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It’s the beginning of the end for The Affair, which starts its fifth and final season by killing off one (and potentially two) characters, and introducing the all-grown-up Joanie Lockhart, played by True Blood‘s Anna Paquin.
PART ONE: NOAH | Noah meets for breakfast with actor Sasha Mann, who is set to direct and star in the film adaptation of Descent. He picks Noah’s brain to better understand the Daniel character, and mimics Noah’s every move, down to the way he puts scrambled eggs on each individual bite of toast. He tells the author that he was captivated by Descent because he, too, is addicted to toxic relationships. The only thing he’s not sold on is the ending, which finds Daniel hit the Alison stand-in with his car.
The meeting is ultimately cut short so Noah and Janelle can attend Vik’s funeral. They arrive at the wake to find Helen seated with the kids, as well as Sierra and Vik’s newborn child. After the service has concluded, Noah offers to drive the kids to the grave site, but Martin suggests that Dad meet them back at the house instead. Moments later, Bruce approaches and greets Noah. He’s unusually cordial towards his ex-son-in-law, and it’s deeply unsettling. Meanwhile, Margaret meets Janelle and says how nice it is to be introduced to “another one of Noah’s women.” (Heh!) That’s Noah’s cue to leave, but before he takes off, he heads inside to see what’s keeping Helen, as if that’s any of his business. Turns out Vik is supposed to be buried to honor his Muslim father, but his Hindu mother Priya is giving Helen a hard time about the arrangements. She wants her son to be cremated, and she won’t take “no” for an answer. Noah takes Helen aside and says she’s not going to win this one, then Helen tells Noah to f—k off, as she should.
Back at the house, Noah and Janelle are out on the balcony when Bruce approaches Noah and congratulates him on how well he’s done for himself. He thinks he’s standing in Noah’s house, and appears to suffer from early onset dementia. To make matters even more awkward, Bruce turns to Janelle and mistakes her for the help. Janelle, who’s already upset at Noah for downplaying an issue she’s having at work, makes a beeline for the front door. After she leaves, Noah consoles Helen and says that she’s the most resilient person he knows. He asks if there’s anything he can do for her during this difficult time, to which she replies, “Don’t go.”
We next see Noah tidying up in the kitchen while conversing with Colin. Whitney eventually interrupts to retrieve her beau and bring him into the living room, where everyone except Noah is gathered to watch a video that Vik recorded before his death. In the video, he says goodbye to his loved ones, and gives the toast he had written for Whitney and Colin’s wedding. (Yep, Noah and Helen’s oldest daughter is engaged, and she neglected to tell her father.)
Later that night, long after everybody else has left, Noah goes in to check on Helen, who is just waking up from a much-needed nap. She eventually comes out to have a glass of wine, while Noah goes out to check and see if an earlier problem with the valet has been resolved. He then proceeds to take Helen’s trash to the curb, before she stops him. “That’s Vik’s job!” she exclaims, before she lets loose on Noah.
“Do you ever wonder why I’m so resilient? Because 10 years ago you walked out on our lives and left me all alone with four children to go f—k a waitress you just met in a restaurant,” she says. “I had to raise these kids by myself, and I had to rebuild my life by myself. I had to be resilient, and for you to say that to me like it was some kind of choice… You know who had a choice? You. Vik didn’t have a choice. He got cancer.
“Why him?” Helen asks Noah. “Why not you?”
PART TWO: JOANIE | We fade in on Cole and Alison’s fully grown daughter at an undisclosed point in the future. She has two daughters of her own, Thea and Madeline, with husband Paul (She’s Gotta Have It‘s Lyriq Bent). Madeline, we soon learn, is adopted. It’s her sixth birthday, and her party has just ended. Joanie heads out to retrieve Thea and Madeline from the backyard to put them to bed, then proceeds to her indoor garden. She picks up a bowl of fresh strawberries, then adjusts the oxygen flow via a semi-automated system. (It’s fair to assume that this set-up has something to do with climate change.)
