S01.E07: 7

[Blakeston]

Excellent post. Have we confirmed that Alison showed up in Helen's store prior to Noah's panic attack? If so, I still don't get why Helen didn't mention it to Noah in any of their subsequent discussions.

Sarah Treem, the show's co-creator, confirmed on Twitter that Alison's visit to Helen's store occurred before Helen went to the hospital to see Noah. (The full text of the tweet is in Direwolf's comment in this thread.)

 

As for why Helen didn't mention to Noah that Alison was at the store - there are all sorts of possible reasons we can try to come up with to explain why Helen wouldn't want to mention it, but realistically, I suspect it was just a matter of the writers not wanting to telegraph what was coming later in the episode.

 

Noah showed no intention of ending it before he discovered the drug dealing. He had even proposed shacking up with Alison for a month at an artist colony. (Sure, it was a starry-eyed fantasy with Cole undead, but it's revealing of the REM state of his waking mind.)

 

I'm not sure what you mean by "Cole undead."

Edited November 25, 2014 by Blakeston

[HumblePi]

I believe that when Noah was telling Helen that he was out 'doing research' for his book. He was doing the research while still having his "fling" (in his own words) with Alison. I believe Noah was dead serious about his research and really dug deep regarding the shady family feuds and illegal businesses that comprised Montauk's long illustrious history. He tells the detective to buy a copy of his book that involves a theory about the town’s dark business and the feuds and/or the collaborations between the Lockhart, Bailey, and Butler families. The detective does read the book quite intensely as shown by the multiple yellow notes marking off certain passages in the book. The title of the book, 'Descent' is open to some very interesting interpretations.

 

I think that although Alison and Noah's recounting of events that took place two years ago parallel each other, they are not given to the detective in the same point in time. I believe that Alison's statements take place at least a year after Noah's statements since Noah physical appearance hasn't changed at all since Montauk and we know that Helen pushed him to get his book out sooner but Alison on the other hand is very changed both physically and emotionally. She no longer has the look of someone insecure or vulnerable but projects the persona of a very mature and rational adult woman.

 

I think we're looking at two separate deaths here, one a murder and one an accident. I think one was Scotty (maybe) and the other was either Oscar or it could even be Noah himself. Ever think of that?  The most recent death could have been Noah's.

 

One last thought. It's all the biblical names, Noah, Caleb, and 'Cole' In John Steinbecks 'East of Eden' there are a few parallels to The Affair.  Steinbeck's allusion to Cain and Abel is furthered by the naming of various characters; the first letters of the names of the main characters start with C.  Okay, now I'm officially over the edge.

Edited November 26, 2014 by HumblePi

[Direwolf]

Didn't both viewpoints (Noah and Allison's) tell us that the questioning by the detective was for the death of Scotty?

[jrlr]

I want to know what was in the note from Noah to Alison that Cherry burned.  Personally, I wish Alison had gone all Sons of Anarchy on that bitch and stuck a fork in her head.  I HATE that character - one day she's telling Alison how Alison was the one who got them all through the tragedy of Gabriel's death and giving her her wedding ring, now she's telling her how ungrateful she is for all the help they've given her.  Ugh.

 

If I had to guess, I think the note would have been some half-assed apology for the way he acted when Alison dropped the kid off.  Given Noah's character, I'm sure that would - in his mind - be enough to get Alison to forgive him, and then he could find a way to jump into bed with her again.

[HumblePi]

Didn't both viewpoints (Noah and Allison's) tell us that the questioning by the detective was for the death of Scotty?

I don't recall they were both told that the investigation was into the death of Scotty. Noah asked why he’s been called in for questioning (Alison uses the term "interrogated"), the detective replied, “we’re just gathering up the information of anyone who knew the victim, to see if anyone might have motive to kill this fella.”  We know that when the affair began Noah had just finished chapter one of his newest novel.(his first novel was a dismal failure). The detective was reading a copy of the new published book which means there was a period of time, perhaps six months to a year to finish writing the book and having it published. The murder or accidental death of the person that Noah is being questioned about happened after he left Montaug. I think the death of Scotty will be proven to be accidental and not anything more sinister than that. Scotty has shown himself to be a bit of a loose cannon and very impulsive and I think he made an impulsive move that cost him his life.

