Virginia and Ethan are enjoying their relationship. He is looking at various hospitals to work at, including ones in California. Bill is working hard to prepare his presentation. Margaret confronts Barton about being a homosexual. He admits to it, along with his shame. He tells her he will be pursuing electroshock therapy in the hopes of curing himself of his affliction. When Margaret learns about the risks involved, she is hesitant to let him pursue it.

Dr. DePaul speaks with Chancellor Fitzhugh, saying she wants her funding to happen the way Bill does. He tells her the reason he has that deal is because he has brought tremendous amounts of patients to the hospital. She says that patients aren't referred to her and Fitzhugh says that the majority of womyn do not want a female gynecologist.

Bill gives the presentation on the research he and Virginia have conducted. There is a great turnout at the hospital. The initial information he gives on men and their anatomy is relatively well-received. But then he moves to information on females. He presents the footage of Jane's insides and she is upset to learn that her wishes were disregarded and the footage wasn't destroyed. The footage then moves to that of Virginia masturbating, with Bill discussing the physiological reactions of sex and sexual stimulation. He also says that womyn have vastly superior sexual capabilities as men, including being able to achieve multiple orgasms. Chancellor Fitzhugh becomes angry and stops the presentation, calling the footage "smut."

Libby tries to learn form Bill who the second woman in the footage was, adding that the two doctors next to her had thought it was Virginia. He evades answering, saying he has hundreds of womyn in his study and vast amounts of footage. He refuses to tell her who it is.

Some doctors start a petition for Fitzhugh to fire Barton and Bill. These are the same doctors who assume that Jane and Virginia are the ones in the presentation footage. Virginia advises Dr. DePaul to get involved with the birth control pill but she's not interested in changing the course of her work.

Ethan gets a job offer in California and calls Virginia to tell her of this. He professes his love for her and her children and proposes marriage to her. He tells her she can answer when he gets back and promises to give her whatever kind of life she wants for her and her children.

When Bill and Barton are reprimanded by Fitzhugh, Bill covers for Barton by making it seem as if he was unaware of what was going on in the study. Barton has no choice but to fire Bill right then and there but Barton later regrets this.

Libby goes into precipitous labour and then gives birth. Without knowing this, Bill goes to visit Virginia and tells her that the one thing he can't live without is her.

Masters of Sex will return for Season 2 on Showtime on Sunday, 13 July 2014 at 10PM.

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Virginia and Bill are keeping their distance from one another. Libby comes to visit the hospital and checks in with Ethan who is having his going away party. He assures her he doesn't blame her and there's no mending his relationship with Bill. He is ready to step out of Bill's shadows and find work at a different great hospital. Libby then offers to help Bill temporarily as an additional secretary since he is busy preparing for a hospital-wide presentation.

Virginia has resumed her relationship with Ethan, who earlier admitted to Libby that he is now in love. He's getting along great with her children and even agrees to babysit them while she accompanies Dr. DePaul to a conference at which Dr. DePaul will give a presentation on the Pap smear. While babysitting, the children's father George comes over and he and Ethan puff their chests up to one another. They end up babysitting the children together.

Libby learns of a couple in the study that had sex 23 times and asks Bill about it, not knowing that the couple in question is Bill and Virginia. Bill is further engrossed in his work after witnessing another doctor give a presentation that bores their colleagues to the point of falling asleep. He wants to grab their attention, even if it means using provocative, less than complete research on hot topics such as penis size and sexual satisfaction.

Virginia has to spend the night in a motel with Dr. DePaul after the bus breaks down. DePaul learns how Bill is compensated for his work and is angered by it, considering how difficult of a time she has in securing funds. They arrive too late for her to give her presentation. Virginia helps Dr. Depaul chat up the doctors' wives so that they may pass on the information and convince them of the importance.

Ethan and George's tension hits their boiling point but Ethan is eventually able to convince him that he is good for both Virginia and her children. On the bus ride back, Dr. DePaul reveals to Virginia that she has advanced cervical cancer and it was detected with a Pap smear in her twenties. She had a hysterectomy but it returned about 18 months ago and progressed to her liver which is now stage 4. She asks Virginia to continue with her work after she dies.

