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| Left to right: Beau Bridges and Michael Sheen |
Welcome to the weekly recaps of the new Showtime series Masters of Sex that follows the history of Dr. William Masters (Michael Sheen) and Virginia Johnson's (Lizzy Caplan) actual studies of sex. Make sure to tune in every Wednesday for a dissection of the week's episode as well as thoughts of the show in general as well as potential thoughts of where things are headed. Also, please feel free to check out my recaps on Bob's Burgers every Tuesday and Brooklyn Nine-Nine every Thursday.
Plot: Masters continues his study with Virginia at his side. He explores the many ways in which women have orgasms and even begins exploring males. He befriends a homosexual (Finn Witrock) who convinces him that people that are perceived deviants. Masters also helps a woman give birth to four children, which helps to give him media attention. We also begin to learn about Masters' past with Barton Scully (Beau Bridges) and how he came to not only establish his image, but become interested in the study of sex. Virginia begins worrying that at work, she isn't getting the respect she deserves. Masters also learns that the women that he is treating have some weird psychological trauma from their past that explains their behaviors. The episode ends with Masters coming home to Libby (Caitlin Fitzgerald) and celebrating the events of the past day.
Rating: 4 out of 5
There is an interesting progression in the Masters of Sex universe. Not only have we moved beyond understanding what Virginia and Masters perform like separately, but now we understand the relationship between Masters and Scully. I am finding it strange that in the first three episodes, Beau Bridges has been labeled as a guest star despite seeming like an integral performer to the initial story. It is most prevalent here when we seem him take on the mentoring role and introduce Masters to the world of sexual studies and embraces him almost as a partner.
This whole episode is pretty much about being understood by those around you. The episode's consistent flashback to the Masters/Scully meetings in which Masters sports a ridiculously bad hairdo and claims to know nothing about sex are all odd elements for an origin story that make him seem all the more vulnerable in this research. Juxtapose that with Scully and Masters 10 years later (or at the current present of the show) when Masters has been kicked out of the hospital's research department and now has some personal conflict with Scully. Not enough to actually cause problems, but enough to suggest that there's tension.
Meanwhile, the sex studies are rather interesting. As I discussed in my Channel Surfing column, I was wondering how the show would handle the study of sex. Would it make things too erotic or too campy? I like that in the series' most sexual episode to date that it is neither. Orgasms are faked and there is plenty of talk about gay sex. While the former is played for laughs, it makes sense, especially as it is from a prostitute used to putting on shows. As a whole, the sexual talk in this episode isn't so much about the mechanics, but the drive behind them.
There are times when the sex studies go interesting directions, at least to Masters' perception. He expects almost all subjects to masturbate the same way. Instead, they do multiple positions and sometimes require Masters to slap them in order to get a thrill. There's some exploration into how sexual attraction works in this episode that goes beyond what is understood in the episodes prior. We have seen basic, familiar routines usually involving women lying on their backs. In this go around, we see them in various positions. This is how Masters begins to understand sex as more than reproduction.
One of the more interesting and progressive examples of sexual understanding in this episode is the introduction of homosexuals. It is important to note that during the time period that gays were perceived as deviants and it was a social disease. It is discussed openly and humanly here as Masters confronts a man who essentially begins making Scully feel nervous as he still believes that Masters is embracing mental illness. Masters still believes that there is something more to it and therefore he continues his crusade of bizarre studies.
The loose end that I cannot quite pin as being in the subject of learning to understand is the woman who gives birth to quintuplets. On the surface, it is basically a moment for Masters to triumph as a doctor. He is loved by his peers and the media attention raises awareness of the hospital. Scully is even proud of him. At most, I can see this as juxtaposition to the rest of the episode's talk of sex being that it shows the result of sex for reproduction. It almost humanizes sex as something more than smutty and makes it a glorious example of providing life for the future. Even the moment when the woman is talking to Virginia about how great Masters is, it feels like there is an understanding of Masters as this great man.
Then there's sexual politics of the episode. While Virginia has shown that she knows her way around a study and can get women to open up, there is still the issue that she is not being respected at the office. She is forced to literally do his dirty laundry and do errands because she is his assistant. In a way, she is the only person who ends the episode misunderstood because while she is a whiz at discovering advancements in sexual studies, she is still this woman who at work comes across almost as a second-class citizen. She does the job of making sure everything works out, but doesn't get the respect of her peer. Compared to her home life and raising a child, it makes her the vulnerable character who in this world of sexual politics has become the most repressed, which is saying something in a realm where Masters got kicked out of a hospital and can't make gay sex acceptable as a study.
