The Affair season 5 spoilers: Anna Paquin cast as … older Joanie?
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Here’s what we know right now: According to a new report from TVLine, former True Blood star Anna Paquin is set to play a major role in the fifth and final season as the older version of Joanie, Alison and Cole’s daughter who was a mere child back in season 4. This season is venturing far into the future, where the character is going to be doing her part to figure out the truth behind what happened to her mother. If you recall, Alison died in the fourth season — if our interpretation of 4×09 is correct, Ben was the one who murdered her. Yet, the series did create enough ambiguity for there to be plenty of questions worth pondering.
Beyond the casting itself, there’s one other twist that is very much timely to what’s going on today: Because of climate change, the beaches of Montauk are no longer what they once were and it is a very-different world that Joanie is embracing. She has to contend with that while also trying to get whatever answers she can, and we’re not altogether sure that there will be many out there given the fact that so few people know the truth.
All in all, this is a super-bold and ambitious idea that The Affair seems to be trying out, and we do wonder if it was prompted in some way by the departures of Ruth Wilson and (seemingly) Joshua Jackson as series regulars. Without stories to tell regarding these characters, it makes some sense for The Affair to cast its focus somewhere else. Given some more attention to a grown-up Joanie is a way to channel Alison and Cole’s story in the future with someone who is trying to put together many of the missing pieces of her own life.
Nervous as we may be over this twist, and we are certainly nervous, we do feel as though The Affair has earned a certain degree of trust from us. After all, the first and fourth seasons of the show were incredible, and season 2 certainly has plenty of critical acclaim as well. (The less we mention season 3, the better everyone will be.)
The fifth and final season of The Affair is set to premiere on Showtime in 2019. To read more news regarding the Vik character’s possible future and a new love interest for Helen, we suggest moving over to the link here and checking that story out.
What do you think about Anna Paquin playing an older Joanie, and do you have any specific hopes for The Affair season 5 overall? Let us know your thoughts in the attached comments. (Photo: Showtime.)