Ethan later tells Virginia that he will support her in whatever she wants to do and that he wants them to be a team.

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Things are still tense between Bill and Virginia. Virginia resume her relationship with Ethan, who has recently been denied a future job at the hospital. He assumes it is because he broke up with Vivian.

Bill later is approached by a woman named Flora Banks, who informs him that she is pregnant after participating in the study. Now she wants to know the identity of the father. When Bill tells Virginia about this revelation, they disagree on how to proceed. He says things should stay confidential whereas Virginia feels that sharing the father's identity is the ethical thing to do. She also signed an iron-clad waiver that Bill says frees them from any unintended consequences.

Ethan confronts Barton about the job. Ethan learns that he failed his performance review and that some of his superiors had concerns about his professionalism and character. Ethan assumes it was Bill's doing.

Virginia sneaks into the safe and finds that Teddy is the father of Flora's baby. She tells him discretely about Flora and the pregnancy and he is shocked and somewhat horrified. Virginia gives him Flora's phone number and says she will help him in any way she can.

Dr. DePaul is struggling to get the funding needed for her pap smear proposal. Virginia advises her to try to be charming but her initial attempts to do so to University Chancellor Fitzhugh don't go very well.

Margaret is out at a hotel bar and speaks with a prostitute to seek advice on her relationship. Margaret asks for "tricks of the trade" to impress her husband. But when Margaret shares that they don't sleep in the same bedroom anymore but when they were sexually active, Barton preferred for her to face away. She also says that he never looks at other womyn. The prostitute deduces that he is a homosexual.

Ethan confronts Bill and Bill yells at him for helping Libby to become pregnant. They have a brief physical confrontation and Ethan says that he would help Libby again, even if it cost him his job.

Margaret and Teddy re-connect, both stressed out by the recent revelations in their lives.

Virginia secretly meets with Flora and gives her $2,000 from the study's discretionary fund.

Lester kisses Jane after she apologises for having previously been rude to him.

Virginia quits working for Bill and goes to work for Dr. DePaul as her secretary instead. She advises Dr. DePaul to go above the chancellor and try to charm the Board of Trustees instead.

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Bill decides that the external bodily reactions should be filmed, as it will be more effective than simply describing them. Bill has Virginia ask Jane to submit herself to be filmed, as her face would be out of the footage at all times. They hire a filmmaker named Lester to film Jane masturbating.

Ethan reveals to Vivian the fact that he is non-practicing Jewish and it spurs her on to insist that their wedding be Christian. He agrees to convert to Christianity but later grows conflicted about doing so, leading him to break up with her.

Virginia earns the top marks in her class and it causes the other (male) students who aren't doing anywhere near as well to ask her to join their study group.

Estabrooks, Bill's mother, figures out that Libby is pregnant. Libby insists that she not say anything because she doesn't want to "tempt fate." Bill tells his mother about his study, expecting to shock her, but she is not bothered and also notes that his father had had an affair with his secretary for several years.

Libby reveals to Estabrooks that her father had abandoned her after her mother died. Bill doesn't know this because she tells everyone that he is dead. Now having a family of her own means everything to her because she wanted her own happy ending.

Estabrooks has dinner with Bill, Virginia, Jane, and Lester. She learns more about their study and their findings. She also picks up on the fact that something is going on between Bill and Virginia. She later confronts him about this at his office. She begins by expressing regret at never speaking up against Bill's father abusing him. She transitions into comparing his father's affair to the one he is currently having. He becomes angry but she tells him to resolve the problems in his marriage. Bill goes home where Libby reveals her pregnancy. He is upset at her going behind his back to get help getting pregnant but she also confronts him about his lying to her about her being the one with fertility problems. She also points out that even though his work is important, there is no life and love in the clinical logistics of sex.

