Episode Title: “Catherine”
Writers: Sam Shaw and Michelle Ashford
Director: Michael Apted
In the latest episode of “Masters of Sex,” the only thing worse than Virginia’s (Lizzy Caplan) parenting skills is Bill’s (Michael Sheen) bedside manner with Libby (Caitlin Fitzgerald) as she deals with the loss of their unborn child.
It was hard to get handle on the characters of Virginia and Bill in the initial episodes of “Masters,” but there’s a been a breakthrough in these last two hours, as we see Bill deal with his overbearing mother and Virginia reconnect with her ex-husband, George. Both Bill and Virginia continue to fail those closest to them, this week, but at least we have a better understanding of why.
In Bill’s case, there’s an allusion to a childhood trauma that’s to blame for a reoccurrence of his sleepwalking. His waking “dreams,” as he prefers to think of the condition. are his way of dealing with stress, which may in turn, be related to his impending fatherhood. Unfortunately, being a father isn’t to be for Bill, at least not right now. While at a gala celebrating Scully’s (Beau Bridges) thirtieth wedding anniversary, Bill notices blood on Libby’s gown. He takes her to the hospital and immediately accuses Ethan (Nicholas D’Agosto) of making a mistake in her prenatal care. As the hours go by, it becomes obvious to Bill that Libby’s lost the baby, yet he refuses to tell her the truth. Fed up with her husband treating her like a patient, Libby demands Bill be honest with her. “I’m so sorry,” he tells her and that’s about all the comfort he can offer.
Bill claim to love Libby and yet his behavior tells a different story. However, in this episode we finally see Bill open up emotionally when Virginia tells him it’s not his fault Libby lost the baby. He has her close her eyes as he breaks down in tears. It’s a silly request but at the same it seems perfectly reasonable considering all we know about Bill.
After delivering the stillborn baby, Bill’s mother tries to lift his spirits by telling him they’ll try for another child. Bill is astonished she would make such a remark, accusing her of saying “everything will be fine” when he knows it won’t. The conversation then turns to Bill’s sleeping walking and how the real cause of it “infects everything and everyone.” The scene gives us some insight into why Bill might take the same approach with Libby, trying to assuage her fears only up until the point the reality of the situation becomes undeniable.
While Bill wrestles with his own truths, Libby’s neglect of her own children is beginning to get ugly, as Henry makes it clear he wants to live with his father. Libby tries to make things right by promising to take Henry and Tessa for a ferris wheel ride and pie, but when Bill calls to tell her about Libby, Virginia leaves her kids in the hospital waiting room and attends to her.
Unlike Bill, Virginia’s behavior is still hard to make sense of. She tells Ethan that her ex-husband George didn’t want to have kids, but she insisted and yet now she seems mostly disinterested in their well being, aside from a brief state of panic when Henry tries to run away. At least “Masters” is making a point of showing the effect Virginia’s neglect is having on her kids. She’ll have to make a decision soon as she can’t watch people fornicate all night and make it home in time to tuck her kids in.
The other big piece of the episode involves Ethan’s relationship with Scully’s daughter, Vivian (Rose McIver). Scully warns Ethan that his daughter’s sensitive, but Vivian tells Ethan she doesn’t mind having a casual relationship. All that goes out the window at her parents’ anniversary party, where Vivian tells Ethan they were meant to be together. Having unwittingly taken Vivian’s virginity, Ethan worries about losing his job should things not work out with the Provost’s daughter.
As for Bill and Virginia’s study, it resumes with couples. But when they pair Dr. Langham (Teddy Sears) up with a new woman, he’s unable to perform. He demands to start over with his usual partner, Jane (Helene Yorke), but the problem persists.
After what felt like a stilted beginning, “Masters of Sex” is starting to find its rhythm. And that pun is intended, as it goes right along with the some of innuendo-laden dialogue we get in this episode about the “nuts and bolts” of sex and a “second coming.” On another show such lines would get an eye roll, but it sounds perfectly natural here, as this Showtime newcomer comes into, ahem, it’s own.
