While I did like the ending, the addition of this father storyline immediately made me say (to my wife of course) "Oh come on, now she has a hidden father" and of on the plane "So both of the kids parents are taking off for California. Great" Yeah I know the show has nuance out the wazoo and great performances, but after a season of mostly subtlety for a change, this seemed like lazy writerly mess.
2
Definitely more to the story about Alison's near drowning experience & dad's possible involvement:
(1) Athena has no memory of the event??
(2) it is so buried & traumatic for Alison
(3) he was still married & just found out he fathered a child .
(4) Athena said she was raped by him & told Alison to be careful around him (so we know he is violent).
Also, every time the show mentions a person... that person shows up. Those half brothers are going to show up sooner than later.
I mean, why did writers introduce the dad into the series anyway? BTW I love Tim Matheson
3
They are introducing a father storyline because they are running out of ideas for milking an affair - the father/nanny issue was an affair too, of sorts. "Scandal" fans will remember when Olivia had that tumultuous season finale meeting her father. Best cliffhanger ever. Shondaland still raking in the money. Treem hopeful.
Go Helen. Thank goodness someone recognizes that being an adult means you don’t have to indulge every urge. Of course recognizing is not practicing. If any of these characters ever exercised any self control there would be no show.
1
I think that the focus of this remarkable series is the ability of its characters change the narrative (in Helen’s phrasing) to present a version of the truth that casts each person in the best possible light. At some point, the series suggests, the narrative can’t be changed any longer and we have to face the truth, bad as it may be, free of distortions. There is freedom in doing so, but also terrible darkness. Let’s see how all this unfolds
4
I agree that the Anton storyline is a waste of time. However, the scene when his dad Karl showed up was hilarious. The other great scene was when Alison walked into Ben’s office.
I have never cared about Vik or Luisa so don’t introduce new characters like Anton or the principal and expect me to be interested in their problems. It took me two seasons to even care about Cole. The episodes that don’t have the four main characters are the least interesting. We watch this show for Alison, Noah, Helen, and Cole (in that order for me). These characters are interesting enough to sustain the series.
As far as this episode goes, it jumped the shark twice. Once with Alison’s father being a bike ride away and the second with Vik and Helen’s hilltop home being the most convenient or logical place to go during a panic attack in that sleepy L.A. town.
9
@Jay Kelly Totally on the money with everything you said. Additionally, Helen's house is that huge and there's no available guest room? Or a den with a pullout? They put her on the COUCH? I found that to be profoundly telling -- as if to say, "I'm doing you a BIG favor. Do NOT expect me to welcome her with open and solicitous arms. She's getting the couch, not a room."
9
@Jay Kelly I would also like to completely agree with Jay that this series gets uninteresting quickly when the principal actors aren't the focus, but I would put them in this order of preference: Alison, Helen, Cole, Noah. I am not sure if my order is a matter of how good I think the actor is -- or how much the writers empathize with them. And I also agree that we have to always consider point of view, which makes things tricky, especially when Helen suddenly seems so understanding. It's what keeps this show from becoming a mere soap opera. It's really tough to imagine anyone having as bad a day as Alison did this week.
1
After all this time, Alison is still wearing those ugly polyester print dresses. My grandmother wore dresses like that - in the 1930s. And they weren't called "vintage" then.
8
Oh, I'm so glad someone else noticed Alison's "normcore" dresses. Make no mistake about them, though: they're a plot device. They're more childlike, little-girl dresses than granny dresses. Most so-called 60-80 year olds I know wouldn't be caught in those little frocks. Alison is definitely a little girl; for some men that's a compelling magnet.
10
Noah invited Alison to Los Angeles. He has his own house. Why did Alison spend the night at Helen's house?
18
@Helen Alison needed meds for her panic attack. Helen and Vik were the closest people on the road. So it was determined that Alison should just stay there overnight and recuperate.
1
Why are so many commentators certain that Alison left Joanie with Athena (her mom)? Was there a scene in which she leaves Joanie there? Alison and Luisa have already established a functional routine of co-parenting Joanie (with or without Cole's presence), which Alison alludes to in her conversation with Helen.
@Adrian I agree. Who was concerned about Joanie when Cole went to California? It's not as if she left Joanie in the house alone. She was with her grandmother.
@CF I mean, I guess I just assumed that the first scenes with Athena, Joanie & Alison were during one of the usual shared custody weekends--and remember the scene is at night. Joanie is eating dinner. Alison visits the long-lost father at a later point, a daytime scene; Alison drops in on Athena (who is showering) immediately, Joanie is clearly not there in her grandmother's care. Where is she? She's with Luisa, her very capable and loving step-mother. That's what shared custody is like. A couple of days here, a couple of days there. Joanie's schedule wouldn't change just because Cole was off on a solo-vacation.
