SPOILERS ABOUND, so don’t screw around…
Season Two, Episode Seven: “Asterion”
Written by David Felbotte and Michelle Ashford; Directed by Michael Dinner
In this week’s time traveling episode, the story surprisingly moves ahead a year-and-a-half in the space of an hour. This week’s theme is “some things can’t be undone,” which includes Bill and Virginia’s rocky relationship and the damage Bill has caused to Libby.
Quick Breakdown
The episode opens with a surprise subtitle “Five Months Later.” We first see Lester (the film guy from last season) arriving for his first day of work at the “Masters and Johnson” clinic. We learn quickly that he and Jane have split up (according to him, she’s in “Bitch-town”) and get a quick tour of the new digs.
October 18th, 1958: Lester’s first task is filming male ejaculate trajectory. In the last five months, they’ve been working hard, but Bill insists they need one hundred participates for each thing they’re studying before he will publish.
Betty (now single) arrives at the office — Bill has hired her as a secretary, but Virginia didn’t know. We also learn he didn’t tell her about the move to the new space or consult her about their lease (which she says was a mistake). Bill is being a bit cold toward Virginia — last week he learned she has a boyfriend.
That night, Bill goes to the hotel where he and Virginia used to meet up. He gets drunk in the bar and talks with the bellhop, telling him that his wife, “Mrs. Holden,” has left him. Bill gives a speech about betrayal. He’s clearly not over what happened.
He then goes home to Libby, who is celebrating their son’s first birthday. After the party, Bill and Libby lay in the dark on their separate beds and talk. Libby says how she wants a bigger family, but Bill says it would more heartbreak.
Meanwhile, Virginia is on a double-date with her boyfriend (Shelley) and Dr. Langham and his new girlfriend (who wants to start modeling). Dr. Langham asks Virginia how Bill likes her new man, but she tries to brush it off.
The next morning, Bill has a moment with Betty as they walk into work. She asks him why he hired her after everything they’ve been through. He admits she helped him out in a few bad situations and he is willing to pay her back for it now.
In his office, Bill meets with a man from the bank about getting a loan. The bank guy says doctors are notoriously bad businessmen and that to approve the loan Bill will have to put up everything he owns (his house included).
Later on, a man subject comes in and ejaculates in less than five seconds. Bill says it was a waste of time and money and that they need to weed out people like that. He wants Virginia to come up with a better questionnaire.
Virginia confronts Bill about his treatment of her and says he needs to get over it. Bill tells her the real shock on the night he found out about her boyfriend was seeing her daughter hugging the man’s leg. He tries to put Virginia down for bringing various men into her children’s lives and says he doesn’t want to be one of those men. Bill confirms they are work colleagues now and nothing else.
After leaving the office, Bill finds a prostitute in the alley, and she attempts to give him a blowjob. He can’t get hard, so he pays her and leaves. (Bill is clearly falling apart.)
September 2, 1959: Libby comes by to see Bill’s space for the first time, and Betty shows her around. We learn that the neighborhood is transitioning (cut to: Libby witnessing a man urinating on the sidewalk.) Libby has another baby now, and Betty has been going to school for real estate and accounting.
Libby is there to tell Bill that someone from the bank was poking around the house to reevaluate it. Libby didn’t know Bill took out a loan or put their house up (even though he did it a year ago). She’s upset.
We then see Virginia getting interviewed about a questionnaire they have developed to weed out participants. Lester tells Virginia he’s gotten interested in capturing real life and wants to film them more as they conduct the study.
That evening, Bill’s mother shows up at his office unexpectedly — Libby told her about the loan. She tells Bill that she’s been talking with Libby over the last year and sees her grandkids while he’s at work. She tells Bill she was going to tell Libby the truth about his sexual relationship with Virginia, but she’s decided she can’t. His secrets are safe with her. Bill’s mother wants to help financially, but he refuses.
He goes home to confront Libby, and they have their worst fight ever. “I provide the roof!” Bill screams, and Libby correctly points out that Bill isn’t the only person in that state: “Point to one person in this world who isn’t suffering!”
The fight is cut short because they are both due at Dr. Langham’s birthday party. There, Virginia introduces another boyfriend, Kenny, to a drunk Bill, who starts to get vulgar. He says they should both participate in the study and starts talking about sexual positions. Virginia says he’s embarrassing himself and walks away.
