'The Affair' season 5 should reveal how Ben killed Alison as a tribute to the show's beloved character
The biggest reveal that season four of 'The Affair' ended with was Alison's death. We had known for a while that she was dead, but we did not know how she died - basically if it was a natural death, suicide or a homicide. Precisely the questions Alison's daughter Joanie, who returns to Montauk in a three-decade time leap, is going to ask. But while Joanie is unwinding the mystery of her mother's death, we know the answer. Season 4's finale revealed that Alison was actually killed by her then on-again-off-again boyfriend, Ben. But given the time leap that the fifth and final season is going to be set in, will Ben be revealed as Alison's murderer? Will Ruth Wilson's pivotal character that isn't set to return this year, get justice?
Ben had come to visit Alison in the finale of season 4 and thus ensued two different stories - just like the show's signature narrative, only that both were from Alison's point of view. In one we saw Ben coming clean about his marriage and kids and Alison still turning him down, taking Helen's (Maura Tierney) advice and not settling for being the 'other woman'. Ben opens up about accidentally killing an unarmed teen while being on duty in Afghanistan. The two remain amicable but proceed to sleep together after Ben makes dinner. They cuddle and fall asleep, and when Alison wakes up, the entire scenario repeats itself.
Only in this second narrative, Ben isn't as welcoming of Alison refusing his advances and asking him to leave her. In this scenario, Ben admits he knew the teenager was unarmed but still killed him and when Alison threatens to tell his wife if he doesn't leave, in a fit of rage, Ben smashes her head making it bleed before he dumps a semi-conscious Alison into the sea, thus killing her.
But while we know this reality in detail, other characters still think that Alison killed herself. To add to that, everybody is also consumed with guilt in the wake of Alison's death, thinking they couldn't save her from killing herself. And as all of this pans out, Ben is walking around free, presumably having gone back to his wife and kids like nothing ever happened. But after all the show has put Alison through, it's about high time she gets at least a moiety of justice. Alison might have indulged in adultery and had issues beyond anybody else on the show, but there's no denying she touched the lives of those around her. And with Wilson's abrupt exit, it does look like outing Ben would be the perfect homage to the characters fans have loved over the years.
Alison's daughter Joanie (Anna Paquin) is all grown up and about to return to Montauk to find out what really happened to her mother, but she isn't the only character returning. The show's favorite epigenist scientist, EJ is also returning in this final season for the much-needed closure. His profession requires him to study the heritable changes in one's genes and the upcoming season will show Joanie meeting EJ in Montauk, with their friendship blooming right from the start. As they get closer, it can be expected that his friendship, apart from helping Joanie deal with and understand her own depression, could also help her find her roots in terms of her mother's depression and fate. It's not for nothing that the writers are bringing him back and one of those reasons has to be an important role in figuring out how Alison died.
Let's hope Ben is finally looked at closely in the upcoming season five that premieres on August 25 at 9 pm, only on Showtime.