Jane watches the footage of herself from the masturbation study and becomes uncomfortable by seeing it from the outside. She rescinds her permission for Virginia and Bill to use the footage. Virginia then decides to be the one filmed masturbating while Bill operates the camera. Bill decides it would be better for him to try to distance himself from Virginia because of his growing feelings for her so he attempts to pay her like any other participant in the study. She is offended by the gesture and decides she should try to distance herself from Bill emotionally as well. She then rekindles her friendship with Ethan.

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Virginia coaches Jane on some tips to be a good secretary for Bill. Virginia is also hoping to finish getting her college degree and she needs to take Dr. DePaul's Basic Anatomy class as part of a requirement. She asks if she can place out of it based on her work with Masters, but Dr. DePaul refuses.

Libby has a new handyman over to take care of some problems with the house. He later teaches her how to tango.

Margaret tells Teddy that she no longer wants to continue their affair but they part on good terms. Teddy returns home to his wife and children with gifts in hand and Margaret heads to a bar where she by chance encounters Dale, Scully's lover. They get into a brief conversation where he briefly speaks cryptically about Scully, saying he is waiting there for someone. When Barton arrives, Margaret confronts him over the fact that he had claimed he had a board meeting that night and he claims that Dale is a grad student of his. Margaret can tell he is lying. Before Dale leaves, Margaret advises him to stay single. Barton follows after Margaret and says that Dale is a pimp who supplies him with prostitutes and then throws a fit, claiming Margaret is there to have an affair of her own.

Bill and Virginia realise that the best way to compile evidence for their findings is to film them, but they'll need a camera that can go inside a woman and a cameraman to develop a device for this. Bill later hires a cameraman named Lester for the job, with whom he has previously worked with.

Ethan and Austin are both less than secure about their relationships. Ethan wants to propose because of social decorum and other less than romantic benefits to marriage. Teddy feels like the spark is gone in his relationship with his wife and later has an affair with the saleswoman at a jewellery store he had visited with Ethan. Ethan proposes to Vivian and she ecstatically says yes.

Virginia talks Jane into being the one to have the inside of her vagina filmed for their research. Lester is a bit shocked to learn what the camera will be used for but carries out with it no less professionally. Virginia is still taking Dr. DePaul's anatomy class and demonstrates herself to be knowledgeable and studious. Dr. DePaul later admits to Bill that Virginia is one of her better students. In private, we learn that she is suffering from terminal cancer, which is why she is extra determined to push funding through for pap smears.

Barton takes Margaret on a date and she confronts him on the fact that he is not now nor has he ever been sexually attracted to her. A passionless marriage is no longer enough for her and she insists that they get a divorce. He later approaches Bill and asks him about aversion therapy to change his sexuality. Bill reluctantly gives him some information on it. Barton then gets some drugs from the hospital and asks Dale to help him with his aversion therapy. Dale refuses, saying he enjoys his company. Barton offers to pay him double, triple, or whatever he wants. Dale is horrified with the whole plan and becomes emotional. Dale leaves and tells him to come find him when he changes his mind.

Teddy approaches Virginia to get back in the study and says he can be partnered up with anyone and is no longer suffering from performance problems.

Libby is having another dance lesson when she faints. Walter, the handyman, brings her to the hospital where she learns that she is pregnant again.

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Bill and Virginia have begun having an affair during which they are hooked up to electrodes and machines and collecting data for their study. Virginia is back on good terms with Ethan and even recruits his help in picking out a car. Bill is struggling to adjust to having a new secretary, despite it being his idea to hire one, as none of them have mastered his idiosyncrasies as well as Virginia.

Libby visits Ethan at the university and asks him to resume her treatment to help her get pregnant. Ethan is concerned about going behind Bill's back and only agrees to do so if she will have sex with Bill on a regular basis to keep Bill from suspecting his involvement in helping her to conceive.

Austin and Margaret continue with their affair. He comes to her house while Barton is out cruising for gay sex. He ends up stabbed by some homophobic thugs but is rescued by his young lover. He wants to bring Barton to the hospital but he refuses, saying this will raise too many questions. Bill is preparing to head home and meet Libby but then encounters Barton and patches him up, making it clear that he is well aware of why he is not at the hospital. When Barton heads home, he learns of Margaret's having an affair though he doesn't see who it it. He is apathetic to this revelation, leaving Margaret feeling slighted. She accuses him of having an affair and when he insists this isn't he case, she is left feeling that he is no longer sexually attracted to her.

