Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress

reviewing 3 Body Problem; Bosch; Citadel; Criminal Minds; Dark Matter; Fauda; For All Mankind; Foundation; Hijack; House of the Dragon; Luther; Outer Range; Outlander; Presumed Innocent; Reacher; Severance; Silo; Slow Horses; Star Trek: Strange New Worlds; Surface; The: Ark, Diplomat, Last of Us, Lazarus Project, Orville, Way Home; True Detective; You +books, films, music, podcasts, politics

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

Monday, October 14, 2019

The Affair 5.8: Moth to the Flame

Noah's modus operandi in The Affair, beginning with, well, the affair itself, has been like a moth to a flame. He has a powerful urge to do something. Others and he himself tell him that's not the way to go, to resist his impulses. And he does it anyway. And bad consequences, sometimes dire, ensue.

He was in full moth to flame mode in last night's episode 5.8. His publicist and their #metoo specialist tell him to let them handle this budding crisis, including letting them speak to the Vanity Fair reporter who's doing the expose. Noah goes to see her anyway, and, in his inexperience with this, gets baited into saying some damning things on the record.

His lawyer - whose "crisis pr girl" has come to the aid in some unspecified way for the likes of "Anthony Weiner, Eliot Spitzer, Weinstein" - also strongly advises Noah to stay out of this and let them handle it, but Noah winds up rushing back to Los Angeles anyway to confront the woman, his publicist when Descent was published, who says Noah forced sex on her. Actually, given the dismal record of the "pr girl" in helping the above three, maybe Noah was right not to follow their advice. But he makes a mess of it in Los Angeles, in front of witnesses who see him angrily grab the arm of his accuser.

I always liked Noah and still do. He's fundamentally good at heart. He's quick to struggle against injustices, especially when they're aimed at him. And that, of course, is his undoing. (By the way, acting even more fabulous than usual by Dominic West as Noah in this episode.)

Ironically, the one person who's glad to see him back in LA is Helen. She's had a typically hell of a day, and Noah's showing up her door with lasagna is a break in the frustrating syndrome she and everyone in her orbit are in, and the peaceful highpoint of her day.

Only three episodes left. Not much time for anyone to improve their situation.

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