Wednesday, December 21, 2016

What I’m Watching: The Affair


The Affair: Season 3, Episode 4 (B+)

After appreciating that last week’s episode continued its narrative directly from Juliette’s perspective into Noah’s, I’m even more glad to see that this installment has returned us to conflicting accounts with no definitive clarification on who’s right, a frustrating but fascinating facet of the show. I was particularly moved by the framing and cinematography that shows Alison as a rightfully concerned mother in stark contrast to what Cole saw, which was Alison freaking out and then earning a demerit in the supervisor’s book for her overreaction. It’s just as stark to see how Cole is so sympathetic to Alison and sees her in a kindhearted light where he wants her to succeed, while Alison perceives him as cold and judgmental. Luisa wasn’t particularly nice to Alison in either of their recollection of events, and after she made Alison take her cake back, she responded relatively well to Alison calling her a monster by agreeing to let her see Joanie more. Alison is trying to get her life back on track, and it’s hard for her to see her daughter living in such luxury away from her while she doesn’t have much and needs to fight just to be able to spend time for her. It’s crazy to think how little Noah figures into what Alison and Cole think about, and his return thanks to visits from the police managed to make them into adulterers once again. Naturally, Noah wasn’t going to stay away for long, and his physical return following Alison stopping to reflect on what felt like happiness was a very dramatic and effective way to end this episode.

No comments: