TV Recap: Masters of Sex - "High Anxiety"

Left to right: Annaleigh Ashford and Michael Sheen

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 Tuesday for a dissection of the week's episode featuring thoughts of the show in general as well as predictions of where things are headed.

Virginia is mad with Masters for doing the surrogacy study without her. Meanwhile, she is trying to get new programs started with Dan Logan (Josh Charles), of whom she's still seeing. Masters doesn't know it. Betty DiMello (Annaleigh Ashford) complains to Masters that he is a little too uptight. Libby Masters (Caitlin Fitzgerald) continues to see another man. Johnny Masters (Jaeden Lieberher) becomes jealous when he sees the school bully getting sex advice from his father. The surrogacy study hits a few snags as the patients begin to cross lines and have inappropriate intimate moments. Helen (Sarah Silverman) becomes worried when her "father" figure has a mental breakdown. However, nothing happened with him. Helen is also pregnant. Johnny stands up for himself in front of classmates, thus impressing them. Masters agrees to continue the study, even if Virginia is too mad to be involved.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Here we are with three episodes more to go. With the season now fully in shape, it looks to be a happy one. That is, if your name isn't Bill Masters. The series has shown people drifting away from the prestigious doctor, and it may end up taking its toll on him by the end of the season. Who does he really have to confide in? When he does his work, Virginia yells at him. When she's not there, it's Betty. When it's not her, it's one of the many patients. Poor Masters will end up alone pretty soon here, and all because he cannot quite adapt with the times. He has filled himself with too much confidence and thus has to deal with the circumstances. He isn't quite as hot as he thinks, but hopefully things will pan out sooner than later.

It comes especially as a blow considering where the season started. With the start, Masters and Virginia were together and happier than ever. They weren't ashamed to hide their feelings from Libby. Then again, Libby's story wasn't revealed at the time. We didn't know that she was seeing another man or hanging out at a random apartment. What was really going on was the belief that everything was okay, save for Tessa Johnson's problems with her mother. Everything else seemed to suggest that the research was in its peak. They had a book published and everyone was having a good time.

But it only drew people further apart. Well, not literally. It was a catalyst of sorts however to see Virginia have to grapple with book tours. It was where Masters began to show a different side and the idea of working with someone else proved to not be as fortuitous. She confided in someone else, who gave her love and the more hopeful sign of the future of sex research. Meanwhile, the surrogacy programming wasn't quite working to the best of its advantages. Why? Because Masters, sans everyone else, decided to work alone. The results have been just as complicated and rocky as you'd expect. We have seen Masters and Virginia work apart from each other before, but this season seems to have them making excuses to spend time away. It raises questions as to where things will go.

Though I will admit that it has enriched the supporting cast as a result. With the return of Helen, her story seems to have a lot of personality again. We're going to see her have a baby and fulfill a plot that seemed to be around for at least a decade. Taboos are about to be broken, and maybe the celibacy program isn't going to work out due to Masters' foolishness. After all, he didn't take advice from Hugh Hefner, so there's already some egg on his face. While Libby remains perplexing on the sidelines, I do think that she at least has more intrigue this season than last. She may just be the promiscuous housewife, but at least she's given a plot concerning her son to fill up time. I even like that Betty has gotten a meatier role, especially as Helen's support in the pregnancy.

I'm not entirely sure how the season is going to play out. Speaking as there's cards that end the episode stating that events are fictionalized, I don't know if any of this is skewering from truth. What I do know is that it's entertaining to be everyone but Masters. He has taken a beating this season, and for some good cause. Part of it is his ego. Part of it is that his once progressive views are now locked in place. He may be the hero in the scenario, but he's also hurting his own chances at a successful future. The question now is if everyone will abandon him, or if the season has a more sinister idea planned. Whatever it may be, I'm excited. This season's been very strong for the most part, and I cannot wait to see how it ends.