[TexasGal]

The cover of Noah's second book linked really with with the opening credits and song.  I thought that was cool.

 

Agreed on the question of why the detective didn't ask about other names.  I thought he was going to turn around and ask about Bailey, Lockhart or the name of the main character in the book.  If the book is really about Noah's experiences in Montauk I wouldn't be surprised if he was using the main character's name whenever he didn't want to give his own.

[Constantinople]

I really dislike both Cole and Helen.  I find them both to be snobbish and not nice people.

 

I didn't like Cole's nasty comment regarding Brooklyn; yes, Cole one of the things that really screw up a city are DRUGS, which YOU deal.  Asshole.

Only because real estate prices are driven sky high by the same city people whose insatiable hunger for blow, as represented by Max, force Cole and his family into the dilemma of abandoning their family's heritage or flouting the diktats of a paternalistic government, thereby shattering their bucolic innocence forever, no matter what path they choose.

 

I didn't like Helen's issue with Alison being a waitress.  What job does Helen have?  Did she make it on her own, or did daddy help her?  What a witch.

Thanks to Noah, Helen also is faced with abandoning her past or risking a painful future, for now, Helen must either forever forgo the joy of sharing a favorite childhood restaurant with her family, or forever be slapped in the face with the memory of Noah's affair every time they go out for breakfast in Montauk. Either way, Helen, and her family, suffer the pain of loss that can never end.

[attica]

I would like to admit that I really liked Helen's overall-style bib dress. I know overalls haven't been in fashion since, like, the video for "Come on Eileen," but I have a weak spot for them.

[Neurochick]

Thanks to Noah, Helen also is faced with abandoning her past or risking a painful future, for now, Helen must either forever forgo the joy of sharing a favorite childhood restaurant with her family, or forever be slapped in the face with the memory of Noah's affair every time they go out for breakfast in Montauk. Either way, Helen, and her family, suffer the pain of loss that can never end.

 

 

I think that forgoing a childhood restaurant with family is the height of first world problems.  

Edited November 25, 2014 by Neurochick

[Cirien]

I think that forgoing a childhood restaurant with family is the height of first world problems.  

For *you* maybe. For it's not only the loss of her childhood restaurant but also a constant remainder that her husband was willing to throw 20 years of marriage out of the window.

 

It bears repeating. Everyone we see through Noah and Alison's are coloured through their perceptions of them. So yeah Helen may be a snob. But that could also be Noah's snobbery coming out, and yeah just because he's teacher who remembers to tip at a restaurant doesn't mean he's not a snob. He could very well be. And it could also be that constant mentions of Alison being a waitress, are Noah's thoughts and he chastising himself for throwing his marriage away.

[Neurochick]

For *you* maybe. For it's not only the loss of her childhood restaurant but also a constant remainder that her husband was willing to throw 20 years of marriage out of the window.

 

 

So, does that mean that Helen can never go to her parent's home again?  Can she walk into her store again, since Allison came there?  I just don't get Helen as a "poor little victim."  If Noah leaves her, she won't be poor, she won't have to go on food stamps, she won't have to leave the brownstone.  True, Noah would have broken her heart, but many women get screwed over financially as well as having their hearts broken.

[Ellaria]

So, does that mean that Helen can never go to her parent's home again?  Can she walk into her store again, since Allison came there?  I just don't get Helen as a "poor little victim."  If Noah leaves her, she won't be poor, she won't have to go on food stamps, she won't have to leave the brownstone.  True, Noah would have broken her heart, but many women get screwed over financially as well as having their hearts broken.

 

I don't see Helen as a "poor little victim" either but that doesn't mean that I, as a viewer, can't sympathize with her. Is her resulting financial situation the only way to identify with her (or not)?  One of the most interesting things about this show is that each of the four main characters elicit many different reactions from me - sympathy, disdain, pity, etc. - none of which have anything to do with their financial situation. Clearly, money isn't going to be a source of happiness for any of them.

Edited November 25, 2014 by Ellaria Sand

[attica]

I don't know. I think the adage Living Well is the Best Revenge should apply for Helen. And if Living Well is having an omelet at the Lobster Roll, Oscar can start cracking those eggs.

