Masters of Sex - Recap: Daddy Issues

Episode 4 of Season 1 of Masters of Sex, “Thank You For Coming,” might have been my favorite episode yet. Much of this week’s hour focused on the dynamics of the families we’re following, rather than placing too much emphasis on the experiments conducted by Bill (Michael Sheen) and Virginia (Lizzy Caplan). Alas, I did miss the hookers. That’s not to say that the sex study didn’t play an important role in this week’s plot, as it is the center of Masters of Sex, but mostly it served as a tool to show us, in yet another way, what makes sex so important. I’ve said this before in previous recaps, but there’s very little mention of love. Love is the elephant in the room. It’s a big pink elephant caught in the middle of a scientific study of sex. It’s not a number to be measured, like the length of a penis or the time of an orgasm, but rather, something to consider that isn’t truly being taken into account. This week, the show took things a step further, dragging family into the equation. Families are, of course, the product of sex, and now that Libby (Caitlin Fitzgerald) is pregnant, babies seem to be on everyone’s brain. Here is the Recap and Review of Season 1 Episode 4 of Masters of Sex, “Thank You For Coming”!

Showtime "Masters of Sex"

Ann Dowd joined the cast this week as William’s mother. From what we saw on the surface, she seemed to be an absolute delight. William, as you would guess, loathed the looming visit from the woman he’d barely decided reference, leaving the preparations and hospitality measures to a pregnant Libby. The boring and incapable dud he’d described to us prior to her arrival did little to truly introduce his mother, a woman who strutted into the Masters home with a radiant confidence. Eager to help prepare for the arrival of Bill’s first child, she made herself right at home with Libby’s help and much to Bill’s chagrin. By the midway point of Episode 4, she'd be looking for a new home in the area.

Meanwhile, Virginia would deal with her own familial issues this week. Episode 4 saw the arrival of Virginia’s deadbeat ex-husband, George, whose musical gigs fell through just in time for him to swoop into her home, whip up a batch of awful spaghetti, and shoo the babysitter out. In fact, he even had the audacity, at one point to offer to be the babysitter. Meaning; George was broke, owed his landlord too much to return to his own home, and was looking to mooch. Still, there was a certain charm about George that did, inevitably, drive Virginia to sleep with him that night. Of course, he’d stick around way past the next morning to wreak havoc on the life of Virginia and to breed false hope in their two children.

Bill’s mother certainly had many opinions to offer this week, but unlike the usual nagging stereotypical mother-in-law character, her opinions were valued by all but Bill. For example, Ginny seemed pleased to take in her advice regarding George while she made her way around the hospital the next morning, uninvited by Bill. Bill continued to punish Ginny this week, coldly treating her like nothing more than an errand girl until it came time to conduct their research. Virginia, needless to say, was blindsided by her ex-husband’s decision to join their program anonymously. On the surface, the man needed cash, but from within the study, it became clear that his sights were still set on Virginia. In fact, he stared directly at her as he “performed.” Ginny, choosing to keep the nature of their relationship a secret, feared Bill would inevitably discover her misstep and cut her loose.

Meanwhile, Ethan (Nicholas D’Agosto) continued to sift his way through nurse after nurse, realizing that he’d nearly gone through the entire supply of co-workers at the hospital before happening upon someone seemingly entirely new. Scully’s daughter, Vivian (Rose McIver), also joined Masters of Sex this week as a former dork, complete with bad bangs, who remembered Ethan as the kind young man in a tux who’d danced with her at her birthday party. In fact, he was part of the reason she’d elected to work at her father’s hospital (Red flag, Ethan!). While this isn't in direct reflection of the theme I pointed out in the opening lines of this review, it does say something that this is a young girl and that her father is at the provost of the hospital.

Libby, interested in setting her friend Ethan up in an effort to mend his broken heart, decided to host a dinner party where she’d hook him up with… Virginia.

An unfortunate slip-up on Libby’s part, but she’s just such a positive character, no one really seemed to mind. Ethan and Virginia would go through the motions. Her two children also joined them at the table to witness Bill’s mother’s sorry attempts to get the doctor to lighten up. We weren’t privy to the nature of Bill’s past relationships with his parents, specifically his dad. His father, as it seemed, had passed away, freeing his mother from some sort of burden. As the episode would unfold, it would become ever clearer that Bill’s father was tremendously abusive, and that his mother would stand by idly while her son dealt with the man. A sub-plot during Episode 4 focused on Bill’s decision to covertly perform a minor surgery on a woman during a c-section birth… an operation to prevent future children. Bill, absolutely stressed at the impending thought of a child of his own, initially refused to perform the procedure (It couldn’t legally be done at the time without her husband’s consent!), but after discovering, through a slip from her adorable little boy, that her husband was most likely abusive, Bill took the risk. It just hit too close to home. That’s the thing with Bill, just when we think he’s entirely cold and un-relatable, he bends.

The night of the dinner party, things didn’t go so well for Ethan. Virginia, refusing to budge and prompting Ethan to subsequently drink himself into a stupor, was driven home by Bill, who was quick to ask questions about the looming tasks of parenthood. Did Bill already know that he’d be a terrible father? Virginia, in truth, still doesn’t know if she’s a great mom. See, I’m someone who constantly forgets that Bill is, allegedly, pining over Ginny. Most of the time I just view them as odd friends or colleagues, yet something as simple as a talk such as this always seems to get Dr. Masters thinking about the taboo.

Ethan, upon arriving home, discovered Vivian waiting with an excuse. The two inevitably went inside and began a slightly disturbing sex scene in which Ethan would pour whiskey over her naked breasts as she sat quietly in shock. Remember, this is her dream man, but this was most certainly not her fantasy. Luckily, things would stop at the raunchy foreplay. In the end, Ethan was called in for an emergency operation, but he wouldn’t make it into the operating room out of sheer drunkenness. Puking in front of your peers is never a good look. The next day, he’d apologize to Vivian for taking his frustrations regarding Virginia out on her. Vivian seemed to wholeheartedly accept, and Ethan was merely thankful that he didn’t put someone’s life in jeopardy during his inebriated bit of rage.

Showtime "Masters of Sex"

One of the most important pieces of Episode 4 focused on Bill’s manipulation of George to find out more about Virginia’s private life. Virginia would, inevitably, confess to Bill that her ex had covertly entered into the study, most likely hoping that Dr. Masters would insist on ejecting him. In truth, Bill would end up using this information to his advantage, calling Ginny’s ex in for private recorded sessions in which he’d reveal all of the sexual details of Virginia’s love life. One of the themes that recurs on Masters of Sex is the man’s desire for a woman to wish to please him from a positive and powerful place. So much about what is expected is regarding the man's ability to provide, yet it seems these men are all fascinated by a woman who knows how she operates and who's confident in her own abilities. Virginia is in touch with her body and enjoys helping the men she’s intimate with to get in touch with their own. She finds power in the vulnerability of sex. The episode would close with Bill listening to, and re-listening to, the recorded tape from George’s private session. Oddly enough, this reviewer is rooting for George to get his act together. Right now, he seems like the only viable option for Virginia besides an as-of-yet unannounced romance.

What did you think of Masters of Sex Season 1 Episode 4, “Thank You For Coming”? Should Virginia end up with any of these men? Did you like Bill’s mother, or was the revelation of the abusive past enough to land you more so on Bill’s side of bitter resentment? Should Vivian give Ethan another go?

Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of Masters of Sex Season 1 Episode 4, “Thank You For Coming”!