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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.
Plot: It is a big day for Masters and Virginia. CBS is going to film them in order to promote their studies. However, Masters is growing nervous as the complaints rise against him. He can't talk about dildos or orgasms. His study has to be spoken about tenderly. There's a lot of loopholes and it feels very inaccessible notably because Masters hasn't done much successfully. Libby Masters (Caitlin Fitzgerald) attends the shooting but leaves before she can be filmed for the piece. She meets George Johnson (Mather Zickel) and the two learn a little about each other. George also grows curious to why Virginia is ignoring his desire to contact her. Dr. Langham (Teddy Sears) has sex with Flo Packer (Artemis Pebdani) while imitating Gone with the Wind in lieu of recent tragedies. The filming goes miserably. Libby meets up with Glenn (Nick Gillie) after problems arise around Martin Luther King Jr. being arrested. She reveals that she relates to the black movement because she feels like she is supposed to please somebody that she can't. This causes her and Glenn to get it on. Masters feels insecure about the filming and eventually feels like it was a waste.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
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| Left to right: Mather Zickel and Annaleigh Ashford |
In a way, this whole episode encapsulates what makes Masters of Sex's second season a little frustrating. The whole season has evolved into being about dysfunction, specifically that of Masters. He doesn't do anything about it. At best, this episode brings in a new angle. After ignoring Virginia's kids for the entire season, we finally get a glance into what they have been up to. Admittedly, this is only as a transition into Virginia leaving for an interview and to give us an update on George. How is he doing? For the most part, he seems to be a loyal man who has mellowed out and is eager to contact his ex-wife. He doesn't do much besides introduce himself to Virginia, but that doesn't matter. It's about tearing away the image and looking at what's behind it.
For the first half of the episode, the CBS filming lets out a lot of stress. While Virginia has had her share of experience in front of the camera, Masters hasn't. He sweats through shirts and nervously talks about his studies in a medium that wants to censor him. It isn't pretty, especially as Lester Linden (Kevin Christy) has a breakdown over them using footage and Virginia trying to convince Masters to continue with the study. Nothing has come through yet, but it might. This is all fine, but where's the progress on this show? It's interesting to see things filmed, but while Masters has slowly fallen off of the rails, I have grown curious to what the point of the show has become. It has evolved into societal metaphors somehow connected to sex, and not even that this week.
Pulling back the curtain on a lot of issues includes Langham and Flo having sex while imitating Gone with the Wind. It is strange that suddenly we're supposed to care about Langham's relationships, but hopefully it will pay off next season. Still, it is a comical relief that kind of works, though is also kind of creepy. If an ugly man tried these things, it would be creepy, so why not feel that way about a handsome one? There's some things that will never be understood. However, it's great to see Langham so happy, even if he has felt pointless since his arbitrary return. Get back to selling stuff. Your arbitrary sex capades aren't doing much of value.
The only real movement in this episode appears to be Libby with her desire to connect with black people. She ends up connecting over a very vulnerable position that may seen far fetched, but at least it leads to some sex. She has pulled back her own disguise and has revealed her lust for the race and her desire to be accepted by them. It would seem strange if Libby ended up being the one who pulled the relationship of the Masters out of the loop and went for another man of a different race. Who knows, that could be the season's great twist. It seems like something has to happen, because it has been stalling badly the past few episodes. Hooray for Libby though and her feeling of liberation. May it continue to grow.
Still, is it enough for the series to rely on characters to simply coexist and complain about their inefficient sex lives? There has to be more. The metaphors are great and give the show something interesting, but it is lacking immediacy. Even the Virginia/Masters affair that made the start so interesting has fizzled into mediocre conversations about the same problem. I want something of value to happen. With the end next week, the build-up should have been shown quite awhile ago, but it just isn't. Things have been pulled back to reveal that identities are different from what we show to the public. However, save for an interesting exploration of race relations, I have trouble finding this season as great as the previous.
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