Edited November 25, 2014 by attica

[Cirien]

  If Noah leaves her, she won't be poor, she won't have to go on food stamps, she won't have to leave the brownstone.  True, Noah would have broken her heart, but many women get screwed over financially as well as having their hearts broken.

This sounds exactly like what Alison was saying when criticising Helen for not knowing her child was missing. Like she has three other kids, Alison and she might be focused on the younger one. Just because she has money doesn't mean she can't be hurt, the money won't heal her hurts. If I were Helen I probably would close down that store, and move it because not only is Alison inadvertently irresponsible for ruining childhood memories, (remember it's not just the restaurant, it's the ranch too,) Alison's visit to her shop is the second time that Alison has come into a space that Helen considers *hers* (the party at the house).

 

Emptions are irrational, She has every right to feel like a victim, just as Alison had every right to wallow in her grief. You can't say one type of pain is greater than the other. (and also both the EW, recap and the Tom and Lorenzo recaps have picked up on the fact that Alsion focusing on her grief blinded her to the fact that Cole has suffered too but that's OT)

[Ellaria]

 

Emptions are irrational, She has every right to feel like a victim, just as Alison had every right to wallow in her grief. You can't say one type of pain is greater than the other. (and also both the EW, recap and the Tom and Lorenzo recaps have picked up on the fact that Alsion focusing on her grief blinded her to the fact that Cole has suffered too but that's OT)

 

Agree. Its also nice to find someone else who appreciates the recaps by Tom and Lorenzo.

[Neurochick]

Well, I still think Helen is very entitled and spoiled.

 

I did read the Tom and Lorenzo recap and one thing they mentioned that is true, neither Noah or Alison initiate anything.  Alison seems to be sleepwalking through life, being what Cherry wants her to be, what Cole wants her to be.  Noah is trying to be what he thinks Helen wants him to be, but he's not being himself, he's never told Helen, "this is what I want to do."  Just like it was Cole who told Alison that he wanted to try again, so Alison stopped taking her birth control pills.  She never said to him, "I want to try again."   She just let Cole make that decision for her.

[Boundary]

Emotions are irrational, She has every right to feel like a victim, just as Alison had every right to wallow in her grief. You can't say one type of pain is greater than the other. (and also both the EW, recap and the Tom and Lorenzo recaps have picked up on the fact that Alison focusing on her grief blinded her to the fact that Cole has suffered too but that's OT)

 

I don't agree with that conclusion in those recaps. Just because it is the first time we as viewers have seen Cole's grief doesn't mean it's Alison's first time too. Cole talks about finding it hard to breath, don't you think Alison noticed that? I bet he's noticed her tendency to cut herself. They are both grieving and they both don't know how to comfort each other. That's why Alison just sat there and listened to him, she doesn't know what else to do. 

Edited November 25, 2014 by Boundary

[Cirien]

I dunno, numerous studies have shown that very often when dealing with the loss of a child, too often the father is denied the same.....attention?

But maybe Alison did notice realise his grief.....intellectually. Whether she recognised it on an emotional level is another matter.

[Boundary]

Possibly. They both need counselling, maybe Helen can pay for it, it might save her marriage too!

[Cirien]

I thought they did go to counselling. However that may just grief counselling which rightly or wrongly would have been focused on Alison. And again Helen been asking to go to counselling for the past three weeks.  

[HumblePi]

Does anyone have any idea whose wedding was taking place the day that Scotty died?

[Sheenieb]

 

I didn't like Helen's issue with Alison being a waitress.  What job does Helen have?  Did she make it on her own, or did daddy help her?  What a witch.

While I'm quick to side-eye the slightest bit of snobbery, I hesitate to do so with Helen since her snobbery is from Noah's perspective. Is it accurate, or is he making her out to be a bitch in order to justify the affair in his mind?

 

Helen being snobby doesn't make sense to me since it's not as if Noah, on his own, can pro-vide for her in the manner to which she's become accustomed to (Real Housewives of ATL reference). So her harping on Alison's profession is not only shitty, but confusing considering Noah's working class background.

