People stop acting polite and start getting real
We begin in the gray-toned future at Noahs trial.
Cole is on the stand.
Lawyer Jon brings up that maybe Cole has his own complicated feelings about Noah.
Credit: Paul Sarkis/SHOWTIME
Its not a bad tactic, really.
Alison looks on with her typical inscrutable gaze.
But now were in Coles memory, yay!
He and Luisa are driving to Montauk so she can meet Cherry for the first time.
Coles advice is to take her shoes off and not listen to the whole our-family-is-cursed thing.
Luisas boss who were told is very demanding calls, so Cole pulls over fatefully to The Lobster Roll.
He asks her the kind of place shed want to open.
Nothing fancy, something that means something to the people that go there, she says.
And, oh boy, its Cherry.
Well, theres a truly horrific way to meet your future mother-in-law!
Its terribly awkward for everyone in fact its hard to know who this is actually worse for.
They meet up later with much more clothes and Luisa looks at old family photos.
Cherry mentions she sold a bunch of family antiques and bristles when Cole raises some questions.
She also tells Luisa shes sorry Luisa and Cole cant get married on the Lockhart ranch.
Luisa, bless her, is like: Hey, didnt you marry your last wife there?
Then Scott looking as strung out as all get out emerges.
Even Cole is all, holy hell you look like crap.
He suggests Scott take the money and use it for rehab.
Yeah, you’re free to imagine how well that goes over.
Miranda, Luisas mom, turns out to be the long serving worker of the Butlers.
Everyone in this story must be connected, right?
And heres Margaret Butler (Hi, Margaret!)
cruising in and offering to pay for the wedding and host it at her place.
but its not till she hears his last name that she puts it together.
Like, oh are you the one who impregnated my granddaughter or pulled a gun on Noah Solloway?
Cole gets up to leave and Margaret stops him.
Ive come to a time in my life where I understand that a little forgiveness goes a long way.
He doesnt want a loan, either.
And heres his big idea: He thinks they could ask Alison to go in on the other half.
Luisa is all, say what dude?
She is not into it.
Cole gives his word that he doesnt ever want to get back together with Alison.
Shes like this is either a dream come true or the worst idea ever.
With this show, Luisa?
Lets go with the latter.
At the foreclosure auction Cole and Alison sit together grinning at each other triumphantly.
Its actually very sweet.
Scott comes in wasted, wishfully thinking that Cole and Alison bought this place with him in mind.
Im not going into business with you like this.
He tells Cole that Alison is pathological and cant be trusted.
Scott stays in a heap on the ground and weeps.
They have a nice brotherly hug.
He asks Scott what it was and Scott feigns sleep instead.
NEXT: Noah has a spectacularly bad day
Noahs alarm goes off while its still dark.
He makes some coffee and goes into a bathroom, which apparently is serving as his office.
Surely theres a better corner in that giant apartment than this?
The working title on this thing is Good, and hes only on chapter 5.
He doesnt get very far he passes out and sleeps on his computer till Alison wakes him.
She wants to talk and he is distracted.
Hes seeing Harry later.
He suggests a date night instead.
Hes all, oh hey isnt your final tonight?
Alison stays in the shower.
Noah meets with Harry, who is pushing him to get his book finished and into stores by Christmas.
Fairly certain thats not exactly how it works, but I surrender on this point.
He says theres a certain optimal window for follow-ups by successful authors.
(Tell it to Harper Lee!)
He gets up at 4:30 every morning to write on the toilet.
Harry suggests he gets out of town to Yadoo (the prettiest writers retreat in all the land).
Or back to Yvonnes magic house on the Hudson.
Noah is like, uh, are you listening?
I cant do that.
Noah brings up Charles Frazier andCold Mountain(drink!).
Ha ha ha.Nowthisidea seems like the publishing world.
Also, drink twice because Danielle Steele and John Le Carre are both mentioned in quick succession.
