Robert Corozza

I just finished watching. Yes, there were massive flaws here, but at the very least it held my attention. I think the biggest issue is trying to cram so much into 4 episodes. It really should have been 7-10 episodes. We would have at least had more to chew on with character motivations, and it would have felt more real. The wife, excellently portrayed, had suspicions that seemed legit, but I didn’t buy Jay even having a clue to the affair. He had one seen in the third episode, where his gaze lingered on the two of them, and I thought…why? This would be the last thing I would ever expect. It’s almost as if Jay knew his life story had a finite 4 episodes, lol. People have been commenting on the legitimacy and believability of this taboo affair. I have a unique perspective. I had an affair like this. Not exactly the same. I had a sexual relationship with my brother’s girlfriend. She was 22, I was 15, in the summer of 1993. And I can tell you, this felt VERY real to me. To people who could never imagine themselves caught in this situation, it is very easy to say this could never happen, or to judge with extreme prejudice the parties involved. And honestly, you may be right. I can tell you however, to someone caught in that “obsession”, you don’t think about the people you are hurting. I never once thought of my brother, or anyone else for that matter. I was consumed with her. After the first time, all I could think of was touching her again. My heart beat with the fever of madness. We, too, were caught. Not like in this limited series, but there was a massive confrontation between my brother and I. I broke his heart and his trust, and 30 years later, the relationship has not fully repaired. They broke up. She went her separate way. I went to therapy. I fought for a long time the idea presented to me that I was raped. I was a willing participant. I was raped though. I was a minor, she was an adult and held all the power in that relationship. And for years after, I pursued relationships that had no chance of being successful, because the events of that summer skewed my view on sex, boundaries, and relationships. The sex was intense. And the connection even more so. It wasn’t the end. And I fear that for the characters here. Eighteen years later we reconnected on social media, and we continued our affair. Twenty minutes after seeing her for the first time, I was inside of her. It burned white hot our connection. She was married though this time, and yet we continued our illicit affair for 3 years. A therapist told me I was being victimized again. That may be true, but I see the relationship as being unhealthy now. I know that. It also scares me. I haven’t seen her in nine years, and if she knocked on my door, I couldn’t tell you I would send her away. THAT is obsession. It is all consuming. And despite the flaws of this show, as a survivor of its siren call, I can tell you that was 100% accurate and portrayed beautifully.