Masters of Sex - Recap: Immaculate Misconceptions

So the episode mostly sets up the ways in which each character rationalizes the issues in his or her life. For example, Virginia (Lizzy Caplan) doesn't really consider the effect her affair with Bill (Michael Sheen) could have on Libby (Caitlin FitzGerald), because she doesn't think of it as an affair. She rationalizes it as work for the sex study. This, however, is a convenient explanation that allows her to avoid confronting just what her relationship with Bill really means. Yet she begins to face the complications of her relationship with Bill when confronted with them by the therapist she's seeing. The therapist takes note of how quickly Virginia wants to move through the therapeutic process, although he isn't entirely sure why (he doesn't know, like we do, that she's simply seeing him in order to relay his professional advice to Barbara). Her sessions with the therapist prompt her to recall her big fight with Lillian, who strongly disapproved of her relationship with "a married man." The therapist asks if she might not actually desire the "married man" for herself, and it opens up a can of worms that forces Virginia to become introspective about the lies she's told herself in order to continue seeing Bill.

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Her fragile state becomes even more stressed once she learns that Barbara (Betsy Brandt) has misinterpreted her advice to envision a confrontation with her brother by actually having a confrontation with her brother. To Virginia's horror, Barbara reveals that the meeting prompted her to remember what really happened with her brother, Paul, all those years ago: she had been the instigator of their sexual relationship, afraid that her brother would prefer the company of the triplets who moved next door. Barbara had been blaming Paul for her psychological dysfunctions when it came to sex, but it had really been her doing, and it's a revelation that's enough to send both she and Virginia into emotional turmoil, rethinking everything they thought they knew (of course, this is far worse for Barbara, who's enduring the pain of physical treatments throughout all of this, as Bill attempts to correct her vaginismus through monitored, daily use of a dildo).

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Similarly, Bill doesn't consider his role in negatively shaping his brother's life, because in his mind, he didn't abandon Frank (Christian Borle). He's offended that Frank would compare him to their father by telling nightmarish stories of abuse at an AA meeting that Bill claims weren't Frank's experiences, but his. In Bill's mind, Frank was always the apple of their father's eye, since he always showed Frank off to friends, and even gave the boy his name, passing over his own first born son for the honor. But Frank insists that his stories were true, and that he became the target of their father's abuse the minute Bill left home for good. He explains that he was mad at Bill for a long time for leaving, but that he forgives him now, as Frank seems intent on reestablishing a brotherly bond. But Bill still has trouble believing it all. As he explains to Frank, he never would have left his little brother behind if he'd thought for one moment that abuse was possible. But Frank was abused, and it drove him to alcoholism, and nearly sent him to an early grave. Thus, Bill is forced to face the fact that his choices adversely affect other people, and that his own issues are just that -- his own. Only when he begins to own up to them can he begin to move forward, and it's a narrative arc that gets paid off in the conclusion to the episode. But we'll get to that in a minute...

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There are other instances of buck-passing this week, as Lester (Kevin Christy) finds that his impotence is less a byproduct of his failed relationship with Jane, as he'd believed, and more of an issue with his own subconscious. He recognizes, at some level, that his sexual dysfunction is nobody else's issue but his. Despite Bill's attempts to aid him with the help of a very attractive prostitute, Lester declares that he just can't have a sexual relationship in which one person is a pro while he's a novice. He needs to be able to feel comfortable with another person, and feel as though they're taking the journey of sexual discovery with him as an equal. It's a declaration that spurns Bill to consider coming clean with Virginia about his own sexual impotence, as his attempts to cure Lester are very thinly-veiled attempts at finding a solution to his own dysfunction. Ultimately, he realizes that his impotence can be used towards the purpose of research, and so it all comes to a head in the hotel, as Virginia takes him to task over the nature of their affair, and how badly they're hurting Libby by carrying on. She astutely notes that they haven't even been logging their sessions anymore, it's just straight sex now. "What dysfunction are we even treating now?" she screams at him, prompting Bill to respond, after swallowing his own pride first, "Mine."

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What I loved was how Bill and Virginia's respective issues dovetailed into each other, as both have had their misconceptions obliterated by the cold, hard truth. It's terrific storytelling, and both Caplan and Sheen play those revelations beautifully, as their characters are forced to become introspective in a way they haven't been since "Fight". It's truly great stuff, which, unfortunately, is more than I can say for Libby's ongoing drag of a storyline. After deciding to testify as a witness to the hate crime from last week, Robert and co. decide they don't want her help anymore since her testimony isn't informative enough, and she's not a convincing enough liar to sell the story they suggest to her. And so she continues to feel guilty until two separate pep talks from Frank's wife and from Virginia prompt her to go storming into the Freedom Now offices to offer her services as a volunteer for the organization. She offers to post fliers, answer phones, and generally help the cause in any way she can. So what do they have her do? Go on a sandwich run, of course! I can appreciate that the show is trying to keep Libby involved through the "Libby tries to prove she's not a racist/terrible person" storyline, but it's just not all that interesting, especially in comparison to everything else that's going on. With only three episodes remaining this season, I'm struggling to see how it could possibly tie into the main narrative in any substantive way. Or in any way that would justify the tireless path it took to get to that point. And I say that as someone who thinks Caitlin FitzGerald is one of the most underrated talents on the show, if not THE most underrated. She deserves to have better storyline options than having to choose between either this or "long-neglected wife".

Credit: Showtime

With all that having been said, though, "Story of My Life" is still compelling TV. Masters of Sex continues to engage with an overarching narrative that is evolving as we near the end of the season. Bill and Virginia both know what the other means to them, but they're gradually getting to the point where they can express that to the other person. It's an actual journey, and in a character study such as this, that's very rewarding to watch. And so are episodes like this.