(Uh, the porn-y kind?)
He shows up at Alisons school with flowers.
He cant find Alison however.
The teacher busts her cover and tells him that she dropped the class seven weeks ago.
Bats start to fly out of Noahs face.
He goes home and shes nowhere to be found.
The nanny comes home with the kids and doesnt know where Alison is either.
He gets a text that sends him raging straight into the car and up to Montauk.
The mystery text was from Oscar Hi, Oscar!
and it was a picture of Alison and Cole looking cute together.
He tells Noah the whole Lobster Roll debacle.
Oh Oscar, you are such a trouble maker.
He asks Noah: Whose money did she use to make that down payment?
Turns out they dont have a joint checking account, so its her money.
(Then how on earth did they pay for that West Village apartment?
Theres no way that book advance covered it but whatever.)
Now Noah says that theyre not married, so I guess we have clarity on that after all.
Noah is confused, understandably, by these turn of events.
Oscar is all, really?
Do youstillnot know who you are dealing with?
Oscar tells him hes just a tourist.
That whole wounded bird thing?
It wasnt Gabriels death that broke her heart.
She never had one.
Sounds like someone still is sucking on some sour grapes about only getting to sleep with Alison once.
Noah drives up to a good-looking house in Montauk where Max is.
Max is drinking in the middle of the day and seems pretty chill.
And, golly, his new house isbeautiful.
Noah wonders if Alison is a sociopath.
Max is like listen, I know what its like to be dumped.
Its not because theyre bad.
Sometimes people are going through something.
(Someone has spent plenty of therapy sessions talking about Helen, I guess.)
Why dont you ask me how I am?
Noah apologies for the last time they saw each other at that terrible party.
Max tells him hes been spending a lot of time chilling on his own at the beach.
How can you have a relationship with someone you cant trust?
Max is like, well you did start this up under shady circumstances.
Max starts asking all these extra-interested questions and it gets weird.
Max asks if she is in love and Noah is like, why doyoucare?
Noah slowly starts to get it.
Max doesnt deny it, and Noah throws a Waterford crystal tumbler at his head.
Max tells Noah he loves Helen.
Max points out that Noah left Helen and he should get off his high horse.
You had no appreciation for what you had.
All you wanted was more.
I wantedher.Thats all I ever wanted.
I know people dont like this dude, but I kind of love Max, Im sorry.
He also tells Noah that she didnt want him; she still wanted Noah.
Max cant figure out why everyone lets Noah get away with everything.
Man, Noah is having a rough day.
Max asks for his understanding, but Noah is like, uh pass.
These two have a fundamental misunderstanding about the rules of friendship.
Noahs parting shot: The reason no one loves you is that without your money you are nothing.
Noah gets in the car and is driving angry.
It comes off as the road from his dreams and his book.
Hes having a moment.
Shes like, oops, c’mon dont be mad.
This is what she wants to do with the money from the house.
Noah, reasonably, is like, Isnt this something that you wanted to run by me?
He also gets a nice dig in about this being why her first marriage failed.
He also rightly points out that her trying to bring this up in the shower earlier doesnt count.
She says she was afraid hed say no.
(This is 5-year-old logic, right?)
He asks if she loves him.
He says he really doesnt want her to do it.
He begs her not to do it.
Shes like, too late.
He asks if shes sleeping with Cole (he doesnt say sleeping).
She asks him to trust her.
She wants to do this; she doesnt want to just be a wife or a mother.
She has spent the past six weeks walking and thinking and that she misses her old life.
She doesnt belong at fancy book parties, shes just a girl from Montauk.
This is where I belong.
(She sure seemed desperate to leave that life last season!)
He asks how it will work.
Shes not sure but wants to figure it out together.
Back in the future: The prosecutor has a new witness.
And, oh boy, its a doozy!
It is wait for it Max.
The two ex-friends stare at each other.
He also claims he saw Noah himself hosing blood off the front of the car.
