Masters of Sex - Season 2 Premiere - Recap: Things Have Changed

And yet, Masters of Sex has sort of reset itself with this premiere. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but there's a lot of gradual shifting going on here as the show tries to set the stage for its second season. Nicholas D'Agosto is presumably on the way out, along with Rose McIver, and Emmy nominees Beau Bridges and Allison Janney. It's going to be an incremental process, but we mostly know they aren't sticking around for the long haul due to other TV gigs, at the moment. In addition, despite learning the Bill (Michael Sheen) and Virginia (Lizzy Caplan) actually did consummate their romantic relationship at the end of last season's rain-soaked climax, we end up going right back to square one, as Bill and Virginia don't actually pursue a relationship, nor is the study up and running again. And so what we're left with is a premiere that has one foot firmly planted in last season, and another stretching out to move forward. This means the premiere is all over the place tonally, as there's a real feeling of a show in transition. But even if it's a show caught between two shores, it's still a damn good show. In fact, this might be one of my favorite premieres in some time, owing to the continually excellent work of its ensemble cast. Of course, Masters of Sex is much more than good acting, but it's stunning just how much of what's there on the page is elevated by the actors tasked with bringing it to life.

Credit: Showtime

The story picks up several months after last year's finale, although we get some flashbacks to fill in the gaps. Virginia lets Bill inside, at which point Bill proceeds to embrace her like a child clinging to his mother. Things then escalate, and before long, they're on the bed together, having a much more passionate romp than they've ever had as part of the study. This sudden explosion of sentiment is made all the more awkward when Ethan (Nicholas D'Agosto) calls to excitedly announce he's coming over, prompting Virginia to break up with him over the phone then and there, rejecting his marriage proposal by sympathetically telling him that "things have changed." Ethan suspects it's Bill, but Virginia insists it's the work -- "This is where I belong." Throughout the episode, Virginia is depicted as someone with a chance to get out of an increasingly toxic environment -- she's still crudely propositioned by coworkers who assume that she was the naked woman pleasuring herself in Bill's presentation video last season, and now that the study is dead in the water, she's resorting to selling diet pills to make ends meet. She could easily leave by taking Ethan up on his marriage proposal, or accepting Jane's (Heléne Yorke) offer to go to Hollywood and take her shot at becoming a singer. But Virginia is married to the work -- or rather, the possibility of the work. Jane laments that Virginia might only be sticking around on the vague hope that Bill will get the study up and running again, but even while Virginia recognizes that Bill's attempts might be futile, she needs to keep her options open. For Virginia, this might be her one chance at legitimacy in a professional medical environment.

Credit: Showtime

Things are hardly better for Bill either. Bill is clearly not cut out for fatherhood, drowning out the sound of his infant son's cries by turning up the record player to riotous volumes. His failure at caretaking is exacerbated by Libby's (Caitlin FitzGerald) well-meaning insistence that no one knows more about babies than Bill, and that he's a "baby magician," failing to realize that the person who's really been doing all the caretaking has been Bill's mother, Esta (Ann Dowd). These constant reminders of not only his inadequacy as a father, but also his lack of preparedness and general unfitness for fatherhood in general drives Bill to the brink. In one of the best scenes of the episode, Bill laces into his mother for her passive judgment of everything he does by throwing it into her face. He admits that he's been sleeping with Virginia, has been for some time, and has no intention of stopping. Essentially, Bill devastates his mother by illustrating to her all the ways he's become like his father. But even more devastating is that Bill condemns Esta by saying that the worst part of all is how "through some malevolent sleight of hand" he's become more like her too. Bill casts his mother out of his home and back to Ohio, and it's one of Sheen's most ruthlessly powerful scenes in the series. In an attempt to ignore the issues that weigh him down, Bill removes all opposition that would force him to confront his shortcomings. He ignores the baby, removes Esta, refuses to hear Libby's objections, and that's not even the worst of it...

Credit: Showtime

When meeting with Virginia at a hotel thirty minutes outside of town, and checking in under the aliases Dr. and Mrs. Holden, Bill looks to have a frank discussion about their relationship. He starts out insisting that things have changed between them, and have grown more passionate, citing that their session together back at Virginia's house was different than all the other times they've had sex. Virginia states that it was because of the lack of equipment inhibiting them, but this doesn't seem to be the response Bill is looking for, as he wants Virginia to admit some level of emotion on her part. But when Virginia instead states that she's always looked for a man who values work about romance, Bill recognizes that this is a rejection, of sorts, particularly once Virginia states that simply having an affair is "pedestrian" and beneath them. Suddenly, Bill's mood turns cold and his speech grows distant and unfamiliar. "I think you may have misunderstood what happened between us. ... Of course we're not having an affair, Virginia, we never were. I'm a happily married man. So I think continuing the work is a good idea, but only if you understand the terms. I don't want you to feel like you've been led on." Virginia, stunned by this sudden turnaround, simply mutters out, "I understand" from behind a steely smile. It's a real heartbreaker of a scene, and one that is elevated exponentially by the incredibly subtle, wonderful work of both Sheen and Caplan, who haven't missed a step from last season. In fact, in any other week, this would have been the most devastating scene in the episode, but there's much more to be wounded by in this premiere.

Credit: Showtime

I would happily watch a series that just followed the slow disintegration of the marriage between Barton (Beau Bridges) and Margaret Scully (Allison Janney), and how it comments on the stigma of homosexuality in the mid-20th century. In short, Barton (Beau Bridges) undergoes electroshock therapy to "cure" himself of his homosexuality, only for the process to leave him with short-term memory loss and general infirmity (he openly weeps in the hospital while crying out for Margaret, before vomiting on Bill's suit as he tries to comfort him). Barton is diligent about trying to make the marriage work, passionately seducing Margaret while in bed, only to suddenly kill the mood by turning her over onto her back. This sends Margaret into a rage, since she's still trying to force her to be something she's not. Barton, however, insists that he's trying the best he can, and that Margaret has to let him have his way. But it's no use, and the resulting rejection leaves Barton feeling that he has no other option but to end it all. In one of the most harrowing scenes on TV this summer, Margaret and their daughter, Vivian (Rose McIver), discover Barton in the midst of a suicide attempt as he dangles by the neck from the basement ceiling. It's absolutely horrific, as Vivian can barely compose herself, and Margaret is holding onto Barton's legs for dear life, pleading with Vivian to find a knife with which to cut him down. They succeed in freeing and resuscitating Barton, but it's hard to imagine that the damage hasn't already been irrevocably done. Barton is a tortured soul, and his marriage doesn't seem long for this world. Hell, at this point, Barton himself hardly seems long for it. But, all the same, Bridges and Janney do outstanding work with their storyline, to such an extent that I'd imagine their locks for the Guest Actor and Guest Actress in a Drama Series Emmys for their work here. It's not often that subplots on a drama series remain stuck in the craw this long after the credits have rolled.

Credit: Showtime

Masters of Sex is back in a big way, with a premiere that doesn't entirely set up Season 2, but at least puts Season 1 to bed, for the most part. I'd expect next week's episode to feel a bit more like a premiere than this did in how it will likely get us set up for the season ahead, but I was absolutely okay with this episode, given the engaging narrative and the spellbinding character work on display. By any measure, "Parallax" is a success. (And you can check out the full episode, free and legal, by clicking on the link below. It's worth going out of your way to see)