Alison sent Athena a text to watch Joanie when she boarded plane. I’m glad Athena didn’t reply with , “sorry, I am in New York for the rest of the week.”
Surprised that no one commented on the thread running through this episode: women's experience of sexual violations from men, and being blamed for it or not being believed that it happened at all.
I found it totally believable that Alison's mother would not have tried to report the rape to the police. She was right, of course: back in the 1970s (or 1980s), the word of a "teenage hippie" would not have been seen as credible, next to that of a rich, middle-aged family man.
The scene on the plane was pretty appalling. Wish I believed that things have progressed enough that airline crew would not have tried to force a female passenger to return to her seat next to a man who had grabbed and groped her. But it seemed all too credible.
For me, the best part of this episode was the last 5 minutes, when Helen noticed that Noah's heavy-handed attempts to comfort Alison by fondling her hair (according to Alison's point of view, of course) were unwelcome and asked him to leave and come back for breakfast in the morning. Helen understood how the violations of trust had made Alison feel so powerless. Instead of treating her like a sad little girl, she responded to her with honesty and respect, one woman to another.
This is why I keep watching this show. You would never see multifaceted, interesting characters like this on General Hospital.
32
@DS
I agree with you that the final five minutes of the episode was the best part (and yes, the most meta moment of the show's history as Sean Collins so noted). I find myself playing it twice, so frank Helen was yet understanding of Alison's vulnerability.
There's really nothing insane (according to Alison) of what Helen said, namely that “If there’s something in your life you want to change, you just need to think differently and it will change.” It is all too true that we have control of our fate, our destiny, and that a certain mindset can make all the difference, as often the case. This is class A, transcendental acting by both Maura Tierney and Ruth Wilson.
9
@DS thank you for pointing this out. I agree. And sadly assault on planes is a growing problem. see https://www.facebook.com/papsanow/
@DS Some people have wondered if that scene on a plane could possibly have happened. Oh, yes, it can: https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/19/us/spirit-airlines-passenger-sexual-abuse...
Frustrated that Allison's character has no insight into the larger picture regarding how men treat her. Clueless. Hard for me to believe actually that she would be taken aback about directly confronting the cheating boyfriend. I think it is poor writing of the character- or filler to drag it out. How is Allison even remotely attractive to these guys? The broken-wing girl persona is so done- and inherently sexist. Allison's mom not reporting the rape- I get that. The times were different. The women portrayed in the here and now are so confined to these stupid, sluggish antiquated roles. As someone who grew up in the GLBTQ world, this is laughable. White/ middle class/straight people problems. C'mon writers. You can do so much better.
7
Watching shows for what they are not instead of what they are is a waste of time.
4
I think Alison will be gone in the morning; this is the beginning of her going missing. Helen telling Noah to come over for breakfast was a prelude.
19
@Person
Smart prediction, think you are right.
4
It's very telling how the recap writer and most commenters totally ignore the fascinating stories of nonwhite characters. I will admit, though, that Alison's abandonment of her daughter and her ending up at Helen's house was astonishing. Both Maura Tierney and Ruth Wilson are wonderful actors.
4
@Blessinggirl My interest or caring about Anton left with his incessant talk about Cornel West worship. The guy who helped give us Trump. The guy who persuaded a lot of young black men to withhold votes and is still not sorry about what he did.
Shows Anton to be naive and completely misguided. So I am tired of him.
And by the way we need to stop calling a one-night stand an affair.
12
@CLSW2000 How many nights does it take to call it an affair?
@CLSW2000
Cornel West - the obnoxious bully who hounded Ta-Nehisi Coates off of twitter by trying to force him into some stupid racial debate which only West was interested in. Lots of folks loved reading Coates twitter for his tweets about music, culture and the comix he writes.
1
One thing you can say about this series, it is not short of plot twists. Although, the shark might have jumped with Alison's long lost father. Alison's mother is a first class flake, but her account of the "rape" rang true. It is also probable that the father really did save Allison. What is she to do with these colliding truths? Her default in emotional trauma is to seek comfort from men. Nasty surprise from the married Ben, so she diverts to Noah in LA. I have been waiting for years for a reason to like Helen and this episode finally gave me that. Her generosity to Alison, who blew up her family, was astounding. And her advice, if you don't want to be a victim stop acting like one, was spot on. Make better choices and change your narrative. I hope Helen, whom I now like, can remember this when she finds out about Vic's affair. One note about Noah, he betrayed Anton by giving his mother that paper. Poor boundaries and a lost change to forge trust with Anton.
