Review | TV Ate My Wardrobe

Archive | Review RSS feed for this section

Masters of Sex 2.09 “Story of My Life” Review: “Victim and Narrator”

Early in this episode of Masters of Sex we see Virginia looking into a mirror using the technique of saying “no” to something that has occurred in the past and while it is far less horrific than what Barbara experienced, it informs who Virginia is now. Despite Virginia’s duplicity during the actual therapy sessions as she poses as Barbara the lines get a little blurred as Virginia injects some of her recent personal experiences into the Barbara tale she is passing off as her own. There is a certain duality to many of the plot points in “Story of My Life” as characters confront their past and try to reconcile it with their current transgressions.

When Lester explains his interaction with Kitty, the prostitute Bill has hired to help with Lester’s impotence he does so from a point of reference he finds comfortable using terms that relate to fiction while he discusses a real issue he is uncomfortable talking about. Lester describes himself as “victim and narrator” and Masters of Sex is dealing with a variety of these two roles as characters learn to stand in their truth while these decisions reverberate and impact those in their vicinity.

Starting with the woman who doesn’t read instructions and Virginia’s desire to fix Barbara’s sexual dysfunction with a psychological approach. Bill and Virginia differ in strategy when it comes to Barbara’s treatment as Bill wants to use the expertise they have in abundance pertaining to the physical side of sex. Barbara does of course have deep trauma relating to her first sexual experience which took place with her brother when she was 12 and her anguish is deeply rooted in this. Virginia is right in suggesting that they need to consider the mental to fix the physical, however she goes about it in completely the wrong manner. In this respect Virginia and Bill are like Jack Shephard and John Locke on Lost, but instead of science and faith acting as opposites they differ from a body/mind perspective. They are arguing the same thing, just taking it from very different angles when really the best approach is a combination of the two rather than vehemently on one side.

At the end of the last episode Virginia posed as Barbara during a session with the best psychologist in town, Dr. Lloyd Madden and this terrible idea continues this week as Virginia attempts to solve Barb’s issues through the methods she witnesses while pretending to be Barbara. To the doctors credit he does question the validity of this story, suggesting that it sounds as if it happened to someone else as there is a lack of association. Virginia notes this is a coping mechanism and later in another appointment she brings in her own experiences as she mentions Lillian’s (*sob* I really miss you Lillian) disapproval at her relations with a married man. This opens up a whole other can of worms as Libby’s role is brought into question with Virginia considering Libby’s position as the wife and her friend for the first time in a long time; the work and their affair can no longer be used as a reasonable excuse.

So not only does Virginia act as a conduit for Barbs, but she is also confronting her own very complicated situation with Bill. Virginia passes on the technique of speaking for the past version of herself to Barbs, but it’s not as simple as saying “no” to a mirror. This is a case of not fully understanding the ramifications because while Virginia’s imagined version of Barbs simply tells her brother no, the real one is still in contact with her brother Paul. Barbs takes Virginia’s advice literally and discusses what happened in the past with the real Paul. Paul shifts the blame onto his sister, suggesting she was the one who instigated everything and Barbs takes this as what happened as a new memory has been jogged. This is why Barbara really should be seeing a qualified professional rather than someone who is incredibly unprepared for the variables of a past experience like this. Virginia is trying to help, but you can’t fix someone by acting as a proxy in this manner.

In a later conversation Virginia responds to this and her feelings of guilt about Libby by rejecting Libby’s declaration that Virginia has courage. Instead Virginia points out the reason she demanded a job at Memorial is because she has a false sense of entitlement and that she doesn’t consider the consequences. This conversation is fraught as Libby is holding Virginia up as a bastion of bravery and Virginia just feels like a fraud.

Libby is searching for purpose and for once something she has said is being taken seriously after Robert came to her about what she witnessed last week. Unfortunately Libby didn’t see enough and Robert demonstrates how Libby will be ripped apart on the stand if she lies about what she saw; her testimony will be detrimental rather than helpful. Libby wants to do something and after her sister-in-law Pauline has told a charming anecdote about how she ended up with Frank – Libby’s Bill story is clinical and devoid of any personality – followed by the tale of how she offered an ultimatum regarding his drinking this is just the push Libby needs. Pauline could be describing Libby when she mentions how people thought she was a “ninny” and the laugh you could always count on; no one thought she was capable of standing up for herself and she claims that rather than saving Frank’s life, she was actually saving her own. Libby is striving for meaning and I hope that she isn’t simply going to act as a tourist in the CORE movement. This is probably why the first task Robert gives her is to go on a sandwich run to see how she responds and whether this is more than a fad for a bored housewife looking for excitement.

