Its a notion that the series itself flirted with all the way back in its second episode.
So you could, in a way, live both lives.
But what would either have gained by telling Detective Jeffries a different sequence of events about their first kiss?
Noahs laymans definition about sums up the basics of multiverses.
Take NBCsCommunity, which tackled the notion in season three, episode 4, Remedial Chaos Theory.
Jeff:(incredulous)Of course I am, Abed.
He is: Whoever gets up from the table changes the course of what happens that night.
When its Shirley, her pies burn in the oven, and she leaves in a huff.
And the absence of Abed makes everyone awkward, not knowing how to interact with one another.
Remedial Chaos Theory has been praised as one ofCommunitys best episodes and some of televisions most innovative storytelling.
But what if what we had accepted as subjective perceptions, opinions, and biases were actually hard facts?
The first few episodes of season two are starting to crystallize this idea, in two key ways.
Second, the show has dropped the frame story of an interrogation room.
But no one is explicitlytellingtheir story to Detective Jeffries or anyone else.
Dont forget the most important part, he taunts her in front of her boss Yvonne.
But theres no malice behind Coles actions, just a helpless spiral into depression.
They achieve closure, and Gabriels belongings are never introduced as a weapon of spite.
And how else can you explain Noahs visions?
IfThe Affairis indeed a multiverse, it owes much of its inspiration to ABCsLost.
A year and a half afterFringes series finale cameThe Affair.
Whats with the rise of multiverse stories in television?
As Abed explains:
Chaos already dominates enough of our lives.
The universe is an endless, raging sea of randomness.
Our job isnt to fight it, but to weather it together on the raft of life.
A raft held together by those few, rare, beautiful things that we know to be predictable.
And theres a comfort to knowing that.