28
@nancy hicks -- You want to chew out a person dying of pancreatic cancer for an indiscretion?, particularly after you have treated him terribly, telling his parents about his condition among other things, not being understanding about him not wanting treatment
5
Allison can never catch a break. Ever.
4
@Rich Same with Helen. Whereas Noah gets a pass very single time. It's tiresome.
Not the best episode (why do really care where Anton goes to college?). And I don't know that they would glide over to Vic's and decide Allison would sleep there. Utterly strange. Still, I always like watching Maura.
Poor Allison. We thought she was getting it together. Then suddenly leaves crazy Mom with Joanie? I hope that warranted a phone call.
One thing I noticed about Noah is that he has now had, what, 3 affairs, and they all involve a rough encounter with his lover's husband. Cole points a gun at him; the French woman's husband dies; now I guess they are setting up Anton's father to have another skirmish with Noah.
9
Can the romance between Janelle and Noah be called an "affair" if neither of them are married? Or does your assessment stem from the fact that she's his boss?
1
Noah brings Alison to Helen;s home? And Alison stays over night? Is this General Hospital??
14
@BellagiornoIn In real life I have seen things just as strange!
2
More Vik please.
19
The next time I have a bad day I'd like to get on a plane (after leaving my six yr. old with my wacko mother) with a free ticket from my ex and fly off to see him.
I'd like to be driven to his ex's million dollar manse overlooking the sea and be given pills by her dying/cheating boyfriend while musing out loud to the woman whose life I destroyed why bad boys like her and my ex gravitate towards me.
A consummation devoutly to be wished. Yeah right.
29
@A.A. Despite a million dollar house and dream lives, none of the people in this show are people you would change roles with, none have the least bit of peace or happiness it seems. They all should buy a dog so they don't have to deal with people.
3
You have it all wrong. After your next bad day, call your best friend and have a drink and dinner with them
What could be better
You really don’t need things. Friends are much better and more fun
C'mon Sean! A long lost father from out of the past and all you can think of is "Starship Troopers"? How about "Happy Days" and Jump the Shark?
8
That final question in your review "is there a way for us to reshape ourselves". Yes there is. However, the characters in the Affair keep falling back on impulsive & self destructive behavior. I guess that is why the show is called The Affair. As far as breaking down this episode, my guess is the dad tried to drown Alison & stopped maybe when somebody thought he was 'saving' her. Noah bringing Alison to Helen's house......what? Doesn't he have a couch. Helen should be working on her own short comings, but her assessment of Alison was spot on. It's real soap opera TV.....It's just amazing how both Cole and then Alison take off to CA in a flash.
8
Plot wise it may be soap, but character wise a lot rings true and is meaningful. You might be onto something with the genetic father having attempted to drown her - but that would clearly be jumping the shark.
2
@NeelieWhen I was a child, I was being carried out by the undertow at Beach Haven , NJ. My father jumped in to save me and drag me back to shore, though he dragged me partially under water and that felt more like drowning to me than when I was being swept out to sea
.
1
It's interesting that among all the ways they could've written to manifest Alison's "problem", they chose something like the incident on the plane. Add to that the experience of Alison's mother, I think they're making not-so-subtle comments on #MeToo.
2
@yl I do enjoy how this show does "shout outs" to various political issues we are currently facing.
1
Wow, a good episode
Who would of thought it!
Please, no more whiny Vic. Let’s skip his 30 mins segments
5
@Paul Vic irritates me too. I don't think the writer's are into him for some reason. And this feeling just isn't since his cancer diagnosis. What does Helen see in him?
Quite frankly I am tired of both Noah and Allison each one thinking that they are God's gift to the opposite sex. They can't talk to someone without there being a reward of some kind. In their cases taking someone to bed.
I tend to believe Athena, and her version of events as she relayed them. In the wake of the #metoo ,movement she would be better believed today. I thought this episode was good and especially liked seeing Tim Matheson.
As someone stated earlier it is like watching a train wreck. Love the recaps and look forward to Mondays.
This was especially interesting after last weeks show with Cole's "walkabout" & Vik having possibly the first profound insight into his life while being thrown into a sexual experience that may upend everything - with only a few months to live.
More "changing your life" is the talk between Alison - lost & adrift - and Helen, who seems a bitchy selfish person but who extends herself to advise & comfort Alison - who once destroyed Helen's family. Like Cole & Vik last week, Alison's examining her role in a life filled with suffering. Helen's advice to manifest who you want to be is both wise & 'meta' because in order to reach this moment, Helen shows she's recast herself & doesn't need to punish 'the other woman.' The other woman is simply a frightened human being.