Afterwards, Joanie draws a bath, and watches via tablet as Paul says goodnight to the girls in the other room. Soon after, he enters the bathroom and downplays Joanie’s anxieties about Madeline finding out that she was adopted. He then asks his wife what she wants to do for her birthday — and the answer is absolutely nothing. “If you get me a cake, a present, anything, I will leave you,” she says, bluntly. “This is the age that my mother died.” This is new information to Paul, who agrees to forgo any festivities. We then cut to Joanie and Paul in bed. They’re having sex, but Joanie just lies there, completely still, and tells Paul to finish. “Joanie, what’s going on?” He asks. “I miss my dad,” she says, which is a very weird thing to hear your wife say immediately after sex. Nonetheless, it’s a significant moment that suggests that Cole (former series regular Joshua Jackson) is either estranged from his daughter — or dead. Joanie then gets up and heads to the bathroom. She takes a bottle out of the medicine cabinet, which reads, “Take one pill for symptoms of anxiety.” She empties the bottle into her hand, and downs what looks to be at least a dozen caplets.
PART THREE: HELEN | Helen enters Sierra’s home to find all the women from last season’s Joshua Tree retreat. They are gathered to “manifest Sierra’s daughter from the celestial realm into her corporeal being” — whatever that means. Upstairs, Sierra is in labor and being coached by her doula. Helen thinks the whole thing’s ridiculous and wants to take Sierra to the hospital to deliver Vik’s child, but the doula insists that Sierra stay put. And so, Helen returns home, where Priya is tending to Vik. We see him in a hospital bed, too weak to communicate or open his eyes. Helen feeds him his pills, then tells him to hold on just a little while longer. She returns to Sierra’s once more, but retreat leader Gaelle tells Helen to leave them be. They’ll call as soon as the baby gets there: They know how important it is to Vik.
Noah turns up soon after. He’s there to talk to Helen about the kids, who have been staying with him since Vik got sick. They’d like to come back home and say their goodbyes, but Helen thinks it’s a bad idea. Noah then offers to come and stay with the kids at the house, so Helen doesn’t have to be alone. But before Helen has a chance to say, “Hell no! I don’t want my ex-husband living in my house with my dying boyfriend,” the hospice nurse comes out and tells Helen that Vik is about to die. Helen proceeds to the bedroom to be alone with Vik, and tells him that it’s OK if he’s ready to let go. Suddenly, there’s a knock at the door. It’s Noah, along with Sierra and the baby. Sierra is wheeled in by the nurse and places the infant on Vik’s chest. It’s a boy, she says. His name is Eddie. Within seconds, Vik begins choking on fluid. Sierra removes Eddie from his chest, then the nurse pronounces Vik dead.
A closing montage finds Helen go through the motions of Vik’s funeral. After the gathering, back at her home, she retreats to her bedroom, where she begins to remove the sheets from his hospital bed. She finds a USB under his pillow with a post-it note that reads, “For Helen. Play me.” She places it in a drawer for now, then lies down to take a nap.
What did you think of The Affair‘s final season premiere? And the decision to (maybe?) kill off Cole? Grade the episode via the following poll, then hit the comments with your first impressions of Paquin’s Joanie.
I don’t understand the now to the future time of The Affair. Joanie was like 20+ years in future. Made zero sense. And to boot you took off 2 best characters….Cole and Alison.
I totally agree
I read that the woman that played Alison wanted off the show..and then so did the man that played Cole. They left the show of their own choice.
35+ I would say. She was about 6 when season 4 ended so we are took 30+ years into the future as Alison was like 38(?) when she died.
Also I don’t understand notion of „killing off Cole”. Well if he died close to our present timeline that would mean 30 years ago for Joanie, almost the same as her mother. Why missing HIM just after sex with husband? If it happend recently then Cole was older man already. Maybe we’ll know what happened.
I stopped caring about the show long ago but decided to tune in. I actually enjoyed the episode and I think they had no choice but to develop Joanie’s character into the future with the two main leads no longer on the show. The show probably should have ended two seasons ago but I will watch the season to the end.
