Wednesday, September 30, 2015

What I’m Watching: Masters of Sex (Season Finale)


Masters of Sex: Season 3, Episode 12 "Full Ten Count” (B-)

What a rollercoaster season this has been. At this point last season I was ready to cast this show out entirely, and there’s definitely been a resurgence in the fourth season. There’s no question that the strongest part of this season has been Dan Logan, who at first was alluring and mysterious and then turned out to be fully in awe of Virginia and ready to give her the kind of recognition and respect Bill had always denied her without having to be asked. In this episode, he went to Mexico to get divorced and then promptly showed up to propose marriage to Virginia, asking her father for permission in the process. He was even keenly aware enough to ask Virginia whether she hoped Bill would show up or whether she hoped he wouldn’t. Bill offered Virginia what she wanted far too late and for all the wrong reasons, and his decision to get out of the car and not even try to stop her at the airport demonstrated that he finally realized he was headed down the wrong path. Hopefully the Little Brown Man won’t derail both their careers fully because they’re not on stage, though it’s going to be hard to pick up the pieces no matter what. It’s good to see Barton and Jonathan happy thanks to some prompting from Jonathan and meddling from Betty, but it does seem strange on such a sexually explicit show for this forbidden romance to feel so sterile. Paul’s sudden disappearance is a disappointing shock, but Libby did a great job standing up for herself and leaving Bill to sit in jail when he decided that he needed to confess his affair at that point as a way of exonerating himself. Virginia refusing to listen to Nora’s attempts to justify her actions made for a great scene, and I’d like to note that Lizzy Caplan has done truly terrific work this season, rebounding from poor season two material and really doing her best with everything this year. I’m intrigued for season four but not waiting with baited breath. At least this season is leaving a much better and more promising taste.

Season grade: B-
Season MVP: Josh Charles as Dan Logan

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