With this episode I feel things get more in tune with what the first season gave us. If just because you really do get to see the varying sides to each character. We get to see how as callous as Bill can be to many of the women in his life, he is still capable of showing one young lady kindness; we see the issues that come with Virgina's ambition and "Lone Wolf" qualities; as well as see how some of the supporting characters deal with their world relying on the kindness of these two.
Topic 1: The Pain Trickles Down – Libby and Coral
Over the course of the first season, and mentioned in this episode, Libby talks about how much she hoped having a baby would improve her marriage. But, from what it seems, things have gotten progressively worse. In the first two episodes he has yet to really hold his baby, much less look at him for an extended period of time, and he doesn't contribute at all to his upbringing besides keeping a roof over his head. Naturally this makes Libby's job as a mom harder and with Bill pushing his mom to going back to Ohio, she decides to hire a 18 year old girl named Coral (KeKe Palmer) to assist her. Something Bill of course isn't for because she is a child, but upon seeing her stop his son from crying he bestows the compliment of her being "competent" which as nice as it sounds for Coral, it seems to have come off as an insult to Libby.
Why? Well take into consideration how rare it has been in their marriage for Bill to say, or do, something nice for Libby. Especially since his "not an affair" relationship with Virginia started. So imagine this girl, who on her first day, gets something nice said about her just from finding a way to quiet your son. It makes Libby low-key upset and since she doesn't have the ability, yet, to really go there with Bill when it comes to her wants and needs, unless she is at her wits end, she takes out her pain on poor Coral under the guise of her wanting to better Coral's dialect. For with Coral being a southern Black girl, she doesn't speak as Libby does and Libby doesn't want the baby getting confused. So, just on the word "ask" she embarrasses Coral by asking her to repeat it like a mean old school teacher and you can see her upsetting Ms. Coral gives her some sense of pleasure. Having power over someone and having them feel what she may on a regular basis. Showing Libby as less of a sugar sweet character, who you often feel the need to pity, and making her a bit more three dimensional.
Topic 2: The Lone Wolf (The Pursuit) - Virginia
In the episode Virginia gets critiques repeatedly about how her ambitious actions affect others and how they see her. Be it Vivian critiquing how Virginia used Ethan and took away her shot at happiness, Dr. DePaul feeling like Virginia is always looking for the next best thing, or Dr. Langham calling her a lone wolf, Virginia is forced to deal with how she is perceived and seems to honestly try to correct her behavior. This can be seen by, primarily, how she treats Bill's new assistant Barbara who in the beginning of the episode she was ready to scare off, but after the conversations she has had she seems less able to really take down a nice woman who I think she sees a bit of herself in.
But her real focus on redemption deals with Dr. DePaul. For with Dr. DePaul possibly getting worse, Virginia is trying her best to be her rock. Something which is hard since kindness seems so foreign to Dr. DePaul that she doesn't really know how to handle it. Her mother wasn't that kind and it seems she had to fight all her life for whatever she wanted, so Virginia trying to help and care for her seems even too complex for Dr. DePaul to understand. But, she does let Virginia in, even as Virginia seems itching to leave the university to rejoin Bill.
Topic 3: The First Conflict (Do No Harm) – Dr. Masters
When it comes to authority, Bill has always found a way to have an issue with his superiors. Be it with Scully when it came to his sex study, or in this episode when a donor to the hospital wants her 18 year old daughter Rose to have a hysterectomy. Something Bill is not for in the slightest for the reason the mother wants Rose to have one is because she enjoys sex and has thus far, on record, had two abortions. Something very unbecoming to the mother. But what is most worrisome, and may lead to a research topic for Bill, is how the girl feels. Rose's guilt over sex makes her believe that perhaps this is for the best and Bill is pressured with following through with the procedure. Leading to a good topic on woman's sexuality past the actual sex act, which hopefully may get gone into. Ultimately though, with Rose, he offers an alternative to her in birth control and I don't think we are left with the idea that Rose's mother is necessarily happy. In fact, because of Bill's actions Dr. Greathouse now has to monitor Bill like a hawk as punishment. Making Betty not the sole nuisance in Bill's life as she fakes getting fertility treatments and tries to dish out advice while battling with Bill over various topics dealing with life and his patients.
