Thursday, January 12, 2017

What I’m Watching: The Affair


The Affair: Season 3, Episode 7 (B-)

I wasn’t too fond of this episode, mainly because it didn’t really take us anywhere, dwelling on one major event with Noah at Helen’s apartment and flashing back a good deal to the past without confirming what really happened in the present. Helen’s version of events showed just how much she’s still in love with Noah and doesn’t want to let him go, giving him medicine and other coddling even though he was being pretty grumpy and horrible. She didn’t seem to care that Vic was furious about it, and it’s no wonder he started packing his things. Whitney was typically unkind when she showed up, but it’s not as if Noah didn’t deserve it. The way he saw things, however, was so completely different. Maura Tierney continues to be the best performer on this show, playing Helen so differently in his take, waving medicine bottles at him seductively and powerfully enchanting him with her intense care. Vic was much more than frustrated, telling Noah to get out as soon as Helen wasn’t within earshot. And Whitney’s adult boyfriend completely clocked Noah without being provoked at all, which is definitely different than what we were led to believe happened. I think that we have to accept that, even if it’s not his fault, Noah is no longer a reliable narrator (if he ever was) since he’s clearly hallucinating and seeing his tormentor Gunther when he’s not there. It’s also not totally obvious that Gunther is the one trying to kill him even if he did threaten to follow him after he got out, and I’m not honestly sure what clarity we can expect over the course of the rest of the season.

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