New music from Fiona Apple is always welcome news, even when it comes in the form of a much-too-short TV theme song. For Showtime’s upcoming new series The Affair—which centers on an adulterous relationship and its consequences—Apple has contributed a haunting new song, “Container.”
The song and its accompanying imagery of tangled bodies and tumbling waves together create one of the better opening credits sequences I’ve seen in a long time. Apple sings in her familiar staccato style, “I have one thing to do and that’s/ Be the wave that I am and then/ Sink back into the ocean,” setting the scene for a story that appears to be an intriguing look at the intricacies of romance, memory, and longing.
The cast is strong: Dominic West and Ruth Wilson play Noah and Alison, while Joshua Jackson and Maura Tierney play their respective spouses. Each hour-long episode will apparently be split in two, told from the separate points of view of Noah and Alison in turn. Plus there’s an unsolved crime. And this credit sequence. The Affair may be worth seeking out.
