How bad can one day of work at Masters and Johnson’s Reproductive Biology Research Foundation be? At this point in the season, bad enough to convince Virginia Johnson to park her kids with her dad, and pack her bags to flee for parts unknown.
And that’s before she even leaves for work in the morning. By the time the day’s over, she’s dealt with blackmail, entrapment, arrest, and what might be the pushiest damn publicist on the planet. Oh, and she’s also assaulted Nora, leaving her laid out on the floor of her office as she heads to Mexico with newly-divorced Dan Logan to free herself from her sham marriage with the long-absent George. (Though Nora really should have known that you shouldn’t ambush someone you’re entrapping for prostitution to talk to her about God.)
Masters has been the unwitting architect of the mess: Apparently, the guy can’t do anything nice for anyone without it getting twisted into a legal case. Letting Dennis-the-bully know that wet dreams are totally normal has earned him an indecency with a minor charge, which Dennis’ parents are perfectly happy to drop in exchange for a sizable check. And since Nora-the-perfect-surrogate has been a mole for the Committee for Decency all along, giving her rent money has gotten him charged with prostitution. The trust and compassion we so rarely see in Bill Masters have left him open to the bait.
Even finally admitting his affair with Virginia to Libby doesn’t make anything better for Bill: he’s trying to come clean and set her free, only to find out that not only has she known for years, but she and Gini had conspired to keep his double life the status quo. At least, until Dan Logan came along. And desipte Logan’s womanizing ways, his care and support for Gini makes Bill’s final declaration of love for her much too little, and far too late.
In short, it’s the season finale, and the writers’ last chance to smear blood on the road after this year’s car wreck of a season. I guess they’re hoping that viewers will come back next year to see if there are any bodies left to rubberneck at.
Contact the author at diane@io9.com.