Anonymous wrote:No one is even talking about Sunday night's episode? Wow. Was it that much of a snoozefest? It has really gone downhill this season!

I thought it was ok, but I would rather the series dump Helen. I've always prefered the Alison and Cole angle.

I haven't watched it yet. I'll watch tomorrow and check back in with my thoughts.

No one is even talking about Sunday night's episode? Wow. Was it that much of a snoozefest? It has really gone downhill this season!

Anonymous wrote:I think the pills are making Noah hallucinate. I hate how they just won't let us like Helen. I still feel sorry for her for not being able to get over Noah. In the first season, they didn't really try to make like she was a horrible person and that or problems in the marriage contributed to the affair. They seemed to have a fairly solid marriage, 4 kids and 18 years into it. I don't like them making her so utterly unrelatable.

I agree that the show is verging on having all the characters so flawed and morally repugnant that you can't care about them. I can't help but think the uneven character development comes from the fact that it was not originally conceived as a series but as, I think, a several episode drama or a one season thing. I think I read that somewhere, and it rings sort of true.

I feel the same way. It's like they are trying to take what was, by all accounts, the most likable character and make her seem like some shrill harpy. It seems kind of misogynistic and bizarre to me

Anonymous wrote:I think the pills are making Noah hallucinate. I hate how they just won't let us like Helen. I still feel sorry for her for not being able to get over Noah. In the first season, they didn't really try to make like she was a horrible person and that or problems in the marriage contributed to the affair. They seemed to have a fairly solid marriage, 4 kids and 18 years into it. I don't like them making her so utterly unrelatable.

I agree that the show is verging on having all the characters so flawed and morally repugnant that you can't care about them. I can't help but think the uneven character development comes from the fact that it was not originally conceived as a series but as, I think, a several episode drama or a one season thing. I think I read that somewhere, and it rings sort of true.

I can buy that it was meant to be a short series, but I'm glad they're uncovering more of the relationship before the moment of departure. Because nothing about "The Affair" made sense, unless you're content to believe the failure was all one-sided. It's only taken Helen five years or so to realize she played a part in it.

I want to feel sorry for Helen, but that interplay with Max was even more despicable than what Noah did with Alison. She's even worse with her parenting.

I think the pills are making Noah hallucinate. I hate how they just won't let us like Helen. I still feel sorry for her for not being able to get over Noah. In the first season, they didn't really try to make like she was a horrible person and that or problems in the marriage contributed to the affair. They seemed to have a fairly solid marriage, 4 kids and 18 years into it. I don't like them making her so utterly unrelatable.

I agree that the show is verging on having all the characters so flawed and morally repugnant that you can't care about them. I can't help but think the uneven character development comes from the fact that it was not originally conceived as a series but as, I think, a several episode drama or a one season thing. I think I read that somewhere, and it rings sort of true.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are all horrible, except Luisa and the French lady.

So has Noah gone around the bend? I've disliked him all along, but he definitely seems to be going through some sort of serious mental illness. And from the previews, it looks like Helen is taking care of him. But in his version of things, he basically thinks she is a shrew. What gives? He's just that out of it now?

Why did Helen have to screw Max? That's just cruel. I was kind of liking her till this. Now I feel like she is irredeemable. Why does Vic stay with her?

Why are they all horrible except the French lady? Because they all cheat? The French lady cheats on her husband.

Uh, completely different context. He has dementia or alzheimers and is no longer a husband in any meaningful sense. She stays connected and ensures he is well cared for. No judgment here.

Um, sorry you can't put an asterisk on infidelity. She knew he was much older when she married him. Cheating is cheating.

Very rigid and uncompassionate viewpoint, PP. A woman in her 40s should never have sex again when her somewhat older husband seems oblivious to her existence now?

Somewhat older? He was twice her age when they married.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are all horrible, except Luisa and the French lady.

So has Noah gone around the bend? I've disliked him all along, but he definitely seems to be going through some sort of serious mental illness. And from the previews, it looks like Helen is taking care of him. But in his version of things, he basically thinks she is a shrew. What gives? He's just that out of it now?

Why did Helen have to screw Max? That's just cruel. I was kind of liking her till this. Now I feel like she is irredeemable. Why does Vic stay with her?

Why are they all horrible except the French lady? Because they all cheat? The French lady cheats on her husband.

Uh, completely different context. He has dementia or alzheimers and is no longer a husband in any meaningful sense. She stays connected and ensures he is well cared for. No judgment here.

Um, sorry you can't put an asterisk on infidelity. She knew he was much older when she married him. Cheating is cheating.

Very rigid and uncompassionate viewpoint, PP. A woman in her 40s should never have sex again when her somewhat older husband seems oblivious to her existence now?

I can't stand Luisa. Just watching her on screen makes me twitchy. She seems like the kind of person who hates Allison because she's been very up close and personal with that kind of damage and secretly fears she has it, too.

In fact, I think that's a source of Cole's attraction for her.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are all horrible, except Luisa and the French lady.

So has Noah gone around the bend? I've disliked him all along, but he definitely seems to be going through some sort of serious mental illness. And from the previews, it looks like Helen is taking care of him. But in his version of things, he basically thinks she is a shrew. What gives? He's just that out of it now?

