On the heels of their disastrous dinner in New York, Bill and Virginia return to St. Louis to find their life's work in jeopardy while inconveniently under the scrutiny of the press and their publisher in preparation for their new book.
This season of Masters of Sex was a disaster. It elongated storylines in expected and broad ways without finding a way to make this period in the story of Dr. William Masters and Virginia Johnson interesting and compelling to watch. This season was about the personal relationships. But it has gotten hard to remember why the audience should care about a number of the characters. Bill has gotten so unlikeable. And yet, the show is continuing to prop him up in importance trying to gain some sympathy with the parallels in his life at the moment with Virginia and the clinic to his life in the past with his abusive father. It's just not an original idea nor has it gained any nuance despite the frequency with which it was mentioned throughout the season. The show has lost almost all subtlety. It tells the audience things in the grandest and most pronounced way but fails to make them interesting or worth caring about."Full Ten Count" has a ton of reversals for the characters. Over the course of this one hour, the various characters change their minds a number of times. Basically every five minutes something new would happen that forced the characters to act differently than they were before. And yet, that only works in the end if the stories and characters are compelling. Here, it just feels like the show trying to create excitement and tension as it closes out its run this year. It never really works which only makes the structure more noticeably problematic.
Virginia starts this episode hoping to escape from her responsibilities of life for a few days just to figure out what she wants. She desperately needs that time but the reality of her situation keeps her from getting away. She is forced into the office. But not by some unexpected twist. A scheduled event keeps her in town which makes the plan of leaving for a few days seem completely unnecessary to introduce. It basically just means her father is in town in order to give his approval later. Virginia is upset with both Bill and Dan. Bill sprung the disastrous dinner in New York on her while Dan's wife placed doubts about Dan's declarations of love. It didn't create a meaningful choice for Virginia though. Dan has always been the much better man for her. The show has had to keep introducing contrivances in order for her to not be so certain. It's grown tiresome. But at least she does ultimately choose Dan. That is a strong decision that will lead to a much happier life. But it's not a decision that Virginia makes with much conviction.
Virginia only decides to be with Dan because she continues to learn how horrifying Bill has been this season. He has placed their life's work in danger because of his relentless and narrow-minded pursuit of her love. The show really hits the audience over the head with that though. To the point where the finale opens up with a dream of Johnny and Bill's father yelling at him in a boxing ring that he needs to know when to quit. It's ridiculously over-the-top and transparent what the show is trying to do. Bill hasn't been a functioning and reasonable adult this entire season because he's pining after Virginia and nothing more. He has opened himself up to these criminal charges because he wasn't thinking about the ramifications of his actions. He simply did what was best according to him. That has the potential to destroy his marriage to Libby, his partnership with Virginia, his work, his legacy and so many other things. Virginia is wise to jump out of this plane as it's about to crash. She is taking charge of her own life. And yet, she is still looking over her shoulder to see if Bill is coming after her.
The spark between Bill and Virginia is long gone. It has become a routine thing on the show with no excitement. When Virginia is at the airport looking for Bill, Dan asks if she wants him to appear or not. And yet, that isn't a satisfying mystery for the character. Her connection to the work is strong. But that's honestly the only thing that should be keeping her to Bill. Plus, she doesn't have to end things with Dan if she wants both happiness and to continue working at the clinic. But Bill's truths are exposed and she flees. She makes a choice to leave behind this life. But why does she turn her back on the work just because of what Bill did? The audience gets to see the devastation coming for Betty at the clinic. Betty and Barton just want to enjoy their happiness but they are thrusted into the middle of the Bill-Virginia drama. The truth about Bill could be exposed to a roomful of journalists. Bill and Virginia's credibility could be completely destroyed. Virginia doesn't seem to care about that because she's with Dan, a man who makes her happy. Granted, she doesn't know the extent of the situation back at the office. But she also doesn't care as much either. Bill and the work are intrinsically linked. She could never just escape from one. And yet, she has no problem walking out of the office without a care in the world. She blows off the book publisher and hits Nora over the world with her packed box. Now, Virginia is the one not caring about the consequences of her actions. It's a story that works better for her. But it's also not as exaggerated or extended as Bill's.
In fact, Bill is only trying to become a better person because he senses that Virginia is slipping away and starts listening to Dan's advice. He wants to be more honest with the people in his life. And yet, Virginia and Libby are fine with their lives until he opens up. Learning the truth pushed both of them away. But that doesn't make Bill a more sympathetic figure. It just makes him a more foolish one who deserves to be on the side of the road in the end. He confesses his decade long affair with Virginia to Libby. He does it to make himself feel better while she's visiting him in jail. But it's the absolute worst time for her to hear that. She has known for a long time. She and Virginia have even been able to maintain a friendship afterwards in the hopes of getting Bill to be a part of both of their families. Libby doesn't trust Bill anymore. When he's in trouble, she goes to Virginia to try and fix it. When the situation gets worst, Virginia has the right to flee. So does Libby. She has backed out of a life with Paul because her family needs her love and support now more than ever. So, it's frustrating to see Bill continue to do his best to tear his family apart with almost no understanding of what Libby is feeling. That's the most devastating part of this whole setup. Bill is no longer a character who makes any sense at all. The narrative is trying overly hard to cover up that fact but it still exists. Unfortunately, the rest of the characters will keep having to interact with him too. As hopeful as a separation and plane ride are, they aren't going to last because this is a TV show centered around Bill and Virginia's lives as pioneering sex researchers. That life has just ceased to be compelling though.
Some more thoughts:
- "Full Ten Count" was written by Michelle Ashford and directed by Michael Apted.
- The anxiety is high as Barton commits to plans to celebrate Jonathan's birthday at a fancy restaurant. He is always so worried about being seen as a gay man to the outside world. And yet, the dinner was interrupted by something else completely. Barton was the only person who could get Bill out of jail.
- It's just so nice seeing Barton and Betty speak so openly about their private lives. That is a new dynamic this season that does work. She is able to push him into being more comfortable with himself.
- It was slightly weird every time Betty referred to the book publisher as the Little Brown Man.
- The reversal of Nora being in connection with the religious people pushing for decency in society wasn't that great. Her seducing Bill for money was an important plot point. But it didn't really add anything to the narrative for her character. She's simply an overly religious person on a show that doesn't know how to do anything interesting with religious beliefs.
- It's nice to know that Virginia hasn't completely forgotten about her newborn daughter. She tells her father how to care for her and to get Tessa to help out as well. And yet, neither of the girls are seen.
- This season wasn't great - neither creatively nor in the ratings - but it has still been renewed by Showtime. After witnessing the creative misgivings of the past two seasons, it may just be time to end the show. Though determining when shows should end has never been Showtime's strong suit.
