S04.E01: Episode 1 2018.06.17

[Elizzikra]

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I can't stand the kids either.

They're barely there - what's not to like?

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I like Vic.

I also like Vic.

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hate the glass fencing. 

I thought it was cool. Standing on that deck it would feel like there was nothing in between you and the hill - it would feel very open - like there was nothing to stop you from running right off the edge of the deck.

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The part I found most interesting about that was that even in his version, he was rude and insensitive...he immediately ordered a drink from some random server and launched into something about the trampoline at his house, and didn't ask one thing about how the kids were doing.

In his version he was rude but at least he ordered his own drink. In Helen's telling, he simply swiped a margarita off a tray clearly bound for another table. Jerk. 

[Blakeston]

On 6/24/2018 at 1:27 PM, sasha206 said:

Is it racism?  Wasn't it the black principal that made that accusation and that is the result of the student being held back?  Or did I miss something?  Noah accusing him of that seems to stem from the Principal's comment and the fact the kid is not participating in class.  

Now my question would be:  if the kid was accused of it before, why didn't the principal give the kid a chance -- like Noah -- to prove himself?  This kid was just flunked?   

 

On 6/24/2018 at 6:00 PM, GeminiDancer said:

Wasn't he talking to another teacher and not the principal? His interaction with the principal came with the student who lied about having a brother when his phone kept going off.

This is a prime example of implicit bias contributing to institutional racism: It's so outside of the realm of possibility that a black kid could be so smart about a topic that he just HAD to have plagiarized the material. Because of that, he's held back a year. Only, it's not. This is where Noah's "Dangerous Minds/Freedom Writers" story arc is going to come into play, where he's going to try to play the savior to a black kid already damaged by the system that's supposed to educate him.

The fellow teacher told Noah that the principal was the one who insisted the kid retake the class.

That said, there could still be racism involved - she wouldn't be the first black school official to go harder on a black student than they would on a white one. But I'm not sure that's where the writers are going with this.

[Rockfish]

I know the MIL scene was Helen’s POV, so who knows what really happened, but all I could think was how silly of her to get resentful about the stocked fridge. If I were Helen, I’d pragmatically wait until MIL went home and then pig out on everything—hopefully, there was also a batch of naan to wipe up all the yummy sauces. But I love Indian food. And I’d continue to let MIL think I was an inept wife to keep that food coming!

In Noah’s scene, having the flirty student be all flirty with him seemed realistic to me. She seemed like she was just messing with him to throw him off balance—something some young ladies do for fun—however, I wasn’t paying close attention so may be wrong, of course.

[suzyq8017]

On 6/24/2018 at 5:00 PM, GeminiDancer said:

This is where Noah's "Dangerous Minds/Freedom Writers" story arc is going to come into play, where he's going to try to play the savior to a black kid already damaged by the system that's supposed to educate him.

I’m holding out hope this isn’t where they are going. I’m hoping the student isn’t a student at all. Not that a narc storyline would be any fresher, but at least less white savior. 

[PreBabylonia]

On 2018-06-18 at 8:26 AM, CleoCaesar said:

Every main character is a cretin in their own ways, but it's been three seasons of that so it's nothing new. Helen still inspires a bit of sympathy for me but that's really stretching it. Calling it now: she is the one that has the affair with the neighbor, not Vic.

I actually enjoy that every character has flaws and good points, love complex characterizations. However, I really despise Helen. There is not one moment in any of the previous three seasons that I felt any sympathy or understanding for her. I think of Helen as an entitled white bitch that has never had to work for anything in her life. She just sits around being bitter and lashing out at everyone in her life, especially Noah. It's primarily the writing but my only previous experience watching Maura in anything was as Abby in ER and I hated her in that one too. I don't know if Maura deliberately chooses these characters or if that's some aspect of her own personality coming out. As a villain, I would put her on the same level as Negan from The Walking Dead. Completely  

On 2018-06-18 at 5:19 PM, chick binewski said:

They started this with one of the first scenes in the series premiere...scruffy Noah sitting on his front stoop and young women breaking their necks just to get a look. I think the writers are clear that this is something happening in Noah's head, even though he is pretty indiscriminate with his penis.

But that brings another point to mind: in Allison's POVs she is usually wearing frumpy clothes, whilst Noah imagines her in a hemline 3 inches too short. In Helen's POVs, no matter what she's wearing I find her to look absolutely luminous in some shots - particularly last night. I always wonder if the show is trying to tell us how others see the female characters or how they see themselves.