Why did Helen have to screw Max? That's just cruel. I was kind of liking her till this. Now I feel like she is irredeemable. Why does Vic stay with her?

Why are they all horrible except the French lady? Because they all cheat? The French lady cheats on her husband.

Uh, completely different context. He has dementia or alzheimers and is no longer a husband in any meaningful sense. She stays connected and ensures he is well cared for. No judgment here.

Um, sorry you can't put an asterisk on infidelity. She knew he was much older when she married him. Cheating is cheating.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are all horrible, except Luisa and the French lady.

So has Noah gone around the bend? I've disliked him all along, but he definitely seems to be going through some sort of serious mental illness. And from the previews, it looks like Helen is taking care of him. But in his version of things, he basically thinks she is a shrew. What gives? He's just that out of it now?

Why did Helen have to screw Max? That's just cruel. I was kind of liking her till this. Now I feel like she is irredeemable. Why does Vic stay with her?

Why are they all horrible except the French lady? Because they all cheat? The French lady cheats on her husband.

Quoted PP here. Actually, I don't think the cheating is the thing that makes them horrible - it seems like a symptom of them being jerks generally. So, this is why I think they're all horrible except Luisa and French woman:

Noah - completely self-centered, thinks he is the bees' knees and everyone should cater to him. Ignores his kids. Generally shockingly jerky. I get he had a dying mom who he had to help die, and his family sucked, but that does not mean you get to be so awful to your kids.

Allison - also completely self-absorbed and obnoxious. She cheated on her husband, who from all accounts was trying to be supportive and had also gone through the death of their child. Admitted to using Noah as an escape mechanism, and cheated on him too. Then had another kid and hid the paternity from a father who had lost his other kid!!! That's the worst offense, IMO. I understand that losing a child must be beyond horrible, and her childhood seems to be a mess too. But good grief she is just a walking horror show. I was hoping that she was getting better after being in the mental hospital or whatever it was, but she slept with Cole again, knowing that is wrong!

Helen - insanely selfish, treating people like props in her life. I actually was feeling bad for her until her treatment of Vic and Max. That just really peeved me. She also really is quite sad how she continues to pine over Noah, who is not worth it and doesn't seem to care about her in any real way. It's still unclear why he confessed/who he was protecting.

On second thought, I think Cole isn't terrible. He cheated on Luisa, which is really bad, but I understand that he is really screwed up by Allison's affair, the death of the kid, and her hiding the new kid from him. He seems messed up in that he wants to save her or something, and he knew her since they were kids. So while some of his actions are bad, I don't think he's a horrible person.

French lady seems like she has a good heart. I excuse the cheating on her husband because he is not really there anymore, and she must be going through a lot of pain. Not ideal, but not the same thing at all as the other cheating going on.

I also like Luisa. I am impressed that, even though she initially was super bitchy to Allison, she was able to think about it more and try to come together with Allison to let her have Joanie on her birthday. Luisa's anger probably comes from watching Joanie be so sad, as well as sadness over not being able to have her own kids. But she seems like she is a quality person who is willing to do the right thing eventually.

I don't get how they're all chummy with Oscar all of the sudden.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are all horrible, except Luisa and the French lady.

So has Noah gone around the bend? I've disliked him all along, but he definitely seems to be going through some sort of serious mental illness. And from the previews, it looks like Helen is taking care of him. But in his version of things, he basically thinks she is a shrew. What gives? He's just that out of it now?

Why did Helen have to screw Max? That's just cruel. I was kind of liking her till this. Now I feel like she is irredeemable. Why does Vic stay with her?

Why are they all horrible except the French lady? Because they all cheat? The French lady cheats on her husband.

Uh, completely different context. He has dementia or alzheimers and is no longer a husband in any meaningful sense. She stays connected and ensures he is well cared for. No judgment here.

Anonymous wrote:They are all horrible, except Luisa and the French lady.

So has Noah gone around the bend? I've disliked him all along, but he definitely seems to be going through some sort of serious mental illness. And from the previews, it looks like Helen is taking care of him. But in his version of things, he basically thinks she is a shrew. What gives? He's just that out of it now?

Why did Helen have to screw Max? That's just cruel. I was kind of liking her till this. Now I feel like she is irredeemable. Why does Vic stay with her?

Why are they all horrible except the French lady? Because they all cheat? The French lady cheats on her husband.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:can we talk about episode 6? i thought it was very good, best yet of the season.

I liked last episode best. I thought this one was kind of boring, esp Helen's

It WAS boring. Also I'm having trouble seeing Vik as having been with Helen for 4 years. Its such a recently introduced and completely undeveloped story arc. Sloppy TV writing.

He just seems recently introduced Noah's served his sentence, Joanie is in preschool and the surly teenager is now driving. What's shocking is that Vik kept a separate apartment in the basement for most of that time. While she's obviously relied heavily on him for sex and parenting benefits, she seems pretty much disgusted by him. Which offers insight into what it must have been like for Noah all the years he was married to her. She's exhaustively needy all while treating her partner like persona non grata.

That was fascinating to me.