Happy Monday TV fans! After watching Showtime’s The Affair last night, I thought about the idea that it’s easier to confide in a stranger than it is to your best friend or loved one and I started to wonder why that is. Is it because we are afraid to let our loved ones see the inner turmoil stirring around inside of us? Is it because we don’t want to taint their image of us or is it because we need to hear the raw and simple truth? Either way, we sometimes get the best advice from someone on the outside, but what do we do with this advice? Do we change our narrative or do we continue to go down the same path, continuing to make the same mistakes over and over again? Please note spoilers are ahead if you have not gotten a chance to watch the latest episode yet. In last night’s episode, “406,” Noah and Janelle continue to grow closer when they bond over Anton’s essay. Meanwhile, Alison meets an unexpected stranger and finds out the truth about Ben and her day continues get worse until she has a real conversation with the last person on earth you would think would be willing to help her. My top 5 moments from The Affair season 4 episode 6 are:
5
“He saved your life.”
Part two of the episode is from Alison’s perspective and she is visiting her mother, Athena, with Joanie while Cole is away. Alison notices that Athena gets upset after a short phone call and that her phone continues to ring. Curiosity eats away at Alison until she finally picks up the phone and is shocked to find out the identity of the person on the other line. Alison meets a man named James who claims he is her father. Alison is shocked by this revelation and explains that her mother said she never knew who her real father was. James reveals his side of the story to Alison and explains that he is the one who saved her life, putting some of the pieces together of her lost memory, which involved two strong hands pulling her out of the water. Alison realizes that the timing of this revelation is strange and asks her father, “why now?” James explains that his kidneys are failing and he is hoping that Alison can get tested to see if she would be a potential match as a donor. Before Alison can give a real answer to this request, she leaves the house, unable to process all of the information being thrown her way.
4
“Why did he reach out to you?”
Alison confronts her mother, Athena, and asks her why she kept this information from her. Athena is upset to find out that James contacted Alison and begins laughing hysterically when she finds out that he wanted a kidney. When Alison questions her mother further about this, she tells Alison the truth and explains that James raped her when she was nineteen and that she changed her name and moved away to protect her. Athena tells Alison that she doesn’t remember anything about him saving her and Alison is having trouble processing everything, as she desperately needs some kind of escape at this point. If James did not save Alison, it still makes us wonder about this memory she has locked away. It was clearly traumatic enough to be blocked, but will we find out the truth about what happened to her? Is it possible that James or his wife has something to do with Alison’s disappearance? The questions keep coming as new players are introduced to the mystery, but we will have to wait and see how it all unravels.
3
“Hey pot, I’m kettle. Nice to meet you.”
In part one, Anton approaches Noah and gives him an essay to look at, as he is now thinking about applying to Princeton again. Noah is clearly having an impact on Anton and he wants to loop Janelle into the conversation, as he recognizes how much potential her son has. Noah barges into Janelle’s office and interrupts a conference call with her supervisor. Noah tries to get involved further by talking to him and explaining that he’s “incredibly lucky to have her.” While this gesture is sweet and well intended, Noah is out of line and Janelle reminds him to knock next time. After Trevor refuses to go to the concert with Noah, he ends up at Janelle’s doorstep and the two discuss Anton’s essay and begin growing even closer. As fate would have it, just when they begin kissing, Anton and his father walk in the door and Noah finds himself out of place. Janelle thanks him for coming over and Noah is beyond polite to Anton’s father, but is Noah overstepping here? Noah is having trouble connecting to his own family and it looks like he has the chance to do so here, but something tells me that Anton’s father will not want Noah intervening any further. I was disappointed to see Noah and Janelle’s moment together interrupted, but it’s clear that sparks are continuing to fly, but how will Anton feel when he finds out that his teacher and mentor is into his mom?
2
“You look good for a felon.”
After Noah gets a phone call and rushes off to bail Alison out of jail, we jump to part two to learn about the events that led up to this. Alison tries to call Ben and she really needs to talk to him about everything she just learned about her father. Her emotions are overwhelming her and she makes the decision to drive down to his work, but is in for an unexpected surprise when she meets his wife at the office. Alison is stunned and walks out of there, desperately needing to just get away. She uses Noah’s gift card to take a flight to California, but trouble refuses to stay behind. Alison begins drinking and talking to the stranger next to her and it seems harmless enough until he begins touching her thigh and suggesting that they try out the mile high club. Alison throws her drink on the stranger and tries to get up, but bumps her head and accidentally pushes over an elderly woman. The misunderstanding begins to escalate and no one believes Alison when she tries to tell security that the man attacked her. Alison’s terrible day hits a new low when she winds up zip tied for the remainder of the flight while a young girl records her on her phone. #BadDay
1
“You can manifest your reality.”
After Noah bails Alison out of jail, they are in the car and she begins breaking down and tells Noah she feels like she can’t breathe. While it seems like Alison is having a panic attack, he rushes her over to Vik so he can make sure she is all right. Helen offers for Alison to stay the night and even Alison comments that “this is weird.” Alison turns to Helen, recognizing that perhaps she is the only person who can give her some real and honest advice. She asks her, “Why do men look at me and see someone they can fuck with? It’s like they can smell something on me.” Helen talks to her about “manifesting her reality,” and explains that “if there’s something in your life you want to change, you just need to think differently and it will change.” Alison seems doubtful at first, but Helen reminds Alison that she doesn’t always need to play the victim. She says, “If you don’t like the way men are treating you, change the story. Play a different character.” Helen’s words seem to really resonate with Alison and Helen reminds us why we love her so much when she tells Alison to tell Ben to “go fuck himself” and that it’s not OK for him to treat her like that. It’s no secret that Alison and Helen have a beyond complicated past and this moment is truly important, as Alison gets some much needed advice that is free of an ulterior motive. Helen has been going through her own issues and she reminds Alison that she is still young enough to change her story. Will Alison be able to do so, however? Either way, Alison genuinely appreciates Helen’s words. I have to admit that I never thought I would see these two bonding over anything, but this moment of clarity was extremely important for both Alison and Helen. Perhaps these two women can finally discover who they are and what they want without compromising themselves to please someone else. It’s about time. Stay tuned!
I hope you enjoyed the list and feel free to post your own theories and thoughts on The Affair below in the comments section. Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!
Best,
Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl
@TV_Fanatic_Girl
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