I had forgotten that about the young girls - when I realized there were two different perspectives, then I realized that Noah always likes to imagine that women lust over him!

On 2018-06-19 at 12:49 PM, attica said:

I find it interesting that Helen feels unseen by everybody, even her therapist.

Goat yoga girl is Emily Browning, late of S1 of American Gods. Shadow's zombie wife, Laura.

I think Helen lacks the self awareness to perceive that the therapist is trying to reach deeper, to the real Helen, presuming there IS  real Helen. I didn't realize that Emily played Laura! I recognized the name. This is such a different role for her, although her wide eyed innocence is a bit similar to how Shadow originally saw her.

On 2018-06-19 at 1:53 PM, Razzberry said:

Oh, I almost forgot the MIL from hell!  That smile is pure evil...

Love the house but hate the glass fencing.  Think I'd rather have a yard.

I love the house too but I would have had the architects design an additional outcropping, to place a yard & garden nearby. And I don't know about the mother-in-law having an evil smile, but I would have been so appreciative about all that food! I love Indian food, I'd have eaten at least half when mom went away. I completely understand MIL not being overjoyed with Helen. She's like an underappreciative stormcloud that has ensnared her lovely super-achieving son. And there goes the hope of having grandchildren, even if possible, Helen is far from nuturing or loving. She is always yelling at her poor children to get out of the house. No wonder three out of the four seem a little messed up. (I include Trevor because he comes out with random odd comments, not because he is potentially gay).

On 2018-06-19 at 2:46 PM, suomi said:

Plus, living on a game trail for bobcats, snakes (rattlesnakes!), and coyote  packs. Incidents and attacks are not uncommon, especially those involving pets because pets attract predators to the neighborhood. It would seem that almost everything about this location is not a good fit for a stressed, fearful person (Helen): lack of privacy, prying eyes, earthquake, mudslide, predatory wildlife, etc. Most people see a house on stilts hugging a hillside and wonder, like Helen did, "How does it stay up there?" but, given what we're being shown, I think her question referenced herself.

Well, Helen is not the type to have pets, so I think domestic animals should be quite safe. I don't know how anything other than snakes and mountain goats would thrive on such a steep hilltop anyway. How is there lack of privacy? It looks much more private than other homes I've lived in. Other than the fact that Goat Yoga Girl always shows up around garbage pickup time. That's presumably biweekly or every week possibly.

On 2018-06-23 at 12:08 PM, Milburn Stone said:

Good observation. (And why I think complaints about "same event from two points of view" are missing the point.) Chances are that Noah's class isn't quite as godawful as his filter showed us, either.

From the beginning that's been the theme of the show--that there is no shared reality. (Or that the amount of reality we share is miniscule compared to the perception of reality unique to each person.) We've seen this enough in the characters, and in enough of the characters, that we now must abandon any idea that they're especially delusional. No, the show is telling us that they're normal, completely like us. (Even the tertiary characters--Noah's sister and hometown friend, for example--see events in a manner not necessarily consonant with how others see them.)

The whole soap-opera-ish plot of The Affair from the start has been a vehicle for conveying this knowledge that the belief in a shared reality is a delusion. It's a knowledge that has to be gained over and over again, because it runs so counter to the belief that we desperately cling to. There have been attempts to capture this knowledge on film before, going at least as far back as Rashomon, but none so sustained and immersive (or to my mind, fascinating) as The Affair. Sometimes, after watching an episode, I find myself marveling that we humans can even agree to call that thing we drive a car, and that thing we live in a house. 

Yes, I agree. Their conflicting (and colliding) viewpoints create most of the drama in the show. I really enjoy it.

On 2018-06-28 at 9:54 AM, Duke2801 said:

Fixed that for you. 

Seriously - yoga.  baby goats.  What's not to like?? 

Agreed.  I rather enjoyed this first episode and I will remain cautiously optimistic that this season will be better than last (it HAS to be...right/??) 

Loved Papa Keaton as her therapist.  He's just awesome in any role he plays.  

 

Are you sure you watched the whole thing?  They had a scene in the "previouslies" that showed Helen saying that Vic got a job in LA, and Vic fell at the very end.  

Ha ha excellent point.  BUT to be fair, I first saw him in a movie called "The Awakening" and found him verrry attractive.  Now--ugh, not at all.  