What is odd is that "Race to Space" was a personal study of the main characters and here it is beginning to be a study of the era. The taboos of women in the workplace and homosexuality are treated as deviant subjects that are in need of being changed. Masters almost feels like an errand boy, meant to solve the problems despite not knowing much about sex. Tensions are rising and sex is beginning to be seen as something of psychological and based on the patients' past. I can only hope that with things continuing that it continues to explore sex as something more.
While I felt last week that the show needed to speed up and cover more ground, I feel like this episode suggests the opposite. In the course of a short span, save for the flashbacks, we see how sex influences everyone. It isn't just an act, but it is a circle of life and everyone from a nice homely woman to a prostitute and a gay man experience it. It is breaking stereotypes and making sex more understandable. The audacity of this show is impressive and hopefully it will continue to explore things in glorious detail. At very least, it manages to make sex into something funny without being lowbrow or smutty.
Rating: 4 out of 5
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| Lizzy Caplan |
This whole episode is pretty much about being understood by those around you. The episode's consistent flashback to the Masters/Scully meetings in which Masters sports a ridiculously bad hairdo and claims to know nothing about sex are all odd elements for an origin story that make him seem all the more vulnerable in this research. Juxtapose that with Scully and Masters 10 years later (or at the current present of the show) when Masters has been kicked out of the hospital's research department and now has some personal conflict with Scully. Not enough to actually cause problems, but enough to suggest that there's tension.
Meanwhile, the sex studies are rather interesting. As I discussed in my Channel Surfing column, I was wondering how the show would handle the study of sex. Would it make things too erotic or too campy? I like that in the series' most sexual episode to date that it is neither. Orgasms are faked and there is plenty of talk about gay sex. While the former is played for laughs, it makes sense, especially as it is from a prostitute used to putting on shows. As a whole, the sexual talk in this episode isn't so much about the mechanics, but the drive behind them.
There are times when the sex studies go interesting directions, at least to Masters' perception. He expects almost all subjects to masturbate the same way. Instead, they do multiple positions and sometimes require Masters to slap them in order to get a thrill. There's some exploration into how sexual attraction works in this episode that goes beyond what is understood in the episodes prior. We have seen basic, familiar routines usually involving women lying on their backs. In this go around, we see them in various positions. This is how Masters begins to understand sex as more than reproduction.
 |
| Finn Witrock |
One of the more interesting and progressive examples of sexual understanding in this episode is the introduction of homosexuals. It is important to note that during the time period that gays were perceived as deviants and it was a social disease. It is discussed openly and humanly here as Masters confronts a man who essentially begins making Scully feel nervous as he still believes that Masters is embracing mental illness. Masters still believes that there is something more to it and therefore he continues his crusade of bizarre studies.
The loose end that I cannot quite pin as being in the subject of learning to understand is the woman who gives birth to quintuplets. On the surface, it is basically a moment for Masters to triumph as a doctor. He is loved by his peers and the media attention raises awareness of the hospital. Scully is even proud of him. At most, I can see this as juxtaposition to the rest of the episode's talk of sex being that it shows the result of sex for reproduction. It almost humanizes sex as something more than smutty and makes it a glorious example of providing life for the future. Even the moment when the woman is talking to Virginia about how great Masters is, it feels like there is an understanding of Masters as this great man.
Then there's sexual politics of the episode. While Virginia has shown that she knows her way around a study and can get women to open up, there is still the issue that she is not being respected at the office. She is forced to literally do his dirty laundry and do errands because she is his assistant. In a way, she is the only person who ends the episode misunderstood because while she is a whiz at discovering advancements in sexual studies, she is still this woman who at work comes across almost as a second-class citizen. She does the job of making sure everything works out, but doesn't get the respect of her peer. Compared to her home life and raising a child, it makes her the vulnerable character who in this world of sexual politics has become the most repressed, which is saying something in a realm where Masters got kicked out of a hospital and can't make gay sex acceptable as a study.
What is odd is that "Race to Space" was a personal study of the main characters and here it is beginning to be a study of the era. The taboos of women in the workplace and homosexuality are treated as deviant subjects that are in need of being changed. Masters almost feels like an errand boy, meant to solve the problems despite not knowing much about sex. Tensions are rising and sex is beginning to be seen as something of psychological and based on the patients' past. I can only hope that with things continuing that it continues to explore sex as something more.
While I felt last week that the show needed to speed up and cover more ground, I feel like this episode suggests the opposite. In the course of a short span, save for the flashbacks, we see how sex influences everyone. It isn't just an act, but it is a circle of life and everyone from a nice homely woman to a prostitute and a gay man experience it. It is breaking stereotypes and making sex more understandable. The audacity of this show is impressive and hopefully it will continue to explore things in glorious detail. At very least, it manages to make sex into something funny without being lowbrow or smutty.
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