S02.E10: 210

[islandgal140]

Well, I enjoyed that episode. I thought the session in therapy was great, and actually had me kind of liking Noah. There's a lot of turmoil rolling around in that guy. Treem does therapy pretty well, or , at least, she makes the therapy seem very realistiic and that opinion is based on my own experience with working with a therapist. Family of Origin affects so much of why we choose what we choose.

I also saw, at least in Noah's mind, that he took ownership of being a good father, a present father and he still cares about what happens with Helen. She still influences his thoughts, as in the talk of reading obituaries and looking for clues that a man had a good life. It seems that Noah is going through what many people go through at his age, which is the realization that life is finite and how do we not squander it. He's torn between wanting to be a good man (as he thinks his father was not) and also being this very dedicated writer with no responsibilities. That's not unusual at all. I would say many men struggle with that dilemma. 

 

After Noah's episode 9 coke fueled, on the cusp of sex with PR lady, model sex swim party I thought about Treem stating how much the writers love writing Noah and I thought, good gawd woman if that is how you write for characters you love I would hate to have to watch characters you loathe. However, after episode 10 I get it. Nope, Noah to me is no more likeable or sympathetic than he was last week but I can see the love. He provides no more a reliable narrative than the other characters but he feels like the most fleshed out defined characters on the show. They seem to really take the time to peel the many sticky layers of the rotting onion that is Noah. We seem to know more about his psyche, upbringing, hopes and fears than any other character.  This could be partly due to Noah being a writer and having more of a gift for self reflection.  Alison to me is mostly an enigma. She just gives me the impression of being a person always waiting for something to happen. I don't think she knows what she really wants and just goes where the strongest current carries her. 

 

That being said BWAH... true love indeed. Noah is keeping the finalization of his divorce from Alison, wanting to bang a student and plow his way through France or in other words do whatever the hell he wants without repercussions. I do wonder if there was no Joanie if he would even still be with Alison.  

 

Is it even ethical for a therapist to have a solo session with one member of a couple that she is co-counseling?

 

 

Rewatching and at the end when the baby says Da Da, I just remembered that babies usually say da da first because the d sound is easier to make than the m sound. So Joanie has it backwards. LOL.

 

True, but I prefer to think of it as Joanie (awful name) having awesome power of awareness for her age and trying to avoid claiming that asshat as daddy (maybe waiting for another contender to arrive) for as long as she could.

[mansonlamps]

 

Plus "Joanie" makes me think of Chachi. It feels more than a little out of date in 2015.

Apparently that's the trend, see "Gerald" and "Edie" on Grandfathered.

[hoodooznoodooz]

Was there any reference to Cole torching Allison's grandmother's house? Would most people just shrug that off?

[WaltersHair]

Watched this for the second time and now I'm wondering if Noah really did kill Scotty.  The hero of his next book 'got rid of Hitler' and while Scotty is no Hitler, maybe Noah thought he was doing the world a favor by making him road kill.

[JenE4]

Was there any reference to Cole torching Allison's grandmother's house? Would most people just shrug that off?

How is Cole alive? That looked like his intention was suicide. But now he's better than ever, so I suppose we're supposed to take it as a Phoenix rising from the ashes and not question it...or anything else that's happened in the last year.

[Boundary]

That being said BWAH... true love indeed. Noah is keeping the finalization of his divorce from Alison, wanting to bang a student and plow his way through France or in other words do whatever the hell he wants without repercussions. I do wonder if there was no Joanie if he would even still be with Alison.  

 

There is a catch though. Noah insisted on being honest (and I believed him) - basically that if he married Alison he would only do so if he could make a good go of it. He wouldn't want to lie, to pretend he wanted to marry her when all he wanted was to bang his students. But, as the therapist said, the fact that Noah confessed to these feelings (before acting on them) and was clearly struggling with them showed what kind of man he is. And as we know, he ended up marrying Alison after all and so we can assume he is making a good go of it. I'd say Noah got his therapy this week, just like Alison got hers from Robert earlier in the season. We just have to wait and see the combined results now, paternity and murder issues notwithstanding. 

Edited December 8, 2015 by Boundary

[scrb]

Noah used to teach high school and now he has 26 year old women as his students?

[nara]

Noah used to teach high school and now he has 26 year old women as his students?

Maybe teaching a writing seminar? Not likely that he's a full time professor.

[Anne Elk]

There is a catch though. Noah insisted on being honest (and I believed him) - basically that if he married Alison he would only do so if he could make a good go of it. He wouldn't want to lie, to pretend he wanted to marry her when all he wanted was to bang his students. But, as the therapist said, the fact that Noah confessed to these feelings (before acting on them) and was clearly struggling with them showed what kind of man he is. And as we know, he ended up marrying Alison after all and so we can assume he is making a good go of it. I'd say Noah got his therapy this week, just like Alison got hers from Robert earlier in the season. We just have to wait and see the combined results now, paternity and murder issues notwithstanding. 

