Wow. What a great episode. Unfortunately, this kind of episode is what's known as the recapper's nightmare, because what I have to relay is mostly dialogue. Bill and Virginia spend the hour almost entirely in their hotel room during one of their clandestine meetings, having sex, talking, confessing and playing mind games with each other as they continue to deny what they're really doing is having an affair. But first we start off with Bill delivering a baby that possesses both male and female genitalia. It's a sad incident which becomes worse as the baby's father is pretty much a monster who insists on cutting off the baby's penis to make him a girl, even though blood tests show he's really a boy. But being a '50's dad and all, what's most important to him is that he not have a "sissy" for a son. Ick.
BIll is upset by this and tries to prevent it but the father goes around him and enlists a general surgeon who will do what he wants, even though he's never done the procedure before and has to literally follow a textbook in the middle of the operation. It's a tragic subplot that leads to Bill's somber mood when he goes to meet Ginny at the hotel. Before Ginny meets up with Bill she has a conversation with her daughter about "fairy tales," and it's clear that Ginny despises them for their happy endings and damsels in distress who have to be saved by men. Such a modern woman, that Virginia. So now we get to Bill and Ginny's rendezvous, and in order to recap what goes on in that room, we're going to list the relevant bits in a series of bullet points, so here we go:
• Bill is watching a boxing match on TV when Virginia arrives, so she goes to take a bath, and as she's undressing, Bill suddenly accosts her from behind and has her up against the wall in a frenzied sex session. Ginny acts like she's perturbed about it afterwards, but later admits to Bill that she liked it and liked the way he had her standing up. Steamy.
• Bill relays the day's events over the baby to Ginny, and his hatred of the father, who he says is a bully, like his own dad. He then tries to explain to Ginny the rules of boxing, as she laughs that he's so into it. Later, he actually tries to teach her how to punch, as they play act like the fighters and wind up with Ginny's bracelet stuck in his hair, which she has to saw off with a knife. It's pretty funny and marks the one time I think we've ever seen Bill laugh (he also actually calls her "Ginny" for the first time since the pilot, which delighted me).
• Ginny is unimpressed by his boring backstory to the waiter explaining their meet-ups, so she comes up with a more imaginative one for Mr. and Mrs. Holden, and actually gets Bill to play along as they pretend to be the married couple and talk to each other about their fake personal details. This also allows them to talk in half truths, leading to a personal confession from each of them.
• Ginny's Confession: she admits that she was in love with a man in her younger days who romanced her for a year and then one day left to marry his fiance, when she had no idea he was engaged. Turns out that's the reason she has sex freely but doesn't get emotionally attached to anyone. When Bill wonders where that leaves him she reverts back to an affectionate "Mrs. Holden" and we're unsure if she's telling the truth or not.
• Bill's Confession: he confesses fully to Virginia (when he never could to Libby) his abusive childhood, and the fact that his father regularly beat him and abandoned him in the city when he was 14, so that he could grow up and never come back. He also says he was proud of himself for never fighting back when his dad said he would stop when his son begged for mercy. Ugh, what an asshole. Ginny tells him there's no shame in admitting when you're hurt and that doing so doesn't make you less of a man. Bill gets teary-eyed at this. Aw.
• Can't leave this one out. Bill disrobes Virginia and wants her to beg him to make her feel good, but she refuses and defiantly says she can make herself feel good. She then masturbates in front of him. Again, steamy,
• Finally, both get ready to leave and Ginny tips the young waiter, advising him that her favorite thing about her "husband" is the way he takes her seriously and listens to her, and that he should remember that with his own girlfriend for the future. When he leaves, Bill comes over to fasten Ginny's bracelet for her and Ginny nearly strokes his hair affectionately, but stops herself. She then ignores his suggestion that this is where the married couple would kiss goodbye (they still haven't kissed on the mouth) and says she'll write up their "work" as role-playing and two acts of intercourse.
Bill goes to the hospital and finds out that the poor baby has been operated on, which devastates him as it was an act that was irrevocable, and Ginny stops by the lobby on her way out of the hotel, where a bunch of men are still gathered, watching the fight (which seems like it must have been the longest fight in history, but I suppose they could have only been there for a few hours). She tells one of the guys in the room she just wants to see how it ends.
So, yeah, they're never going to admit real feelings are they? Although I'm sure they're going to eventually kiss, I mean that has to happen, right? Well, aside from the too on-the-nose fight metaphors, this episode was a feat of writing, directing and acting, a great hour of television. Caplan and Sheen have amazing chemistry and this relationship is nothing less than compelling at every turn. I'm almost disappointed that the other cast members have to come back next week. But hey, at least that will make it easier to recap. See you then!