Bill’s brother Frank is still in St. Louis dragging up a whole lot of resentment and what looks like a happy family reunion dinner turns into passive aggressive needling about fondue and alcoholism. Frank gets Bill to go to an AA meeting by dressing it up as something else, which immediately puts Bill’s back up. It’s important to Frank as he’s getting his chip for his sober birthday and he wants to reintroduce himself to his big brother. Bill takes umbrage at Frank’s tale as he thinks he is reappropriating what happened to Bill and making it his story. To Bill, Frank is the golden child, the one who his father gave his name to – it is unusual that Frank Sr. didn’t give his name to his first born – but everything Bill knows about this situation only comes from while he was still at home and he missed a lot of Frank’s formative years. It is likely that if his father was an asshole to him then the pattern would have repeated when Bill left.

To believe that Frank is taking Bill’s story rather than Frank experiencing this brutish behavior himself is easier on Bill than to think of the alternative and we get to see some rare Bill tears as he acknowledges that he wouldn’t have left if he knew it would happen to his younger brother too. Not that Bill had a choice about leaving home; he didn’t do so of his own volition. Frank points out that they both escaped in their own way with one over the wall and one under while also saying that their father left Bill and Bill left Frank Jr. Bill can’t be blamed for leaving his brother initially although he really could have reached out to him since his father died and the tension between this pair isn’t going to be resolved easily; too much time has passed for it to be a simple hug it out resolution. It’s also worth noting that in the shot above, they are framed by the alcohol in Bill’s office and Frank hints on several occasions that he is concerned with his mothers drinking and Virginia points out in the hotel room that she is usually playing catch up with Bill on the drinking front. Also for all the similarities I am glad to see that Frank’s costuming is not a mirror of Bill’s and the bow tie is definitely still the Bill signature (I’m very into the polka dot number from this week that you can see below).

In her excellent essay Libby Hill discusses how the MTV reality show Catfish resonates with other recent fictional material demonstrating how truths that are presented by a false narrator can reveal so much more than when characters are saying these words as themselves. Using the episode “Fight” as one example Hill points out that Bill and Virginia share far more in this set up of fake husband and wife than they have previously done so in the past and it has opened themselves up to where they are now. Bill doesn’t want to discuss the past as he doesn’t think there is anything that can be done about something that has already occurred; it can’t be changed. What happened in the past can have a direct influence on the present despite how much he protests this isn’t the case and in this hotel room Bill and Virginia have gone from using the guise of a fake marriage to unburden their soul to saying the unspeakable with no playacting involved. Prior to this final scene Bill has not been able to reveal his own dysfunction using the excuse of wanting to pleasure Virginia or that he has just been intimate with Libby.

The tipping point has been reached as Virginia notes that what goes on in this hotel room hasn’t been about the study in years and all they are doing is lying to each other and to Libby. Bill’s surprising confession about his recent impotence brings it back to the work as Bill has taken on Lester’s observation that to explore something like impotence needs more than just a prostitute and the person experiencing this condition. It’s an important moment as Bill is acknowledging his own shortcomings even if it is out of fear of losing what he has with Virginia; it still comes with a massive dent to his pride. Though really how long was he going to hide this from her and even if Lester had managed to get an erection with Kitty this wouldn’t have necessarily been the magic cure for Bill.

Intimacy can come in a host of forms and by just admitting to this issue Bill has taken the next big step in how intimate he is with Virginia. Virginia is also partial to closing herself off and her guarded heart is exposed as she acknowledges Libby’s role in all of this as the woman who is completely oblivious to what is going on between her husband and her friend. Earlier Pauline mentions how it is embarrassing how much she missed with Frank and his drinking; she could have been talking about Bill with Virginia and I wonder how Libby will react when she eventually finds out what has been going on for all of these years.

It hasn’t always been clear exactly what this season of Masters of Sex has been trying to say as there has been so many story threads taking place and now it finally feels like they are building towards something as there is a stronger sense of connection between the various plots.

Tags: "Story of My Life", 2.09, Lizzy Caplan, Masters of Sex, Michael Sheen

Comments 2 Comments
Categories Masters of Sex, Review
Author Emma Fraser

Masters of Sex 2.08 “Mirror, Mirror” Review: Beneath the Veil

1 Sep

Observation is no longer enough on Masters of Sex as the study broadens its scope through a variety of methods with Bill and Virginia both experiencing variations of crossing the line. There is a lot going on below the surface in “Mirror, Mirror” as the traumas of past relationships come to light and another part of the Bill Masters jigsaw falls into place as he deals with his own psychological block.

At times Masters of Sex takes a slightly heavy handed approach with its use of symbolism and this is one of those occasions as veils are used to suggest that which is hidden in plain sight. Not everything is related to sex, although past and present encounters are used to highlight trauma and Betsy Brandt delivers a powerful performance when she realizes what transpired during her childhood. This episode does grind the forward momentum on display last week to a halt; however it is still remains a compelling hour of television while also highlighting some of the narrative issues this season is having.

