Masters of Sex “The Pleasure Protocol” steps away from correcting dysfunctional sex and enters multiple orgasm training for a single woman who wishes to experience this holy of holies. Virginia decides to make this deviation from their normal workload without Bill’s knowledge.
The episode also looks at S&M fantasy versus reality and Bill finally learns the truth about Dan and Virginia from a surprising source. Nancy and Art’s secret is revealed and Libby has phone sex with Bill’s lawyer.
In what seems to be a move to make Virginia jealous, Bill asks that Nancy attend all meetings. His female business partner is not overly pleased at this turn of events and she says so. Virginia also is short tempered at the first meeting and leaves early.
A young woman wants to learn how to experience multiple orgasms and initially Dr. Dreesen tells her they cannot accommodate that training. Virginia disagrees and partakes of some sexual experimentation to see if it is possible to “manufacture” the experience.
It is.
Bill and Nancy counsel a couple who are having issues. She wants a bit of rough and he does not “get it.” They mention a film that the wife saw which turned her on and him off. Nancy and Bill got to see the movie. It is about rape and physical abuse. Masters leaves early.
The two doctors talk about the pathology of the wife’s urges, Bill believes that anyone who craves pain with sex suffers from trauma. The wife says this is not the case at all.
The husband attempts to satisfy her craving to be spanked and goes completely overboard. He begins hurting her and then slaps the hell out of his wife. Bill has to grab the chap and pull him off of his wife.
Masters has gotten it wrong, it is the husband who was traumatized and not the wife. As he says to Nancy earlier, in order for pleasure and pain to occupy the same space the individuals need to be well adjusted. Clearly the husband is not.
The young woman that Art and Virginia is training can not find a partner. Betty talks the lawyer who met her when she worked in the brothel into helping the young lady out. It goes very well with the woman experiencing three orgasms in under 10 minutes.
Away from the sexual training Virginia gets a visit from Dan’s wife Alice. She has been listening to all those answering machine messages that Virginia left for Dan.
They talk.
Johnson explains that she broke Dan’s heart by sleeping with a sailor on the wedding day. It was set up so he would catch her in bed with the stranger. Alice remarks that the act seems very sad.
Later, Bill attends an A.A. meeting and Alice is there. During her sharing with the group he learns that Dan came back to her.
Lester, who is trying out his camera, takes pictures of Art and Nancy kissing. He gives her the chance to come clean and tell the two partners about Art.
Bill wants to fire them but Virginia talks him out of it and warns the two not to lie again. Masters learns that Johnson destroyed all their personal files. This news upsets him.
Throughout the last few episodes, Masters has been watching the recording of Virginia masturbating to orgasm. He has been, to put it mildly, somewhat obsessed.
At the end of the episode Bill takes the film from the spools and deposits it in a metal rubbish bin. It looks like he will burn the film and attempt to move on from his obvious obsession.
Another reveal in this episode is the news that Art and Nancy are in an open relationship. Clearly she is a bit interested in Bill and even makes plans to flirt with her boss.
When they are at the film, and later in the bar, she seems to be focussed on Bill in a less than professional way.
Libby continues to forge her own way and rips a strip off of Bill’s Lawyer, whom she apparently had phone sex with earlier.
The clear message in Masters of Sex this week all has to do with what was learned in the multiple orgasm training. Art mentions that the woman experiences these with no connection to her partner. They have no previous history; it is purely a physical phenomenon.
Virginia looks dismayed. In a clinic built upon “functional” sex being important to a relationship, it appears that the reverse is not true at all. A relationship is clearly not important for satisfactory sex.
Masters of Sex airs Sundays on Showtime.
CAST:
- Michael Sheen – Dr. William Masters
- Lizzy Caplan – Virginia Johnson
- Caitlin FitzGerald – Libby Masters
- Annaleigh Ashford – Betty DiMello
- Jeremy Strong – Art Dreesen
- Betty Gilpin – Nancy
- Kevin Christy – Lester Linden
Guest starring Judy Greer as Alice Logan
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