Virginia hires Jane to be Bill's new secretary. Bill is yet again reluctant but right off the bat, Jane proves herself to be a highly efficient worker and agrees to give her a chance. Austin feels awkward around Barton at work but he has no idea that Austin is the one who was having an affair with his wife.

Libby visits Virginia at work and expresses concerns over Bill being so tired when he gets home that she hasn't been able to have sex with him and asks for her help in getting him home in time. Virginia feels guilty and agrees to help ensure that he is home earlier. Bill is annoyed when Virginia brings this up to him and she insists that their work cannot negatively effect Libby. She says that once he resumes having sex with Libby, she will resume conducting the personal research (sex) with him.

Austin becomes off-put by his relationship with Margaret when he feels she is getting too emotionally attached to him, which he discusses in therapy. His therapist notes that he has viewed the womyn he has had affairs with as types instead of actual people.

Ethan opens up to Vivienne about his past relationship, without naming names, and tells her he wants to move forward and have a future with her. She asks if it's over with his ex and he assures her that it is.

Barton tells his lover that they need to start meeting in a hotel where it will be safe and routine since he can't jeopardise his life with his wife and daughter. He also thanks him for not leaving him to die.

Bill and Virginia resume their sexual relationship (for the study) and it's quite evident that Bill is growing more attached to her in more than just a sexual way.

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Sigmund Freud's daughter visits the university and gives a talk that shows her father's claims of a vaginal orgasm being more mature than a clitoral one. Virginia knows this is utter nonsense but there is no scientific data to support her claim nor is there any to support the false one widely accepted as true.

Barton questions his young lover as to whether he spoke about their relationship to anyone but he denies this, saying he likes him and wants to continue seeing him.

Libby and Bill prepare for a vacation in Miami which they are taking in the hopes of getting their minds off the recent miscarriage. Upon arriving at the resort, they overhear the couple in the next room having frequent, loud, wild sex. Initially, they believe the couple are honeymooners but later they spot them leaving their room and find that they are an elderly couple. Libby becomes annoyed when Bill becomes more preoccupied with studying and analysing the sexual habits overhead from next door.

Barton's wife, Margaret, learns that one of her friends has been taking part in a study on human sexuality and that she has been having sex with an anonymous partner for it. Her friend says she has learned more about her body from it than twenty years of marriage.

Virginia enlists Jane's help to gather data regarding any differences between vaginal and clitoral orgasms. The findings show the clitoral orgasm to be superior. She calls Bill to inform him of her findings, wanting this to kick-start more extensive data collection on it. Libby comes in and tells Bill this isn't working and asks him to leave the resort early while she will stay and finish the rest of the vacation alone.

Margaret visits the university and meets with Virginia, expressing an interest in participating in the study. When Bill comes back in to work, Virginia informs him about Margaret's visit. Bill is reluctant to allow her to participate but Virginia convinces him to let her at least come in for an interview. Things become awkward when she reveals that she and her husband will at most have sex once a year. She has also never had an orgasm, which she didn't even realise about herself. Her lack of experience having orgasms mean she is not eligible to take part in the study.

Libby formally meets the sexually adventurous couple and strikes up a conversation with them. She lies to them, saying she has two children and claims to be a widow. Later, the husband comes to visit her and propositions her for sex. She is embarrassed by the spiralling of her lies and sends him away.

Dr. DePaul visits Masters in his office to complain about the respect she is not given, yet Virginia is able to receive it. Patients repeatedly mistake her for being a doctor when Masters isn't around, yet DePaul has often been mistaken for being a secretary despite her actually being a doctor. She also not-so-subtly hints that he has a sexual attraction to Virginia, which is what leads to his conferring legitimacy on her.

Margaret goes out to see a film and afterwards warns into Dr. Langham. They go for a walk, have a chat, and begin to open up to one another. They begin to connect on an intimate level and end up having sex in her car. She has her first orgasm and he is cured of his sexual dysfunction.

