Masters Of Sex Explores A New Partnership: Masters And Johnson And Johnson

They Shah Would Like To Continue The Bloodline

Virginia vs. Bill

Mrs. Shah of Iran RATHER RUDELY having inquired about the pregnancy Virginia's been trying to keep on the DL, Bill's raised the question -- not for the first time, apparently -- of when Virginia's unwed ass is going to bow out of society rather than bring disgrace on their partnership and the imminent release of the book with her oops baby, because duh, when she went to Dr. Ennis's office, she changed her mind at the last second. He wants her to take a leave of absence rather than parade her shame around town. "Or, I know, I could just marry George!" Virginia suggests, joking. "One mistake with him wasn't enough for you?" mutters Bill. His real problem with this whole situation -- other than the inconvenience, and his jealousy that she boned George, and his complete non-interest in children generally from what we've seen -- is that without a woman by his side, his sex research makes him look like a pervert, and he's already found a substitute for Virginia -- a female gynecologist who's agreed to come temp with him. Virginia is offended that she can be so easily replaced and that Bill found this other broad and hired her without consulting Virginia about it, to which Bill -- not without grounds -- shoots back that he wasn't consulted on all the decisions she's made lately, like, you know, the baby they're in the middle of fighting about. And then the truth comes out: Virginia is trying to make this baby a do-over that will erase all the mistakes she made with Henry and Tessa, including...you know, giving George full custody of them. For once, she says, she's putting her needs ahead of the needs of her partnership with Bill, and after some crabbing about who's better at ignoring unpleasant truths in order not to have to deal with them, it's decided: she's starting to show, so she's out. (She still gets paid, right? So what's the problem? Go take some naps, ya dope.)

Winner: Bill.

Virginia vs. Libby

Well, now that Virginia's not going to be around the office when Libby stops by, he's finally been forced to tell Libby about Virginia's pregnancy, and Libby is PISSED. After glaring, mostly silently, through Bill's babbled explanation (including that George is the father, which Libby suggests may not even be the case, though she doesn't name any other specific candidates), she's now gone over to Virginia's house to yell at her about the hassle she's causing everyone with this whole situation. What neither of them dares to say out loud despite its being the subtext of this entire conversation is that (a) people might assume the baby is Bill's, and (b) Libby's not convinced that it isn't. Libby's very concerned about the appearance and the judgy eyes that are going to be directed at her because of Virginia and that Bill's going to consider Virginia's pregnancy just another joint effort of their professional partnership until finally Virginia's just like, what do you want me to do, and Libby has to admit she doesn't know. Then, now, and forever: babies ruin everything!

Winner: Draw.

Trimming Virginia's Beard

Situation: After his disastrous performance in his interview, Bill realizes how important Virginia is to his professional future and what a poor replacement this other lady has been for her, and that he can't continue preparing for the book release with Virginia in hiding. She's still pregnant, and still not married, but Bill has a great solution: she's just going to marry George!

What makes it awkward? Everything. George is the only one in the Johnson/Masters quadrangle who isn't afraid to talk about the true nature of Bill and Virginia's relationship outside the office, which they hate. Also, once the suggestion is floated that he and Virginia enter into a sham marriage, he has a slight tweak: they could get married for real, and love each other like they did once! But she's not into it.

How is order restored? Virginia and Bill point out to George that he has a lot to gain financially if he helps make the book a success -- a college fund for Tessa, for example. And when that possibility doesn't move him, Bill wearily adds that he's going to write George "a very large cheque" for his marital services. I guess it's a good thing Bill and Virginia are only researching the mechanics of sex and not so much the ethics associated with it? Yeesh.

No Kidding

After several unsuccessful cappings on the Empress of Iran, Bill's gone in for a laparotomy and determined that, due to distal blockage and related damage on both her fallopian tubes, she'll never conceive a baby, and that there's nothing more to be done. When she asks whether her husband knows yet and Bill says he doesn't, the Empress says she's not ready to talk to him, and talks to Bill instead: when they leave St. Louis, he's going to take another wife who can get pregnant, and that while he'll try to convince himself that it'll be an entirely transactional arrangement, she knows better: having a child with this hypothetical other woman will bond the Shah to her, and the Empress will never be able to compete. Bill tries to contradict her, saying that it's not the connection that trumps all others for him with regard to his partner: more important are desire, respect, the feeling that your partner's truly your other half. She asks if he has that, and he's like, as long as you have no follow-up questions, yes. She asks whether he has children, and he admits that he does. The Empress knew that -- she asked Virginia -- and sighs, "So you see, it is you who cannot imagine it any different, because you have it all, and I do not have enough." "Sure, but I don't care about my kids at all," Bill does not add. Instead, he surmises that she's going to leave the Shah. "I have to," she says, "because I will see him loving a child that another woman gave him, and I will know that it will never again be the same between us. If I never loved him, I could manage, but after knowing what it is to be loved so completely by this man, I could never settle for anything less than everything."