The sequence in time just doesn’t add up to me. At best it’s 9 months later .. not 20 yrs.
We’re supposed to believe Joanie is married and grown with 2 kids?
She’s sullen and moody and just not that into her hubby and tells him after lovemaking she misses her dad⁉️
Oh puleeze! Good seeing Noah, Helen, et al.
I think the stuff with Noah/Helen is around a year or so after last seasons finale but the Joanie material is taking place at least 20 years, if not more in the future. So we have two distinct timelines going on.
Sierra just had the baby, so the present day timeline is 7-8 months in the future. The Joanie timeline just seems gimicky.
Joan is 35 in this episode, that’s why she says I am the age I was when my mother died, which makes it about 30 years in the future. like This is Us, this show goes forward and backward into time, I think it’s really cool.
I was watching the series faithfully. Then fell ill & was hospitalized.
How did Allicin & Cole die?
Alison was either killed by Ben or committed suicide by diving into the ocean
Cole died of a heart attack
Joanie is very creepy and unattractive. She lacks any charm at all. Felt sorry for her poor husband
Seeing the breasts of every single female adult character seemed unnecessary
Do you watch much programming on HBO, Showtime, EPIX, or STARZ? I don’t think I can legitimately think of one series that doesn’t use gratuitous nudity or unnecessary sex. Furthermore it is ALWAYS the Women who are fully exposed.
Back to “The Affair” the timeline issue bothered me as well at first but I thought it was squared away nicely when Joanie said “this is the age my mother was when she died”. That established the future thread. Not to mention the tech was completely upgraded in her house. Even the pill bottles. Why would Joanie have an electronic pill bottle and Vik not? Overall I think they made lemonade from lemons. I enjoyed it.
Me too!
Vik’s story takes place a few months after last season.
The Joanie story is about 30 years in the future, hence all the futuristic items, such as an electronic pill bottle.
Yes. Pretty obvious. I guess confusing to some. Vik’s baby is an infant and Joanie is 35. One present day. One climate change future.
Haha I said the same thing. Like Anna Paquin in the bathtub made zero sense. It was milky water, just raise it 1/4″. It wouldn’t seem like they were covering her nipples up for the sake of censorship or something, it would just seem normal. Such a bizarre choice.
The only person I know who’s avidly watching this long-winded crap is a man who behaves exactly like the Noah character. 🤣
Well, he is the only interesting character.
I don’t get why Helen wanted anything to do with Vik or the nextdoor nymphet after he got her pregnant. That whole storyline was sleazy, unnecessary, and gross.
It’s a testament to how much Helen loved Vik, much like how she put up with his horrible, miserable mother.
Remember tho. Helen did the same thing to/with the same neighbor the SAMMEEEE week!! lolol.
How is Stacy not a teenager/young adult at Vik’s funeral?? Wasn’t she the…. 10 year oldish child hiding into Whitney?? Seems only she didn’t age at all during the last decade.
Already I cannot tolerate Joannie. I didn’t love Allison like I do Helen and did Cole. Mark the words….. she’ll have sex with Noah — I HAVE NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT.
Aside from Joannie, I liked the season opener. So sad to see Vik leave us, but M-T rocked her Part 2 storyline. I’m Janelle. Currently involved with someone as exasperating as Noah (that’s where the similarities end thank god!!! lol) Girl? Let’s go. Interesting to see how the series ends, ……I also have a hunch we’re going to get a Cole/Jackson cameo. Clearly he’s that important. To fans and the daughter whose thinking about him while taking it from the hubby. UGH.
I don’t think Joanie will have sex with Noah! He was her Daddy the first two years of her life. I think she knows that.
…… but again. (some of )The people on this show are beyond disgusting. (read- -Noah. Who can forget Whitney and Noah in the hot tub. GAG!)
And in Joanie’s timeline Noah is like 80+ yo so no, I don’t think them two will have sex…
Stacey IS a teenager. I thought she looked too young, as well, so, I Googled, and the actress is 13.
