detective? Even if there's some sort of sketchy drug-related business going on in those fishing ice boxes that Allison carries, it still wouldn't explain Noah's involvement or the pertinence of his and Allison's affair. I suppose we are still to receive further info.

 

That first scene where Cole sees Allison fully dressed up two seconds after she said she'd spend the morning in bed left me wondering if he really is the most naive person on the planet, he really trusts his wife or he just doesn't care anymore. If I had a husband and that happened, I think I'd ask a couple questions.

 

I think Oscar has caught on to what's going on between Noah and Allison and he's going to use it to his advantage somehow.

I also didn't remember which was Scottie and had to rewind it to actually get a brief glimpse of his face. Was he bringing money in an envelop to Oscar for hush money to keep some deep family secret or could it have been drug money? He didn't want Scottie's phone call left in the memory of his own cell phone since it's traceable, so he asked Alison to make the call.  Noah lecturing Whitney about the consequences of her actions and how they impact many people should be a lecture saved to give to himself. 

 

Alison's memory of the morning Cole left and she immediately got out of bed to put on a nice dress was her memory of it. In Noah's memory, she had a shirt and jeans on. If Cole walked in while she was putting on jeans, he wouldn't suspect anything.

 

 

In case we forget Scotties face, there it is. And poor Alison chose the wrong husband, he's much hotter. :)

Edited November 10, 2014 by HumblePi

[jrlr]

So, 5 episodes of excruciating details on the affair including farmer's markets, cocktail parties, teenage issues, field trips etc etc and the victim is... Scotty?! But...

we've seen him maybe twice so far and I would barely remember who he was if they didn't make it a priority to say his name in a loud and clear voice and show his face right afterwards during the "can I use your phone" scene at the restaurant. Also, I don't believe Noah has ever even met him apart from that brief encounter at the ranch. So why the endless interviews with the detective? Even if there's some sort of sketchy drug-related business going on in those fishing ice boxes that Allison carries, it still wouldn't explain Noah's involvement or the pertinence of his and Allison's affair. I suppose we are still to receive further info.

 

That first scene where Cole sees Allison fully dressed up two seconds after she said she'd spend the morning in bed left me wondering if he really is the most naive person on the planet, he really trusts his wife or he just doesn't care anymore. If I had a husband and that happened, I think I'd ask a couple questions.

 

I think Oscar has caught on to what's going on between Noah and Allison and he's going to use it to his advantage somehow.

I thought it was Scotty who was heading upstairs with Whitney at the Butler's party (where Allison was a server).  Allison saw them and asked what he was doing and then Noah came on the scene and asked what was going on, right?

[Pallas]

Yup.  And Scotty (but not Cole, it seems) is involved, with Alison, in the fishy-fish delivery circuit.  He keeps getting placed in compromising positions in both Alison and Noah's accounts, which is why he was my suspect for roadkill.  

[shelley1234]

 

 

 

In case we forget Scotties face, there it is. And poor Alison chose the wrong husband, he's much hotter. :)

 

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder because I'll take Pacey Witter with a beard any day vs. the poor man's version of Jon Hamm.  

[stormy weather]

 

Alison's memory of the morning Cole left and she immediately got out of bed to put on a nice dress was her memory of it. In Noah's memory, she had a shirt and jeans on. If Cole walked in while she was putting on jeans, he wouldn't suspect anything.

 

I don't think it matters whether Allison put on a nice dress or a pair of jeans in the different versions of the story. The problem here is that she sprang out of bed and got dressed to go somewhere literally the second Cole got out of the room. Of course the nice dress makes it a bit worse, but still a lie is a lie, jeans or frock. Those two have a very strange relationship.

 

And I second that, shelley1005, Peter Bishop over shady little brother forever!

ETA: Thanks, jrlr, I had completely forgotten that Noah had also seen Scottie at the party with Whitney, but I believe that's still a feeble excuse for having him grilled as a suspect in Scottie's murder case unless, of course, something else happened that we don't know yet.

Edited November 10, 2014 by stormy weather

[Constantinople]

It's a little odd that in the course of 5 episodes, one of Noah and Helen's kids faked suicide, and another one drove one of her frenemies to attempt suicide.

So, 5 episodes of excruciating details on the affair including farmer's markets, cocktail parties, teenage issues, field trips etc etc and the victim is... Scotty?! But...

we've seen him maybe twice so far and I would barely remember who he was if they didn't make it a priority to say his name in a loud and clear voice and show his face right afterwards during the "can I use your phone" scene at the restaurant. Also, I don't believe Noah has ever even met him apart from that brief encounter at the ranch. So why the endless interviews with the detective? Even if there's some sort of sketchy drug-related business going on in those fishing ice boxes that Allison carries, it still wouldn't explain Noah's involvement or the pertinence of his and Allison's affair. I suppose we are still to receive further info.

Given that Scotty was just a little too interested in Whitney, Whitney might be a suspect.  Given that Whitney and Scotty first met after she drove-up to the Lockhart ranch, would it not be poetic if they last saw each other while Whitney turned Scotty into street pizza?  (Answer: No, but it seems like the kind of thing that Noah would put in one of his novels).  Or Noah or Helen might be suspects, or at least, the police might want to rule them out as suspects.

 

It's also possible that Noah and Allison are each other's alibi.

 

Or it's possible that the local fish mafia put a button on Scotty, in which case the police might suspect the fisherman at the dock, Allison, Caleb or Oscar.