 

But all this supposed maturity and insight on Noah's part isn't stopping him from moving in with Alison (which seems to imply a monogamous commitment to both of them), nor does it stop him from apparently leading her to believe that they're engaged and going to be married as soon as his divorce comes through. He's still not being honest with Alison about what he wants, and wanting to leave therapy makes me think he probably doesn't plan on changing that anytime soon. That's why I was interpreting some of the therapist's remarks as almost sarcastic. Noah really is doing the least he could possibly do to spare Alison's feelings.

 

And I just find it hard to believe that someone who already went through a 20-year marriage is so conflicted about what marriage entails and what he thinks the purpose of his life is. Was he sleepwalking all that time? It makes more sense to me that he's really just not admitting that he wishes Alison and Joanie would go away so he could go screw around in France.

 

It would be almost worth it to have the Omar Bradley opus get published to critical raves, just so we could watch Alison try to read herself into the character of Marlene Dietrich. LOL! 

Edited December 8, 2015 by Anne Elk

[Boundary]

 That's why I was interpreting some of the therapist's remarks as almost sarcastic. Noah really is doing the least he could possibly do to spare Alison's feelings.

 

But why is his wishing to go to France for carefree sex worth more than his wish to be a good parent, partner and writer/teacher? Noah pretty much showed us how the sausage is made, and it is usually not pretty. The therapist rightly connected the dots between hesitating to show the divorce papers, and his upbringing, and desire to be a great writer. Noah wasn't talking to Max, he was being prodded to think aloud by a professional and encouraged to say things he wouldn't normally say to anyone, Alison included. This was the beginnings of the process of committing to his second marriage - "trying to think before I act"  - but the keyword here is 'process'. Unfortunately, due to time jumps this season, we probably won't witness that transformation, it'll happen offscreen - a key complaint of mine this season.

Edited December 8, 2015 by Boundary

[bunnywithanaxe]

The music in the background reminded me of In Treatment too....

Loved Cynthia Nixon in this, but wouldn't it have been hilarious if Amy Ryan had played that role?

 

ETA: What am I thinking? Dianne Weist.

Edited December 8, 2015 by bunnywithanaxe

[Former Nun]

Well, I think a lot of people have these thoughts.

 

 

Many have thoughts about being "someone" someday...but the actual words "a great man" are difficult for me.

[meep.meep]

Noah is delusional if he thinks that he IS or every COULD BE a "great man."   Do well-balanced people really think like this?

All the time. Especially those, like Noah, who have realized that they cannot be considered a "good man."

[izabella]

But all this supposed maturity and insight on Noah's part isn't stopping him from moving in with Alison (which seems to imply a monogamous commitment to both of them), nor does it stop him from apparently leading her to believe that they're engaged and going to be married as soon as his divorce comes through. He's still not being honest with Alison about what he wants, and wanting to leave therapy makes me think he probably doesn't plan on changing that anytime soon. That's why I was interpreting some of the therapist's remarks as almost sarcastic. Noah really is doing the least he could possibly do to spare Alison's feelings.

 

And I just find it hard to believe that someone who already went through a 20-year marriage is so conflicted about what marriage entails and what he thinks the purpose of his life is. Was he sleepwalking all that time? It makes more sense to me that he's really just not admitting that he wishes Alison and Joanie would go away so he could go screw around in France.

 

Noah is also setting up the perfect excuse for himself, and a way to blame Allison if he's unhappy with his choice:  I could have been great, but I chose you and Joanie instead.

[Anne Elk]

But why is his wishing to go to France for carefree sex worth more than his wish to be a good parent, partner and writer/teacher? Noah pretty much showed us how the sausage is made, and it is usually not pretty. The therapist rightly connected the dots between hesitating to show the divorce papers, and his upbringing, and desire to be a great writer. Noah wasn't talking to Max, he was being prodded to think aloud by a professional and encouraged to say things he wouldn't normally say to anyone, Alison included. This was the beginnings of the process of committing to his second marriage - "trying to think before I act"  - but the keyword here is 'process'. Unfortunately, due to time jumps this season, we probably won't witness that transformation, it'll happen offscreen - a key complaint of mine this season.

 

Not that carefree sex is automatically worth more than a happy family, but Noah already had a happy family with Helen, and he already broke it up for the sake of carefree sex. And now everybody acts like that never happened. He's going through the same problem all over again, but neither he nor anybody else ever seems to consider that maybe he should relate some of what he already went through with his divorce to what he's feeling now. That's why this character arc doesn't work for me -- he should have more insight into this dilemma than he does, because he already knows what it feels like to live with these choices.

 

I agree totally about the time jumps interfering with the development of the story. Maybe if I could see more of Noah and Alison being happy together it would seem more real to me that he might actually want to be with her. But since I've only seen him act like an overaged frat boy and avoid committing to his new family while daydreaming about Omar Bradley in France, it feels like he's making excuses.