This is especially interesting because, unknown to Helen, there is again an 'other woman' - Sierra, her neighbor who had sex with Vik. We may learn whether Helen can incorporate that into her life without losing her agency or assuming the role of a victimized spouse.
This episode was also about things that aren't what they seem. Alison's father doesn't want her - just her kidney. Her mother didn't have an affair - she was raped. Ben isn't single. Alison didn't assault anyone on the plane.
"It just goes to show - things are not what they seem."
-Marianne Faithful
"He not busy being born is busy dying."
-Bob Dylan
-"If you want to change your life, you have to do it now."
-Helen Solloway
10
Fwiw, I've never hated any of these characters as much as a lot of viewers have seemed to over the years. I find them deeply flawed, but also fascinating--and believably complicated. Most people consist of layers of personality folded in upon one another. Some aspects are good, some are truly awful, and some are in between. But all are competing for the surface. I think this show excavates those layers and demonstrates those internal battles better than most (the metaphor of the ocean, the tide kicking up layers of sediment, sand, ancient history & new growth, is deployed effectively, never overwrought, imo.) And so, while I loved H's speech to A--& esp Tierney's absolutely perfect delivery (chef's kiss & all that)--I'm surprised to see many of the commenters here, including the reviewer (who almost gets there w Noah), miss that a central conceit of Helen's speech comes from class privilege. Although A & H both benefit from white privilege, not all white privilege is the same. H is from wealthy, stable family; while A grew up fatherless, w a kooky, too young "hippy" (stoner?) mother, who was essentially running from her rapist (name change and all). Are we really still wondering why A struggles with self-confidence--with rocking the boat, so to speak, with standing up to demand respect? Why she often falls prey to men (or at the very least can't find her voice to resist) & thinks she has no agency? Alison is traumatized, period. And not just from the death of her son...
17
@fast/furious Remember Helen realized the one person she can't live without -- Noah.
@wayne griswald
And Cole has realized he still loves Alison. When the series ends, are all 4 of these characters going to wind up with their original spouses?
1
When the series started, my husband begrudgingly watched with me each year. This year, I jumped ship in the midst of Cole's episode in CA. My husband is now the one watching. He said it is like a train wreck but he can't look away. I faithfully read the recap and the comments though, so I guess I am still hooked in a way.
8
How did Vik intuit without examining her she didn’t have a collapsed lung or wasn’t experiencing a severe allergic reaction? The only interesting characters in the show are Noah and Helen.
4
@Bebop
He intuited nothing. As an MD there are clear signs that the lay person is not aware of, that any decent doctor can see right away. She didn't have anything that raised a red flag; additionally, owing to the circumstances, it was obvious it was an anxiety attack and not anaphylaxis from the 6 peanuts on the plane.
1
Alison goes to Helen and Vik's house...ok for the meds, the rest, c'mon.
Maybe we're supposed to intuit that confronting Vik's mortality has suddenly made Helen a wise sage whose putting the past with Alison behind her. Let's see what breakfast is like when everyone shows up. But the most incredulous aspect to me is Alison's lack of insight. Hasn't she been working with grieving mothers? Didn't she go through counseling/training? She's only now asking what is it about her and men. Don't buy it.
8
well person, i buy that it took this incident, in spite of all her training, to question men's reaction to her.....counselor or not, people come to self insight on their own timelines, not when we expect them too
13
The final scene between Helen and Alison is perhaps the most nuanced and powerful of the entire series for me. Matching Ruth Wilson's almost childlike stillness is Maura Tierney's maternal pragmatism and inner strength. Alison is still a lost little girl with an absent father and self-absorbed mother, seeking guidance from a very unlikely source. And Helen rises to the challenge with firmness and kindness. That the narrative trajectory of these two onetime rivals has reached this crucial point is the series' saving grace.
43
@JR I agree with you and liked the scene as well. Still, I couldn't help but think how implausible it was. Stopping by for Xanax, from Dr. Vik? Sure. Getting tucked in by the first wife whose marriage and family she destroyed? Not so much...
10
@DD: I can understand where you're coming from. But that's what I mean about their trajectory. Joanie is nearly 6; the affair that broke up Helen and Noah's marriage had to have been 8 years ago or more. Life takes us to strange places. (I've been in weirder places than that myself.) Alison herself remarked on how awkward she felt. But Helen long ago stopped seeing Alison as a threat. And Helen seemed fully aware of her relative strength and still chose to be generous in light of Alison's vulnerability and confusion. I found their conversation much more moving than implausible.
5
@DD Noah destroyed their marriage, not Alison. I think that Helen is pragmatic enough to understand that at this point.
1
The episode was lackluster for me, especially on the heels of the tour de force that was last week’s episode.
6