Bill decides to promote Virginia to the position of Research Assistant instead of "just a secretary." Bill tells her she won't be getting a raise or her own office but he will hire an actual secretary so Virginia will be able to just focus on the study. They discuss other theories of sex/sexuality that they can research. Virginia tells Bill about females being able to orgasm without genital stimulation. He is skeptical of this so she strips, attaches electrodes to her body, and has him manually stimulate her breasts, thus initiating a (not-so-professional) sexual relationship between them.

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Bill meets a religious couple that are having difficulty conceiving and is astounded to learn that they have been literally interpreting the Bible, attempting to conceive by merely sleeping in the same bed. Libby's pregnancy is progressing nicely. Bill and Virginia have compiled a great deal of information about the cycle of arousal and climax but now want to study couples and examine the role of attraction in sex.

Bill and Virginia approach Austin to ask him to participate in the study again. He is thrilled and approaches Jane, who informs him she hasn't been asked yet. At his first session, he is disappointed when another woman is to be his partner instead. He is unable to achieve an erection despite all the woman's efforts.

Ethan takes Vivian out for an egg creme at the prodding of her father. She can tell he is worried that she will say something to her father that will get him fired. She tells him not to make assumptions about her and that she is perfectly capable of having a casual relationship with him. They have sex, after which they find blood on the sheets. Ethan is mortified at realising this was her first time.

Bill is sleep-walking again and this time, he had begun packing a suitcase. Austin speaks with Bill and Virginia to express his anger at their changing partners on him. He felt like they treated him as a puppet. Virginia explains that they were trying to collect data without attraction factoring in. He tells them he wants to continue in the study and that his results with Jane need to serve as his baseline, after which they should give him a warning if he will be partnered up with someone else. They re-pair him with Jane but he is still unable to get an erection.

The Scullys are having a party for their 30th anniversary. Vivian pulls Ethan outside to tell him they were meant to be together. Libby begins to bleed and is taken to the hospital where she miscarries. Virginia breaks down when Henry briefly runs away due to his hating her and resenting her being gone all the time working. Ethan comforts her after having a talk with Henry. He offers to come around from occasionally and spend time with Henry and assures Virginia that it won't complicate their relationship, as he is now dating Vivian Scully.

Bill delivers his stillborn daughter. He later fights with his mother who has never seen the seriousness of his sleepwalking. He tells her that their family has a sickness that spills over and infects everyone. He later has a moment in his office with Virginia in which he breaks down, asks her to close her eyes, and begins crying.

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The study has resumed in the hospital and Bill and Virginia begin interviewing and recruiting new participants for it. Virginia's ex-husband George is back in town and she ends up having a one-night hook-up with him. Libby wakes up in the middle of the night to loud noises and finds Bill sleepwalking. She asks if it is because of anxiety from the new baby but he assures her he is fine. Bill's mother comes to visit and Bill is visibly uncomfortable with her presence.

Ethan has to face the consequences of hooking up with so many nurses, and not calling them when he said he would. He is then approached by Scully's daughter, Vivian, who has had a crush on him since Ethan attended her 16th birthday party. She is know attending the university, and will be turning 19 soon (her mention of this is a thinly veiled sexual proposition).

Bill has a pregnant patient who asks her to tie her tubes after this second child. He tells her the hospital won't perform it without the husband's consent and she tells him her husband has refused to take the steps to prevent another pregnancy. When Bill meets the woman's other child, an 8-year old boy, he is able to deduce that the boy, and likely the wife too, are being abused.

Bill's mother visits the hospital with Libby during her check-up and meets Virginia. Bill is terse at seeing her at his place of work. Bill approaches his patient and subtly asks her if she is being abused. She tells him she has nowhere to go (she is also an immigrant). She tells him that finding a way to get out with two babies may be doable but with three or four, she will indubitably be trapped.