Edited December 8, 2015 by Anne Elk

[glowbug]

Rewatching and at the end when the baby says Da Da, I just remembered that babies usually say da da first because the d sound is easier to make than the m sound. So Joanie has it backwards. LOL.

 

I had heard this too so I was surprised when my daughter's first consonant was "m". She said "ma" well before "da" so I decided to look it up, and when I consulted Google about half the sites claimed "da" was easier than "ma" while the other half claimed "ma" was easier than "da". It seems as though there's no consensus and I've since met quite a few babies whose first babble was "ma". 

Edited December 8, 2015 by glowbug

[Cosmocrush]

Maybe I was projecting, but I didn't think it was coincidence that the very next scene after the closeup of baby Joanie's face was Cole's happy shiny face; I thought that baby looked just like him!  I'm pretty sure Scotty saw it (the resemblance) too which is what panicked Allison into contacting Cole before Scotty could.  Then she lost her nerve but it's okay because Cole doesn't talk to Scotty at all anymore.   I think that's why Cole seeing Joanie in the courthouse was a moment - I think he recognized the resemblance too.  Or maybe he was startled by how much Joanie looks like Gabriel, which could happen with half-siblings.  I don't really know.

 

 

Ugh! The nurse wanting to "better" herself by becoming a doctor is such a cliche. Why not have Allison continue her studies so she can become a nurse practitioner? Maybe I'm taking it too personally, but this is a standard plot device on lots of medical dramas.

Including ER where Maura Tierney a.k.a. Helen Soloway played a nurse/med student who had to drop out of medical school and work as a nurse again a.k.a Dr. Abbey Lockhart.  Heh. 

Edited December 8, 2015 by Cosmocrush

[cardigirl]

I had heard this too so I was surprised when my daughter's first consonant was "m". She said "ma" well before "da" so I decided to look it up, and when I consulted Google about half the sites claimed "da" was easier than "ma" while the other half claimed "ma" was easier than "da". It seems as though there's no consensus and I've since met quite a few babies whose first babble was "ma".

Ha! Well, then, maybe my doctor was trying to comfort me when both of my kids said dada before mama. Dang kids.

[AsanteSana]

As an NP, I concur that it would've made more sense, not just for her but for the storyline, for Alison to continue on to become a nurse practitioner. Any type of grad school with a one year old would be horrendously difficult to pull off..I'm sure Noah hasn't changed quite as many diapers or cooked quite as many dinners over the past year as he claimed in therapy.

Cynthia Nixon as therapist was a distraction! Was her hair turning white?

[teapot]

Maybe I was projecting, but I didn't think it was coincidence that the very next scene after the closeup of baby Joanie's face was Cole's happy shiny face; I thought that baby looked just like him!  I'm pretty sure Scotty saw it (the resemblance) too which is what panicked Allison into contacting Cole before Scotty could.  Then she lost her nerve but it's okay because Cole doesn't talk to Scotty at all anymore.   I think that's why Cole seeing Joanie in the courthouse was a moment - I think he recognized the resemblance too.  Or maybe he was startled by how much Joanie looks like Gabriel, which could happen with half-siblings.  I don't really know.

 

 

Including ER where Maura Tierney a.k.a. Helen Soloway played a nurse/med student who had to drop out of medical school and work as a nurse again a.k.a Dr. Abbey Lockhart.  Heh. 

Lockhart?  That sounds familiar....

[Texasmom1970]

I might be the only one but I did not like the episode, except for the Cole interaction.

Bored through Noah's therapy session listening to him try to suggest he is a good man and maybe could be a great one. Just curious who the hell is he using as his barometer upto judge his behavior?

All his part did was remind me what a walking cliche he is. Cheated on his wife of what 20 years with someone younger, now married to her, now cheating on her and fantasizing about a student that's what only six years older than Whitney! Ughh!

I totally don't buy in Allison's version that Noah was holding Joanie and happily made supper. More likely he would be pissed he was having to watch his children instead of writing what he thinks will be comparable to a work done by Hemingway, and probably ordering takeout!

On the plus side little Joanie I think she is adorable therefore she is Coles ☺

[Boundary]

Not that carefree sex is automatically worth more than a happy family, but Noah already had a happy family with Helen, and he already broke it up for the sake of carefree sex. And now everybody acts like that never happened. He's going through the same problem all over again, but neither he nor anybody else ever seems to consider that maybe he should relate some of what he already went through with his divorce to what he's feeling now. That's why this character arc doesn't work for me -- he should have more insight into this dilemma than he does, because he already knows what it feels like to live with these choices.

