Masters of Sex - Recap: Waiting To Be Wanted

Of course, this failure of understanding is prevalent at levels beyond intimacy. For example, much of the episode centers on Bill (Michael Sheen) and Virginia (Lizzy Caplan) being interviewed by CBS for a special piece on the study, yet they struggle to overcome barriers in communication and censorship in order to be understood by as wide an audience as possible. As Bill and Virginia explain, while finishing each other's sentences in a way that sends red flags to Libby (Caitlin FitzGerald), sexual terminology isn't something that should be used in whispered tones. It should be as common as the terms for a "sneeze" or a "hiccup". And the same, in this instance, can be said for emotional intimacy as well, as characters find ways to avoid saying what they actually want to say, until it all comes pouring out in an emotional explosion after their pathos can no longer be contained or obfuscated. "One For the Money, Two For the Show" blows the lid off of the emotional stability for characters across the spectrum, not just Bill. Virginia realizes that she's been derelict in her responsibilities as a mother, since she hasn't exactly been present over the past few years. It's a realization that prompts her to, begrudgingly, allow George (Mather Zickel) to take the kids to Europe for six weeks while he's on a gig, since she could find herself facing another child custody hearing if she fights him on this. Virginia's home life hasn't always been a focus of this show, even in its first season, yet it comes into stark relief here, casting a shadow on just whether or not she's better off being "married to the work" (as she and Bill tell the interviewer for CBS).

Credit: Michael Desmond/SHOWTIME

Virginia's issues clash with Bill's, as they're both going through different, though no less personal, sets of hardships. For Virginia, she faces sacrificing a home life with her children for the study, which is a hefty emotional burden in itself. But Bill's is a burden of principle. He is potentially sacrificing the integrity of the study by allowing the CBS interview to be conducted, since the interviewer not only wants to change the terminology and shoot interviews with "couples" (i.e., actors) to make the entire presentation more palatable to primetime audiences, he also wants to state, on-air, that Bill and Virginia are working to cure sexual dysfunction. Bill is extremely uncomfortable with this pronouncement, since he and Virginia have yet to even reach the trial stages for treatment. They're merely in the observation phase. Bill can't even cure his own dysfunction, much less anyone else's, and so he now has an academic layer of inadequacy to go on top of his psychological, sexual inadequacy. It all comes to a head, as Bill begins pitying himself and asking Virginia how she could even find him attractive. Virginia's encouraging words do nothing to soothe him, and it ends in one of the more heated arguments we've seen between the partners: Virginia argues she could be at home, tucking her children into bed, yet she chooses to stay with Bill; Bill, meanwhile, argues that perhaps she should, saying that he's not much use to anyone since he can't even have sex. And this is where everything crystallizes for Virginia, as she recognizes that Bill is externalizing his sexual dysfunction and lashing out at her over his own inadequacy. And so she does the best thing she possibly could by forcing Bill to accept that she's here for him. Bill breaks down in her arms, and it's one of the more poignant moments of the series so far, as Bill is reduced to child-like status, with Virginia achieving a certain motherhood in how she takes care of Bill. It may not be the same as being there for her own children, but Virginia still gets to put her caring, motherly instincts to use.

Credit: Showtime

As for the other characters this week, it would be a lie to imply they all have the same dramatic weight, but I feel even the minor subplots this week share themes. In getting him to reenact a rape fantasy inspired by Gone With the Wind, Flo (Artemis Pebdani) comes to recognize that her relationship with Langham (Teddy Sears) is an attempt to compensate for a youth spent ostracized by others. She realizes that part of the appeal in the relationship is getting someone to want her despite themselves. As Flo explains, life is often spent "waiting to be wanted", and this could leave a person's confidence in pieces if they're left waiting long enough. A person wants to know that he or she matters, yet not every person is made to feel that way, hence Flo's epiphany. Similarly, Lester (Kevin Christy) has a breakthrough in which he basically rips Bill a new one, saying that he has every bit as big a stake in this sex study as anyone, since he's offered his sweat, his time, and even his body to the program. As with the other characters, Lester has reached a point where he can no longer stand being made to feel unimportant or invisible. He needs his voice to be heard, and for his opinion to matter. It's a sentiment that carries us into the most momentous of the subplots, as Libby consummates her relationship with Robert (Jocko Sims).

Credit: Showtime

Over the course of the episode, watching Bill and Virginia get closer, getting mistaken for a married couple while she herself is mistaken for George's wife, Libby grows resentful of her lack of an identity. Yes, she's technically the wife of the great Bill Masters, but that carries less cache for her now than it ever has before. In an attempt to carve out her own place in the world, she volunteers all her time to CORE, just as the group is dealing with the unlawful arrest of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Libby ends up working alongside Robert for most of the night, long past closing hours. On the drive home, Robert ends up quizzing her on the meaning of the SCLC, leaving her feeling ignorant and inadequate, and bringing the issue of their mutual hostility to the surface. Robert claims he doesn't find Libby ignorant, just misinformed. Libby, meanwhile, doesn't think Robert is a bad person, but she does feel as though he doesn't take her seriously. This is a conflict that might have simply carried over into next week if not for the arrival of a racist cop. He harasses Robert, prompting Libby to invite him inside to get away from the cop, and it's there that things reach a breaking point. Libby admits that she's been so shaped by her youth spent being a "good girl" who always did what was expected of her that she has no actual idea who she is or who she'd even want to be, if given the chance. However, she feels that physical intimacy with Robert might help her find out. Next thing you know, they go from kissing to writhing on the floor together, having passionate sex. There's a strange power dynamic here: before they have sex, Libby inadvertently offends Robert by saying that being ostracized and accosted is often a relief because it means she's at least being recognized as a person, whereas Robert feels it's bull to associate the issues his people endure with any form of recognition as a person. Both want recognition in their society, to be granted the personhood which they feel they've been denied. But wanting something and claiming it are two entirely different things. And right now, the only thing they can claim is each other.

"One For the Money, Two For the Show" sets up a potentially game-changing season finale next week, as Masters of Sex looks to clarify the precarious nature of these relationships. It should be an interesting end to what has been, largely, a stellar season of television.