While I acknowledge with this being a season opener there is the need to remind fans what happened in last season's finale, as well as introduce to new fans what happened, I feel the use of flashbacks in this episode was overused. If just because rather than just let it all chronologically play out, we are bounced back and forth from their present day story lines to the night Bill showed up at Virginia's door and back. And while I did want to know what happened that night, I honestly began caring less and less as they repeatedly jumped back to the night just to give a different point of view on the situation. But, that issue aside, it was an overall decent episode. Surely not one which really will help people understand why Lizzy Caplan has an Emmy nomination, much less why this show is talked about outside of having sex scenes, but hopefully with time it will get back its stride.
Topic 1: I Can Be Fixed! – Barton Scully
As mentioned last season, Barton has intentions on curing himself of homosexuality through shock therapy. Something which, in the one scene we see of a session, looks quite painful and seems like something which isn't going to work. For while he does love his wife, and tries to show this by getting horned up with a men's magazine then have sex with her, he still can't look at her in the face and have sex. And with her unhappy, and the possibility of her moving on, Barton seems hopeless. So hopeless he tries to hang himself. Luckily though, Vivian discovers him before he can choke to death and Margaret gives him CPR.
Topic 2: The Aftermath (Part 1) - Virginia
After Dr. Masters presentation on sex, which he put Virginia's name on, her life has become a living hell at Washington University. Men approach her for sex, including one very aggressive doctor who seemed like he was going to rape her in the women's bathroom, and to make matters worse: she isn't making enough money. So, to supplement her income, she tries to sell diet pills but between trying to follow a script and perhaps being a bad overall sells person, she just ends up embarrassing herself.
Leading to us talking about the aforementioned flashbacks of the night Bill showed up at her door. The gist of it is Virginia accepted Ethan's marriage proposal, but after sleeping with Bill she rescinds her acceptance. Which, naturally, causes Ethan to lose his mind and get a little childish. Not as bad as before when he hit Virginia, but between the accusations of her leaving him for Bill, which is kind of true, to him contacting Virginia's friend Jane, the dude continues to show this sense of entitlement as if denying him is too ridiculous to fathom. However, from what Virginia says, the main reason she decided to not marry him was she didn't want to put love over work again in her life. For, after all, that is what happened with her first marriage.
Which brings on the topic of Virginia and Dr. Masters' affair that is very complicated. If just because you can see Virginia considers this to be an affair and seems emotionally invested, and yet Bill tries to be very nonchalant and gives this spiel about him not wanting to have Virginia felt lead on. Which may deal just with him not wanting her to get her hopes up about a relationship. I can't say for sure. However, as I watched this play out I felt reminded about what a character last season said about how the men move on and the woman are left with the burden. And you can see that, truly, that is what is going on with Bill and Virginia's relationship and how it affects their professional lives.
Topic 3: The Aftermath (Part 2) – Bill Masters
After being fired, Bill has become a bit of a recluse. For with him having nowhere to go, and not being that friendly or social, he seems to just ignore the baby and try to do some minuscule work. But, being that bills need to be paid, and Libby knows her husband is better off with stuff to do, she arranges them to go to a fund raiser Dr. Greathouse (Danny Huston) is throwing and ends up running into Betty and her husband Gene. The two of them are perhaps the sole people Bill interacts with at the party, but thankfully Gene has access to a lot of cash and not only does he help Bill get a job at Memorial Hospital, where Dr. Greathouse works, but also gives enough money to fund his study. Naturally leading to Libby to wonder, with a bit of worry, if Virginia may join him? But with her working with Dr. DePaul, who she is close to, and now this doctor asking her expertise on medical devices and compensating her for it, to say she is just going to leave the university and join him is hard to say.
But what is for sure is that Bill still has a horrible relationship with his mom. For with him and Virginia having an affair, despite what he says to Virginia, he decides to be upfront with his mom and say he is becoming just like his dad. Something which upsets her so much she decides to go back to Ohio, leaving Libby without any help. Leading to her needing a nanny who it seems will be actress KeKe Palmer.
Topic 1: I Can Be Fixed! – Barton Scully
As mentioned last season, Barton has intentions on curing himself of homosexuality through shock therapy. Something which, in the one scene we see of a session, looks quite painful and seems like something which isn't going to work. For while he does love his wife, and tries to show this by getting horned up with a men's magazine then have sex with her, he still can't look at her in the face and have sex. And with her unhappy, and the possibility of her moving on, Barton seems hopeless. So hopeless he tries to hang himself. Luckily though, Vivian discovers him before he can choke to death and Margaret gives him CPR.
Topic 2: The Aftermath (Part 1) - Virginia
After Dr. Masters presentation on sex, which he put Virginia's name on, her life has become a living hell at Washington University. Men approach her for sex, including one very aggressive doctor who seemed like he was going to rape her in the women's bathroom, and to make matters worse: she isn't making enough money. So, to supplement her income, she tries to sell diet pills but between trying to follow a script and perhaps being a bad overall sells person, she just ends up embarrassing herself.
Leading to us talking about the aforementioned flashbacks of the night Bill showed up at her door. The gist of it is Virginia accepted Ethan's marriage proposal, but after sleeping with Bill she rescinds her acceptance. Which, naturally, causes Ethan to lose his mind and get a little childish. Not as bad as before when he hit Virginia, but between the accusations of her leaving him for Bill, which is kind of true, to him contacting Virginia's friend Jane, the dude continues to show this sense of entitlement as if denying him is too ridiculous to fathom. However, from what Virginia says, the main reason she decided to not marry him was she didn't want to put love over work again in her life. For, after all, that is what happened with her first marriage.
Which brings on the topic of Virginia and Dr. Masters' affair that is very complicated. If just because you can see Virginia considers this to be an affair and seems emotionally invested, and yet Bill tries to be very nonchalant and gives this spiel about him not wanting to have Virginia felt lead on. Which may deal just with him not wanting her to get her hopes up about a relationship. I can't say for sure. However, as I watched this play out I felt reminded about what a character last season said about how the men move on and the woman are left with the burden. And you can see that, truly, that is what is going on with Bill and Virginia's relationship and how it affects their professional lives.
Topic 3: The Aftermath (Part 2) – Bill Masters
After being fired, Bill has become a bit of a recluse. For with him having nowhere to go, and not being that friendly or social, he seems to just ignore the baby and try to do some minuscule work. But, being that bills need to be paid, and Libby knows her husband is better off with stuff to do, she arranges them to go to a fund raiser Dr. Greathouse (Danny Huston) is throwing and ends up running into Betty and her husband Gene. The two of them are perhaps the sole people Bill interacts with at the party, but thankfully Gene has access to a lot of cash and not only does he help Bill get a job at Memorial Hospital, where Dr. Greathouse works, but also gives enough money to fund his study. Naturally leading to Libby to wonder, with a bit of worry, if Virginia may join him? But with her working with Dr. DePaul, who she is close to, and now this doctor asking her expertise on medical devices and compensating her for it, to say she is just going to leave the university and join him is hard to say.
But what is for sure is that Bill still has a horrible relationship with his mom. For with him and Virginia having an affair, despite what he says to Virginia, he decides to be upfront with his mom and say he is becoming just like his dad. Something which upsets her so much she decides to go back to Ohio, leaving Libby without any help. Leading to her needing a nanny who it seems will be actress KeKe Palmer.
