The Affair Review: 404 (Season 4 Episode 4)

If I were to describe The Affair Season 4 Episode 4, “404,” in one word it would be creepy. So far that holds true for both of the episodes from Alison and Cole’s perspective.

It’s not surprising, given that the big mystery this season is that Alison is missing, but it’s slow and sometimes painful to watch.

For what it’s worth, I’m proud of Alison. Throughout most of her section, the strange vibes aren’t coming from her. In fact, her growth is on full display during “404.”

She’s taking care of Joanie’s basic needs, baking cookies with her, and seems to be communicating well with Cole and even Luisa. She’s at the EMDR conference for work. Most importantly, she’s able to talk about Gabriel’s death without falling apart.

Alison is doing well. It’s the men around her that need to get themselves together.

We meet the real Ben Cruz this episode, and I really don’t like him.

He makes a joke about stalking Alison when she asks him why he’s at the EMDR conference, but that’s exactly what it feels like.

I definitely wouldn’t trust him to do EMDR therapy on me. The whole scene where they are practicing it feels wrong. Ruth Wilson is very obviously acting in it; it doesn’t feel natural at all.

I’ve never had EMDR therapy, but Alison seems to recall her trauma almost too fluidly. She seems very aware that she’s telling another person a story. She refers to Cole as “my husband” instead of by name.

It bothered me. In an altered state, I’d think a person’s name would come to mind before their role in your life.  Many of the other details she recalls are to give Ben context also.

But, the part where she remembers herself drowning feels important. I’m not convinced it’s a premonition of Gabriel’s death, given how untrustworthy Ben feels. If she’s seeing it again now, maybe there is another tragedy in her future.

And Alison scares the hell out of me when she jumps into the water. That part doesn’t feel like growth, it feels sporadic and sad.

But Ben feels more like a threat to Alison than she is to herself. So far, he’s neglected to tell her he’s married and that he’s been addicted substances other than alcohol.

I’m happy that Cole knows, though it doesn’t feel like Alison is going to get this information any time soon. Still, nothing is worse than dragging out the reveal of who a character really is. It would’ve been maddening if Cole didn’t figure out where he knew Ben from.

Being protective of Alison is all Cole has going for him at this point. This “walkabout” is a very forced way to get Cole to California.

It’s not a bad idea for him, but I wish Cherry suggested it before he even married Luisa. Now? What does he have to figure out? The choice is either work on his current marriage or get a divorce.

His head is in the marriage, his heart never fully was. No long-time viewer believes that spending time away from Luisa is what Cole needs to do to repair that marriage.

As much as I like Luisa this season, that marriage was doomed before it started. She’s in an impossible situation as an immigrant who actually does love her husband. They’re both fooling themselves to believe Cole’s heart was ever with her.

Cole’s love for Alison is evident from the first scene of “404.”

He’s frantically defending her character to Noah and the police detective as you defend someone you love. He’s absolutely desperate to find her. The mother of his children, yes. But everyone except Alison and Cole knows she’s the love of his life, too.

At this point, The Affair would do well to accept that Cole and Alison together make more sense than forcing them apart. Putting them together doesn’t mean their story has to end.

For now, it’s a waiting game, but that’s getting hard to watch.

What did you think of this episode of The Affair?

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The Affair airs Sundays at 9/8c on Showtime.

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