During Libby's check-up, Ethan tells her about his relationship with Virginia without actually saying it is Virginia. He compares it to Dorothy going to Oz and seeing techni-colour and now being stuck back in dull Kansas. Virginia is uncomfortable at George arriving at the hospital to take part in the study but maintains her professionalism.

Bill's mother tells Libby she is considering moving to St. Louis. She is hoping to get an apartment close to them so she may spend more time with both them and the baby. Bill learns that Libby is trying to set up Virginia and Ethan, without knowing they have already been involved. At the dinner party, Virginia has also brought along her children. Virginia is shocked to see him and Ethan tells her Libby must be trying to fix them up. Virginia and Libby ask Bill's mother to share stories about Bill when he was younger.

Virginia's son accidentally clogs the toilet and Bill loses his temper. Libby witnesses this and appears uncomfortable. Ethan and Virginia argue before he heads home where Vivian is waiting for him to return something he had left at the university. He asks her if she wants to come inside and she accepts. He serves drinks and starts to fool around with her but they are interrupted by a call about a patient. He has her give him a ride to the hospital where he preps for surgery, despite still being intoxicated. He is about to head into the OR but then turns and throws up into a waste bin.

Bill's mother tells them she is going to make an offer on a nearby place. Bill becomes angry with her and Libby doesn't understand his attitude. We then see him experiencing flashbacks of being abused by his father while his mother merely turned up the radio to drown out his cries. In his patient's surgery, Bill claims there is a bleed, when there actually isn't, in order to perform a tubal ligation.

Vivian approaches Ethan and offers him some aspirin. She asks about his patient and he apologises to her, saying he was punishing someone but she was the one that ended up receiving it. He says he used to be a good guy and she said he still is. She tells him she was unattractive and ugly as a teenager and had asked him to dance at her sixteenth birthday party, expecting to receive a "no" and confirm what she thought of herself. But then he said yes and that it would be a pleasure.

Bill meets his patient's husband and can blatantly see he is a controlling, abusive man. When his back is turned, he shakes his head at her, to communicate that he has tied her tubes and she thanks him. He gives her first son a toy as he walks out. Virginia comes clean to Bill about the fact that her ex-husband has participated in the study and she didn't disclose that she knew him. He used a different name, which is why Bill didn't know who it was. She doesn't disclose who it was and Bill claims to be fine with this. After she leaves, he pores over the files to determine which person it was. He calls him back in to interview him one-on-one. He asks questions about Virginia without making it clear that this is what he is doing. He records the session and asks questions about their sexual habits. Later, he listens back to the interview whilst looking out at Virginia.

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Virginia gets to work with the intention of declining Bill's offer to have sex with each other for research. Instead, she learns from him that Scully has put an end to the study because it had progressed to couples. Bill blames her for sleeping with Ethan Haas, believing him to the be the one that told Scully. He fires her as a result. She then gets a call that her son has been suspended. Bill visits his wife in the hospital and says he will be treating her from now on, without telling her why he is no longer keen on Ethan.

Ethan confronts Bill for his being taken off of Libby's case. Bill warns him to remember that his career is in his hands. Ethan asks if this is about his sperm count and says he has not told Libby about that but Bill does not answer. He heads to a brothel to meet Betty, who agrees to help him continue the study there. He agrees to pay the womyn double their normal salary for solo work. Betty wants a job at the hospital and he reluctantly agrees to let her be his receptionist.

Virginia brings her son, who was suspended for spitting on his teacher, to the hospital. Ethan apologises to Virginia is not interested. She learns that he was not the one who went to Scully but still tells him to stay away from her. Virginia apologises to Bill and tells him Ethan didn't go to Scully. She begs for her job back but he remains unresponsive.

Dr. Langham and Jane head to the room to have another session but learn that the study has been cancelled. Jane is disappointed because she felt she was a part of something bigger, and important for science. Langham is more so disappointed to not be having sex with Jane anymore.

Bill begins instructing the prostitutes on what they will be doing and how the study will be conducted. They are interrupted by police officers who come and arrest all the womyn and Bill. Ethan is hooking up with a nurse and tries to convince her to give him a blow job. She is highly reluctant and offers to perform cunnilingus on her first but she is not up for it. She tries to give him a blow job but then becomes upset and says she doesn't understand why "going all the way" isn't enough. Ethan tells her it's fine and offers to drive her home.

