I like The Affair and I don't care what anyone thinks about that. Yes, the main characters, Noah, played by Dominic West, Alison, played by Ruth Wilson, Helen, played by Maura Tierney, and Cole, played by Joshua Jackson, are fairly awful/boring people and yes, this show features white people having white people problems, and yes this show takes place in a newly established safe Brooklyn that didn't exist before white people found it, and yes the plot is meh, and yes it burns through plot faster then a soap opera, but the way this story unfolds is fantastic. The Affair is on it's second season and if you have't had an opportunity, check out the trailer below!
So, you get it, right? Two people cheat on his or her significant other and we get to witness the fall out. I have reviewed the first season and felt that the finale was rushed and done in a shoddy fashion, but I really do like how this season is unfolding. The story is told from two different perspectives but instead of seeing the world from Noah and Alison's point of view, their significant others are included which may seem like a minor change to those who consume television as much as I do, but it's a great change for a number of reasons.
First and foremost it moves the plot forward. This season is already 4 episodes in an a number of new family members have been introduced and the viewers are introduced to Noah's sister and father, which, correct me if I am wrong, we haven't been introduced before.
Second, it allows for the viewer to witness the contradictions between these two individual's stories, while also allowing them to gather more of understanding. For example, in one episode we get to witness just how deeply affected Helen was by affair from her own point of view.
Which leads me to my last point, which is that this show allows for a very intimate understanding into it's characters. We, the viewers, get to see how the individual is dealing with the aftermath of this event from his or her own perspective and it's quite interesting/entertaining. I, personally, love psychologically heavy films or shows and this show gives us the psyche of that said individual and it's great to watch, digest, and discuss.
So, this show has a lot of things I strongly dislike in television shows within it, but, the way the story is told kind of sort of makes up for it. So if you're all caught up, just started watching it, or think I'm entirely wrong, let me know in the comments!
Written by cwm on Nov 2, 2015
This show is one of my "Guilty Pleasures".
The Affair is great yea, and quite recommendable.
It's a bit like with the movie "Before Midnight", if the narrative technique is good enough and the players are doing a great job, the result will most likely be very good, no matter how the story would seem on paper beforehand. The Affair is an excellent case of just that :)
Besides the pacing issues in the first season, sometimes moving too slowly, and a pretty rushed endings as mentioned in this article, I really like the show. I don't really agree with the characters being totally unrelatable, they're flawed, but that's what makes them human and relatable imo. And yeah the Rashomon style storytelling is brilliant and not often enough seen on TV.F
The Affair is an amazing show. They way they tell the story from different points of view, with a "he said" "she said" retelling of the story is great. Each view point gives us another angle to see what happened, so we (along with the detective) can piece the story-telling puzzle together.
I love how they tell us the story. I love this show.