Seeing as Showtime has released the premiere early, I thought I'd post a discussion thread for all of you. Welcome back! If you'd like to wait until October 4th to watch the episode, be wary of spoilers below.
Posted Sep 26, 2015, 10:36 PM UTC
Well, that was an interesting episode.
I remember people speculating in S1 during that scene where Max unexpectedly shows up at Alison's diner to greet the Solloways that Max and Helen were a thing. And now they really are! Laughed/cringed during the sex scene, I think every woman dreads a guy like Max when it comes to the bedroom.
I found the different perceptions of the divorce mediator pretty fascinating. Noah saw him as peppy and trying too hard to be funny, while Helen saw total disinterest.
Going forward I hope Alison gets more screen time because Ruth Wilson is great. But so far so good :)
I remember speculating that Max didn't even exist outside of Noah's head. Still a strange character for sure, but that theory is now completely out of the picture.
I really liked the mediation scene too, so many little details, such as the chair switch. Noah is so oblivious to the entire premise, he thinks everything went as fine as fine can be, and that the only thing that makes Helen hurt is Alison. But Helen actually hurts so much that she sees the entire world gang up on her. And men. Men are so bad, ignorant and stupid. The mediator is so unprofessional he doesn't even know the proper place to sit for a mediation, which of course Noah goes out of his way to abuse by sitting next to him, in an interrogation-style 2vs1. Of course, Helen is high on weed, so she can keep a relaxed straight face, but I couldn't help thinking "mild weed-induced paranoia" when she felt humiliated twice at the start (for being the only person not knowing how the procedure goes, and for being asked to start).
So she starts and "erases" from the scene Noah's entire build-up that makes him look strong, fair and generous. Noah feels like a responsible King, leaving every single earthly posession to Helen, and in return she acts like a bitchy Queen when she seizes every opportunity to humiliate his lack of money in the first place. But Helen wants none of that. It's all about the kids.
Noah thinks Helen doesn't want him to have custody, Helen thinks Noah doesn't even want to make the proper arrangements for the custody, or has any idea of what the kids need. They both want the best for their children, that much is certain, and they're both convinced that the kids need both of them, but they're so dramatically clumsy in their approach that it needlessly turns into an argument, settled only in Noah's POV as "really about Alison", and never settled in Helen's POV, where she's content to read through his (terrible) lie about living with her. A lie that never happens from Noah's perspective; only an omission.
But the clothing, oh man the clothing. I suck at describing clothes in English, so bear with me, but the contrast between the two scenes is taken to extremes. Depending who you ask, Noah wears either a working man's suit or a rebellious leather jacket and lumberjack shirt. Helen wears either cream designer clothes, pants, bag and a huge-ass golden watch, or a hipster dark top and plain skirt, with a mundane handbag. We had some of this stuff in S1, but apart from Helen herself, people never looked that different between Alison and Noah's POVs in the first Season. Clothes is, after all, a very important part of Helen's character; it's her job, her life and her entire character design. The interesting bit is, Helen looked plain in Noah's point of view and posh in Alison's. Now she looks plain in her own point of view, and flamboyant in Noah's.
Basically, a wake-up call for me, The Affair is back, and it makes me happy.
I think her not knowing how the procedure goes is just a hint at the fact that Noah was prepared for this divorce and she wasn't.
I recognize Max, but can someone please refresh my memory about his storyline?
I probably just need to rewatch Season 1 binge style.
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Oh yeah. Ok - he's the one that was doing coke in the cab. Ty!
Great show... the max situation is interesting... the affair never actually leaves you satisfied but keeps you thinking untill the next one ..so maybe that is satisfying?
I did not see the whole Max storyline happening at all. But you can tell that, even with everything, Helen still isn't really happy. The scene in the hotel was almost painful to watch. In contrast, Noah seems as if he's never been happier with Alison. It's interesting to note the different clothes that were used. But both POV's ended with an approaching storm--that's got to mean something.
I laughed a lot more in this episode than I'd've thought.
Good to see Helen's perspective, I think Maura Tierney might've been my favorite part of s1. Interesting to see in Noah's perspective he sat across from Helen with the mediator in between the two while Helen felt like the mediator & Noah were sitting on the same side across from her, ganging up against her. Also if I remember correctly, Noah went from the meeting with his editor/publisher to the mediation vs. in Helen's perspective he says he's going to the publisher afterwards.
So there's 2 perspectives & 2 timelines now? But is the jail timeline before or after the main timeline? Hmm...
Thanks for releasing this early Showtime, can knock out one show before the crush of Oct. 4 premieres (Homeland, Good Wife, Leftovers + Brooklyn Nine-Nine, LWT, 60 Minutes (because I'm 800 yrs old))
Pretty sure the jail timeline is the same future timeline from s1 and the Noah/Helen timelines were a continuation of where we left off on the main story.