Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress

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George Santayana had irrational faith in reason - I have irrational faith in TV.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

The Affair 5.10: Helen and Noah

And The Affair checked in tonight with its very next to last episode - 5.10 - and, depending upon what's on the screen next week, the series may have saved its best for next to last.

Noah and Helen frequently had the best stories over the years, and tonight they had it all, with a Helen story, a Noah story, a Noah and Helen story, and another Noah story, all superbly acted by Maura Tierney and Dominic West. It was about how they escaped the fire, and finally ended up as friends, again, at the very least.

The drama was great, as the two walked down a steep side of a canyon, at Noah's behest, as the only way to get ahead of the flames. But if that wasn't enough, Helen getting bitten by a snake, and Noah saving her, again, this time by getting her to hospital on time, was just the thing.

All of this served as a fitting canvas for the two to tell each other, and therefore us, their stories. Why Noah married and then left Helen and their family. Why Helen married Noah, and how she survived Noah's leaving them. If there were another season, I wouldn't mind at all seeing the two get back together again as a married couple. It would be the ultimate healing of what happened. But I doubt that's going to happen next week.

Noah and Helen still wrongly think that Allison took her own life. The coming attractions show Joanie again in the future. This still leaves some room for at least Joanie getting some truthful resolution on her mother's death. If by chance Noah is still alive then, too - it was hard to tell in the coming attractions - then he'll be able to get some truthful resolution on what happened to Allison, too.

I'm sorry to see this unique series come to an end. But tonight's episode shows it's giving coming to an end a good shot at ending well.

See also The Affair 5.1: Death, Nobility, and Science Fiction ... The Affair 5.2: Tears and Floods ... The Affair 5.3: The Raya App ... The Affair 5.4: 2053 ... The Affair 5.5: No One Happy ... The Affair 5.6: Best Episode of the Season So Far - Finally, About Joanie ... The Affair 5.7: On Montauk, Now and Later ... The Affair 5.9: Moth to the Flame ... The Affair 5.10: Thoughts, Looks, Words, and Actions