Bill is picked up from the station by Libby. As she drives him home, he attempts to explain the research on human sexuality he was doing at the brothel and it was only because Scully threw it out. She is shocked by his candour and is concerned that this study is not good for his career. He says that this work is his career.

Virginia is forced to bring her son to the university since the babysitter cannot fit him into her schedule. She chats with Betty, who tells her she had better get back to work for Bill soon since he needs her help. Langham visits Jane and suggests that they "continue the study." Ethan interrupts to try to ask them who is the most sexually adventurous woman in the hospital.

Scully confronts Bill about talk of his moving to the study to the brothel. Bill tells him he is the one to blame for this but Scully tells him he'll allow the study to resume if he removes couples from the equation. Bill counters by insisting he allow the study to resume with no restrictions and additional funding. Virginia heads to the brothel after putting her son to bed. Bill hasn't arrived yet. She convinces the girls, including the reluctant ones that what they are doing is important. People are largely clueless about sex but they know more about sex than anyone. Bill arrives and tells them that he has struck a deal with the police that as long as he is working with them, they will not raid the house.

Ethan has sex with a nurse from the hospital but fantasises that she is Virginia. Betty tells Bill she wants him to reverse her tubal ligation but Bill objects to the morality of it, as she is both a lesbian and a prostitute. She attempts to push his equipment out of the home, essentially blackmailing him to get what she wants. Libby asks how his work went and he tells her tonight was just medical examinations and preparation. She asks him if he finds watching sexual acts erotic and offers to masturbate in front of him. She begins to do so but after a bit, he becomes uncomfortable and asks her to stop, saying, "I love you too much."

Libby tells Bill she wants Ethan back as her doctor, saying she wants their home and their problem to be kept separate. He reluctantly agrees to give her what she wants, likely due to his guilt over lying about her being the reason they haven't been able to conceive. Bill imagines Virginia accepting his proposition to have sex in his office. She then actually comes in and he asks her to speak to Betty to try to change her mind about her tubal reversal.

Bill helps one of the prostitutes, who was scared that she had a brain tumour, by giving her a pair of glasses. She becomes emotional and tells him he saved her life. She offers him a blow job to thank him and he politely declines. Virginia speaks to Betty about the tubal reversal and Betty tells her she has been proposed to by a wealthy man. Betty admits that she loves a woman named Helen but believes that she can have a good, comfortable life with this man.

Virginia later asks Bill to reconsider performing the surgery. She asks for official confirmation that she is rehired, pointing out that he needs her for the study. He tells her she has a job tomorrow but doesn't know beyond that. Ethan is shown to be watching the interaction outside Virginia's home, indulging in his infatuation with her. Virginia returns home and finds that her babysitter has read her son the Race to Space comic she had promised to read him but was unable to before heading to the brothel to tend to the study. She is saddened by this and reads the comic alone in the final scene.

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In 1956, a nationally renowned fertility specialist met a former nightclub singer. Ten years later, they published a scientific understanding of human sexuality.

Dr. William H. Masters is honoured at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri for his work in Obstetrics surgery. Following this, he watches through a peep hole as Betty DiMello, a prostitute, has sex with a client named Ernie. He has a timer and takes notes on his observations. Afterwards, he interviews her as part of his research on sex. She tells him she had faked her orgasm and he is amazed, having never learned of this. He doesn't understand why a woman would lie about that and she tells him if he really wants to learn about sex, he should get himself a female partner.

Ethan Hass, a young doctor, tells Bill about a new female employee that is in the midst of divorcing her husband. Bill says that he is getting support from Scully about presenting his research to the board but Ethan doesn't have much confidence in this study. Bill assures him that it would be conducted in secrecy. When Bill returns home to his wife Libby, she has a romantic set-up in place. Their conversation reveals that they are having difficulties getting pregnant.

