Review
There’s no doubting my memory — The Affair did Alison dirty with her unnecessarily horrific death. Premiering on Showtime in 2014, The Affair centered on the titular tryst between writer and father of four Noah Solloway (Dominic West) and grieving waitress Alison Bailey (Ruth Wilson). The series set itself apart from other straight drama series by dividing its episodes into two parts — the first taking place from Noah’s or Alison’s point of view, and the second from the other’s. The same events would be depicted, with both subtle and significant changes based on the protagonist’s memory.
After season 1, The Affair began to incorporate the POVs of Noah and Alison’s jilted former spouses, Helen (Maura Tierney) and Cole (Joshua Jackson), and other important characters. It was a fascinating device, encapsulating how complicated human relationships can be in a unique way I had never seen on TV before. I was sucked into The Affair for all five of its seasons, though I must admit that after Alison’s tragic passing in season 4, my heart wasn’t in the show anymore. And when I heard about why Wilson left The Affair, I was even more upset.
Alison Didn't Deserve Such A Violent Death In The Affair
She Was Defined By Trauma Throughout The Show
I don’t think there’s a more sympathetic unfaithful spouse than Alison Bailey, but her character was way too defined by her trauma. When we first meet her, Alison is still grieving the loss of her and Cole’s young son after he died of secondary drowning two years prior to the events of the show.
It was like the show wanted to punish Alison for her infidelity.
Throughout The Affair, bad things just keep happening to Alison, and though some were due to her selfish choices, I couldn’t help but feel bad for her. It was like the show wanted to punish Alison for her infidelity, while Noah, on the other hand, saw his career flourish after he wrote a bestselling novel fictionalizing the events of his and Alison’s affair.
With season 4 being Ruth Wilson’s last, The Affair could have given Alison a hopeful sendoff, but instead, they doubled down on her torment. The season saw her form a romantic relationship with Marine veteran Ben Cruz (Ramon Rodriguez), which played out in deadly fashion. In season 4, episode 8, Ben and Alison get into an argument after she learns that he’s married. At first, it appears that they make up and will have a happily ever after, but the show was faking us out.
Instead, Ben has a mental breakdown, possibly brought on by PTSD, and violently attacks Alison, eventually killing her by slamming her head into a wall. It’s a brutal scene to watch, and things get even more upsetting when, after Ben dumps Alison’s body in the ocean, her death is ruled a suicide, and he gets away scotfree.
Alison’s murder was grotesque and gratuitous, and a huge middle finger to the character who was the heart and soul of the series for four seasons. Really, Alison didn’t need to die at all. While it makes sense to have her exit tied to the ocean, given its importance throughout the series, perhaps she could have just decided to flee Montauk and start over fresh, in a place where she hadn’t suffered so much trauma.
She could have faked her own death in the ocean, but left some kind of clue behind for Cole to realize his beloved is still alive. This ending would have been more hopeful and in line with what Alison deserved.
Ruth Wilson Left The Affair Because She Felt Unsafe
She Was Rumored To Be Uncomfortable With The Show's Frequent Nudity
Alison’s death should have never been as grisly as it was, but it was made even worse by the upsetting reason Wilson chose to leave The Affair. Actors exit shows all the time, often to seek other opportunities after having played their character for several years. However, Wilson reported on toxic work conditions in a 2020 interview with Stylist. Wilson said,
“The reason I haven’t gone into ‘The Affair’ is that I haven’t worked out how to discuss it. There’s a lot of noise and anger surrounding it, and really the power rests with me to choose how I discuss my life and my experiences. What’s important to say is that I did speak up. I did have a voice. I did stand up for myself. There was a situation on ‘The Affair’ where things didn’t feel right, and I dealt with them, and I managed to protect myself. It was before #MeToo and before Harvey Weinstein – and yet my instincts were very clear and strong about what I felt was wrong, about what was going on, and what I didn’t feel safe about.”
Though her reasoning is intentionally vague, back in 2019, THR reported on tensions between Wilson and The Affair co-creator Sarah Treem over the development of Alison’s character and the show’s frequent nude scenes. The latter issue would speak to Wilson’s «before #MeToo» comment, and The Affair has indeed been criticized for its oversexualization of Alison. In a 2024 interview with The Sunday Times, Dominic West discussed Wilson’s departure and spoke out in support of his co-star:
“We talked a lot about it and I suppose I did experience it. I don’t really like talking about it but … yeah, everything Ruth has said is absolutely right.”
What Ruth Wilson Is Up To Now
She Continues To Act
The Affair may be one of Ruth Wilson’s most famous roles, but the actress’s career certainly hasn’t stalled since leaving the Showtime drama. Her most notable post-The Affair credit is definitely the villainous Marisa Coulter in the cast of His Dark Materials, a fantasy series based on Philip Pullman’s novel trilogy. The role won Wilson the BAFTA Cymru Award for Best Actress in 2020. She also recently appeared in the series The Woman in the Wall and A Very Royal Scandal.
According to Wilson’s IMDb page, she has two upcoming projects. The first is a TV series called Down Cemetery Road, in which Wilson plays a woman named Sarah Tucker, who’s desperately searching for a local girl in the aftermath of an explosion.
Wilson’s second project is a movie in pre-production called The Book of Ruth. Based on a true story, the film centers on AIDS awareness advocate Ruth Coker Burks (Wilson). Matt Bomer also stars. I look forward to watching both of these, and sincerely hope that Wilson’s filming experience on them is better than what she went through in The Affair.
