Quote :

"Set in Montauk, N.Y., on the eastern tip of Long Island, the series follows the adulterous relationship between Noah (Dominic West), a writer and father of four, and Alison (Ruth Wilson), a waitress. But it also delves into their complicated marriages to their respective spouses Helen (Maura Tierney) and Cole (Joshua Jackson). In a postmodern wrinkle, the affair is depicted in flashback from both Alison's and Noah's perspectives, with the gulf between his and her versions of events at times startlingly vast. The idea behind the show's "Rashomon"-like structure, Treem explained, was that "storytelling in general is driven by perspective, and there are two sides at least, to every story." This is especially true in romantic relationships, especially affairs, because "you don’t even have access to what your lover is experiencing when you’re not around. There’s this whole other world that they inhabit that you never get to see.""

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-the-affair-showtime-infidelity-tca-20140719-story.html
http://www.sho.com/sho/the-affair/home

7/21/2014 11:50:52 PM

Did anyone watch the first episode?

I'm very intrigued. I'm not sure how I'll feel about the multiple view point structure for an entire season, but for this first episode it was quite interesting to notice the subtle differences.

10/14/2014 11:00:29 AM

^ agreed

Not sure I'll finish this show, but I'll watch next week

10/14/2014 2:04:03 PM

I thought this show was awesome and has a lot of potential. It takes a lot to get me to watch a show completely through without busting out the ipad at some point and I was completely glued to the tv throughout the whole episode.

10/16/2014 9:49:39 PM

So what exactly is up with the two different perspectives? I thought it was supposed to be their recollection of the events, each obviously biased...but these two different accounts are so different I'm thinking they must be each others' story to the cops, as opposed to their actual memories. Maybe?

10/22/2014 9:47:07 AM

i don't think they are "so" different in that they are making up various parts of the story. I think the events are just perceived differently by the two characters. In his memory she is seen as the aggressor with much more confidence and better overall appearance. She always seems to view herself as unsure, nervous or out of place, and he being the one to initiate their interactions. There are events we see from his side that can't be seen from her side, and vice versa, because the other party was not there when that event took place. But I haven't seen much in terms of the shared situations that would lead me to believe they are anything but fuzzy memories of real events.

The only shared event we got to see that wasn't told by both, only by Alison, was the running into Noah's Daughter and Cole's brother on the staircase. Now if that's something Noah intentionally left out and may become more important later is yet to be seen.

10/22/2014 10:09:43 AM

I think this show has a lot of potential, and I'm really intrigued by the two perspective narrative. Good to see McNulty and Rawls back on the screen together

10/22/2014 10:30:21 AM

so obviously someone has been killed.. Who do we think it may be thus far?

My vote is Bruce Butler as it stands now.

10/22/2014 10:34:15 AM

^ We know it's a male...so my guess is her husband.

Quote :

"But I haven't seen much in terms of the shared situations that would lead me to believe they are anything but fuzzy memories of real events."

Take that scene on the beach for example. He says she ran into the water splashing around etc on her own, trying to get him into the water. In her version, she didn't even get in the water, telling him "i don't swim" when he's trying to get her in.

Those versions are so different (along with other events) that I don't think they're fuzzy recollections. The way they're flashing back to the detective all the time I think it's the story they're telling the detective in the present, who occasionally interrupts them and we see some of those interruptions.

They only thing going for the "truthful recollection" potential is the fact that she looks very different (shorter hair, more put together) with the detective, indicating a lot of time has passed since the summer. Also there's mention of her "going back to the city [NYC]" so perhaps she lives there with Noah now.

And if time has passed, and the murder happened in the past, why are they just now investigating it, or reinvestigating?

