The Affair: Season 1, Episode 8 (B+)
The way this episode started out, I was ready to call it the best hour of this series so far. I might still, but Allison’s time at the hospital with her grandmother wasn’t as strong as much of what happened with Noah individually and with both of them earlier in the episode. Starting off with Noah being awesome at his teaching job gave us a chance to see him thriving, something that he hasn’t been allowed to do at any point yet on this show, and that was a treat. When he went to meet Helen at the restaurant, it wasn’t clear if they were still together or not, and it seems that they quite literally pretended to forget about his indiscretion, though his eagerness to go to the Hamptons to attend his father-in-law’s award did get Helen suspicious. They’re pretty blunt and honest with each other these days, as evidenced by Helen’s admission that she married Noah because he was safe and his response that the news didn’t surprise him. I’d vote for Noah’s attempt to give his son advice on math and bullies over Helen’s unsubtle “Are you bulimic” question to which she got a terrific response from her teenage daughter: “Yes, mom, take me back to therapy.” Noah’s alone time with Bruce was extremely interesting as the older of the two told Noah that he had a muse and she helped him write, and he regretted not keeping it going. Driving your mistress to the hospital so that she can see her dying grandmother is hardly romantic, but this affair is obviously not over. Even in Allison’s recollection, which mostly had to do with Cole stressing over selling the ranch and fighting with her mother over how to take care of her grandmother, the two of them said I love you to each other. Referencing Romeo and Juliet and how it only turned tragic towards the end couldn’t have been more foreboding.
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