Masters of Sex Review: The Cathouse

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In last week's Masters of Sex pilot, we watched Dr. William Masters go to great lengths to get a risqué study approved at his hospital. Unsurprisingly, in "Race to Space," we found out that details have been leaked about the content of the studies and Masters is now in a heap of trouble.

With his pivotal experiment being uprooted from his office, Masters turned to the help of one of his subjects, a prostitute named Betty. He decided the best course of action would be to move his sex study to a brothel.

Moving To a Brothel

Masters is already getting enough heat about this, so I couldn't imagine how well it would go over for the provost to find out that he was now operating at a cathouse.

However, desperate times call for desperate measures. Betty has also been one of the most valuable and compliant subjects. Speaking of, it was definitely not Masters' business about whether or not she should have her tubes untied. As her doctor, he is obviously allowed to give a medical opinion, but it's not his business to ask why she would want kids if she's a lesbian and a prostitute.

Considering how controversial Masters' study is, you would think he'd be more open minded toward other people - but he's actually kind of a stiff isn't he? He has a bit of the Madonna/Whore complex when it comes to his wife. She wanted to be sexy for him, to masturbate in front of him, and he said he loved her too much to let her do that. Completely two different generations and TV shows but it reminded me of how Trey used to see Charlotte as his pretty wife and not his sexual partner in Sex and the City. It's not surprising that the other prostitutes made fun of him for being so uptight.

I'm glad that he overheard Virginia sticking up for him and boasting about his medicinal prowess and skill as a doctor. I think that as the women around him become more ambitious, it's going to be difficult for Masters to remain so in control of everyone. For starters, we have Libby, who is insisting on having Ethan as her doctor. She doesn't want to fail Masters as his wife and his patient, but little does she know it might have nothing to do with her. Then Betty has bulldozed and blackmailed her way into getting what she wants.

Lastly, we have Virginia who refused to give up her permission at the hospital after being fired for sleeping with Ethan and allegedly being the leak about the study.

I see a shift with the women on the show going for what they want. It's evident how unhappy Libby is. Betty and Virginia aren't delicate flowers who are going to follow everything someone says just because it's a man. While it's never really prudent to sleep with your coworkers, maybe Masters was angry about Ethan because he was jealous? We did, after all, see him fantasize about Virginia coming in and saying she wanted to be in the study for various reasons.

The bottom line is that those two will end up on the examination table at some point. The question here is really just about when. Also, will Libby seek comfort about her infertility in someone else's arms, perhaps Ethan's? We all know what a clinger Ethan is and he's definitely not over Virginia. He's imagining her while getting pleasured by other women. He can sleep with as many people as he wants, but we all know where his mind is set.

One thing that really intrigued me this week was something that Masters said to one of the prostitutes:

Do you know the expression "don't borrow trouble?" | permalink

What do you think Masters meant by this? I think he meant don't start imagining symptoms and diagnosing yourself before you're checked out. However, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a double meaning in this all. His study is definitely asking for trouble and for more than just it's controversial nature. What do you think?

Race to Space Review

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Masters of Sex Season 1 Episode 2 Quotes

Maybe in a strange way it's romantic, the two of us together, making a baby through science.

Libby

Dr. Haas is not the best fertility doctor in the Midwest. I am. Shouldn't my wife have the very best?

William