TV Recap: Masters of Sex - "Story of My Life"

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: Virginia is seeing a therapist about a traumatizing relationship that she had as a child that left her scarred. Meanwhile, Masters tries to get a study about dysfunction going by having Lester Linden (Kevin Christy) and Barbara Sanderson (Betsy Brandt) pair up. It doesn't go well as Barbara has a nervous breakdown. Meanwhile, Libby Masters (Caitlin Fitzgerald) has a wonderful dinner with friends and thinks that life is swell. However, she is still thinking about that hate crime that she saw and decides to report it to the police. This gets the blacks' attention and she begins to have some respect. She eventually decides to help them on their quest. Frank Masters (Christian Borle) attends an AA meeting in order to start recovery. Masters is flattered by it, though Frank suggests that there's some substance there that was geared at him. Upon realizing that they haven't really gotten a study going, Virginia confronts Masters about how their relationship is interfering with work and demands that something changes after getting a wake-up call about how out of balance things are from an innocent Libby.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Left to right: Sterling Brown and Caitlin Fitzgerald

There's a lot of ground that was covered in a recent episode that jumped forward and forced the viewer to figure out when and what happened. However, things have gotten back to normal as it decides to unwind slowly on the issues and ask the hard questions. The most notable is one that has been fronting most of the season: what is going on? The studies haven't exactly been fruitful or at the center. While Masters and Virginia have made an appealing couple, there's still the realization that their chemistry does not equal productivity. In fact, it distracts from the issue and leaves Virginia seeking advice not from her colleague, but from a therapist on how to handle Barbara's traumatic past. What exactly is Masters doing of value? Where he had a lot of breakthroughs last season, here he seems preoccupied, though it doesn't make sense of what.

As the final moments of the episode suggests, however, he may have his own dysfunction. While the sexual metaphors are a little redundant from last week, this episode manages to get right down to why things don't function. Frank doesn't function because of alcohol. Racism functions because white people are afraid to tell the truth in fear of being outcasts to society. Lester and Barbara have the most obvious problems, though it is largely due to previous neglect in their lives that make them timid and unable to do things. Libby thinks that Virginia is fine, though the Masters/Virginia affair gets interesting when she feels that there's some dysfunction with their studies.

One of the biggest benefits of the episode is that the Libby racism plot finally has something productive happen. She doesn't so much watch things and wonder why people hate her. In fact, she now is an active participant who wants to help make signs and make a difference. She feels like she is a contributing member of society. She recognizes that her contribution, even if it is as simple as telling her side of the story, can make a difference. She is no longer hidden underneath the threat of nagging her husband for help. She can do her own business, and that is a Libby that I hope we see going forward. Regardless of what has happened, Libby has felt like a secondary character in some bad ways. Even Betty DiMello (Annaleigh Ashford) has felt more effective as the secretary who has been reduced to exposition in specific episodes.

It is an interesting move for the series to try and tackle how relationships can influence productivity. However, I don't know if it is quite working as well as the impressive, voyeuristic eye into the sex studies that made the first season so great. I can only hope that wherever the series goes after Masters reveals that he has a "dysfunction" is some place that summarizes the bigger themes of this season. In all honesty, the dysfunction plot is fine, but it does feel like when applied as a metaphor has gotten a little grating and they need to find someplace else to go with these concepts. Otherwise, it is a pretty solid episode with Frank becoming more and more of an interesting character and the series continue to expand into an exciting, interesting cast.