[Cirien]

While I'm quick to side-eye the slightest bit of snobbery, I hesitate to do so with Helen since her snobbery is from Noah's perspective. Is it accurate, or is he making her out to be a bitch in order to justify the affair in his mind?

 

Helen being snobby doesn't make sense to me since it's not as if Noah, on his own, can pro-vide for her in the manner to which she's become accustomed to (Real Housewives of ATL reference). So her harping on Alison's profession is not only shitty, but confusing considering Noah's working class background.

Not only that but what does it say about Noah????? I mean he's putting these sentiments into her mouth, so is he prejudiced and snobby too?

 

EDIT: I was just listening to the afterbuzz tv they suggested that maybe "Leon" was the "50 year old college professor", which she might of had a crush on (and they've clearly talked about it) which could be another part of the humiliation for Helen. For all the talk about Helen's supposed snobbery, and while these two thing don't go hand in hand, she clearly respects Noah enough to talk about it

Edited November 25, 2014 by Cirien

[shelley1234]

I don't agree with that conclusion in those recaps. Just because it is the first time we as viewers have seen Cole's grief doesn't mean it's Alison's first time too. Cole talks about finding it hard to breath, don't you think Alison noticed that? I bet he's noticed her tendency to cut herself. They are both grieving and they both don't know how to comfort each other. That's why Alison just sat there and listened to him, she doesn't know what else to do.

 

We at least had her reference it. In the 1st episode where Cole is at the fire pit laughing and drinking with friends, she makes a reference that he is able to seem to move on and do normal things and that she hates him for it.

 

While I'm quick to side-eye the slightest bit of snobbery, I hesitate to do so with Helen since her snobbery is from Noah's perspective. Is it accurate, or is he making her out to be a bitch in order to justify the affair in his mind?

 

Helen being snobby doesn't make sense to me since it's not as if Noah, on his own, can pro-vide for her in the manner to which she's become accustomed to (Real Housewives of ATL reference). So her harping on Alison's profession is not only shitty, but confusing considering Noah's working class background.

While yes, it is Noah's memory.....Alison's memories show the same attitude as well. At the party when Alison remarked at how Helen treated & spoke to the help, etc. While neither may be accurate...with both showing it, I consider it more likely.

[SHOgirl]

Helen being snobby doesn't make sense to me since it's not as if Noah, on his own, can pro-vide for her in the manner to which she's become accustomed to (Real Housewives of ATL reference). So her harping on Alison's profession is not only shitty, but confusing considering Noah's working class background.

While I am a born and raised Atlantan, I've not seen real housewives of Atlanta. But it is something my grandmother said, and probably her mother before her. Haha. I guess those Southernisms are universal.

[Blakeston]

Does anyone have any idea whose wedding was taking place the day that Scotty died?

 

They've never made that clear. We've been told that Alison, Scotty and Oscar were all there. And when the detective implied that it was odd that Oscar was invited, Alison said something like, "In Montauk, we invite our neighbors, even if we don't get along with them." And the detective said something like, "I guess that explains why you were invited."

 

So presumably both Oscar and Alison had some bad blood with whoever was getting married.

 

I don't recall they were both told that the investigation was into the death of Scotty. Noah asked why he’s been called in for questioning (Alison uses the term "interrogated"), the detective replied, “we’re just gathering up the information of anyone who knew the victim, to see if anyone might have motive to kill this fella.” 

 

I don't recall the exact dialogue, but there were references to Scotty being the victim in both Noah's scenes with the detective, and Alison's scenes with the detective.

 

Also (This refers to a comment by a writer, so I don't think this counts as a spoiler, but I'll spoiler-tag it just in case),

Sarah Treem said in an interview that the detective is investigating Scotty's

death when he's talking to Noah, and when he's talking to Alison.

[meep.meep]

Does anyone have any idea whose wedding was taking place the day that Scotty died?

 

I've assumed that it was Hal (the brother who is now in the hospital) and Mary Kate.

 

It's felt strange all through the series that Helen didn't know Alison.  She knew the Lockhart brothers, they come to Montauk every summer, and the Lobster Roll seems to be the place to go to with kids to eat.

 

Mare Winningham is sure grabbing up all the meaty parts for middle-aged women.  The scene in the kitchen was intense.

