When the second episode opens, we’re thrown into Alison’s point of view. Alison (Ruth Wilson) and Noah (Dominic West) share a moment, before Noah tells her about the broken toilet. She insists she’ll take care of it, before he departs into the city to meet with his wife and the divorce mediator. After an outside bathroom break, Alison returns and inspects Noah’s book, Descent. She notices that he has dedicated the book to her, but doesn’t read any further.

Afterwards, she begins the long trek into the city. Thankfully, her 6 mile journey is put to a halt, by the arrival of the landlord, Robert (Peter Friedman). Robert drives her into the city. She bandages up her bloody heel, before watching several children play soccer. She visits a local restaurant and speaks to the waitress about her pay wage. She eventually makes it back home and discovers Cole (Joshua Jackson) inside. Cole has rummaged through Noah’s manuscript. Cole insists he has only brought Alison her clothing, as a way to save her friend money on shipping.

They argue and Cole behaves incredibly awkward, before he asks about the toilet. Once he discovers the toilet broken, he agrees to fix it immediately. Alison heads outside and runs into the landlady, Yvonne (Joanna Gleason). They chatter back and forth, before Cole emerges and reveals he has fixed the toilet. Yvonne invites Alison over for tea, before Cole gives her a chest, which is likely full of her child’s belongings. Alison heads inside alone and hides the chest inside of a shelf. Afterwards, she heads over the landlord’s house. When she arrives, she speaks with Yvonne and Robert.

They share tea, before Yvonne is pulled away, in order to take a phone call. Alison learns about Robert’s recent knee surgery and she discusses her time as a nurse, before offering some suggestions. Robert tells Alison about Yvonne’s job as the head of the publishing company, Radford House. After a little chat, Alison agrees to become Yvonne’s personal assistant, so Yvonne can return to the city. Once Alison returns home, she begins to cook. Noah arrives in a bad mood and immediately complains about everything.

He accuses Alison of reading the manuscript and complains about his future, which is looking terrible. He also asks Alison, whether or not she is going to sell her house and she has no answer. Noah gets angry, when he learns about Alison’s new job. Noah heads outside, returns and calms things down. Afterwards, they enjoy dinner together. They share a toast together, before we flash forward and witness Alison entering the courthouse, with her daughter. While there, she speaks to Jon Gottlief (Richard Schiff) and complains about the situation. Jon blows her off and insists things will work out as they should.

Afterwards, we switch to Cole’s perspective. Cole is now driving a taxi and he seems genuinely depressed. He picks up his passenger, Bruce Butler (John Doman). On the way home, Bruce tells Cole he is planning on leaving his wife. Bruce insists his son in law’s affair led him to the decision. He also concludes that his son in law is losing everything and some people are destined for failure. After dropping Bruce off, Cole nearly runs over a little boy. The boy’s caretaker, Luisa (Catalina Sandino Moreno) and Cole share a conversation, before Cole departs.

Afterwards, Cole returns to the headquarters and stashes his earnings. He tells Caleb (Michael Godere) he is heading back out, but Caleb insists he needs to go home and get some sleep. Outside of the building, Cole runs into Scotty (Colin Donnell). Scotty tells Cole that their mother isn’t doing great, but Cold insists he doesn’t care. Scotty questions Cole about his house and whether or not Alison is going to sell. Scotty reveals that Mary Kate is pregnant, before Cole speeds off in the taxi. When he arrives home, Cole finds Jane (Nicolette Robinson) bagging up Alison’s belongings.

Cole threatens her and forces her to give up Alison’s address. That night, Cole heads out with the taxi and picks up a flirty blonde. After she pukes on the side of the road, Cole takes her home and nearly crashes into another vehicle, after falling asleep. He snorts coke and continues on his way. Cole heads to Alison’s new hometown and speaks to the same waitress she spoke with earlier. He watches Noah leave and pretends to gun him down with his fingers. Moments later, he drives to Alison’s house and discovers Noah’s manuscript. Of course, his POV shows up that he didn’t touch it.

During Cole’s version of events, Alison is very grateful and appreciative. She even cooks him breakfast and speaks about their good times together. Before he leaves, Alison admits she is likely never coming home. Afterwards, we flash forward and see Cole arriving at the courthouse. He meets up with Alison and speaks to her new baby. Alison apologizes about Cole’s brother, before they head inside for the arraignment. Noah is charged with 3 crimes and his bail is set at $500,000. Noah stares intently at Cole, as he is led away in cuffs. Cole watches Alison comfort the baby, as the episode ends.

 

The Affair Review

The second episode of The Affair was just as good as the first. Initially, I thought two additional point-of-views would make things confusing, but so far, they’ve worked out exceptionally well. The mystery is slowly unraveling and the time wraps keep things interesting, by giving us something to look forward to. The differentials between the stories are fascinating and allow us to see the difficulties faced day in and day out by real life investigators.

All in all, another excellent episode, which deserves an 8 out of 10. Be sure to catch up with our previous recaps of The Affair right now.