The Affair is a drama series that debuted on October 12, 2014 on Showtime.
When the show opens, we are introduced to college professor, Noah Solloway (Dominic West), who is forced by his wife, Helen (Maura Tierney), to spend his summer vacation with his in-laws, Bruce (John Doman) and Margaret Butler (Kathleen Chalfant). Helen’s parents never truly accepted Noah into their family, they actually thought that Helen was too good for him, because he grew up very poor. They load up their four children, Whitney (Julia Goldani Telles), Martin (Jake Siciliano), Trevor (Jadon Sand), and Stacey (Leya Catlett), and head to Montauk, Long Island for their three months in paradise, or so they think.
Noah decides to stop in the Lobster Roll for lunch, where he meets former nurse and waitress, Alison Bailey (Ruth Wilson). While taking the Solloway’s order, Stacey gets choked and Alison immediately steps in to help. There is an instant love connection felt between Noah and Alison, but no one seems to notice except for the two of them.
After, lunch they head on out to the Butler’s mansion. That night Noah goes out for a walk on the beach, where he runs into Alison again. While her husband, Cole Lockhart (Joshua Jackson), and his friends are sitting around a campfire, Alison and Noah slip away. He walks her home, then leaves himself to head back to the mansion. He doesn’t get very far before, he hears Alison arguing with Cole, when he walks back to her house, he observes Cole forcing Alison to have sex.
The following night, Bruce is planning a huge event at his home to celebrate the success of his new novel. It just so happens that Alison is one of the party servers. Again, her and Noah slip away from the party, where they get intimate. Noah tries to separate himself from Alison, but it seems that she is everywhere. Alison soon reveals to Noah that her four year old son, Gabriel, had recently passed away, due to a drowning accident. Over time, they become sexually involved and no one seems to notice except for the Lobster Roll owner, Oscar Hodges (Darren Goldstein), who later threatens to reveal their little secret to everyone.
With the summer almost over, the Solloway family is preparing to head back to New York. Alison and Noah are not on speaking terms, because he found out that she was involved in the illegal drug trade. After returning home, Noah just cannot seem to keep his mind off of Alison nor can she keep her mind off of him. He receives a text from Oscar, which pushes Noah over the edge. He reveals his secret to Helen, but she decides to let him stay to prevent the family from being torn apart. During the meantime, Cole’s mother, Cherry (Mare Winningham), finds a note that Noah left for Alison, before he left Montauk. She decides not to tell Cole, but Alison takes it upon herself to tell him.
Alison decides to visit her friend and former coworker, Jane (Nicolette Robinson), who just relocated to New York. Her and Noah hookup and have some good old-fashioned sex, before she heads back to Montauk. Noah finds a home pregnancy test that just so happens to be positive. He questions Helen about the test, but she instantly denies being pregnant. Together they bombard Whitney, with questions, until they force her to admitting that she is pregnant and has a everything under control. She is scheduled to have an abortion the next day. Noah shows up at the clinic, where he meets Cole’s brother, Scotty (Colin Donnell). They get into a brief scuffle, before the guard breaks it up.
Four months have passed and Noah has moved out of the home, but Helen begs him to come back. He receives a text from Alison, which tells him that Whitney has shown up at the Lockhart ranch. He and Helen plan a trip back to Montauk to drag her back to New York. When they arrive at the ranch, they are met by Cole, who holds them at gunpoint, until Alison talks him down.
In the finale episode, Alison and Noah are living together, after Noah gained success, with his newly released novel.
Throughout the first season, Alison and Noah are questioned by detective Jeffries (Victor Williams) about the potential murder of Scottie. They both give their versions of what happened during their summer fling. Their stories appear to have the same outcome, with a few minor discrepancies.
Review
The Affair is exactly that and much more. Although, the show is classed as a drama, it does have a bit of a thriller feel. The only complaint that I had with the series is its extremely slow pace. Many of the scenes, just seemed to drag out forever, with lots of the episodes beginning and ending, with very little progress. Dominic West, Ruth Wilson, and Joshua Jackson truly outdid themselves in their roles. The scenery is absolutely breathtaking and will pull you in very easily.
Just a word of warning, this series is not appropriate for children, under sixteen, due to the many nude, sex scenes. The show is definitely brutally, but beautifully slow. With two sides to each story, this is a show that forces you to use your imagination. All in all the series is worth watching and deserves a 7.5 out of 10.
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Jay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to keep up with the latest foreign television shows and movies. Jay loves skinny dipping in the dark too.
