The Affair 4.4: Ben

I thought the most interesting - and provocative - character in The Affair 4.4 tonight was Ben, who appears in both Alison and Cole's segments, and is more than just a passing character in Cole's.  That in itself would be noteworthy, but the specific nature of Ben's double appearance makes his dual role especially significant.   (I'm tempted to put in a link to Michael Jackson's "Ben" here...)

For Alison, he's nothing but a wonderful, attractive, irresistible guy.  He gets her to reveal things about herself which, as she tells him, she never told Cole or Noah.  With someone this caring and easy to fall in love with, it's no surprise that that's exactly what effect he's having on Alison.

But in Cole's segment, he's revealed as someone who committed a serious lie of omission to Alison: Ben is married with two kids.  He tells Cole that he and his wife are apart, but who knows if we can believe him.  Apparently Cole does - but he's on his way to California to clear his ahead about his life and how to be a better husband to Luisa.

When you combine all of this with the continuing Alison-is-missing flash-forwards at the beginning, Ben has now become a prime suspect in Alison's disappearance, including he did something bad to her (which I doubt, but it's now a possibility).  And Ben's wife can also be added to the people who might want to see Alison gone.

With this now suspicious character of Ben, the fourth season of The Affair is on the way to becoming a good successor to the who-killed-Scotty story which propelled the previous seasons.  Maybe even better - more harrowing - since Alison is a vastly more important character than Scotty ever was.

See also The Affair 4.1: Quakes and Propaganda ... The Affair 4.2: Meanwhile, Back on the Island ... The Affair 4.3: Dire Straits (Not the Band) in California

And see also The Affair 3.1: Sneak Preview Review ... The Affair 3.2: Sneak Preview Review: Right Minds ... The Affair 3.3: Who Attached Noah? ... The Affair 3.4: The Same Endings in Montauk ... The Affair 3.5: Blocked Love ... The Affair 3.6: The Wound ... The Affair 3.7: The White Shirt ... The Affair 3.8: The "Miserable Hero" ... The Affair 3.9: A Sliver of Clarity ... The Affair 3.10: Taking Paris

And see also The Affair 2.1: Advances ... The Affair 2.2: Loving a Writer ... The Affair 2.3: The Half-Wolf ... The Affair 2.4: Helen at Distraction ... The Affair 2.5: Golden Cole ... The Affair 2.6: The End (of Noah's Novel) ... The Affair 2.7: Stunner ... The Affair 2.8: The Reading, the Review, the Prize ...The Affair 2.9: Nameless Hurricane ... The Affair 2.10: Meets In Treatment ... The Affair 2.11: Alison and Cole in Business ... The Affair Season 2 Finale: No One's Fault

And see also The Affair Premiere: Sneak Preview Review ... The Affair 1.2: Time Travel! ... The Affair 1.3: The Agent and the Sleepers ... The Affair 1.4: Come Together ... The Affair 1.5: Alison's Episode ... The Affair 1.6: Drugs and Vision ... The Affair 1.7: True Confessions ... The Affair 1.8: "I Love You / I Love You, Too" ... The Affair 1.9: Who Else on the Train? ... The Affair Season 1 Finale: The Arrest and the Rest

the Sierra Waters time-travel trilogy