1.09 "Episode 9"
Synopsis: A revelation about their daughter Whitney makes Noah and Helen realize their troubled marriage is directly affecting their children. Bending under remorse, Alison spirals towards a reckoning.
Rating: 8/10 (B+)
First off, congratulations to
The Affair on their numerous nominations for the Golden Globe. It’s nice to see this show getting some recognition.
Part One: AlisonThe penultimate episode starts with Alison’s perspective and we will get to see her at her most vulnerable state so far. Everything that could possibly go wrong, does go wrong. Talks about a potential future together with Noah quickly turn into a conversation about being just a mistress and always having to sneak around. Oscar will be back and he’s his usual sleazy self and as to be expected, the bearer of bad news that affects the entire Lockhart family. Her cutting will also resurface after an awful verbal beating from Cherry. Watching Alison relay the events of the day of Gabriel’s death and seeing her blame herself was heartwrenching and Ruth WIlson’s best work on the show yet. All of this pushes her over the edge and prompts her to do something life-changing.
Part Two: NoahThe second half of the episode starts with the only scene from the present with the detective interrogating Noah again, who is possibly becoming the prime suspect in Scott’s murder. Just like with Alison, there isn’t a lot going his way. Whitney turns out to be pregnant and Scott is the father which would give Noah motive to kill him but that would be a little too obvious if he really turned out to be Scott’s murderer. You’d think with this new development he’d try to stick around but instead, he will leave Helen to be with Alison.
I’ve already talked about it last week but I’m still not sure what exactly it is we are seeing. I still find the two perspectives intriguing but at this point, the differences are so vast and major, they don’t really feel like memories anymore like they did during the duration of the interrogation. Eventually, we will reach the present timeline and when a character talks about or refers to the past, what are we meant to believe when there is no clear indicator which side is the truth?
The episode is an improvement from last week’s. The affair has already evolved into a potential relationship which I didn’t expect to happen this soon. I’m not sure how this season is going to end and with only one episode left, I sure hope we get just the right amount of answers to keep us excited about the next season but with how little we got so far, any kind of resolution will do.
Tune in for a new episode of The Affair this Sunday, 7th DEC on SHOWTIME 10pm ET/PT.
About the Author - Mark Ondo/LittleDreamer
20 y/o Austrian. Music lover, avid TV watcher, cheesecake muncher and pseudo writer. His taste in television is as eclectic as it gets and he dedicates more time to fictional characters than he would like to admit. He currently reviews Under the Dome and Zoo, writes about various shows in Mark's Remarks and creates Best-Scene Polls for Grey's Anatomy, Once upon a Time, Revenge and Scandal.