 

Noah basically said when he proposed at Cold Springs he hadn't grasped the enormity of what he was getting into, so if he'd married then then yes he would be going through the same problem. But his hesitancy to get married now, not trusting himself that he will be faithful, Nixon's character said, is common among people who started out as affairs. Still, I thought Noah's problem was more nuanced than that. He gave himself permission to cheat with Eden and it was Whitney who brought him back to earth, so that permission was still lingering about hence the attraction to the student. But it seems he now knows which man Alison and Joanie deserve and which man wanted to write this great book. Did he choose the former or did he find a compromise?

 

I honestly find that inner conflict fascinating. Like Noah's view on fidelity, he doesn't think his father should get plaudits for being faithful because he checked out of the marriage when his wife got too sick. Yet Noah himself remained faithful for 20 years, so he must have thought it was worth something, maybe just not as much as being a good father. And when he left the family for Alison, a lot must have been happening on the inside. Should he have stayed with Helen for the sake of the kids? Was that dishonesty too far? Noah is not a cliche, not when the writers reveal so much of what is going on inside the man's head. They don't do it often enough.

[cardigirl]

Noah basically said when he proposed at Cold Springs he hadn't grasped the enormity of what he was getting into, so if he'd married then then yes he would be going through the same problem. But his hesitancy to get married now, not trusting himself that he will be faithful, Nixon's character said, is common among people who started out as affairs. Still, I thought Noah's problem was more nuanced than that. He gave himself permission to cheat with Eden and it was Whitney who brought him back to earth, so that permission was still lingering about hence the attraction to the student. But it seems he now knows which man Alison and Joanie deserve and which man wanted to write this great book. Did he choose the former or did he find a compromise?

 

I honestly find that inner conflict fascinating. Like Noah's view on fidelity, he doesn't think his father should get plaudits for being faithful because he checked out of the marriage when his wife got too sick. Yet Noah himself remained faithful for 20 years, so he must have thought it was worth something, maybe just not as much as being a good father. And when he left the family for Alison, a lot must have been happening on the inside. Should he have stayed with Helen for the sake of the kids? Was that dishonesty too far? Noah is not a cliche, not when the writers reveal so much of what is going on inside the man's head. They don't do it often enough.

I agree with most of what you say, but I do think Noah IS a cliche, simply because many, many men go through this dilemma/debate.  It really is a pattern, especially when someone gets to their mid-forties.  Fear of death, fear of growing old and becoming irrelevant, drives many men (and women) to question their choices. The pull of love and family responsibilities vs. the desire to do something "great" with their lives becomes a real struggle for them.  And maybe this is what Treem was saying she wanted to explore.  Why is Noah a bad man because of one incident of cheating, of reaching for something he wanted that was not connected to his life with Helen?  In all other respects, he's stepped up.  He's caring for his children, he's being a father to Joanie, which means starting over with all of the work of an infant at 45 (or 46 or 47). He's being present. He did express his conflict to the therapist who brought out the FOO (family of origin) stuff.  And I think it was a legitimate question. Why does Noah's father get to be seen as a good man for having never cheated, but being absent during his wife's illness, but Noah is automatically 'bad' because of an affair.  

 

Now, his relationship with Whitney, I don't know if he's made any attempt to repair that.  But apparently after the hurricane, he realized he had 'lost his mind' and wanted to get back on even footing, thus trying to work with a counselor.  Not a bad idea, IMO.

 

I don't know whether Noah is a "good" man or not.  I don't know if we've been shown enough of him feeling guilt over Helen's grief, but it seemed to me that this episode did show that the kids were doing okay, and that Helen was doing okay too.  Going on safari with her boyfriend? Noah may have done her a BIG favor.  ;)

[jacksmom]

Hi! Does anyone know the name of the drink that Allison ordered at the bar with Cole? It is driving me crazy.

[GeminiDancer]

I wish the writers had this much fleshing out for Alison. Her story was overall dull to watch, aside from the scene where Cole is obviously in a much better place emotionally and mentally than Alison is. Previous comments about her being a reactionary character is right. I wish I knew her motivations and what's making her stay in a relationship that clearly makes her insecure.

 

Why is it that Alison always looks to be in pain when she is having sex with Noah lately? Was she really enjoying that? She did realize how much she uses sex to communicate what's she's afraid to say, so it felt like a huge step back here.

[Anne Elk]

I guess I think that what happened between Noah and Helen 2 years ago is far more relevant to his life now than what happened between his parents 30+ years ago. But probably a lot of therapists would disagree with me there!

 

I, too, wish the show would give some more insight into Alison, or at least have her do something where she isn't just reacting to another character. We know Noah is feeling the pull of his ambition to be a great writer, but what is motivating Alison? She apparently walked away from her medical studies without too many regrets, so it's not that. Even in the future trial scenes, it seems like everybody has a part to play in the action, but all we've seen Alison do is look worried. Maybe she will step up in the mystery plotline eventually, but if so, I hope it will be because she does something proactive, not just has other people doing things because of her.

