Kind of a strange episode tonight actually- draggy and a bit sluggish in places, suffering I think from a lack of focus as subplots come up and then fade out just as quickly over the hour. We start off with Bill giving a physical exam to his sister-in-law Pauline, who wants him to make up with his brother Francis after their argument last week. Bill tries to dodge the subject and is let off the hook when the lights go out in the building. He argues with Betty over the electricity bill she's paid late, and she bites back that they need to sublet the rest of the floor to make rent on time, which Bill doesn't want to do.
Virginia goes back to see Dr. Madden one last time, to fess up that she's not Barbara and was only using her name to get advice on how to counsel her, which of course didn't work out. Madden basically gets her to talk about herself and Bill again, but Ginny thinks he's being judgmental towards her when she confesses that their affair continues. We then get a flashback to the hotel room when Bill told her about his impotence, and he gives her the details, saying it started when he saw Shelly at her house, but even now he can't get over whatever psychological block he's had because of it. He also says that it's only when he's with a partner that it occurs and tells Ginny that she's the only one who can fix his "brokenness" (a line few women can ever resist). They eventually try a few different methods, and Ginny goes all in with it, but it fails for the most part, even when Bill almost gets something going after Ginny ties his hands behind him and teases his helplessness as she sits on top of him (yes, this was one of those episodes- there are actually fewer sex scenes than you'd think on this very cerebral show, but when they do come up, they deliver the goods). Ginny eventually has second thoughts about this when Betty relays her experience with a client who had chronic impotence that she couldn't fix, ending up in her dreading seeing him every week.
Back at the office, Bill is upset about an article published in a recent medical journal that sees another doctor taking credit for his and Ginny's work, so he hires a PR man (played by Adam Arkin) to come in and advise them on how to stay ahead of the curve as far as the public goes. Ginny is unsure about this but is quickly won over by the man when he suggests they start appearing on television, taking advantage of their image as a faux "married couple" to teach the public about sex. Bill balks at this however, and tells Ginny he's worried about not being taken seriously by the scientific community if they go on TV, but I think we all know how this is going to work out, considering Masters and Johnson became media fixtures as guests on talk shows for decades.
Meanwhile, the supporting characters got quite a lot of material tonight, as Lester takes it upon himself to befriend Barbara, thinking they can bond over their mutual dysfunctional "conditions." He turns out to be right, when Barbara warms up to him in their second scene, after first being offended by his blatant atheism in the first. Austin is also back tonight, ever the comedic relief, as he now works as the spokesman for Cal-O-Metric and seems to be enjoying his new job, until Flo demands he come to her house later that night and have sex with her or he's fired. Austin shows up and tries to protest, but Flo manages to seduce him anyway, and afterwards when Austin expresses his hope that this is a one time thing they can put behind them, Flo refuses, saying he'll continue to sleep with her if he wants to keep his job. Ew.
Finally, Libby continues to volunteer at the CORE offices, although I'm a little skeptical of her genuine interest in the cause, as it it seems obvious she's mostly doing this because of her attraction to Robert, whom she continues to clash with. He think it's a bad idea for her to canvass in the projects for a rent strike with the volunteers, but she shows up anyway (convincing Ginny to cover for her with Bill, who hates her working there). Ginny also sees Libby talking with Robert from across the lobby and seems to pick up on the body language between them (you can't fool a sex expert). And Essie is also back this week, complaining to Bill about Frank's sanctimonious lectures about her drinking, which Bill agrees is annoying. Later on, when Essie gets in an accident behind the wheel and has Frank stitch up a cut, he keeps going on about her being an alcoholic and accuses Bill of being one too. This leads to a long drawn out scene where the two brothers again reminisce about the abuse of their father, and eventually Bill insults Frank, calling him weak and cowardly for taking it. Frank decks him in the face and the two get in a fight before Frank takes off in anger. Bill goes to meet Virginia at the hotel covered in blood and admits to her that he knows he abandoned his brother and feels guilty about it, as he then smears his own blood on her face (gross) and the two seem to finally engage in sex. Geez, don't even bother to clean up first? We'll see where this all goes next week guys. See you then!