Check this out - http://flavorwire.com/483193/the-affair-recap-season-1-episode-2-2

[Edited on October 22, 2014 at 11:02 AM. Reason : ]

10/22/2014 10:50:16 AM

Ok so it seems the intent of the writers is to show their actual memories, and they're not lying to the police - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/22/the-affair-memory-expert_n_5991648.html

Quote :

"Sarah Treem wouldn't call the two main characters of "The Affair" unreliable narrators. Their memories differ so drastically at times it seems inevitable one or both of them are lying. The way Treem sees it, the objective truth lies somewhere between Noah and Alison's version of the story, a middle ground that is perhaps only available to the audience. Neither is trying to obscure what happened with the two distinct accounts presented across each episode. The reality is simply that both remember themselves as the heroes of their own story. "The Affair" is, as New York Magazine television critic Matt Zoller Seitz put it, the first show that's "mainly about how we shape life narratives to flatter ourselves." And it's not just a creative rendering of how we retrospectively imagine our lives. In fact, we often distort memories and false ones can be implanted through something as simple as suggestion. As unsettling as this may be, the wildly differing accounts represented in "The Affair" are an accurate representation of the malleable way we form memories in real life."

10/22/2014 11:15:11 AM

This is definitely my favorite current show. Really interesting story and I like how they are telling it.

11/2/2014 7:04:26 PM

An excellent episode last night.

12/15/2014 11:08:38 AM

This has been a really solid show in my opinion. They really set up a lot of things along the way that seemed like minor details that are starting to show their importance. Should be a good finale.

12/18/2014 10:37:46 AM

what did everyone think of the finale? just got around to watching it last night and really enjoyed it. i think we can safely assume that Noah didn't kill Scotty and that he's covering for someone. I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up being Helen. We know there is at least a year or more between the finale's events and the "present day" arrest given that Noah and Alison have a new place together and a young daughter. I assume season two will fill those gaps in between. Overall i enjoyed this more than I thought i would.

12/30/2014 9:55:43 AM

I agree with your post, I think this turned out to be a really solid show and I am looking forward to season 2

12/30/2014 12:17:59 PM

Back in October : /

http://deadline.com/2015/06/ruth-wilson-the-affair-season-2-interview-1201448340/

6/24/2015 11:47:04 PM

Binge watched this show this week after randomly seeing this thread last weekend. Soooo good. There were some parts of it that were so tense. I love shit like that.

Felt really bad for Helen the whole time but still wanted Noah and Alison to end up together. I guess this show really tries to tap in to the "what if" things that most married people think about every now and then.

6/27/2015 12:34:12 AM

Season 2 is pretty excellent too

12/4/2015 7:07:59 PM

Just binged Season 2 and thought it was fantastic. I especially loved the four different perspectives thing as it advanced the story faster and was a nice replacement to Season 1's two perspectives. I enjoyed Season 1, but it was annoying to watch the same scene twice, all the while saying "WTF how could they see those events that differently."

1/3/2016 1:44:03 PM

This show is pretty great. I think I've got about 3 or 4 episodes left in the 2nd season. Thoughts:

- Great casting. Noah and Helen were perfect...everyone else was great too...Alison, the overbearing Montauk parents, the brothers...even the hot-as-fuck publicist and hedge fund guy. I've been hanging out with my wife's hedge fund friends who live in New York and have a house in the Hamptons...and they knock these stereotypes out of the park.

- The daughter was annoying as fuck.

- Being married and having a lot of married friends....this show is a little scary. I see marriages like Noah and Helen's all the time...as well as seeing bits and pieces of my marriage in there. And there are Alison's all over the place. My wife won't watch this show and I understand why...she would hate it. Regardless...it's still very entertaining.

That's it. Will probably post more when I finish it.

1/14/2016 2:04:06 PM

Quote :

"hot-as-fuck publicist"

yes yes yes


Also I don't like watching it with my wife. She always gets moody about how pissed off she would be at me if I did the stuff Noah did. I'm like "WTF??? ALISON WAS MARRIED TOO!"

women

1/15/2016 10:41:26 AM

Brendan Fraser got fat.

He's also 48.

1/7/2017 11:42:31 PM