[HumblePi]

For *you* maybe. For it's not only the loss of her childhood restaurant but also a constant remainder that her husband was willing to throw 20 years of marriage out of the window.

 

It bears repeating. Everyone we see through Noah and Alison's are coloured through their perceptions of them. So yeah Helen may be a snob. But that could also be Noah's snobbery coming out, and yeah just because he's teacher who remembers to tip at a restaurant doesn't mean he's not a snob. He could very well be. And it could also be that constant mentions of Alison being a waitress, are Noah's thoughts and he chastising himself for throwing his marriage away.

I think that Noah is not only a snob, but he's a selfish snob at that. He was tempted in the pilot episode by the young woman in the pool who was flirting with him. Oh yeah, he wanted to tap that, the thought crossed his mind more than once. But he's shrewd, he knows that having any affair with someone so close to home is not a great idea. He knew he'd have to deal with seeing her at the club even after he broke it off. That would be messy. He was definitely on the prowl for a sex toy, not someone to love. He was committed to his wife and family. Alison fit the bill absolutely perfectly. She was needy, she was hot, she was willing. Not only that, but he could lust her and leave her at the end of the summer and just wash his hands of her. I think over the years that Noah had been sufficiently emasculated since he owes his father-in-law for the home he lives in. That brownstone is in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn where the prices range from $900,000 for an entry level so-so unit to $6 million for one similar to the one the Solloways inhabit.

They've never made that clear. We've been told that Alison, Scotty and Oscar were all there. And when the detective implied that it was odd that Oscar was invited, Alison said something like, "In Montauk, we invite our neighbors, even if we don't get along with them." And the detective said something like, "I guess that explains why you were invited."

 

So presumably both Oscar and Alison had some bad blood with whoever was getting married.

 

 

I don't recall the exact dialogue, but there were references to Scotty being the victim in both Noah's scenes with the detective, and Alison's scenes with the detective.

 

Also (This refers to a comment by a writer, so I don't think this counts as a spoiler, but I'll spoiler-tag it just in case),

I had mentioned that I had a suspicion that the two interviews were done in two different time spans for two different deaths.

Edited November 26, 2014 by HumblePi

[Guest Accused Dingo]

So are we saying Helen deserves to be cheated on an treated badly because she might be a snob and her onl real problem before the affair were "white people problems"? Like white people aren't allowed to have problems and emotional attachments that are just as important as real as Alison's husband who love his home when the tourirs leave and hates the cuty. I actually think he isire a snob then Helen.

[blixie]

I also recall them mentioning Scotty in both interview scenes Noah and Allison. 

 

 

It's felt strange all through the series that Helen didn't know Alison.  She knew the Lockhart brothers, they come to Montauk every summer, and the Lobster Roll seems to be the place to go to with kids to eat.

 

But Allison only started working at the Lobster Roll after Gabriel died, before that she was a nurse, so it's conceivable Helen had never run into Allison much less remember doing so. I definitely think Helen has class issues, she might know the Lockhart boys, but she didn't interact or socialize with them as peers. 

[Blakeston]

I had mentioned that I had a suspicion that the two interviews were done in two different time spans for two different deaths.

 

Right, and I'm saying that while the two interrogations may very well have been done in two different time periods (I suspect that's the case), we've gotten confirmation that both interrogations were related to Scotty's death.

Edited November 26, 2014 by Blakeston

[izabella]

It's felt strange all through the series that Helen didn't know Alison.  She knew the Lockhart brothers, they come to Montauk every summer, and the Lobster Roll seems to be the place to go to with kids to eat.

 

I always thought it was strange, too.  I know Allison worked as a peds nurse before her son's death and wouldn't always have been a waitress at the Lobster Roll, but she was married to Cole for years and years. 

[HumblePi]

So are we saying Helen deserves to be cheated on an treated badly because she might be a snob and her onl real problem before the affair were "white people problems"? Like white people aren't allowed to have problems and emotional attachments that are just as important as real as Alison's husband who love his home when the tourirs leave and hates the cuty. I actually think he isire a snob then Helen.

