Life is hard, and full of toxic men and insane surprises, and honestly that may be what makes The Affair so refreshing these days — because it acknowledges all of that harshness. For a show that started off as an ostensibly simple domestic drama, albeit one with a complicated framework at its core, The Affair has never lacked for twists and turns — the Showtime drama created by Hagai Levi and Sarah Treem introduced so many wild plot elements over the course of its first four seasons that it’s honestly hard to imagine what the fifth season, premiering this Sunday, might have in store.
This isn’t a show about disarming nuclear bombs; it’s rooted in people. And thus, for those going into The Affair’s fifth and final season who might like a refresher not just on where things stand with these characters, but a reminder as to where their journeys began, please enjoy the below guide to the key series regulars who have met us in Montauk, Manhattan, and beyond. As always, remember: Much like life, nothing on this show is permanent, and like the sand on the shore, the truth might shift from under your feet with the rising tide (the rising tide, in this case, being season five).
Noah Solloway (Dominic West)
What Has He Been Through?
Beyond suffering under the unceasing weight of straight white male privilege, Noah has gone through a lot since that first fateful summer in Montauk. Over the approximately ten years since then (The Affair is always a bit sketchy about time frames because time is a flat circle), he’s gone from being a discontented schoolteacher and struggling novelist to a literary “bad boyâ€; he also did some time in prison after taking the fall for the vehicular manslaughter that was the center of the mystery for the first two seasons, got tortured by a prison guard (played by Brendan Fraser), and had an affair with a fellow professor.
Where’s He at Now?
Since season four, Noah has been trying to walk a straighter path than usual, working as a high-school teacher and (once again) dating a colleague, this time the school principal, Janelle. He also moved to Los Angeles to be closer to his ex Helen and their children … which also happens to be convenient to Hollywood, where plans to adapt his breakout novel Descent have been in the works for some time, and may be about to pick up some steam. He still holds the trophy for being “the worst,†but who knows? There’s always a chance someone might scoop it away.
Alison Bailey (Ruth Wilson)
What Has She Been Through?
Since her initial affair with Noah, Alison has gone through some extreme ups and downs — living with Noah turned out to be a disaster, not only because the baby she was pregnant with turned out to be her ex-husband Cole’s. After some rough emotional patches that led to a stay at an ashram and losing custody of baby Joanie, Alison tried to get her life back together, and began working as a counselor. That’s how she met the charming veteran Ben, who also worked in counseling, and was a pretty nice boyfriend up until the moment when Alison found out he was married. After a disastrous trip to Los Angeles to see Noah, which ended with Alison on Helen’s couch and Helen telling her to be less of a victim, Alison went back home … and then, after a short disappearance, her body washed ashore.
Where’s She at Now?
Deceased, most likely thanks to her lover Ben, following a violent confrontation one stormy night. The circumstances surrounding Wilson’s departure from the show are almost as mysterious as what the show actually depicted; despite being one of the show’s two core characters from the beginning, she will not be appearing in season five.
Helen Butler (Maura Tierney)
What Has She Been Through?
After Noah blew up their life together, Helen forged a new path, which included finding new love with the prickly yet ultimately kind Dr. Vik, whom she ran into at a bar after he happened to treat her son Martin for celiac disease. She and Vik relocated to Los Angeles with all the underage Solloway children in season four, and seemed somewhat happy despite the occasional meddling of Vik’s pushy mother. But then, Vik got diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer, and on top of that pressure Vik added his desire for him and Helen to have a child together before he died. Between Helen’s age and her refusal to do fertility treatments, they never conceived, but enter their crunchy neighbor Sierra (Emily Browning), whom Vik sleeps with as a one-night-stand soon after his diagnosis, who ends up pregnant. (In fairness, Helen and Sierra also had sex, during a wild retreat to Palm Springs.)
Where’s She at Now?
At the end of season four, Helen is facing the massive life change of losing her partner and the knowledge that a young woman she doesn’t exactly like that much is carrying his child. Plus, she is still plenty angry at her ex-husband (for very good reason).
Cole Lockhart (Joshua Jackson)
What Has He Been Through?
We first met Cole as a small-time drug dealer and owner of a Montauk ranch, grieving for the death of his too young son; after Alison left him for Noah, he struggled economically and emotionally, until he found a new connection with Luisa, a bartender and undocumented resident. He and Alison also teamed up to buy the Lobster Roll, a move toward building a sustainable business for the two of them.