[CleoCaesar]

.I'm sure Noah hasn't changed quite as many diapers or cooked quite as many dinners over the past year as he claimed in therapy.

 

What struck me about that part of the scene was how much of a sacrifice Noah was making it out to be. Jesus, you changed some diapers and cooked dinner?? THAT'S NOT SOMETHING YOU DESERVE A COOKIE FOR. It's expected behavior of an adult partner and fellow parent.

[918lux]

What struck me about that part of the scene was how much of a sacrifice Noah was making it out to be. Jesus, you changed some diapers and cooked dinner?? THAT'S NOT SOMETHING YOU DESERVE A COOKIE FOR. It's expected behavior of an adult partner and fellow parent.

Totally agree!  I felt like flying through the TV when the therapist told him he had done a tremendous amount!!  The same thing drives me crazy when I hear men say they have to "babysit" because their wife has a meeting that night....um no, you're not babysitting you're parenting.  Changing diapers and learning how to cook isn't making it up to someone, it's being an adult in an adult relationship.

[Blakeston]

My guess is that the writers were trying to tell us that Noah had done more than his fair share of the housework and childcare - especially with the therapist agreeing that he'd done so much.

If that's the case, though, they should have made it clearer. Considering what a douchebag Noah is, it would be perfectly in character for him to think that doing anything with the baby was going above and beyond.

Alison's professor said, "Aren't you my continuing ed student? So all of this should be familiar to you."   I took this to mean that after the birth of Joanie, Alison has decided to go back to nursing, but since it's been so long since she's practiced she's having to re-certify herself or something.  She may be in a class with other pre-med or med students but that doesn't necessarily mean that she's going to med school herself.

Continuing ed could also mean that Alison was taking pre-med bachelor's level courses to be able to get into med school. The professor gave her advice about finishing the class in order to get into med school, and she seemed to take it into consideration, rather than correcting him.

And they'd just reminded us that Alison originally wanted to be a doctor. I think the implication was that she was taking that class to try to get into med school, and then gave up on med school when it was too hard.

 

Was there any reference to Cole torching Allison's grandmother's house? Would most people just shrug that off?

 

In the hurricane episode, Cole mentioned that the buyer was going to tear the house down. So I suppose the new owner might be fine with it. I still feel like there would be some sort of investigation, though, even if the new owner didn't care.

 

Hi! Does anyone know the name of the drink that Allison ordered at the bar with Cole? It is driving me crazy.

She ordered a blanton neat.

Edited December 8, 2015 by Blakeston

[Duke2801]

It was great to see Cynthia Nixon- what a pleasant surprise cameo!  And she even got Noah to kinda-sorta pull his head out of his ass for a minute for some real talk.  Good job!  That said, I do agree she was a bit too indulgent towards him but again, that's Noah's perspective. Not necessarily how it really played out. 

 

blixie, on 07 Dec 2015 - 09:32 AM, said:

Cole and Alison share a knowing look, his look read to me like, oh that kid that you had right after we slept together, which clearly might be mine, but we won't talk about THAT. She even emphasizes the time frame (almost a year) and then I think Luisa walks in scuttling all that is unsaid between them. It's not a DEFINITE thing, but that's what I read on his face, and also in the context of them both being "happy" and having moved on with their lives at last, after so much pain.

 

I interpreted - from Cole's reaction to Luisa's admission that she was infertile - that having more children is very important to him. Therefore I just do not see him sweeping the notion that Joanie could possible be his under the rug so as to not "rock the boat." I mean, he slept with Alison when he barely knew Luisa, so it's not as though he was cheating on her the way that Alison was cheating on Noah. So yeah, in conclusion, I do not think that Cole has any inkling about Joanie's paternity at the time they met up at the bar (or even when he meets Joanie outside the courtroom).

 

grumpypanda, on 07 Dec 2015 - 12:16 PM, said:

I just pulled the arrest scene up on YouTube and Alison wasn't wearing scrubs. She had on a black (maybe dark blue) top.

 

Ha!  Once again, this discussion forum is a reflection of the differing POV's of the very show we are discussing. There are some who are sure she was wearing scrubs when Noah is arrested, and others of us who were positive she was not. Love it.

 

Ursula Parrott, on 07 Dec 2015 - 12:31 PM, said:

Has it been said explicitly that Scotty is run over after the wedding? Maybe the wedding is called off because of the death?

 

Yes. The attorney mentioned that very thing in his opening statements in the last "present day" courtroom scene.

 

beaker73, on 07 Dec 2015 - 2:53 PM, said:

Alison's professor said, "Aren't you my continuing ed student? So all of this should be familiar to you."   I took this to mean that after the birth of Joanie, Alison has decided to go back to nursing, but since it's been so long since she's practiced she's having to re-certify herself or something.  She may be in a class with other pre-med or med students but that doesn't necessarily mean that she's going to med school herself. 

 

Alison is definitely not wearing scrubs the night Noah is arrested. 