I think that Helen is a snob only because of her social standing, her affluence and her avoidance of people that are regarded as inferior. Helen was born into a family that wasn't merely 'wealthy' they were absolutely filthy rich. And it wasn't only wealth from her parents, it was old money from several past generations. But being a snob doesn't make Helen a bad person by any means. Quite the contrary. She's a great mother, a devoted wife, a good daughter. She loves Noah and even though she may have had a 'fling' in her own past, she wants this family to survive.

[Boundary]

So are we saying Helen deserves to be cheated on an treated badly because she might be a snob and her onl real problem before the affair were "white people problems"? 

 

Of course not, no one deserves to be cheated on. But Alison has shown snippets of snobbery, that shouldn't be swept under the carpet simply because her husband is cheating on her.

Edited November 26, 2014 by Boundary

[Cirien]

pssst Boundary I think you mean Helen, but it's okay.

 

I think Noah should also be called on his snobbery too. He's making himself look too perfect.

[jrlr]

pssst Boundary I think you mean Helen, but it's okay.

 

I think Noah should also be called on his snobbery too. He's making himself look too perfect.

He doesn't look perfect to me.  I think Noah is a hypocrite and a fraud, and - unlike a lot of you here - I think his confession to Helen was incredibly selfish, done just to make himself feel better.  Exactly what Max had warned him not to do.  

[Neurochick]

I still don't like Helen or Cole, but I also don't like Noah or Alison.  

 

I think this show really shines a light on how selfish an affair can be.  Both Noah and Alison were unhappy in their marriages.  Okay, that happens.  But when you're unhappy with something you deal with it.  Talk to your spouse, get therapy, individual and/or couples.  Try to figure out why you're so unhappy; is the relationship abusive, stifling?  Is the unhappiness something that ties back to childhood?  Does the person have unrealistic expectations of marriage, their spouse, the world in general?  

 

Neither Noah nor Alison did that, they simply checked out, and had an affair and made even more people unhappy.

[Constantinople]

Thanks to Noah, Helen also is faced with abandoning her past or risking a painful future, for now, Helen must either forever forgo the joy of sharing a favorite childhood restaurant with her family, or forever be slapped in the face with the memory of Noah's affair every time they go out for breakfast in Montauk. Either way, Helen, and her family, suffer the pain of loss that can never end.

 

I think that forgoing a childhood restaurant with family is the height of first world problems.

So you admit that Cole is being crushed between the Scylla of Thorstein Veblen's conspicuous consumption and the Charybdis of Adam Smith's invisible coked-up hand?

 

 

For *you* maybe. For it's not only the loss of her childhood restaurant but also a constant remainder that her husband was willing to throw 20 years of marriage out of the window.

 

 

So, does that mean that Helen can never go to her parent's home again?  Can she walk into her store again, since Allison came there?

On a more serious note, I imagine Helen will visit her parents again, but when she does, she may find it hard not to think about the party, when Alison was walking around in a low cut dress that was so tight that it looked as if it could have been spray painted on.

As for Alison's visit to the store, now Helen has to worry about whether Alison is some kind of lunatic.

[EtheltoTillie]

I noticed that the blackmail loan check was written in August 2014.  I think that must have been a continuity mistake.  Shouldn't it have been 2012?

 

The scene about the Vanity Fair profile was hilarious.  Loved learning that Dad's work was ghost edited by Mom, and he'd been torturing Noah on false pretenses.  What a tool, and Noah rightly earned the right to savor it.

[Higgs]

Noah showed no intention of ending it before he discovered the drug dealing. He had even proposed shacking up with Alison for a month at an artist colony. (Sure, it was a starry-eyed fantasy with Cole undead, but it's revealing of the REM state of his waking mind.)

I'm not sure what you mean by "Cole undead."

The implied question, above, prompted the following sequence of thoughts:

Oh, c'mon, it's just a joke. All it meant was "alive."

Ok, ok, it was a misuse of poetic licence, too-clever-by-half.

Oh no, "undead" is a specific zombie-genre term, meaning the living dead. Shit.

[Many, many hours pass.]

Wait a minute, maybe I'd serendipitously stumbled onto something significant. That a part of Alison and Cole, individually and collectively, had died with the tragic death of their son, that their marriage had become a ghostly going-through-the motions. And then I remembered:

"I was screaming into the canyon at the moment of my death..." (opening lyrics)

Noah (to the detective): "She seemed like the lonliest girl in the world."