He and Luisa’s wedding was a happy affair, for them at least, though it was also where Alison and Noah officially ended things between them and his brother Scotty was killed. But Cole and Luisa’s relationship experienced no shortage of strain when they took in baby Joanie after Alison proved incapable of taking care of her, and Luisa grew worried that Cole was still in love with Alison. Turns out, Luisa had good reason to be worried because Cole was in fact still in love with his ex-wife, something he personally confronted just before learning that she’d disappeared. Of all the characters on this show, he was clearly most affected by Alison’s death, but as he tells his little girl, “all we have to do is think about her and remember her, and that way, she will always be with us.â€
Where’s He at Now?
Unclear. Joshua Jackson is not returning to The Affair as a series regular for season five, so while that doesn’t rule out the possibility that he could make an appearance before the end, it could well be that the last shot we see of Cole is him driving young Joanie away from their old lives.
Whitney Solloway (Julia Goldani Telles)
What Has She Been Through?
The eldest Solloway child has a thing for older men that very unfortunately began when she was a minor, getting pregnant with Scotty Lockhart’s child in season one (and then getting an abortion), then picking up what is undoubtedly a string of older lovers over the subsequent years. Off and on estranged from her parents after their separation — especially after that incident when Noah accidentally came onto her and another girl during a very wild party he attended during his “literary bad boy†period — Whitney came to like the idea of settling into a real relationship with her most recent boyfriend Colin (Max Fowler).
Where’s She at Now?
Whitney could be on the verge of true adulthood now that she’s in her 20s and has (hopefully) made all the youthful poor decisions we all tend to make at that point. However, that’s no promise that she’s any better at choosing the right partner, given the examples set by the adults in her life.
Luisa León (Catalina Sandino Moreno)
What Has She Been Through?
While the first Lockhart she slept with wasn’t Cole, but his brother Scotty, she and Cole built a relationship that only began to crumble once she understood just how much he continued to love Alison. Luisa did whatever she could to be a mother to Joanie, but while she says very clearly to Cole that she loves their girl, her breakup with Cole will be hard to reconcile with that.
Where’s She at Now?
Catalina Sandino Moreno will also not be a series regular in season five, though there’s always the chance she might come back for an appearance or two. That’s said, Luisa might be another character that the show has simply run out of plot to support. (And, on a character level, can you blame Luisa for wanting a clean break from this mess?) But, as seen below, we may at least get secondhand knowledge of what happened to Luisa, not to mention Cole, through the eyes of Joanie, as played by a very different actor.
Vik Ullah (Omar Metwally)
What Has He Been Through?
Any newcomer to the Solloway/Butler/Lockhart/Bailey family drama deserves a measure of pity, but Vik proved capable of holding his own in this storm, largely because as initially introduced, he had a thick shell of ego in place to protect him. His and Helen’s relationship was definitely rocky, especially after his diagnosis, but in the season-four finale, as he and Helen face down the demon cancer together, they seem connected on a level where they’re bracing themselves to appreciate whatever time they have left.
Where’s He at Now?
In the words of Pete Campbell, “NOT GREAT BOB.†Pancreatic cancer is a brutal disease, and at the end of season four he’s suffering hard-core from his illness. Even Helen is resigned to his fate.
Janelle Wilson (Sanaa Lathan)
What Has She Been Through?
Janelle had a fair share of problems even before Noah entered her life — a complicated relationship with her ex-husband Carl, and her rebellious yet talented teenage son Anton, whom she was trying to get to attend college, despite his resistance. In addition, as school principal her battle with the school board took on epic levels after various student disruptions left her authority in a vulnerable place.
Where’s She at Now?
Noah is helping Anton find his place as a college student, but her professional status at the school is a mess after student protests. Her relationship with Noah remains intact to some degree, but it’s also a relationship with Noah, so who knows how long that’ll last?
Joanie Lockhart (as an adult, Anna Paquin)
What Has She Been Through?
As a young girl, Joanie basically had four parents — even after her true parentage came out, Noah would still try to check in with her occasionally, and for a while it looked like Cole and Luisa would be her primary caregivers, given Alison’s fragile state. Season four ends with a young Joanie aware that her mommy is gone, and that Cole and Luisa have broken up, and no guarantee that Noah will remain involved in her life. Complicated families are still families, but Joanie’s is more complicated than most.
Where’s She at Now?
Showtime announced last November that season five will feature Anna Paquin as an adult Joanie, living in a climate change–ravaged future, so we may get some answers as to what happened after she and Cole went away after Alison’s death. Right now, the future is wide open for her — even if it might be haunted by the past.
The Affair season five premieres Sunday, August 25, on Showtime.