Masters of Sex: Race To Space

July 4, 2014 5:55 PM - Season 1, Episode 2

On the heels of Masters' proposal that they participate in the study, Johnson considers the best course of action to keep her job - only to find she no longer has one. The study is forced out of the hospital and Masters believes Johnson is to blame. Masters moves the study to a brothel.
posted by oh yeah! (2 comments total)

So many good scenes in this episode. Bettie telling Virginia about her plan to marry the pretzel king. Libby taking some control back from Bill over the fertility treatments (turning his awful "I love you too much" line back at him). Jane reading from "The Second Sex" to Langham & Haas. Dottie getting her glasses. Haas' bad sex scenes, trying to find a new Virginia and failing.

Masters continues to be the 'riddle in a white coat and bow tie', unable or unwilling to be open with the women in his life. But getting maneuvered by all of them anyway.
posted by oh yeah! at 7:26 AM on July 5, 2014

For mine, Betty really is the star of this episode. She has so many great lines and, even more so than Virginia at this point, sees through Bill's professional facade. Having said that, the bedroom scene between Bill and Libby is also great.

Watching the series for the second time, I am even more impressed at how many strong female characters there are. Even relatively minor characters like Dottie have complexity and real strength.

I also have to mention the fantastic opening credits. On one level it's like a cheesy joke from an Austin Powers movie, but somehow it works. It's like by getting all the sexual innuendo out of the way in the opening credits you are better able to immerse yourself in the drama. There are a lot of opening credits that I will skip as they become grating after a while, especially when you are watching multiple episodes at a time. Masters of Sex and Parks and Recreation are notable exceptions to this rule for me.
posted by bakery at 4:13 AM on July 17, 2014 [1 favorite]