In order to spend time together apart from their families, Noah and Alison take a day trip to remote Block Island. But as the two grow closer, they quickly learn that intimacy can be a double-edged sword.
The Affair shakes up its structure a little bit in its fourth episode and it becomes even more compelling because of it. So far, the show has shown events as they happen from both Noah and Alison's perspectives. Both narratives had a similar starting point and would cover the same events so we could see the deviations between their two memories. It's a wildly effective way to tell the story. The story in this episode is still split in half - with Noah starting the episode and Alison ending it. And yet, it tells one continuous story. At the halfway point, we don't rewind to see things again but from Alison's perspective. Noah's half of the story was about their journey to Block Island while Alison's was about the journey back. Several key locations are visited in both sides of the story - the ferry, the lighthouse, the cliff, etc. They are just shown in a vastly different order and way that ties thematic instead of narratively.The audience also gets a much stronger sense of emotional connection and intimacy between Noah and Alison. Both of these people are married and don't want to leave their spouses. And yet, they find themselves compelled to be with this other person instead of their own families. There simply has to be much more than just a sexual pining. If that were all this was, the two would fuck and then agree to go their separate ways thankful to let out this sexual tension. And sex does occur in this episode. It's the first time that it actually physically happens between Noah and Alison. I was mistaken in the previous episode during Noah's perspective. They didn't have sex. There was just kissing and grabbing - much like their encounter in the store's changing room this week.
They head to this island in order to get away from running into people that they know. That still happens but it's not as strongly apparent as when they are back home. They just want to have fun and see what this connection is. And yet, their relationship is so much more than that. They are finally showing their emotional depths to the other now. Noah is revealing his uncertainty over his book's prospects and Alison shares her horrifying tale of what happened to her son. Before they have their first sexual encounter, Noah even mentions that they don't really know each other that well. Both are coming into this relationship with baggage. Some of it is painfully emotional while other stuff is just angst.
It's strongly important to the narrative that both characters are coming alive as individuals in both sides of the story. Alison is willing to listen to Noah talk even though she doesn't understand what he is talking about. She can show him around the island. And yet, she's not just going to stay by his side because it's what they came here to do. Both of them are getting messages from back home. Helen is concerned about her mother while Cole is away picking up a new horse. However, Noah and Alison are very much in the here and now. They both make mistakes. He pushes Alison away for a bit - which only makes him realize how much he wants to be here with her. Alison then rips into him about how he's destroying an idyllic lifestyle just to be with her. And for what? They both have lives that they love. Sure, there's pain every day in those lives. And yet, they are with people who they have genuine affection for.
Why then are they committing to this affair? That is the grand question the show must continually ask itself. Noah's perspective ends just as the two are about to become intimate while Alison's starts with that moment. Afterwards, both could easily go back to their lives with this angst fully out of their systems. And yet, neither can explain it, but they enjoy being with the other. There is something about the other that is different and yet vastly comforting. With every facet that they reveal, the other still wants to be in the same physical location as the other. Noah is alone and feels unsure when he's left by Alison on Block Island. Alison has had a traumatic experience looming over her for the past two years. It's miraculous when she shows up at the same store again - as well as when Noah embraces Alison after she shares the truth.
To Alison, she sees herself as death just walking around this planet. She hasn't had a reason to be happy following Gabriel's death. Every day is a constant reminder of that trauma. Cole is still there for her but he is also living his own life and has a structure he can conform to. Alison is lost and still wandering around the grief of it all. The fact that Noah is able to understand and comfort her is one of the first indications to her that this man is different. He's willing to still be there for her. The final time they have sex in this hour, it's passionate and intimate. The first was awkward and getting it out of the way. The second was a failed attempt because of individual emotions. The two have undergone a transformation by hour's end. They both feel open with the other and want this to happen - even though they have no clear understanding of why this is happening.
Some more thoughts:
- "4" was written by Melanie Marnich and directed by Jeffrey Reiner.
- The focus of this episode is on the growing intimacy between Noah and Alison. The flash-forwards aren't as big a deal as they were in the first three episodes. We were watching the story happen and we're not being told the story.
- And yet, the detective is continuously playing Noah and Alison. Even when they get a break he is right behind them and offering personal antidotes to build a connection to them.
- Helen is also worried about her mother's health. That could be a very big narrative turn in subsequent episodes.