Alison:"What do you see now, when you look at me?"

Noah: "What do you think I see?"

Alison: "Death."

So Alison goes to Noah to find life, and Cole closes the birth control pill box to make life, and the affair ultimately kills one marriage but regenerates the other.

The Lord taketh away, and the Lord giveth. Baruch atah Adonai.

Edited November 26, 2014 by Higgs

[HumblePi]

I still don't like Helen or Cole, but I also don't like Noah or Alison.  

 

I think this show really shines a light on how selfish an affair can be.  Both Noah and Alison were unhappy in their marriages.  Okay, that happens.  But when you're unhappy with something you deal with it.  Talk to your spouse, get therapy, individual and/or couples.  Try to figure out why you're so unhappy; is the relationship abusive, stifling?  Is the unhappiness something that ties back to childhood?  Does the person have unrealistic expectations of marriage, their spouse, the world in general?  

 

Neither Noah nor Alison did that, they simply checked out, and had an affair and made even more people unhappy.

I actually like Alison, Helen and Cole. Noah grates on my nerves. Yes, Alison and Noah were selfish but Noah's reasons for having a "fling" as he puts it, was definitely intentional. He was out there looking for it. He needed to boost up a deflated ego, whereas I don't think Alison was actually looking for an affair, I think she needed an affair. She was brain dead, and her emotions were dead. There was a genuine psychological need for her to connect with someone emotionally. I believe that she actually fell in love with Noah, but I don't for a minute think that Noah felt anything more than lust for Alison.

 

Regarding the drowning death of Gabriel. There's never been any hint at who was responsible. There's always someone responsible when a four year old drowns. My theory is that Cole was teaching Gabriel to either fish or surf and he drowned on Cole's watch. I think that may be a reason that Alison put up a psychological wall between them, because even though it was an accidental death, she might blame Cole and resent him for it.

Edited November 26, 2014 by HumblePi

[HumblePi]

I noticed that the blackmail loan check was written in August 2014.  I think that must have been a continuity mistake.  Shouldn't it have been 2012?

 

The scene about the Vanity Fair profile was hilarious.  Loved learning that Dad's work was ghost edited by Mom, and he'd been torturing Noah on false pretenses.  What a tool, and Noah rightly earned the right to savor it.

Now I'm confused. Isn't the blackmail and the affair both supposed to be in current time, 2014?  Gabriel died in 2012 when he was four years old, and Alison said that "he would be six now".

[Constantinople]

Regarding the drowning death of Gabriel. There's never been any hint at who was responsible. There's always someone responsible when a four year old drowns. My theory is that Cole was teaching Gabriel to either fish or surf and he drowned on Cole's watch. I think that may be a reason that Alison put up a psychological wall between them, because even though it was an accidental death, she might blame Cole and resent him for it.

Alternative theory: Alison's desire to leave Montauk predates Gabriel's death, only Alison didn't want to follow in her mother Athena's footsteps by abandoning her child. Afterwards, Alison felt too guilty to leave.

[EtheltoTillie]

Now I'm confused. Isn't the blackmail and the affair both supposed to be in current time, 2014?  Gabriel died in 2012 when he was four years old, and Alison said that "he would be six now".

Hey, then I'm as confused as you are.  I guess I'll go on not caring about the exact continuity.  But I thought people have been talking about the policeman two years in the future. 

[Direwolf]

Now I'm confused. Isn't the blackmail and the affair both supposed to be in current time, 2014?  Gabriel died in 2012 when he was four years old, and Alison said that "he would be six now".

I was under the impression that the affair happened in current time (2014) and the interrogation scenes are in the future. 

[HumblePi]

Alternative theory: Alison's desire to leave Montauk predates Gabriel's death, only Alison didn't want to follow in her mother Athena's footsteps by abandoning her child. Afterwards, Alison felt too guilty to leave.

 

 

Hey, then I'm as confused as you are.  I guess I'll go on not caring about the exact continuity.  But I thought people have been talking about the policeman two years in the future. 