“I miss my dad” could mean Noah…
I’m only watching to see how badly they botch it if I’m being honest. Murdering Allison was the dumbest thing they could have done.
I completely agree with you
Just confused as season 4 Joanie was 6 and Serena said she was pregnant…so season 5 is near 9 months later ?? So why is joanie grown up ?
The future Joanie scene was gimmicky as commented earlier. I liked the parallel points of view and flashbacks, but this episode is where the series jumped the shark.
Don’t get me started on loose ends. None of the kids who heard Helen confess about killing Scotty seem to remember that. They’re still mad at Noah for leaving but not mad at their mom for allowing Noah to go to jail. Perhaps, Noah, don’t make a movie about it…. just sayin.
The characters became caricatures of themselves. No one stays faithful for 30 seconds. Every encounter becomes sexual. Noah was psychotic but now he’s the pillar of strength? He helped raised Joanie for 2 years but hasn’t mentioned her since. Alison’s murder was ignored. Cole made little digs on the road trip about Noah stealing his wife but not killing his brother?
Perhaps one more episode…but I think they lost me as a fan.
I thought we would learn the truth about what happened to Alison! I thought there would be s trial
The move into the distant future was far too jarring….it completely lost the flow of the timeline we’ve been dealing with all along and how can you continue to go from the present, ie. Vik’s funeral to 20 odd years in the future on the same episode? …..plus, if this means Cole is dead, I think that’s the second good character we’ve lost…..Alison being the first…..after all, we’re already confused as to just what did happen to Alison.
Am I the only one who noticed the lack of “Part 2: Joanie” tag?
Also, Joanie is in her 30’s, so it’s a time jump, like This Is Us does.
And finally, Joanie is probably referring to Cole as her dad, since the electric pill bottle label has her name as Joanie Lockhart.
In my case there wasn’t any „Part 1:”or „Part 2: „ tags but maybe it was due to cr… UK Sky Atlantic.
Also, haven’t you all read many statements about season 5? It was very well revealed that we’ll be taken into the far future with almost 40 yo Joanie unravelling the mistery of her mother’s death. High hopes for that!
I don’t read spoilers.
The only thing that this shows needs to fully jump the shark is if future Joannie uses some kind of Black Mirror technology to know what happened to her mother.
Hated it! Loved the earlier seasons. Should have ended like most of these shows that just keep going like Suits & Handmaids Tale. Two good shows that went on too long. I’m sure there’s others also. Storyline sucks now. It still bothers me that Noah went to prison for Helen and she’s always been an ungrateful bitch to him. He took the rap for her.
The Handmaid’s Tale just keeps getting better and better.
Is AOC writing for you now? I loved this show and the different story lines. Why go political with the global warming/end of the world ridiculousness? See ya Helen and Noah!
This show is swirling the drain. It NEEDS Cole as Alison is gone. Noah and Janelle have zero chemistry. Helen is the only character of interest left. I don’t care about adult Joanie and talking toilet technology and global warming and near-death sex. If the murder of Alison is not solved this season, it’s a waste. Bring back Cole. B12, right Sasha.
Why hasn’t Noah stopped production of the movie. He has already been told that Sasha is putting his name as the writer. Where is that normal?
So confusing with Joanie in the future. I did not like Cole dying. What was the point of all his drama and finding out about himself and dying. The only good thing about this I hope before the season closes that everyone finds out Allison was murdered. I want Noah to get away from Helen. They are toxic for each other both are train wrecks big time…….,
How is Joanie all of a sudden older than Noah’s children with Helen? No, I don’t think Cole should be killed off.. But seriously… Why are the other children not fully grown?
Why hasn’t Noah stopped production of the movie. He has already been told that Sasha is putting his name as the writer. Where is that normal?
We know that Ben murdered Alison but that all seems to be forgotten, or has something been missed out for us in the UK. Very confusing telling the story of grownup Joanne but a few hints that it is way in the future. The two little girls let of some kind of firework that I don’t think exists. Also all the techno stuff is way advanced. But why have this storyline?