If you feel as dumbfounded,
devastated even, by the latest episode of The
Affair, as I do, you might as well go ahead and blame me because didn’t I
fervently wish for something like this to happen? Not exactly this, mind you. But watching the last two or tree episodes,
while there were certainly things I enjoyed, I came to the realization that the
show just doesn’t intrigue me anymore as much as it used to, and there’s a
simple reason for that: The Affair,
for all its complicated characters and ever-evolving relationships, became
predictable in its outrageousness. Literally all the supposed-to-be-shocking
moments in the last episodes could have been seen from a mile away: Cole
deciding he wants to get back with Alison, Noah getting involved with his boss,
Vik sleeping with Sierra, even Helen sleeping with Sierra (because God forbid
we have one last remaining main character who’s not a cheater)– all were
obvious from the beginning of their respective episodes, if not earlier. I’ve
gotten to the point where I felt nothing could actually surprise me anymore. And
then episode 8 happened, and it was a gut punch, there’s no other way to frame
it. When it ended, and I had a little time to compose my feelings, I had to let
a loud „wow” to my empty room, because I just had to say something, anything, and
unfortunately that was all I could manage.
It all started innocently enough,
or would have, had we not already known about Alison’s disappearence from the
end of the previous episode, and of course
the little glimpses we got of Cole and Noah’s grim roadtrip earlier in
the season. Cole, having freshly arrived back from his semi-spiritual walkabout
when he finally decided to confess his feelings to Alison, tried to seek her out
at a conference she was supposed to be attending. Instead he ran into Ben, who
told him that he hasn’t seen Aliosn since she ended things with him. Apparently
she took Helen’s excellent advice and decided to finally stand up for herself,
and „change the narrative”. Then she disappeared. Cole follows up on what Ben
told him about her saying she would go to California, and calls Noah to see if
maybe they’re together, thus beginning what would become on of the most awkward
but simultaneously most amazing roadtrips of all time… save for the outcome,
obviously. Everything from being mistaken for a gay couple to obviously mocking
each other while pretending to give Anton dating advice to supporting each
other through their shared distress was in there, and it was glorious.
It was also the perfect way to
showcase just how different Alison’s relationship with these two men really
was. For Cole she’s undoubtably The Woman. His childhood sweetheart, the one
who was there to take the burden off him in the wake of their son’s tragic
death, and the one who eventually couldn’t bear that same burden and sought
release in another man. But no matter how much she hurt him, Cole would never
be able to let her go, and no matter how much he cares for Luisa, she would
never be able to measure up to Alison. And then there was Noah, overstressed
and underpaid family man who thought himself in love with this beautiful,
broken young woman, but in the end their relationship fizzled out before it
even really began. There’s no doubt that there’s still some affection there –
after all, it was him that Alison went to see where the news about her father
and Ben proved too much to bear, but even Noah admits it now that they would
never be together again, probably because they simply didn’t work. It’s no
surprise then that it’s Cole who comes to Alison’s defense when her father
speaks ill of her, and it’s Cole who’s absolutely shattered when he finds out
about Alison’s death.
So there, I said it. Alison did
what was probably inevitable and „sank back into he ocean”, to quote the show’s
theme song. Inevitable, I say, because Alison was always unstable, and no
matter how many times her life seemed to be improving – marrying Noah, having
Joanie, reestablishing a good relationship with Cole, opening a restaurant, and
finally finding her true purpose in life as a grief councillor – there was
always, always that undercurrent of trauma to her that she just wasn’t able to
shake off in the end. Of course Cole doesn’t believe that and suspects foul
play, but that’s more like denial and wishful thinking on his part than actual
belief. I’m not entirely sure the show won’t go there – we still have no idea
what Alison was up to after breaking up with Ben, but with two episodes left of
the season, there’s a good chance we’ll see those last few days play out
from her perspective.
After that, it will be time to
say goodbye to not only Alison Bailey, but Ruth Wilson too. I confess I don’t
entirely understand her reason for wanting to leave the show (and the writers
didn’t wate any time that it was her wish to be written off) with only one more
season left. From what I could find out so far it was either a pay disparity
issue or simply a fact of being unable to balance too many projects. Luther is coming back this fall with a
new season (and I really need to watch that show before it does), and she also
landed the role of Mrs Coulter in an upcoming new TV adaptation of Philip
Pullman’s His Dark Materials, which
I’m really excited about. But I’m also disappointed because this means the
writers had a different ending for Alison in store, probably at Cole’s side,
and as much as I stand by my opinion that her suicide made the most sense for
the character, damn would I have loved to see them happy and together again. Same
with Noah and Helen but I don’t think that’s ever gonna happen either.
So what now? There’s not a whole
lot for The Affair to wrap up in
these final two episodes. Vik and Helen will eventually have to confess their
respective cheating to each other and only God knows how that’s gonna play out,
then there’s the whole issue between Cole and Luisa… I guess now that Alison’s
dead, Luisa can easily become Joanie’s official guardian and get her
citizenship, but will Cole want to stay with her after all this? Will he choose
to be alone if he can’t be with the love of his life, or settle for another
woman who he also loved very much at one time? And with will Noah’s boss/lover
think about him promising to take Anton to check out a university and then
dragging him into a trip searching for his suicidal ex-wife with a complete
stranger instead? That last one probably won’t be adressed at all and the other
two could very well drag out over to the final season, so I don’t want to spend
too much time musing over them just yet. The better question, and the one that
I think we’re all most interested in is, what the show will become without
Alison? Will they be able to deliver an intriguing enough ending to this season
to entice sceptical viewers to come back for the next one, and a satisfying
ending to the whole series without her? For now, I’m not so sure about either.
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