Yes, baby goats would be great fun to share exercise time with! I also love Papa Keaton. Haven't seen him since the original Tremors. He always leaves me smiling. Agreed that Vik is very attractive and Noah used to be, back when he was in The Wire. He just looks a little bloated and middle agey. Not all men age terrifically well. He could look better but then again, he could look worse. Joshua Jackson is possibly looking more tired and worn-out.

On 2018-07-01 at 12:53 PM, Rockfish said:

I know the MIL scene was Helen’s POV, so who knows what really happened, but all I could think was how silly of her to get resentful about the stocked fridge. If I were Helen, I’d pragmatically wait until MIL went home and then pig out on everything—hopefully, there was also a batch of naan to wipe up all the yummy sauces. But I love Indian food. And I’d continue to let MIL think I was an inept wife to keep that food coming!

In Noah’s scene, having the flirty student be all flirty with him seemed realistic to me. She seemed like she was just messing with him to throw him off balance—something some young ladies do for fun—however, I wasn’t paying close attention so may be wrong, of course.

Yes, there was Naan - MIL was busy giving Helen the proper instructions to heat it without turning it crispy. Unfortunately, it was as obvious to the MIL that Helen wasn't paying her a bit of attention. She probably suspected that Helen was going to toss it as soon as she walked out the door. Boo Helen.  And yes, flirting with the single male teacher in high school is a good way to get him to leave you alone, if he has any sense at all.

[Mindthinkr]

Gosh @PreBabylonia Now you have me hungry for Indian food! 

[PreBabylonia]

8 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

Gosh @PreBabylonia Now you have me hungry for Indian food! 

Me too! Just the thought of Indian food has me salivating. I grew up eating it - my favourite cuisine of all. I would probably have invited the parents to live with us, just so I could enjoy her cooking and sewing. It's not as if Helen spends much time at home anyway. 

[Mindthinkr]

17 minutes ago, PreBabylonia said:

Me too! Just the thought of Indian food has me salivating. I grew up eating it - my favourite cuisine of all. I would probably have invited the parents to live with us, just so I could enjoy her cooking and sewing. It's not as if Helen spends much time at home anyway. 

I had never tasted it until later in life but was smitten from first bite. Now I can cook a few dishes thanks to lessons from a Doctors’s wife. When I worked for him every year she’d give me a recipe, teach me the proper techniques and give me spices that they brought back from their trips back home. Really it was a most wonderful gift that is still giving me pleasure. You are lucky to grow up with it as you probably have tasted much more than I have but I’m beginning to see Indian restaurants becoming more popular and I can go and try things at them. I’m going to have to grab a friend and go downtown this week as this discussion has given me a yearning. Or...maybe I’ll make some Palak Paneer or Aloo Gobi Masala. Gratefully I can buy Naan and make Riata (naan dipped in raita is one of my favorite lunches). If you have a good easy recipe PM it to me. Happy Munching. 

[PreBabylonia]

29 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

I had never tasted it until later in life but was smitten from first bite. Now I can cook a few dishes thanks to lessons from a Doctors’s wife. When I worked for him every year she’d give me a recipe, teach me the proper techniques and give me spices that they brought back from their trips back home. Really it was a most wonderful gift that is still giving me pleasure. You are lucky to grow up with it as you probably have tasted much more than I have but I’m beginning to see Indian restaurants becoming more popular and I can go and try things at them. I’m going to have to grab a friend and go downtown this week as this discussion has given me a yearning. Or...maybe I’ll make some Palak Paneer or Aloo Gobi Masala. Gratefully I can buy Naan and make Riata (naan dipped in raita is one of my favorite lunches). If you have a good easy recipe PM it to me. Happy Munching. 

No, sorry I don't have any Riata recipes - in fact, I haven't tried it yet. If I ever do get a recipe though, you'll be the first to know!

[Mindthinkr]

19 minutes ago, PreBabylonia said:

No, sorry I don't have any Riata recipes - in fact, I haven't tried it yet. If I ever do get a recipe though, you'll be the first to know!

I think I must not have been clear. I can make Riata. It’s super easy and delicious. I meant any other recipes. If you need the recipe let me know and I’ll PM it to you. (Just worried that the mods make not be happy about our side discussion). 

[Jordan Baker]

On 6/22/2018 at 11:44 PM, Milburn Stone said:

I'm the person in America that likes Noah.