 

 

I was under the impression that the affair happened in current time (2014) and the interrogation scenes are in the future. 

Now I'm more confused than ever. I have to let out my frustration about this timeline, it's making me nuts trying to figure it out.

[Neurochick]

I actually like Alison, Helen and Cole. Noah grates on my nerves. Yes, Alison and Noah were selfish but Noah's reasons for having a "fling" as he puts it, was definitely intentional. He was out there looking for it. He needed to boost up a deflated ego, whereas I don't think Alison was actually looking for an affair, I think she needed an affair. She was brain dead, and her emotions were dead. There was a genuine psychological need for her to connect with someone emotionally. I believe that she actually fell in love with Noah, but I don't for a minute think that Noah felt anything more than lust for Alison.

 

 

I think Noah was lying when he told Helen he'd had a "fling."  I think he was trying to make himself look less guilty.  First he said it was a fling, Helen asked if it happened one time, thinking, "Maybe Noah got drunk and slept with some woman and then nothing happened."  Noah then said that it happened more than once, and as Helen kept asking, Noah finally said that it lasted 8 weeks, Helen then said, "that's the whole summer."  Helen realized that it was no fling at all, but a full blown affair.  

 

I think both Noah and Alison were unconsciously looking for something.  Alison was dead inside, looking for something on the outside to make her feel whole again, and Noah wanted someone to make him feel that he was okay, and not just leeching off his father-in-law.

[SHOgirl]

Now I'm more confused than ever. I have to let out my frustration about this timeline, it's making me nuts trying to figure it out.

The affair is in the present and the murder/wedding are in the future.

[Higgs]

The girl at the swimming pool was younger and prettier than Alison. Noah was alone with her, in the open anonymity of a metropolis. Noah first saw Alison while in the bosom of his entire family, in the closed confines of a tiny tourist town, where everyone knows everyone. The difference between his immediate, spontaneous reactions to the two women is dramatic. Lust is inseparable from romantic love, but lust alone would not produce the following utterances:

Noah (to the detective): "She seemed like the loneliest girl in the world. I just thought she was bad news."

Noah (to Alison): "There is nothing about you that seems easy. And whatever darkness you think you're hiding, it's written all over your fucking face. And you know what? I kind of like it."

In part, Noah finally has his chance for heroism in the rescue of a damsel in distress, something which Helen never needed. Alison's (thousand and one) tales caused Noah to connect emotionally with her, and, in a reversal of stereotypical gender roles, he provided comfort, out of his needs more than hers.

Noah (to Alison) "I've never cheated on Helen. I mean, it's not that I haven't wanted to. Of course I have. I just... I could never convince myself it was worth it."

Alison had become "worth it".

[JudyObscure]

There's always someone responsible when a four year old drowns. My theory is that Cole was teaching Gabriel to either fish or surf and he drowned on Cole's watch. I think that may be a reason that Alison put up a psychological wall between them, because even though it was an accidental death, she might blame Cole and resent him for it.

 

I agree with that. Allison said something in an early episode about her anger at Cole being almost unbearable.

 

I thought Helen, Cole and Mare were all doing great acting jobs this time.  The MIL anger was totally believable to me. My own MIL and I were extremely close for ten years, right until the instant she found out I was divorcing her son.  I never blamed her.  A mother's going to defend her son no matter who's  "at fault."

 

Maybe it's because I'm a WASP myself (so long as you don't have to be rich to be one) but my reaction would have looked a lot like Helen's.  I'm not a scream and throw things person, I'm a silent seether.  I loved Helen's jerky hand movements and hyperventilating.   Another thing that had an authentic ring for me was the scene in the store.  Even though Helen didn't yet know about the affair, she had, had suspicions all summer.  She sensed her husband's interest and so didn't like Allison -- that, more than snobbery might have prompted the "waitress," remarks -- but she knew she was indebted to Allison over the choking incident.   I think her suspicions went up a notch  when she saw Allison in the store and so she wanted to give Allison the formal "Thank you," she owed her to square things up.. In Helen's mind she will be free to take the gloves off next time they meet.

 

I hope they have a season from the spouse's point of view, but I think one from Whitney would be great, too.  "What Whitney Knew."