‘The Affair’ Kills Off [Spoiler]! Why It Happened & What’s Next for the Show

Joshua Jackson as Cole and Ruth Wilson as Alison in The Affair (Season 4, Episode 4). -Photo: Phil Caruso/SHOWTIME -Photo ID: The Affair_404_1096
Phil Caruso/SHOWTIME

[Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers from Season 4 Episode 8 of The Affair.]

The Affair‘s fifth season renewal isn’t the only shocking thing to happen to the show lately — in the latest episode, one of its original characters was killed off!

Fans of the Showtime series know it all started with the affair between Noah (Dominic West) and Alison (Ruth Wilson), but after Season 4’s eighth episode, one half of that pair is will no longer be on the show. So where does the show go from here?

By the episode’s end, it was revealed that Alison had died. In an unlikely pairing, ex-husbands Cole (Joshua Jackson) and Noah — joined by Anton (Christopher Meyer) — teamed up to search for her when she didn’t show up to a conference she had planned to attend. On their road trip, they followed a lead by dropping in on Alison’s father. That’s when they got the call.

According to the coroners, Alison had drowned herself, but Cole isn’t convinced of her suicide. Regardless, it appears from the episode preview for next week — there are still two more left — that Alison’s side of the story will be shared.

Ruth Wilson as Alison in The Affair (Season 4, Episode 6). -Photo: Ali Goldstein/SHOWTIME -Photo ID: The Affair_406_0148

(Photo: Ali Goldstein/SHOWTIME)

It was originally thought that the show would end with the current season, so what kind of effect will Alison’s death have moving forward? It’s hard to tell right now, but as far as the decision goes, it was all Wilson’s idea to leave.

“Ruth wanted to leave the show. That was a request, so that was decided basically before we started writing. It wasn’t a discovery of any kind. That was very deliberate. And actually, we shot all of her work first. Her whole storyline was shot before we shot anything else,” showrunner Sarah Treem revealed to the The Hollywood Reporter.

The show’s point-of-view storytelling will most likely bring the story of Alison’s demise to light, but it doesn’t explain how the show will carry on for another season. Treem did confirm that Alison’s story isn’t over though. “You don’t know the whole story,” Treem said of Episode 8.

Thankfully it appears that answers will be given, but until then, fans are reacting to the surprising loss of Alison. Scroll down to see what they’re saying!

The Affair, Sundays, 9/8c, Showtime