SPOILERS ABOUND, so don’t screw around…
Season Two, Episode 10: “Below the Belt”
Written by Bathsheba Doran and Eileen Myers; Directed by Adam Arkin
In this week’s episode, the women try to take control — from Libby canvasing for a rent strike to Virginia tying Bill up to Flo seducing Dr. Langham. But it’s Bill’s lack of control that leads to the explosive showdown between him and his brother at the episode’s conclusion.
Quick Breakdown
In the opening scene, Bill is examining his sister-in-law Pauline, who is seeking fertility treatment. She tries to convince Bill to make amends with Frank, but Bill is rather reluctant. In the middle of their discussion, the lights go out. Betty informs Bill she just called the electric company and told them their late payment should be in the mail today. She tells him they need more money and really should rent out more of the office space, which Bill doesn’t want to do.
Meanwhile, Virginia confesses to Dr. Madden that she was lying and standing in for a friend during their previous sessions. He’s not surprised but suggests perhaps she has issues to discuss herself. She admits her discussion of an affair with a married man was true — but also that it’s not sexual anymore, that she isn’t worried about it.
We then flip back to Bill explaining to Virginia his impotence problem (which happened right at the end of last week’s episode). He tells her he has no trouble solo. Virginia tries to trace back when Bill started having trouble and says it all began after he found out she was dating another man (now nearly two years ago).
Bill wants them to focus on a cure for impotence — not just because of him but for all the men. (Really, Bill?) He convinces her that this is their way to focus their sex with each other on the work again.
This seems to work on Virginia, who tells Dr. Madden that she no longer feels Bill’s marriage is at risk. The doctor isn’t convinced and pushes her a bit on the issue. She gets a little defensive, claiming she is fine with what she’s doing and thinks he is judging her. “You want me to say I’ve deceived myself,” she says. But she won’t.
At home, Bill finds his mother there taking care of the children and Libby not there because she’s volunteering with the CORE group. Bill is clearly displeased that Libby’s work is interfering with dinner. His mother and him have a moment of solidarity about his brother Frank — she’s not a huge fan of Frank’s AA talk either.
The next day, Libby wants to do more over at the CORE group than just do lunch runs, but Robert tells her she can’t do the door-to door canvasing they are doing that evening because she’s white. They are attempting to get a rent strike going in a building, so the landlord will improve the conditions. He tells her that she will look like just another “white person telling people how to live.”
Libby isn’t satisfied and decides to do it anyway. She convinces Virginia to lie for her and to claim Libby is watching her kids so Bill won’t have to know what she’s doing.
That night, Libby shows up at the building, and Robert lets her put flyers up in the common areas. Libby ends up talking to a woman in the hallway and convinces her to strike, while Robert seems to have trouble door-to-door.
Meanwhile, Virginia and Bill talk about a new article that has been published that’s using their research. They get credit, but Bill is angry that now other researchers are moving in on his topic. This leads him to hiring a PR person that will help make sure they come in first in the research race.
The PR guy tells them they are perfect because they act like a married couple, that they could really sell this idea to the American public. He suggests they do a documentary special on CBS teaching America how to have sex. Bill isn’t so sure about that idea, but Virginia likes it. Bill wants prestige, not TV viewers.
Over at Cal-O-Metric, Dr. Langham is practicing one of his presentations. We learn he’s been doing commercials and presentations around the state, but Flo has another idea and books him for her place that evening.
That night, Flo tries to seduce Dr. Langham. He tells her he won’t be able to perform because he’s not interested, but to his surprise, he gets hard anyway. Afterward, Dr. Langham tries to make things professional and says this was a one-time thing. She disagrees and tells him part of his job is to make her feel like a young beautiful girl again.
Over at the hotel, Virginia takes a different method with Bill to get him over his impotence. She tries to make him powerless by tying his hands behind his back and not letting him touch her. They have some success, but then Bill freaks out a bit, and it ends poorly.
The next morning, Robert tells Libby about the next canvas and wants her to come. Virginia spots them talking from a distance and seems to be a little suspicious that Libby’s up to something more than volunteer work. (One can only assume this will play out in the next episode.)
Bill gets a call that his mother was in a car accident and has been brought to his office. Frank is stitching up her head when Bill walks in to the exam room. Frank is also blaming her because she was drinking — he’s convinced they are all alcoholics. Bill kicks Frank out of the exam room, but his mother tells him she doesn’t want them to fight anymore.
Libby takes his mother home, and Bill stays to talk with Frank. Frank tries to convince Bill he’s also an alcoholic: “We are a family with a shared disease.” He tries to get him to see that their father was a monster because he was a drunk. Bill still wants to deny it, refuting that he’s anything like his father.
“I forgive you for leaving me and I forgive our dad,” Frank tells him. Bill asks what kind of man forgives a monster like their father, saying that Frank is weak. Bill says he’s better because he never begged their father to stop and doesn’t blame his problems on drinking. Frank responds by punching Bill repeatedly — which is exactly what Bill wanted him to do.
Bill shows up at the hotel to meet Virginia, bloody from his fight with his brother. He tells her she doesn’t have to stay, but he couldn’t go home and face Libby like this. He tells her “I abandoned [Frank] to that monster and then I punished him for it. What is wrong with me?” Then he smears his blood on her cheek and begins to kiss her. Impotence cured? We’ll have to wait until next week.
Rating
B+
Each week has dived deeper into Bill’s psyche, and this week might have been the bottom of the barrel. Bill’s complicated feelings about his own upbringing have clearly made him into the man he is, which he sees as both a good thing and maybe finally as a bad thing. The use of Bill’s brother Frank to help unravel this has been a useful narrative tool.
This week also continued the issues at play inside Virginia as she deals with her guilt over her affair with Bill and the issues with Libby’s perhaps confused choice to join the Civil Rights Movement.
With just two episodes left, the show is heading toward Bill coming to terms with his past and Virginia facing the true effects of her relationship with Bill on herself and those around her (including Libby).
Now for some random thoughts and my favorite moments of the night…
Barbara and Lester had great scenes. I look forward to seeing their relationship grow.
Christian Borle is turning a great performance as Bill’s brother Frank.
