Tags
consequence, dominic west, epiphany, inevitable, infidelity, nature, nurture, repercussion, review, ruth wilson, showcase, showtime, the affair, tv show
I don’t know if many of you watch The Affair. It has the old McNulty from The Wire and the sociopath chick from Luther in it (can’t remember her name). It’s about two married people that start an affair and the effect this has on their life and the lives of those around them.
The thing that makes it different (at least to me) is that it tells each person’s story from their POV. At first, just the guy and the girl who are cheating but now, in the second season, you also get the husband and wife who were cheated on. It’s fascinating to see what scenes each character focuses on and how the same scene can be shown differently from another character’s eyes.
Besides the story, I’ve always loved the opening sequence: tumultuous water and beach scenes spliced and overlaid with close ups and tiny fragments of the season. It’s very emotive and haunting and Fiona Apple’s voice over the top just makes it perfect.
The other day I was paying attention to the lyrics and they really struck a chord with me, especially the last few lines (“I have only one thing to do and that’s be the way that I am and then sink back into the ocean”). I’ve heard those last few lines so many times yet the epiphany was slow in coming. The video clip is included below for those who don’t watch it.
My thoughts:
- Firstly, our actions have far reaching consequences we can never imagine, repercussions both good and bad
- Then, every one of us is who they are, whether through nature or nurture, and we’re going to behave the way our nature determines. We have our own unique way of interpreting life and it’s not an easy thing to redirect the inevitability of our actions. We can only be who we are, even when we’re pretending to be someone else, that’s part of who we are although I do believe we can change
- And finally, we are who we are and then we’re gone, leaving behind whatever mess we’ve made throughout the course of our life.
So, whatever you do, make sure you’re ok with what you’ve done and that the mess you’ve left in your wake was worth it. Or maybe that’s just my interpretation.
Yikes! That was all way too deep. I’m off to do something mindnumbing and brainfree. 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6muh9kTlr88
Full lyrics (according to me)