Bill and Virginia take on a celebrity couple looking to reinvigorate their sex life. Tessa comes to understand her mother more than ever. Bill attempts to connect with Johnny, but misses the mark entirely. Libby furthers her involvement in Joy's life, but with consequences that extend to Paul.
The third season of Masters of Sex so far has been very divisive. So much of that has been directed towards the increased screen time for Bill and Virginia's kids. Tessa and Henry existed on the show during the first two seasons. But never to the extent that Johnny has this season. That was a narrative decision the creative team made going into this year. The team did clarify that some of these storytelling beats came out of a potentially tricky legal situation. Notice how every episode now ends with the message that the children depicted on the show are completely fictional. But so much of this season has focused on Bill and Virginia not being able to connect with their kids. That has been a strange direction for the show to go in. Some parts of it have worked. How Bill and Virginia's work effects each family unit often leads to compelling moments. But the insistence on depicting both of them as bad parents who simply don't listen to or understand their children has been such a lifeless plot thread that only seems to be getting bigger and more troublesome.Bill's handling of Johnny's bully in the last episode was horrifying. He handled the situation badly and still wasn't able to connect with his son. And now, things are only getting worse and he's not even aware that he's doing any harm to his child. Bill has really grown unlikable this season. He was always written that way. But his handling of his family this season has been really awful. That can be interesting. Things don't have to likable in order to watchable. But there just doesn't seem to be a point to Bill bonding with his son's bully other than to suggest that Bill has no idea how to be a father or family man. This story could be suggesting that Bill will get what's coming to him later this season. But it doesn't really feel like that's the case either because the show goes through all the trouble of giving Dennis the bully a tragic backstory. There's no reason why the audience should care about this kid. He was introduced as being a bully to someone who has a relationship tangentially connected to a main character. There's no reason why he should be important to the narrative. And yet, he is. He is sucking up valuable screen time with very little purpose or payoff.
Similarly, the disconnect between Virginia and Tessa has only gotten more transparent and cliche with the addition of Virginia's own parents into the mix. Her mother, Edna, only exists to constantly tell people a women's only role in life is to find a suitable man. That's it. Nothing more. Her dynamic with Virginia could have the complexity of what it's like to grow up in different generations with different ways of looking at the world. But there's absolutely no nuance to this story. It literally has to give Tessa her own legitimate accomplishment - getting an article published in a teen magazine - in order for her to see that her grandmother is as bad as her mother says. It's as if the show thinks that's the only way Tessa and the audience would be able to come to such a conclusion. Sure, it does led to a moment where Virginia and Tessa seemingly get along. But that's short-lived because Tessa hates that her mother is having sex with Bill. But why does Tessa hate her mother's affair so much? It's not like it is actively destroying her life. Sex is Virginia's work and that has had an effect on Tessa. So to be reminded of it is enough to get her to shut down. But the show hasn't done enough to convey that point all that well.
In fact, the show as of late feels the need to tell stories in the most pointed way possible. It has to make the similarities between stories so unavoidable just to draw out the parallels as they effect the Bill and Virginia relationship. This celebrity couple that they are treating isn't all that entertaining. It's simply another case where they are amused by the people. It leads to an examination of their own relationship. But one that only lives in hypotheticals. One where Bill and Virginia wonder if they were suppose to be in this relationship if they hadn't slept together for the work. That's an interesting thought but one that the show doesn't give a whole lot of actual interest to. In fact, the next scene is one where Virginia succumbs to the Dan Logan charm. She can't explain why she has sex with Dan. That's suppose to be the point of the story. They are researching sexual responses to scents. Something that is disgusting gets a good reaction on the charts. That's a mystery to the two of them. So that means that their relationship also has to be somewhat a mystery. Virginia doesn't know why she slept with him. That confusion extends to the audience though. If she can't connect, how is the audience suppose to?
Surprisingly, the most successful story of "Two Scents" comes from Libby. Her subplot with Paul and Joy has fallen into the same pattern of most of the stories this season. The next-door neighbors are a stand-in for her own marriage. For so long, she has convinced herself that she needs to stay with Bill for the kids. That then externalized in a way that gave a woman a brain aneurysm because she stayed too long in a situation where she wasn't happy. But now, Libby is starting to see that Bill isn't being the best father or family man. He is forcing their son into a situation where he doesn't want to be. Sure, she gets overprotective way too quickly upon Johnny's first injury. But that was also a way to make her feel independent and in control. At times, she is comfortable with being invisible like the other mom at the game was saying. But she also enjoys control over her own life. She got to step out of her life for a little bit and live as Joy. She got to live as someone else and enjoyed it. Sure, the happiness was short-lived. But perhaps that was enough for her to realize that things aren't working with Bill and she needs to take action.
Some more thoughts:
- "Two Scents" was written by David Flebotte and directed by Michael Weaver.
- Was that episode-ending referral at the zoo meant to be taken seriously or as a joke? I really can't tell anymore with this show. I'm hoping it's a joke but I can see a reality where Bill wants to prove a point and actually takes on the gorilla case.
- The addition of the moth in that final scene was way too over-the-top. Again, it's the show bringing its themes and analogies to the surface level in a really awkward and transparent way.
- Another completely unnecessary moment was Jane noticing the actress standing in the lobby and Betty telling her not to get closer.
- As big a deal as Edna made about getting married to a good man, her relationship with her husband was never a prominent part of the story. In fact, Virginia's father was such a nonexistent character who didn't really need to be seen at all.
- Will Libby continue going to Joy's apartment moving forward? She certainly had a flirtatious moment with the building's manager. Plus, they are both divorced with children.
- For some reason, Bill thought he could have it both ways - have a book that brings him into the public eye but continue to sneak off to a hotel with Virginia as Dr. and Mrs. Holden. Another completely awkward story beat.
- Josh Charles slow dancing still remains the best.