It's also possible that Scotty wasn't the intended target of the murderer. Perhaps the murder intended to kill Cole, in which case the suspects might be Noah, Allison or Oscar, among others.

Or perhaps the murderer intended to kill Caleb.  Noah, enraged that no one had checked out his own novel, A Person Visits a Place, directed his anger towards Caleb, a known reader of Castle of Man, by Bruce Butler, Noah's father-in-law.  But Noah ran over the wrong Lockhart.

Was Scotty the brother who wanted to sell the ranch? If so, perhaps Cole whacked him. Or perhaps one of the other brothers whacked him just to get a larger share of the proceeds when Mare Wininngham kicks the bucket.

 

Or perhaps Scotty isn't dead, and this is just an elaborate sting by the police to put the fish mafia on ice (though that seems unlikely).

Edited November 11, 2014 by Constantinople

[Ellaria]

I really enjoyed this episode. By including other characters and new conflicts, the tension escalated significantly. Noah and Alison's need to escape from those suffocating environments was well - played.

I'm not completely convinced that chic Alison is married to Noah. I don't see Noah as the type of guy to throw away the security and privilege of his current life. He wants it both ways - rich wife, sexy mistress. From the conversation at dinner, Cole isn't moving away from the ranch to NYC. So who is Alison married to?

Of course, the most obvious answer is that Alison and Noah divorce their current spouses, marry one another, have a child and live comfortably in NYC because Noah's book is a best- seller. I just don't think any of this is that simple.

[Boundary]

It's also possible that Noah and Allison are each other's alibi.

 

This is what I've always suspected. I don't know how involved they are with the crime but obviously enough to get real interest from the detective but not enough evidence to get them arrested. And one of the reasons for that could be because of the alibi issue.

 

I don't see Noah as the type of guy to throw away the security and privilege of his current life. He wants it both ways - rich wife, sexy mistress.

 

 

I think for his kids he'd like to keep the money but after meeting Alison he's starting to see how suffocating his privileged life is. Unlike Alison, his wife's offhand comment about being successful meant that she didn't appreciate him being a teacher as much. If little things like that continue to pile up, after a while the cost of the wealthy lifestyle will seem too high. At that point, he will leave. I also don't think he values his wife's family's money that much either. Besides, the kids will always have access to private school anyway.

Edited November 11, 2014 by Boundary

[GeminiDancer]

 

That first scene where Cole sees Allison fully dressed up two seconds after she said she'd spend the morning in bed left me wondering if he really is the most naive person on the planet, he really trusts his wife or he just doesn't care anymore. If I had a husband and that happened, I think I'd ask a couple questions.

 

The way I saw that scene was that Alison saw that moment as Cole suspecting something, especially with the way he was looking at her. I didn't get the impression that he was trusting her at that time. I guess it's when intuition starts to kick in that something is astray.

[Morbs]

 

It's a little odd that in the course of 5 episodes, one of Noah and Helen's kids faked suicide, and another one drove one of her frenemies to attempt suicide.

 

It's still perplexing why that was even included in the pilot.  I guess to show Noah's home life sucks all around, but the kid has pretty much dropped off the show since then, you'd think he'd be causing more problems since what he did was so deranged.

 

Dominic West looks way over his age of 45, IMO.  I prefer Alison's brother in law too, but I'm happy Pacey was not the one murdered.

[Pallas]

So who is Alison married to?

 

Do we know that Alison is married, in the interrogation timeframe?  I too began to assume that the more polished, guarded Alison who has to get back to the city and her child had divorced and re-married, but now we know that Cole's family is considering an offer that might yield each of the Lockharts more than $1 million.  As KittyS and HumblePi stated, that would fund a substantial divorce settlement.  Alison could also inherit her grandmother's house, which might provide her with $1 million or more of her own -- along with her piece of the bluefish bonanza.  

 

On the other hand, in the interrogation scenes there is something brittle yet poised in the way Ruth Wilson portrays Alison, that suggests Alison playing the role of a well-to-do matron, rather than a hard-luck girl who lucked into a windfall.  A privileged edge to her civility; a way she hints at wielding a status based in more than cash. 

[Blakeston]

I agree that Oscar definitely wants to be in with the rich folks. I think he found his way in through Noah because of Oscar's obsession with Alison (did that make sense? It did in my head).

If Oscar's trying to be in with Noah, I think it's to blackmail him, not to befriend him.

 

He's been bitter about Alison and Noah sleeping together ever since he found out about it, and whenever he mentions Alison to Noah, there's something menacing about it. And then when he showed up at Noah's house, he came inside and went straight to the photos of Noah's family, and held one as they talked, as if to say, "What a beautiful family you have; what a shame it would be if you were to lose them."

[penelope79]

It was odd to me that Alison's mother didn't figure at all/show up in Noah's version.

 

Do we know for sure that the two versions happened in the same day, though? This is the very first time I had the impression they are talking about 2 different days.

 

 

It's also possible that Noah and Allison are each other's alibi.

 

That's something I'm thinking too, at the moment, but I still don't understand why, in Alison's past versions, Noah appeared a little bit more of a jerk. Unless, of course, there's an agreement between them even in the way they had to describe the beginning of their affair.

[Boundary]

Do we know for sure that the two versions happened in the same day, though? This is the very first time I had the impression they are talking about 2 different days.

 

I think it was the same day, mainly because of Oscar's shenanigans. I think, rather than tell the same thing differently the POVs are focussing on different aspects of that day. Noah's version finishes well before Alison's, timewise. 

Edited November 11, 2014 by Boundary