Don't Just Wait Around For Some Other Lady To Ditch Your Husband

George having been convinced to marry Virginia, Libby is now WAY too excited to celebrate this marriage of convenience with a real wedding. Virginia politely tries to put her off, but Libby keeps yammering on about having a nice story to tell the baby as though seeing photos of a hugely pregnant Virginia won't pretty much say it all (as Virginia says). Isn't it worth trying to love each other for real, Libby suggests? Getting back to where she and George once were, giving her kids a real family? "Two parents, under the same roof, having dinner every single night: I know I want that for my kids, and if you had it too, wouldn't that just solve everything?!"

Hey, here's an idea: don't let your own happiness and fulfillment rest entirely in the hands of another woman you know is FUCKING YOUR HUSBAND! Why not accept that he's not in love with you, take some control over your own life, and stop trying to convince yourself you can be satisfied with half a life?

Or actually...wait until the book comes out. That shit's going to be huge; hang on until you can get your share of the royalties.

Cheers?

After cutting between Virginia and George having a frank discussion about their prenup with her lawyer in his office and having a stiff wedding in the Masters living room, the deed is done, and all that's left is to have an awkward conversation about whether Virginia's REALLY sure she doesn't want to make this marriage real after all, and how the fuck they got to this pretty miserable position (while Libby watches smugly, and then Bill watches...pissily).

Whatever Works

Bill finds Virginia labouring at Maternity, and what ensues is one of the few instances where it seems like whatever these two have between them actually works. Rarely, we get to see glimpses of what Bill is like as a doctor, and while obviously at this point in his life and career he should be good at soothing women through their contractions, he's so buttoned-up most of the time that it's still a surprise to see him being calm and warm. If only he could act like that when she's not in distress! He starts by assuring her that a little spotting is normal, and that labour will all come back to her, like riding a bike. She yelps that she doesn't know how to ride a bike, so he distracts her by marveling for a little while that he didn't know that about her before changing the subject to a big display for their book that Lester saw going up in a store downtown, and maybe they have enough now to publish something on performance anxiety, but Virginia's contractions won't be denied, and when she starts groaning at the latest one, Bill desperately tries to distract her by singing "Danny Boy," and not too badly! When she stops him after her contraction, he points out that just as he didn't know she couldn't ride a bike, she didn't know he could sing, so now they're even.

As Virginia settles into bed and reports that her contractions are about five minutes apart, Bill's shocked that they haven't started sedation yet, which is when we get a reminder of The Times: she's planning on being awake through her delivery, which (we learn) is starting to be more common. She wants to be aware of what's happening in order not to repeat the experience of giving birth to Henry and Tessa, where she felt like she'd just ended up with "this creature, swaddled and shiny clean." She explains: "They were so beautiful, I always felt like they were presents someone picked out for me when I wasn't around. I wasn't around. The truth is I wasn't there even when I was."

And then Virginia starts disgorging all her terror about this baby, and that her idea of making it the do-over that will cancel out her past fuckups as a mother -- the continuing evidence of which we've seen all over this episode from Tessa, calling Virginia the worst mom ever and sneering at her for getting accidentally pregnant out of wedlock -- is ridiculous (which it is, obviously). Bill tries to point out that all the qualities she evinced in working on the book -- responsibility, perseverance, focus -- are also going to serve her with this baby, but that's exactly the opposite of what she wants to hear: her biggest fear of all is that she'll never be able to put her baby before her work. She declares her intention to force herself to do better: "I need to try harder. Yes, much harder. I need to spend more time at home, Bill."

But, Bill suggests, maybe that's not what every child wants. Maybe this coming generation of children would benefit if they all grew up with mothers who aren't stifled by their tiny lives and resentful of the children who trapped them at home. Maybe Virginia can try to live other than in "a constant state of apology to [her] children." Isn't the point of the book that they "shine a light on the infinite variation of a single act"? Maybe there's more than one right way to do everything, including being a mother, and Virginia will be a pioneer: "Maybe years from now, we'll look back on the ones who gave up everything for their children and we will say, 'Oh, you poor things, look! Look at how much more you could have been!' You are leading the way in so much, Virginia. Why not this too?"

It's a nice scene mostly for how unexpected and unusual it is to see Bill expressing an emotion other than resentment. And, as we all know, because of Virginia, all women who choose to have children feel great about whatever decisions they make with regard to balancing parenthood and their careers, and the kind of guilt she's describing here is completely a relic of the past. Phew!