 

I found myself to be kind of happy that Helen was still with Dr. Tinder.  Go figure. 

 

Granted, this show is all about unreliable narrators. But I don't think both Noah (in his POV) and Alison's professor (in her POV) would have mentioned "med school" if that hadn't been part of her game plan at some point.  

 

Mhl2016, on 07 Dec 2015 - 7:12 PM, said:

In Noah's perspective, he said that Alison was always watching him with the baby. He thought it was because she was still angry with him, but I definitely thought they were hinting that Alison was trying to see if she could tell if Noah was the father. Was I the only one who thought that. I Also Thought When Cole said something to Alison along the lines of, "is that the only reason you wanted to meet with me?" That he was expecting her to tell him that the baby was his. Anyone else?

 

I didn't even thing it was a "hint." I pretty much think the writers are outright telling us that Alison is looking at Noah and Joanie to determine if there is a resemblance.

 

Was there any reference to Cole torching Allison's grandmother's house? Would most people just shrug that off?

 

 

No and I was surprised about that.  I wonder if she even knows the truth.  Maybe Cole played it off like it was an accident? 

[Duke2801]

Tara Ariano, on 07 Dec 2015 - 1:24 PM, said:

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

Can The Affair's Non-Marriage Be Saved?

Say this for Noah: he is getting much more efficient about torpedoing his relationships, as he drags his feet about finally giving marriage a second go with Alison.

 

May I just say that I love these 2-person recaps.  They are insightful and humorous.  Plus, I've never personally read a recap that reads more like a conversation.  Very innovative and enjoyable!

[cardigirl]

She ordered a blanton neat.

Humor an old lady and tell me if this is sophistication at its utmost?  I love me some whiskey, not sure why Blanton's would be the choice, unless it's a cool, hip, and expensive thing to do. 

 

(resolves to order Blanton's neat at some point)

[teapot]

When Cole was telling the story of breaking into The Lobster Roll on Alison's sweet 16, that tugged at my heart strings a little...thinking of those townie kids in a location where rich people "summer", at a place that was "theirs" after hours.

 

I hadn't realized that they'd been together that long...and I felt so badly for them, wondering how close they'd been, wondering if everything got all f'd up when they lost Gabriel  (unimagineable strain on a relationship, I'm sure... I can't speak to that and wish that no one ever would have to)

 

I hope that there's a way for Cole & Alison to end up together; that's what I'd really want, they still just seem so connected, but it's probably not gonna happen.

Edited December 8, 2015 by teapot

[truthaboutluv]

There were some subtle references last season that suggested that Cole and Alison were basically the quintessential small town, young love. When Athena showed up she suggested that part of the appeal of Cole to Alison was his large family, since Alison only had her grandmother and her flake of a mother who was constantly taking off. So it definitely sounded like she and Cole went way back to their teenage years. 

Edited December 8, 2015 by truthaboutluv

[missy jo]

I'm confused about Alison's RN degree. I thought she was a small-town Montauk girl who'd never really left. I even thought she'd mentioned those life choices before, which included staying with Cole the high school sweetheart (which would mean not going off to school). But becoming a registered nurse requires a four-year bachelor's degree and then some, right? And probably some type of residency (or whatever it's called) at a hospital?

 

First of all, she hasn't been portrayed as very bright. I think waitress was more on her level. Now I'm supposed to believe she could be a doctor, and frankly I feel alarmed for her patients.

[Boundary]

If that's the case, though, they should have made it clearer. Considering what a douchebag Noah is, it would be perfectly in character for him to think that doing anything with the baby was going above and beyond.

 

Not above and beyond but he clearly associates being a good parent with being a good man. Alison is trying to go back to med school and Noah changing diapers and cooking dinner is probably invaluable.

[Blakeston]

Not above and beyond but he clearly associates being a good parent with being a good man. Alison is trying to go back to med school and Noah changing diapers and cooking dinner is probably invaluable.

But cooking dinner sometimes and changing diapers sometimes is what you should do, as a parent. Noah is acting like his willingness to do those things is a grand gesture that makes up for his actions on the night that Joanie was born.

[nilyank]

Here is a stupid question. Noah already had four children before Joanie was born. Did he not change a diaper for his own kids?

[SlackerInc]

I didn't think this episode ended in a cliffhanger.  Richard Shiff, TV Attorney at Law's "well, well, well," and long face kind of told the story, if you ask me.

 

 

Guess we got our answer as to who's Joanie's daddy by Gottlief's reaction to the pacifier results?  Or will Treem make it more obvi -- maybe little Joanie will get super angsty or sulky or grow a beard?

 

You two seem to be sure that his expression made it clear that Cole is the dad, while I'm with the minority who thinks it was more like "oops, my theory was off base and it's Noah's baby after all".  So I guess it is an ambiguous cliffhanger after all (unless one side or the other here is just completely obtuse).

