The Sordid “Affair”
Dominic West and Ruth Wilson, Breaking Vows
Dominic West and Ruth Wilson play a pair of cheaters in Showtime‘s provocative series, The Affair. Many non-viewers can easily dismiss the series as exploitative drivel, or even softcore porn, but they’d be sorely mistaken. The Affair is one of the richest, most densely characterized shows on television, and it’s only gaining momentum as it gears up for its upcoming fourth season.
The Golden Globe-winning series plays with perspective, with scenes offering the point-of-view of specific characters, complete with their own personal biases and prejudices, before shifting to another figure and offering a more complete view on the matters at hand. The cast doesn’t feel like stock TV archetypes, but like real people, with strengths and weaknesses. They make mistakes, but we can empathize with them, and get to examine them from so many different angles.
Joshua Jackson and Maura Tierney play the scorned spouses, and both Tierney and Ruth Wilson have won Golden Globes for their performances on the show. Seriously, The Affair is overflowing with award-worthy performances, and it’s a crime that the series has yet to receive the awards season love it deserves. It’s not exactly an easy watch, but The Affair is thoroughly engrossing, dangerously compelling, and packed to the brim with the type of complex human drama television fans love to see.
If you haven’t seen the show yet, you can catch up on the Showtime App, but make it quick, since the fourth season debuts on June 17.