Ethan drives Virgina E. Johnson home and flirts with her. She tells him that perhaps they will be friends but when he admits he has been thinking about kissing her, she tells him friends can kiss. The next day, Ethan tells Bill that she gave him a blow job and calls it "incredible." Ethan is highly infatuated by her and brings her up to the Obstetrics wing to show her a c-section taking place in which Bill is the lead surgeon.

Virginia interviews to be Bill's new secretary. She is studying behaviour sciences and will have her degree by the end of the year. She says she has been married twice and has two children from the second one. They discuss love, marriage, and she says she believes womyn often believe love and sex are the same but she says they can be separate. He says he has never heard a woman express that opinion before. He asks her why a woman would fake an orgasm and she says it could be to get the man to climax quicker so she can get back to whatever she was doing. Virginia heads to the registrar and signs up for some sociology courses as an undeclared major.

Bill meets with Scully who tells him he didn't present the project to the board because they will dismiss it as smut. Bill finds it illogical that there are libraries of books about babies being born without any information about how babies are made. He says they should be researching it as doctors but Scully will not see reason.

Bill returns home and finds that Libby is distraught over the fact that her period just began and she is therefore not pregnant. Virginia is hired as Bill's secretary and Bill tells her Libby will be coming in to join his cervical cap trial to try to help her conceive. Ethan drives Virginia home where they have sex and she teaches him to perform cunnilingus, something he has never done before or even considered attempting. He enjoys it thoroughly.

Bill's patient is distraught because she lost her baby and other doctors have told her she will not be able to have another one. Bill promises he will not rest until she has another baby. Post-sex, Bill tells Virginia that Bill's low sperm count is what prevents his wife from being able to get pregnant but his ego keeps him from telling anyone about it. Ethan only knows this because he snuck a peek at Bill's file. Virginia politely kicks Ethan out, saying it would be confusing for her children and also, they are just friends. He expresses his confusion to Bill over the great sex but lack of emotional involvement. He says he is in love with her but she is killing him. Bill wants to focus on helping his patient(s) conceive.

Bill has Betty come in to take part in his new study on sex. Ethan begins treating Libby since it's against protocol for him to be the one to treat her. While Bill is hooking the monitor up to Betty, he learns that she is gay. Bill informs Virginia about the nature of his research and asks her to assist him with it since he believes she has good instincts for the work. She recruits Jane, another worked in the hospital to take part in the study.

Bill designs a dildo with a camera built into it to. He has Scully come in to observe what happens inside as Jane masturbates with it, though her identity is kept anonymous from him with the help of a curtain that hides her upper half. Bill presses Scully to submit his proposal to the board but when Scully remains stubborn, Bill threatens to quit, which would cost the hospital a great deal of money.

That night, Bill and Virginia sit and wait. Ethan comes in and is upset when Virginia tells him to go out without her, despite their having had plans to head to a benefit together. Bill warns her that their behaviour must be without reproach, as their study is already scandalous by other people's standards. He expresses his frustrations with people's attitudes about sex and dismissal of the importance of scientific research on it. When they are about to leave for the benefit, Scully leaves and gives them the approval to continue their research.

Bill and Virginia head to the benefit. They recruit Dr. Austin Langham to take part in their study. He is married, but has a reputation for having extramarital affairs. Ethan gets upset at Virginia and they head outside where he complains about her beginning to spend more time with Bill than him. She tells him they are friends but Ethan says that friends don't make love to each other. She apologises for hurting him but then he hits her. She hits back and he breaks thing off, calling her a whore before storming off.

Virginia is left with a bruise on her face but returns to work and meets Bill's patient, who is overjoyed at the news that she is pregnant again. Langham meets Jane and is charmed right off the bat. They are both hooked up to wires and Virginia tells them there are no rules and they only need to move through the four stages so the necessary data may be collected. Bill and Virginia observe from the other room. Bill later tells Virginia that they run the risk of potential transference between them and their patients. He suggests that they have sex with each other to deflect any inappropriate interaction with the patients and then they will be able to interpret the data first-hand. Virginia asks to think about it over the weekend.

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

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