I'm the other one!

And to really go against the grain, I'll say that I think Dominic West is still very attractive. OK, he's no longer Jimmy McNulty, but he still looks good to me.

I enjoyed the first episode. The classroom stuff made me cringe a bit, but, otherwise, I thought it was very entertaining. I'm looking forward to the next one.

[Aqua]

I realize there are like zero people watching at this stage as I am a latecomer but there are some things I need to get off my chest just for my own sanity.

 

Why does the show continue to gloss over important plot points by skipping months and even years into the future? It has already been discussed the oddity of no reveal to Cole about Joanie’s paternity, the Cliff’s notes-y kind of fast-forward through Allison’s time in the institution, with Joanie suddenly 4-5 years old, but then things got REALLY weird at the end of Season 3 to the beginning of Season 4.

 

People have talked about how is it Noah can become a teacher at the charter school after serving time as a felon. But how could he also have been a college professor as well? In the penultimate episode of Season 3 we see Noah at his absolute worst, cowering on the floor of his disgusting rented apartment, having realized in a Beautiful Mind-y kind of way that pretty much everything related to Gunther has been a complete hallucination, AND that he had also in fact stabbed himself. Then the credits roll and one would expect that the next episode and last episode of Season 3 would perhaps be the immediate aftermath of that realization or at least a few days later. But no….he is found living it up in Paris, staying at a hotel, hanging with Juliette (where did he get the money?? What happened, by the way, to his professor job?)

 

So now in Season 4, we are not told immediately what happened to him after the cabbie asked him the question, “Where to, buddy?” Yes, where to, indeed? Where did he go? Did he still have the dingy apartment in New Jersey? Did he stay at a hotel? On Christmas Eve? With what money? But no, we are not told any of that. Instead, fast forward again and after a brief scene with Noah and Cole (and a pay phone? Hello 1995), then we flip back to 6 weeks earlier which is god knows how long since his return from Paris, enough time to get him and Helen and the kids and Vik moved out to Los Angeles. It does seem like Vik finally took that surgeon job he had been offered the night of Cole’s wedding (when was that Season 2?) He must be one heck of a surgeon. As I recall he was drinking (and drugging?) and hooking up on the job but who knows, maybe he is quite skillful.

 

Having lived in LA I can tell you that is a multi-million-dollar home. Where? I can’t be sure. The Hollywood Hills? The Palisades? Anyway, it is a huge stretch to think that even a top surgeon would be able to afford a home that large and grand (with an actual pool outside Trevor’s bedroom, mind you). But nevertheless, this is what the show is giving us with typical Helen complaining about everything, the only saving grace in her mind is that her parents are 3000 miles away (some day she will miss their meddling like every clueless child who doesn’t realize the value of having parents that are actually alive). I truly don’t get this character as she becomes more and more loathsome every episode, now actually saying “F you” to her therapist, the lovely and mild Dad Keaton from Family Ties.

 

Of course, Noah is also living above his means. Aside from the afore-mentioned job at the charter school (is he still on parole by the way? If so, how the trip to Paris, how the move?) Anyway, another beautiful house that a teacher of his standing could not likely afford.

I guess I will hang out for the real estate porn and rank curiosity but this show is really asking me to suspend disbelief that is beyond reasonable. I hope they don’t go all Noah coming to the aid of the brilliant (or just good memorization?) but at-risk youth and as a result coming to a greater understanding of himself, yada yada it’s been done before, and better. It looks like from previews he will be getting involved with an African American woman (the principal? Anton’s mother?) And I agree with other posters that Avocado Goat Lady will be the love interest of Helen, not Vik, presumably to help her relate to her about-to-come-out son Trevor, who has always been my favorite.

 

Vik’s mother is a hoot! I don’t think she is age-inappropriate to be his mom. I’ve always thought Vik was supposed to be about 10 years younger than Helen, which puts him at mid-30s with her around 60.  By the way, did Helen and Vik they ever get married? I don’t see a ring on Vik’s finger.

 

Lastly, just a note to production staff from a real fledgling novelist: I have written an extremely bloated 120,000 word novel and the hard copy comes to literally 1/5 the size of the manuscript Noah’s coworker is trying to pass off to Noah to give to his agent (in this digital age, by the way), so the props department might want to size that down a bit.

 

Edited April 4, 2021 by Aqua