Masters of Sex S2E1 - "Parallax" Recap

Following Bill's door-step declaration, he and Virginia have sex. At work, she is fighting off a dozen propositions a day since everyone (rightfully) believes it was her in the video from the study. She is still working at the hospital but at a much lower salary, as a secretary. At home, Bill must deal with life as an unemployed doctor with a crying newborn he doesn't appear to have much interest in.

Bill accompanies Scully to his first electro-shock therapy. For those who don't remember, Scully is hoping to "cure" himself of his homosexuality. Virginia has chosen to supplement her income by selling diet pills, since she has two children to look after.

When Libby visits the hospital for a check-up with the paediatrician for her baby, he expresses astonishment at her bravery at showing up at the hospital for her showing up after Bill's scandalous presentation. She scolds him and defends Bill. She then meets Virginia in the cafeteria and shares the story. She also asks for advice on how to get Bill back to work.

She proceeds to dress up and drag Bill to a fund-raiser for Gateway Memorial Hospital in the hopes of Bill charming Dr. Doug Greathouse into giving him a job. While there, Bill meets Mr. Pretzel King and Betty, one of Bill's earliest test subjects from the brothel. Mr. Pretzel mentions his concerns about their not having gotten pregnant. (Last season, Bill had discovered during surgery that Betty was sterile but she has yet to share that information with her husband). Pretzel is a generous donor and helps Bill land a job at Memorial, wanting to help further Bill's "birds and bees" study as well as have him help get Betty pregnant.

Barton tries to proposition his wife for sex but she resists when he asks her to turn away from him. She doesn't want to feel like a boy, saying there's only a shred of her left that feels like a woman. He pleads with her to help him but she's had enough.

We also hear that Virginia ended things with Ethan over the phone while Bill lay in her bed the night of his declaration. He rightfully guessed that she is in love with Bill and implored her to not let Bill manipulate her through their shared work. She tells him that the study is where she belongs.

Dr. Langham's wife shows up at work with their children and publicly humiliates him by insulting him and announcing his infidelity(ies), including one with her younger sister.

Libby goes to visit Dr. Greathouse's wife, leaving Bill alone to babysit the baby, which he didn't want to do. When the baby won't stop crying, instead of trying to check on it, he opts to crank up The Everly Brothers' "Bye Bye Love." It's then that Essie, his mother, arrives and turns it off, picking up the baby. She pleads with him to move on from their past but he rejects this and admits to sleeping with Virginia regularly with not intentions to stop. He says he is indeed like his father and banishes her back to Ohio. He then tells Libby when she returns home that they'll need to get a nanny.

Margaret and Vivian return home and find Scully attempting to kills himself. They cut the rope from which he has attempted to hang himself in the basement and emotions run high. Bill attempts to visit him later to share the news of his new job but Margaret politely turns him away to keep the secret of Scully's suicide attempt.

Bill and Virginia meet at a hotel where they discuss the fact that what they're doing is "so much more" than an affair. They justify it with the work they've done. Virginia notes that it's rare to find a man who understands her choosing work over love. Bill also claims to be a happily married man. He also adds that "perhaps there is an immeasurable psychological component that can bear directly on the body." Finally, Bill checks them in for a room, signing in as Dr. Francis Holden and wife.

Masters of Sex airs on Sundays on Showtime at 10PM.