Topic 1: The Pain Trickles Down – Libby and Coral
Over the course of the first season, and mentioned in this episode, Libby talks about how much she hoped having a baby would improve her marriage. But, from what it seems, things have gotten progressively worse. In the first two episodes he has yet to really hold his baby, much less look at him for an extended period of time, and he doesn't contribute at all to his upbringing besides keeping a roof over his head. Naturally this makes Libby's job as a mom harder and with Bill pushing his mom to going back to Ohio, she decides to hire a 18 year old girl named Coral (KeKe Palmer) to assist her. Something Bill of course isn't for because she is a child, but upon seeing her stop his son from crying he bestows the compliment of her being "competent" which as nice as it sounds for Coral, it seems to have come off as an insult to Libby.
Why? Well take into consideration how rare it has been in their marriage for Bill to say, or do, something nice for Libby. Especially since his "not an affair" relationship with Virginia started. So imagine this girl, who on her first day, gets something nice said about her just from finding a way to quiet your son. It makes Libby low-key upset and since she doesn't have the ability, yet, to really go there with Bill when it comes to her wants and needs, unless she is at her wits end, she takes out her pain on poor Coral under the guise of her wanting to better Coral's dialect. For with Coral being a southern Black girl, she doesn't speak as Libby does and Libby doesn't want the baby getting confused. So, just on the word "ask" she embarrasses Coral by asking her to repeat it like a mean old school teacher and you can see her upsetting Ms. Coral gives her some sense of pleasure. Having power over someone and having them feel what she may on a regular basis. Showing Libby as less of a sugar sweet character, who you often feel the need to pity, and making her a bit more three dimensional.
Topic 2: The Lone Wolf (The Pursuit) - Virginia
In the episode Virginia gets critiques repeatedly about how her ambitious actions affect others and how they see her. Be it Vivian critiquing how Virginia used Ethan and took away her shot at happiness, Dr. DePaul feeling like Virginia is always looking for the next best thing, or Dr. Langham calling her a lone wolf, Virginia is forced to deal with how she is perceived and seems to honestly try to correct her behavior. This can be seen by, primarily, how she treats Bill's new assistant Barbara who in the beginning of the episode she was ready to scare off, but after the conversations she has had she seems less able to really take down a nice woman who I think she sees a bit of herself in.
But her real focus on redemption deals with Dr. DePaul. For with Dr. DePaul possibly getting worse, Virginia is trying her best to be her rock. Something which is hard since kindness seems so foreign to Dr. DePaul that she doesn't really know how to handle it. Her mother wasn't that kind and it seems she had to fight all her life for whatever she wanted, so Virginia trying to help and care for her seems even too complex for Dr. DePaul to understand. But, she does let Virginia in, even as Virginia seems itching to leave the university to rejoin Bill.
Topic 3: The First Conflict (Do No Harm) – Dr. Masters
When it comes to authority, Bill has always found a way to have an issue with his superiors. Be it with Scully when it came to his sex study, or in this episode when a donor to the hospital wants her 18 year old daughter Rose to have a hysterectomy. Something Bill is not for in the slightest for the reason the mother wants Rose to have one is because she enjoys sex and has thus far, on record, had two abortions. Something very unbecoming to the mother. But what is most worrisome, and may lead to a research topic for Bill, is how the girl feels. Rose's guilt over sex makes her believe that perhaps this is for the best and Bill is pressured with following through with the procedure. Leading to a good topic on woman's sexuality past the actual sex act, which hopefully may get gone into. Ultimately though, with Rose, he offers an alternative to her in birth control and I don't think we are left with the idea that Rose's mother is necessarily happy. In fact, because of Bill's actions Dr. Greathouse now has to monitor Bill like a hawk as punishment. Making Betty not the sole nuisance in Bill's life as she fakes getting fertility treatments and tries to dish out advice while battling with Bill over various topics dealing with life and his patients.
