Yet, the Showtime’s series’ final episodes seem far less interested in Alison than her on-again, off-again ex, Cole Lockhart ( Joshua Jackson, who also fled the series ). It’s the tragic fate of Cole that the premiere teases when it introduces his and Alison’s daughter Joanie, now all grown up and played by True Blood’s Anna Paquin. Initially, The Affair wants us to wonder if Cole is dead. Or maybe he is estranged from Joanie. Considering the manipulative twists of shows like This Is Us , it’s possible Cole has simply been put in a senior care facility in his old age and is suffering though dementia.