 

During the course of Season 2, we have now jumped forward in time almost 2 years. That's just too much. It's like the writers are bored and want to be writing a totally different story every week, Characters's emotions are whiplashing all over the place, and I feel like I can't trust that some important thing didn't happen that they skipped over.

 

I agree.  I don't think it was bad to throw in one or two of these jumps.  But now it seems like it's every episode, and seemingly getting longer each time.  Pretty soon they will have to start wearing old age makeup!  But at least they won't have to worry about the child actors outgrowing their characters...

 

I read it that as a mutual, bittersweet rememberance of Gabriel as they discussed Alison's new child.

 

Me too.

 

Noah is delusional if he thinks that he IS or every COULD BE a "great man."   Do well-balanced people really think like this?

 

I think some people (probably including you) tautologically consider someone unbalanced if they think like that.  I don't, because I don't consider myself unbalanced.  ;-)

 

Was there any reference to Cole torching Allison's grandmother's house? Would most people just shrug that off?

 

Yeah, that was weird, especially since they talked about the sale of the "house" as opposed to "the land".  It was also weird to go from Cole looking so distraught last we saw him to so happy now, without any illustration of what happened in the intervening time.  We didn't see how the rapprochement with Luisa played out this time--I guess we are just supposed to imagine a replay of the hallway scene?

[truthaboutluv]

It was also weird to go from Cole looking so distraught last we saw him to so happy now, without any illustration of what happened in the intervening time.  We didn't see how the rapprochement with Luisa played out this time--I guess we are just supposed to imagine a replay of the hallway scene?

 

 

I think the whole torching of the house was supposed to symbolically represent Cole finally letting go of all his anger, pain and bitterness about Gabriel's death, Alison leaving, his family being nuts, etc. It was supposed to be a rebirth of sorts I guess. 

[Constantinople]

When Cole was telling the story of breaking into The Lobster Roll on Alison's sweet 16, that tugged at my heart strings a little...thinking of those townie kids in a location where rich people "summer", at a place that was "theirs" after hours.

 

I hadn't realized that they'd been together that long...and I felt so badly for them, wondering how close they'd been...

 

I don't know if we were ever told when Alison and Cole became a couple, though they've obviously known each other most of their lives. In the pilot, we got this charming background from Oscar

 

Oscar: Hey, you know what I was just thinking about? That first summer you came to work for us. How old were you, hmm? 16? My father still owned the place. I was working behind the counter. Remember that?

Alison: Not well.

Oscar: You were the prettiest piece of ass back then in your little candy stripes. Not that there's anything wrong with you now, huh? But 15 years ago, Jesus. I thought, if I could just put my dick inside that girl before I turn 18... [Laughs] And I did. The end. God, I love that story

Regarding Alison's education after high school:

 

I'm confused about Alison's RN degree. I thought she was a small-town Montauk girl who'd never really left. I even thought she'd mentioned those life choices before, which included staying with Cole the high school sweetheart (which would mean not going off to school). But becoming a registered nurse requires a four-year bachelor's degree and then some, right? And probably some type of residency (or whatever it's called) at a hospital?

 

First of all, she hasn't been portrayed as very bright. I think waitress was more on her level. Now I'm supposed to believe she could be a doctor, and frankly I feel alarmed for her patients.

I checked. New York requires at least a 2 year nursing degree to become an RN. Suffolk Community College has a nursing program and is about 65 miles from Montauk (according to Google). However, in the second episode of the first season, Alison is described as having been away at school when Alison and her sister-in-law Mary-Kate were discussing threesomes

 

Mary-Kate: Have you ever had one?

Alison: M-Me? No. God no. No, no.

Mary-Kate: What? Not even when you were away at school?

Alison: No. All I did at school was study.

[Cosmocrush]

I, too, wish the show would give some more insight into Alison, or at least have her do something where she isn't just reacting to another character. We know Noah is feeling the pull of his ambition to be a great writer, but what is motivating Alison? She apparently walked away from her medical studies without too many regrets, so it's not that. Even in the future trial scenes, it seems like everybody has a part to play in the action, but all we've seen Alison do is look worried. Maybe she will step up in the mystery plotline eventually, but if so, I hope it will be because she does something proactive, not just has other people doing things because of her.

What's motivating Alison?  I think it was an overwhelming grief and maybe a desire to escape it.    I think she was adrift and lost and when she met/fell in love with Noah and part of it was because he eventually looked like a life raft to her.     Nothing about Noah reminded her of anything in her life and her life was all about pain.    This season, we get to see the consequences of those decisions - for not just her and Noah but Allison and Cole as well.  

[GeminiDancer]

What's motivating Alison?  I think it was an overwhelming grief and maybe a desire to escape it.    I think she was adrift and lost and when she met/fell in love with Noah and part of it was because he eventually looked like a life raft to her.     Nothing about Noah reminded her of anything in her life and her life was all about pain.    This season, we get to see the consequences of those decisions - for not just her and Noah but Allison and Cole as well.  

