On the college campus where they first met, Helen is amazed to see Noah in a new role, and bewildered by Whitney's future plans. Helen surprises Noah with a difficult admission. Meanwhile, Noah is in danger of spinning out of control as his fame and related temptations escalate.
One of the best things about The Affair this season is that it feels confident enough with the characters and the audience that it doesn't feel the need to show the same exact scene twice but from a different perspective. That was a device that grew incredibly tedious over the first season. It's still a crucial part of the series - as evidenced by this episode. But it has also largely gone away. The show trusts that the audience understands all four main characters to know how they would react whenever they appear on the screen. There are subtle differences amongst all four perspectives. But the character work has been established enough that the show doesn't have to show the same scene in a different way. That largely just amounted to stylistic differences that allowed the show to go over-the-top. They love showing the same scene in radically different ways. Now, each story in each episode is it own thing."208" has a number of scenes that directly parallel each other in its two halves - Helen going to Noah's book signing, the two going out to eat and their conversation outside with the taxi waiting. Those scenes make sure to point out many visual differences. Helen remembers standing when Noah was reading a passage of his book. He recalls her sitting. She chooses not to get in the taxi in her story while she does in his. All of those little differences are noticeable. The show brings attention to them because it tells its story this way. But even though the scenes are similar, they are also about very different things. Their purpose is directly related to whatever Helen or Noah is currently dealing with. So in Helen's version, it's about her ongoing frustrations about Whitney and her college decision. In Noah's version, it's his anger over the reviews of his book and the pressures he has with all of this fame. They are different. But they also build in similar ways. It's all leading up to one pointing out that the other has essentially become just like one of Helen's parents. That's not something either of them are striving for. And yet, they are heading in that direction nevertheless.
Helen has rid herself of a lot of her anger recently. She decided to throw her mother out of her life and stop being so resentful for what Noah did to her. She still doesn't forgive him for what he did. But she is also capable of having a relationship with him. One that is filled with meaningful conversations about their children with very little animosity from either of them. And yet, she is still trying to get control back over her life. She is still just pulling herself together in this new world. She wants this weekend with Whitney to be simple. She was never going to get that because of how unpredictable Whitney can be. But the events of this story also show just how much work she needs to do with herself. Whitney wants her to get back out there and meet a new guy. She only does that because she thinks her mother only has 5-6 more good years left. But this isn't a story about Helen figuring herself out by getting into a new relationship. She tried that already with Max and it didn't work out. No, this is a story about Helen coming to the realization of what her life has become and having no clue that it actually happened. That's an even more scary prospect for her.
Helen is surprised and very resistant to Whitney's plan to not go to college and instead move to the city in order to have a modeling career. Helen needs her daughter to go to college. That's the plan. She can't deviate from it because this is what she needs to do in order to have a successful life. That's what Helen truly believes. She can't even listen to Noah when he comes up with a pretty reasonable compromise between the two. It's in that moment where Helen sees just how much Noah has grown as a person since they were married. He is approaching all of this with a level head. Sure, he is furious and skeptical about Whitney's plans as well. But he's more willing to give Whitney the freedom to make these little mistakes that way she'll still come to them when the big stuff happens. He doesn't want Whitney to grow up and be resentful of them just like both he and Helen are with their parents.
Helen is very impressed by Noah's maturity. They are on the college campus where they first met. They have so many fun and innocent memories in this place. They have returned as drastically different people. But that's okay. They both still have a ton of growing to do. But Helen is willing to listen to Noah tell her that she is turning into her parents and come to accept it as the truth. She doesn't want that. But she doesn't need Noah's support either. He is willing to do so much for her. He is willing to have her spend the night in his great hotel instead of the average one she already has. Noah was a great person to talk to about these big things. But Helen also has to spend some time with herself in order to understand what type of person she wants to be moving forward.
That's an emotional journey for Helen that's very exciting. It's all leading up to that uncertain future where she is largely in the dark regarding Noah's trial. And that also connects very strongly to the deeply tragic arc that Noah is currently on. He is in a dark place. He doesn't want to see himself as the asshole who ruins people's lives because he has a good relationship with his family again. But he sees temptation all around him and it's very appealing. He gets near universal praise for his book. He's floating on top of the world because of all the success. And yet, he's not well prepared for criticism. He expects to get prizes for this novel. Instead he gets nothing and a stern criticism from one undergrad critic. That's the only review he fixates on. He attaches himself to it and is unable to see anything else. He has such a happy life but all he wants to do is look at things that aren't great.
Alison is back at home making their apartment more baby friendly. She finally puts the nursery together. And yet, all Noah seems to care about is where his desk and the rest of his stuff went to. He's more focused on how the book is doing than his relationship with his pregnant fiancé. He still presents himself in a respectable way when in front of people who he knows. He is thrown when he sees Helen in the crowd as he reads from his book. That's what prompts him to read a passage that's more about the destruction of the character's marriage instead of the eroticism of the affair. And yet, Helen is very fun and exciting in Noah's perspective. She does give him a stern talking to. But she also wants to get drunk and learn what FOMO means. She does not want to see him become her father. This success is very impressive. It also has the potential to destroy his life. It doesn't because he has a great publicist in Eden. But Noah is still very willing to follow through on that temptation.
Noah wants to have sex with Eden. He wants to punch the harsh critic in the face when he shows up at the bar. He wants to do both of those things. He actually acts on those urges as well. He gives in to those emotions. All it does is make him upset and alone. The critic isn't as one-dimensionally mean spirited and unaccomplished as Noah wants him to be. In fact, him throwing a punch leads to a video that is quickly put online. And even though Eden wanted to know where he was at all times, she stops herself from going through with sex with Noah. That's something that he wants but she respects that this relationship needs to be kept professional because they have a long journey ahead of them. All of this troubling behavior could signal even more devastation for Noah in the future. It's unclear where exactly this arc is going. But it is very fascinating nonetheless.
Some more thoughts:
- "208" was written by Sharr White and directed by Laura Innes.
- In the future, the lawyer and his associate are trying to piece together a story as to how Alison's baby could be Scotty's. And then, Helen shows up wanting an update on the case. She proves to be a valuable resource since she is able to get DNA from the baby in order for the lawyer to run a paternity test. But it's also a weird story considering the audience knows the baby is either Noah's or Cole's.
- It's a good thing that Martin picks up wrestling in the future. But who in their right mind brings a baby to a wrestling match?
- It's great that Noah and Helen can bond over never being able to understand Whitney. That was a nice moment between the two.
- Helen hasn't heard anything from her mother since she kicked her out of her apartment. That's either really good or really bad.
- For a moment, it felt like Noah reacting poorly to the one bad review was the show commenting on the purpose of critics and the criticism directed at the show itself. But then, it made a great turn in showing that those reviewers are just as complex individuals as the art forms and people they are critiquing.
