History Series / TheAffair

* UnreliableNarrator: Noah and Alison clearly have differing views of themselves in their respective viewpoints (Noah sees himself as more reluctant and Alison as more seductive, and Alison sees herself as more reserved and Noah as more forward) and each have a poor view of the other's respective spouses. Season 2 adds to it by showing the viewpoints of Cole and Helen who naturally have a very different view of this "romance."

* JailBait: Noah's 16-year old daughter Whitney had sex with Cole's 30-year old brother Scott during the summer and became pregnant as a result. Her parents threaten to press charges for statutory rape and Noah attacks Scott when he runs into him. [[spoiler:This makes him the primary suspect when Scott's murder is being investigated.]]

* LikesOlderMen: Whitney likes older men to a fault. This includes 30-year old Scott in season 1 when she was [[JailBait still underage at the time]], and a 40-something artist in season 3 who has a daughter 2 years her senior.

The series explores the extramarital relationship between Noah Solloway (Dominic West) and Alison Lockhart (Creator/RuthWilson) and its effects after the two meet in the resort town of Montauk, Long Island. Noah is a New York City schoolteacher who has had one novel published, and is struggling to write a second book. He is happily married with four children, but resents his dependence on his wealthy father-in-law. Alison is a 31 year old waitress trying to piece her life and marriage back together in the wake of the death of her child.

** At the end of the penultimate episode of season 3 Noah is suffering a complete mental breakdown. Then it just skips ahead several months for the next episode when he visits Paris with Juliette.

* TimeSkip: Season 3 is three years following the events of Season 2.

* ThroughTheEyesOfMadness: Throughout much of season 3, after doing a 3-year stint in prison during the TimeSkip between seasons, Noah is being stalked by a psychotic prison guard named John Gunther who even stabs him during a home invasion. When he visits Gunther in his hometown, [[spoiler:he doesn't even recognize Noah and turs out to just be a normal guy. It's likely that most of their interactions in prison were imaginary, and Noah stabbed himself.]]

* ThroughTheEyesOfMadness: Throughout much of season 3 Noah is being stalked by a psychotic prison guard named John Gunther who even stabs him during a home invasion. When he visits Gunther in his hometown, [[spoiler:he doesn't even recognize Noah and turs out to just be a normal guy. It's likely that most of their interactions in prison were imaginary, and Noah stabbed himself.]]

* ParentsAsPeople: Noah justifiably lost his shit when [[spoiler: Whitney was involved in a cyber-bulling incident.]] [[DrivenToSuicide Considering what the victim almost did]], [[TruthInTelevision can you blame him?]]

* RealityHasNoSubtitles: An amusing example in season 3 when Noah (Amrican) visits Paris with his girlfriend Juliette (French). In Juliette's version all the French dialogue is subtitled to indicate that she's a fluent speaker, in Noah's version none of the French is subtitled to indicate that he only knows English.

* HowWeGotHere: The affair is told in flashbacks.

* ControlFreak: In season 3 Noah's sister Nina accuses Helen of having control freak tendencies, and that she was mostly attracted to Noah because she wanted to nurture someone who was in emotional pain (Noah's mother had recently died when they met in college). She seems to be mostly oblivious to this, coming across as much more emotionally manipulative in Noah's POV.

* DrunkDriver: After a pile-up of misfortunes earlier that day, Helen ends up trying to pick her kids up from school when she's drunk ''and'' stoned. She crashes the car and gets arrested after assaulting a police officer. It single-handedly undermines her case for sole custody of her and Noah's children.
** It happens again, this time, when [[spoiler: when she's driving home Noah from Cole and Luisa's wedding before she runs over Scotty Lockhart.]]

* LikesOlderMen: Whitney likes older men to a fault. This includes 30-year old Scott in season 1 when she was [[JailBait still underage at the time]], and a 40-something artist in season 2 who has a daughter 2 years her senior.

* LikesOlderMen: Whitney likes older men to a fault. This includes 30-year old Scott in season 1 when she was [[JailBait still underage at the time]], and an artist in season 2 who has a daughter 2 years her senior.

* ControlFreak: In season 3 Noah's sister Nina accuses Helen of having control freak tendencies, and that she was mostly attracted to Noah because she wanted to nurture someone who was in emotional pain (Noah's mother had recently died when they met in college).

* CantTakeCriticism: Noah took serious offense at (of all people) a ''college student'' for his book review of Descent that he almost in a drunken rage, almost punched him.

* CutToSex: After Noah and Helen break up, he runs into the swimmer who flirted with him in the first episode, who tells him she's now engaged. Commence sex scene.

* HasAType: Whitney likes older men to a fault.

* EveryoneLooksSexierIfFrench: Noah's new love interest in season 4 is Juliette, a French college professor who specializes in medieval CourtlyLove literature.

* TeacherStudentRomance: Juliette, the French literature professor in season 4, has a roughly 20 year-older husband who was her former professor but is now apparently senile. She has sex with her own male college students as well. One of her female protegés also muses about sleeping with Noah, who teaches an American literature class.