While Alison might be worried about what Yvonne (and then Robert) think of her, she can’t help but start dissecting the topic herself. Perhaps Noah keeping her from reading his work isn’t just him being protective of his material, but in fact protecting her from what might be inside there. She really begins to question who she might be at her core when she innocently shares some information with Robert that ends up warping their dynamic. When Robert tells her “I guess you just have this effect on men,” he means no harm, but you can see it cut through Alison as if she’s wondering if Noah (or any of her previous relationships) has just been enchanted this whole time by some sort of spell.

There’s a moment where Alison ia out doing errands and a complete stranger ends up knowing a surprising amount about her life, and even what’s in store for her future. Once again we see that this episode is all about other people trying to write Alison’s story for her, with her being utterly unable to pick up the pen and start scribbling her own ending.

The culmination of all of this is the painful scene where Alison is simultaneously evicted and fired, so to speak. Wilson’s work here as Alison is fantastic as she just flounders around Robert, unable to understand why any of this is happening and only able to guess at what sort of monster these people see her as. There’s a brief moment of Alison letting loose that almost feels like it’s going to parallel Helen’s breakdown from the previous episode, but she maintains her composure. She’s not going to let other people dictate who she is. That is until her weakest moment drives her to actually go see Helen as a last resort to figure out where Noah is.

Here Alison is face-to-face with the personification of the version of herself that she doesn’t want others to see and it’s heartbreaking watching her plead to Helen that she’s “not like this” and a good person. What’s even worse is when Helen lays into her, breaking down Noah to his base parts and providing Alison with a chilling prophecy of where their life is headed. Helen writes Alison’s story for her because she’s already been there.

We’ve seen an incredibly sparse amount of Cole so far this season as we officially reach the halfway mark, but the return to his life that we’re given a glimpse of here goes far in terms of filling in the gaps. Namely by showing us the gaps that he’s been filling in the past weeks as he seems to be on a much deserved sex binge. Honestly, Cole’s opening scene plays like a set piece from Californication, as we see him pumping away and punched out in a matter of seconds while the expletives punctuate the comedic timing of the farcical scene. If anyone is writing Cole’s story, it’s shitty sex romp comedy writers.