What I’m Watching: The Affair (Season Premiere)

The Affair: Season 4, Episode 1 (B)

I have mixed feelings about the return of this show, which I honestly had completely forgotten about in the year and a half since it last aired. Seasons one and two were terrific, but season three took a few unfortunate turns before bottoming out after a development that wasn’t acknowledged in either the season three finale or this premiere. Noah’s mental state is not in question, while Helen’s is, and the biggest thing about this episode is that neither of them is having an affair. While this show doesn’t need to stick to its title premise quite as much as “Prison Break” did, we’re at the point where Noah is now twice divorced and Helen is starting a new life in California with Vic, with no signs of infidelity anywhere around. That could potentially be interesting, but right now it’s not entirely clear what the direction will be. Noah continues to be a very unlikeable person, accusing one student of plagiarism because of a previous offense and then showing up late and belligerent to Trevor’s event, interrupting him just as he was about to come out to his family. Helen, who has been the most magnetic character on the show for the past two seasons, is getting less sympathetic as time goes on, and her earthquake fears felt all too metaphoric in this hour until the very last moment of the episode when it turned out to be Vic who wasn’t stable, passed out on the floor after being the most reliable element in her life up until that point. Hopefully Alison and Cole’s stories will be more enticing in episode two.