Noah Makes A Shocking Choice On 'The Affair'

After an emotional roller coaster of events, the Season 2 finale of The Affair ended with a confession for Scott Lockhart's death — and it didn't come from either of the two guilty parties. As the story unfolded, we saw that Helen was driving the car that struck and killed Scott — but only after Alison pushed him into the road as he aggressively tried to force himself on her. During Noah's trial for vehicular homicide, Detective Jeffries revisited the crime scene and discovered Alison's stone place card in the woods. Unbeknownst to her, it had fallen out of her pocket during the struggle with Scott. Gottlief, Noah's attorney, immediately wanted to present it as evidence because it would cast doubt on the theory that Noah killed Scott. But, Alison wasn't having it and she pressured Noah to tell "the truth" about Helen. He refused, and Alison demanded that he choose between her and Helen. For a moment, it looked like Noah had chosen his ex-wife. But, as Jeffries approached the stand to testify, Noah confessed to Scott Lockhart's murder on The Affair.

The final words of the episode were: "I'm guilty. I killed Scotty Lockhart." And, there's our cliffhanger! (None of us really thought they'd neatly wrap this whole thing up in the finale — that would be so boring.) Noah and Alison locked eyes as he was taken away to jail, because this totally wasn't the outcome either of them was hoping for.

Of course, although the death wasn't intentional, no one here is innocent. Both Helen and Noah committed the crime of driving under the influence. (This whole thing could have been prevented if they had just called a cab — there were plenty of them in Montauk last time I visited.) And, all three of these people chose to flee the scene and leave Scott by the side of the road as he lay dead or dying.

One of the most interesting aspects of this unexpected reveal is that Alison and Helen, two women who resent and despise each other, unintentionally became partners in crime. But, Helen has no idea that Alison shoved Scott into the road — she still believes the crash was solely her fault. Season 3 will presumably kick off with Noah behind bars, and that will leave Alison and Helen with the shared goal of freeing him. I can't wait to see how the contentious relationship between these two plays out. Right now, one thing is for certain — Noah's confession will change the entire course of their lives.

Image: Mark Schafer/Showtime