Friday, October 7, 2016

What I’m Watching: Masters of Sex


Masters of Sex: Season 4, Episode 4 “Coats or Keys” (B+)

If nothing else, this show does masterful character studies. We already knew that the marriage between Nancy and Art was unconventional, and there’s been a whole lot of tension brewing among all the other characters on the show, married and not. A swingers’ party wouldn’t have been my first solution to delve deep into these characters and their problems, but this is a show about sex, and so it’s far from an unnatural setting. It would have been helpful to clue in all the officemates on what kind of party they were attending, although only one of the guests ended up having sex with an unexpected partner. It was definitely a productive and therapeutic night for Lester, who has been miserable in his home life and had to deal with outright rejection when he picked the wrong woman’s coat. Betty also had a fun night spotting the other closet homosexual at the party and may well have found herself a new coworker if he’s available. Libby had an okay start with Mike Schaeffer at the party until her favorite divorce attorney arrived and blew her cover. It was remarkably satisfying to see her demand that Bill do something selfless for her after telling him that she fantasized about him being decapitated, and she’s doing an interesting job domesticating him. The most surprising part is that Bill seems happy, and he was even nice to Virginia when she finally told him that she never married Dan. Art was bold to trick Virginia into staying the night to talk to him, but I think that their lengthy heart-to-heart was actually very good for their professional relationship, and speaks volumes about Art’s relationship with Nancy.

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