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| Left to right: Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan |
Welcome to the weekly recaps of the 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 Maron every Friday and Orange is the New Black every Saturday.
Plot: Upon being kicked out of his research, Bill Masters becomes reclusive and only has sex with Virginia Johnson. At work, Virginia has become a sexual pariah who is consistently hit on as she works for Dr. DePaul (Julianne Nicholson) and sells diet pills for extra money. Barton Scully (Beau Bridges) goes through shock therapy, even if Masters thinks that it isn't making him better. Barton is convinced it is his making his relationship with Margaret (Allison Janney) better, even if she disagrees. Vivian (Rose McIver) wants to go to California to be with her boyfriend. However, she becomes concerned when she sees Barton trying to hang himself in the basement. Masters discovers that there are other people who want to help him with the sex studies and will be providing space for him. This is met with pleasure by Libby (Caitlin Fitzgerald), who wants nothing more than for him to have more purpose. Now he just needs to get Virginia back on board.
Rating: 4 out of 5
It is so great to have Masters of Sex back on the air. What is more impressive is how its reputation has only grown in the months since its absence. It was one of 2013's best new series and even went on to produce Emmy nominations in a lot of categories, including one for Best Drama and Best Actress in a Drama for Lizzy Caplan. With "Parallax," the series looks like it is back in top shape and producing only quality work. We get closure to what happened when Masters showed up at Virginia's door at the end of last season, and the answers did not disappoint (if they were slightly predictable). Nonetheless, it was an episode that reflected on what made season one so memorable and gives promise to season two's potential.
For the most part, it is staggering to see how things have changed. With the ego blow to Masters, he is forced to become a recluse. We only get closure to his encounter with Virginia in sparse flashbacks. His insecurities have almost shut him down. Simultaneously, Barton is so insecure that the shock therapy convinces him that he is better. There is fear that Barton can easily become a mental case by the end of this simply because he wants Margaret to love him. In fact, the whole Scully family is likely to have a wild season with a lot of strange results to come. There is little belief that things will pay off. With Masters standing nearby in dread of those realizations, it is only making his loyalty seem more tragic.
Most of all, Virginia is now a pariah. Where she was once seen as a hero, she is now reduced to entendres and put-ons by coworkers. She is forced to have a tough shell that essentially puts into question how far the women's movement has really gone. She almost begins to look at sex as a bad thing, almost regretting even meeting Masters. That is, of course, when not considering the secret affair that the two have been having. Libby is bound to find out and eventually leave him. Since both have kids and are essentially broken families, it makes things more interesting on where they will go.
Of course, I do believe that we will be setting up shop sometime next week with the next experiment. Where the first season interestingly set things up in a whorehouse, I cannot wait to see if the new staff of people will produce as interesting of a result. Now that the two have a famed notoriety, there is something that will likely detract people from supporting them. The fact that they have anyone at all is a miracle. However, will there be any exploitation or extortion involved? One can only guess. For the time being, there is some vague belief that we will be seeing the studies back in order as everyone's love life takes a drastic turn for the surreal.
Otherwise, Masters of Sex is back in top form and I am glad that it remains as interesting as it was. Even if the cliffhanger does seem a little bogus in hindsight, it does help to set up the sexual frustration caused by repression, whether societal or spousal. Nobody is happy with what they did, but it is so ingrained into their DNA that it is hard to not make it a factor. With excellent costumes and performances, the premiere is so full of memorable moments that I cannot wait to see if the series delivers on any line as captivating as "Look out for the dildo" real soon.
Rating: 4 out of 5
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| Left to right: Sheen and Beau Bridges |
For the most part, it is staggering to see how things have changed. With the ego blow to Masters, he is forced to become a recluse. We only get closure to his encounter with Virginia in sparse flashbacks. His insecurities have almost shut him down. Simultaneously, Barton is so insecure that the shock therapy convinces him that he is better. There is fear that Barton can easily become a mental case by the end of this simply because he wants Margaret to love him. In fact, the whole Scully family is likely to have a wild season with a lot of strange results to come. There is little belief that things will pay off. With Masters standing nearby in dread of those realizations, it is only making his loyalty seem more tragic.
Most of all, Virginia is now a pariah. Where she was once seen as a hero, she is now reduced to entendres and put-ons by coworkers. She is forced to have a tough shell that essentially puts into question how far the women's movement has really gone. She almost begins to look at sex as a bad thing, almost regretting even meeting Masters. That is, of course, when not considering the secret affair that the two have been having. Libby is bound to find out and eventually leave him. Since both have kids and are essentially broken families, it makes things more interesting on where they will go.
Of course, I do believe that we will be setting up shop sometime next week with the next experiment. Where the first season interestingly set things up in a whorehouse, I cannot wait to see if the new staff of people will produce as interesting of a result. Now that the two have a famed notoriety, there is something that will likely detract people from supporting them. The fact that they have anyone at all is a miracle. However, will there be any exploitation or extortion involved? One can only guess. For the time being, there is some vague belief that we will be seeing the studies back in order as everyone's love life takes a drastic turn for the surreal.
Otherwise, Masters of Sex is back in top form and I am glad that it remains as interesting as it was. Even if the cliffhanger does seem a little bogus in hindsight, it does help to set up the sexual frustration caused by repression, whether societal or spousal. Nobody is happy with what they did, but it is so ingrained into their DNA that it is hard to not make it a factor. With excellent costumes and performances, the premiere is so full of memorable moments that I cannot wait to see if the series delivers on any line as captivating as "Look out for the dildo" real soon.
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