 

I get that grief was her motivational force for Season 1, but now that seems to be gone, what else is there? Why is she sticking it out for Noah now when we know she has insecurities about their relationship? Why, after some big insights into herself at the spiritual center, would she backtrack to him?

[DarkRaichu]

I get that grief was her motivational force for Season 1, but now that seems to be gone, what else is there? Why is she sticking it out for Noah now when we know she has insecurities about their relationship? Why, after some big insights into herself at the spiritual center, would she backtrack to him?

Well, you see Noah used his magical, you know, to convince Alison. It worked with any other women he slept with... :P

 

I thought she went back to him because she wanted the baby to have a daddy.  But Alison went back to school which course works took so much of her time away from her baby.  Did Alison actually want the baby?   

[Empress1]

I thought she went back to him because she wanted the baby to have a daddy.  But Alison went back to school which course works took so much of her time away from her baby.  Did Alison actually want the baby?   

I actually think Alison's doing well for herself by going back to school and now is the time to do it: she can afford childcare, Noah's career is flexible so he could be hands-on with the baby, and she's forging her own career path. I hope she didn't drop out (although I think she did), because it would give her her own identity and career - a very stable career, which writing isn't - aside from Noah. If she waited until Joanie was in kindergarten to start, she probably never would - the professor was right that the longer you wait, the harder it becomes.

 

My mom finished her Ph.D. when I was about six months old and has always worked, so I am very pro-working mothers (which does NOT mean I am anti-stay-at-home mothers).

[grumpypanda]

I thought she went back to him because she wanted the baby to have a daddy. But Alison went back to school which course works took so much of her time away from her baby. Did Alison actually want the baby?

I was thinking about this too. Why would she chose to go back to school before the baby was even one? From what we've been told she has a full schedule which requires her to have a nanny so it seems like she's not with the baby much.

Her and Noah have money so right now would be the perfect time to just focus on the baby. I would think with losing one child she would want to spend as much time with Joanie as possible. And why med school when she can't even handle being a nurse?

I have a hard time understanding Alison 's motivation for doing the things she does. I went from feeling sorry for her to really disliking her. I hope all of her lies blow up in her face.

[Boundary]

I get that grief was her motivational force for Season 1, but now that seems to be gone, what else is there? Why is she sticking it out for Noah now when we know she has insecurities about their relationship? Why, after some big insights into herself at the spiritual center, would she backtrack to him?

 

I agree that there are some questions to answer, and we saw her beginning to move past her grief after the talk with Robert and her stay with Athena brought her some more enlightenment about herself. But since there's so many time jumps, we have to infer some things based on her current choices. Out of Cole and Noah, she chose Noah and wanted him to raise the baby. We also don't know how sure she's been about the paternity, from this episode I think she didn't really clue in until Scotty saw something. We also can determine that after Joanie's birth she decided to take Noah back and resolve issues through therapy. At the same time she's forging a medical career. In conclusion, I think she's more independent than we give her credit for. She's with Noah because she wants to; dumping him would have been easy at any point. The money from her Montauk house and going back to school all show she's not Noah's gold digger and is willing to stand with him but still supporting her own weight. All this is just inference on my part though.

[DarkRaichu]

I actually think Alison's doing well for herself by going back to school and now is the time to do it: she can afford childcare, Noah's career is flexible so he could be hands-on with the baby, and she's forging her own career path. I hope she didn't drop out (although I think she did), because it would give her her own identity and career - a very stable career, which writing isn't - aside from Noah. If she waited until Joanie was in kindergarten to start, she probably never would - the professor was right that the longer you wait, the harder it becomes.

 

My mom finished her Ph.D. when I was about six months old and has always worked, so I am very pro-working mothers (which does NOT mean I am anti-stay-at-home mothers).

If she wanted career, she was already a nurse.  Why not take a few refresher nurse courses and/or work as a nurse part time to get back into the groove.  She has been out of medicine for at least 3 years.  She looked so lost in that class.  

I am not against getting new career or follow her aspiration, but why took the hardest road when there were less stressful alternatives 

[blixie]

See one of the only parts of the episode I loved was Alison sitting in class, talking to her teacher, taking it in again, and then just saying: FUCK THIS. I found that very relatable as someone who always thought I'd want to go back, but totally hasn't. It's not like she has no career or "identity", Alison is a nurse that is contrary to seemingly popular belief on the internet a REAL career and job, that people occasional derive identity from. They aren't a hospital waitress.

[GeminiDancer]

 

Why not take a few refresher nurse courses and/or work as a nurse part time to get back into the groove.

 

For what it's worth, she tried that. The only available floor was pediatrics, and she panicked when she saw the sick child throw up.

 

Still, it's frustrating to know that we see so much about Noah, and there's little to Alison.