Virginia goes to the restroom, where Libby finds her and they share their frustrations about Bill. They both think he’s lost his mind. Libby confesses they haven’t had sex in over a year. (Awkward.) She says Bill blames it on the job and stress, but Libby wants to know if Virginia thinks that’s true. All she offers is that Bill is under a lot of stress.
When Virginia leaves the bathroom, she finds Bill in a dark corner, overlooking the party. She tells him she can wait all night for him to apologize. He then comes up behind her and fingers her while he “apologizes.” He’s really lost it. Then he says he’s sorry for “his heart,” and she shoves him away and walks off.
We then flip to him trying to get a blowjob again from a prostitute — but he still can’t perform.
October 11, 1960: This time jump is signaled by Betty showing possible clients around. (She’s renting out different spaces in the building.) Lester is candidly filming Bill and Betty talking. Betty tells Bill money is going better thanks to her and that they are up by 20%.
Virginia comes in and runs into Shelley in the lobby, where they awkwardly try to catch up. Virginia clearly doesn’t remember many of details about him, and he calls her out on it.
Upstairs, Lester is cataloging old footage from when they first began. Virginia catches a moment of her and Bill that softens her. She then goes to Bill and hands him a hotel room key; she says she’s going there and wait a few hours — she hopes he’ll show up.
This leads to a conversation where she confronts Bill about the unfairness of his response to her other men when he gets to go home to Libby. “Whatever this is between us can’t be undone,” Virginia admits. She tells Bill he has to allow her someone else to hold on it — but whatever they have will always come first.
We then cut to Dr. Langham and Lester at the hotel. Lester is going to film a bachelor party that Dr. Langham is throwing for a friend. They end up watching a porn and Dr. Langham unexpectedly realizes his girlfriend Holly is in the movie. (Again, awkward.) This leads him back to his wife. He tries to get her back, but she tells him some things can’t be undone — she’s moved on.
Virginia and Bill are also back at the hotel. Bill tells her to just take off her clothes, but he won’t take off his. He will just focus on her body and reacquaint himself. Bill still seems a little off. Virginia tells him that if they want to continue meeting, they will need to find a cheaper hotel or some place free.
Bill goes downstairs and sees the old bellhop (who is now a night manager). He’s glad to see him back with “Mrs. Holden.” Bill asks if he could possibly be one of the hotel doctors on call in exchange for a free hotel room. The old bellhop says that a radiologist (which is what Bill is pretending to be as Dr. Holden) isn’t the right kind of doctor, but he very smoothly says that that someone like Dr. Masters (who delivered his sister’s baby) would be perfect. He’s clearly known Bill has lied this whole time.
The next morning, Bill’s old secretary at Memorial shows up and wants to participate in the study. She says she was hoping she could learn something about her body from doing it. She confesses her vaginal opening is closed and she can’t be penetrated. Virginia has to reject her, but it makes her question if there’s a better way to help the people coming in with “sexual issues.”
We then flip to another birthday party at Libby and Bill’s. Libby tells Virginia that she wants to go on vacation somewhere (maybe Paris) but thinks Virginia should come with them. “Bill’s a lot more pleasant to be around when you’re around,” she says.
Bill then surprises Libby by inviting his mother to the party. He tells his mother he’s glad she stayed away this time. He also says he knows she somehow got with Libby and Betty and gave money to his study, but he’s willing to ignore that. She tells him that she’s very proud of him.
Rating
A
Writing an episode that spans a year-and-a-half is a real challenge, but Masters of Sex pulled it off and produced one of their best hours. This was an interesting and useful episode to push the storyline further and to get our characters into a slightly different place. It also helps move the study along, so we can get to more juicy revelations and to the publishing of the work.
The episode also focused on the idea that what has happened can’t be undone or changed. Each character from Bill to Virginia to Libby to Dr. Langham had to face the facts of their situation.
Now we are left with questions: Was Libby’s request for Virginia to go on vacation with them a hint that she knows? Will Bill truly let his mother back in? Will Virginia really place what she has with Bill first? Five episodes remain this season to address these questions.
Now for some random thoughts and my favorite moments of the night…
Bill and Libby’s fight was perfectly acted and written.
I was a little sad that Dr. DePaul’s death wasn’t addressed.
And what about Helen?
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