“You think it’s enough to fix the outside. That’s the easy part.”

Bill’s brother Francis stops by to imbue some wisdom on his older brother and to tell him to stop ignoring him – this final scene gave me all the Dick/Adam Whitman feelings – and we spend the whole episode thinking that Francis is just an old college friend* until the final reveal. Francis is similar to Bill from his chosen profession and his low sperm count. Bill is extra cagey when questioned about whom Francis is and even Betty’s snooping doesn’t reveal his true identity. On the surface it looked like Bill has made all the family reconciliations that he needed to last week after he let his mother back into his life, but this is far from the truth.

*In real life Bill did have a college roommate called Francis Baker as well as his brother Francis.

Bill is also withholding other important information from Virginia and he uses the three drink excuse as to why he can’t perform. The decision to include the participants they initially rejected due to sexual dysfunctions is beneficial to Bill and the stack with the highest number affected happens to be the problem he is suffering from. Bill’s issue came directly after he discovered that Virginia had been seeing another man and his physical problems are almost certainly caused by the psychological. The correlation between mental and physical feelings has been floating in the background since the first episode with love and feelings as the eternal elephant in the room. First it was transference as a reason for initial attraction, now it is the mental block Bill is having as a result of the complicated relationship he has with Virginia.

Using all the resources at hand also includes asking Betty about her previous profession and the techniques they used at the brothel with performance problems. Betty notes that generally if you could get the head to believe then the rest would follow suit. Sometimes this involved a magical potion – rum and cayenne peppers – to work as a placebo and it has the not so subtle name “punch for suckers.” There are many reasons why someone might experience impotence, but in her experience it is generally more mental than physical. This would seem to be the case with Bill as he didn’t experience anything like this before his other man encounter at Virginia’s and what looked like a panic attack in the rain. Bill is of course keeping all of this information to himself. Standard Bill Masters shutting down protocol.

Bill has a hard time with empathy, it’s not that he doesn’t and can’t empathize; it’s just not his emotional wheelhouse. When he spots a fellow sufferer in Lester, who is feeling both personally and professionally impotent after his time in Hollywood with Jane, Bill turns the camera on him and makes him more than just an observer. Lester’s father has died and after Virginia suggests using his talents to make a slideshow of his father’s life as part of his eulogy; Lester realizes he is only present in two photos out of over a hundred. Bill sees this opportunity to make Lester part of the project he is documenting and it is an act of kindness that shows Bill is far more than the brusque standoffish figure we have come to expect.

Later in the episode Bill doesn’t show the same level of understanding with Libby as she also wants to be part of something. Unfortunately for Libby, Bill thinks she is already part of the study even though she is more on the outside than anyone. So while the study is Lester’s biggest inspiration as every day brings something brand new, for Libby it is the same old cycle.

For a week she gets to show off her sales skills as she raises money for the Veiled Prophet Ball and makes $300 using a whole host of persuasion to get businesses to sign off; we see her hone her skills with Flo. In fact Libby is just as much of an asset as Virginia is at the initial dinner, as she uses her knowledge of society events to get their foot in the door by targeting the police chief’s wife (oh hey! Peri Gilpin). Libby might not have been a debutante, but she knows how to work this angle.

This is the Libby from season 1 that was sympathetic and proactive who wasn’t reduced to a paranoid racist mess; while it doesn’t excuse her behavior from earlier this year and I still think it was a huge misstep making Libby the villain she does go some way to rectify her past actions. Last week they mentioned that CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) had moved into the same building and this continues Masters of Sex engaging in stories that explore racial tension from this period in a way that goes beyond the passivity of Mad Men in this area. Libby is a witness to the aftermath of an attack that is blamed in the press as a drug deal gone bad, when really it is a horrific racially provoked assault. One person who comes to the aid of the beaten man is Robert, Coral’s brother and he clocks Libby driving by. Later Robert visits Libby at home imploring her to speak up in a manner in which the other white witnesses are too afraid to.

When Libby mentions this interaction to Bill her rhetoric is far different from how she previously discussed Robert with her husband as she’s no longer painting Robert as a threat and it’s Bill’s turn to come across as narrow minded telling Libby “This is not our issue.” Libby has been a witness to a crime and it is disappointing to hear him tell her that she shouldn’t do anything about it. Seeing the veiled man and Robert mentioning other men who wear hoods is the prompt Libby needs to act on the injustice she saw and later she visits Robert to tell him that she did see the truck.

This scene builds on the last time Libby went to see Robert at home and it suggests there is an attraction here; are we going to see Libby embark on an affair? Libby taking on the role of white women savior is going to be made even more complicated and problematic if sex is thrown into the mix; while this version of Libby is far more preferable to the one on display earlier this season, they need to tread carefully and not just use this as a reason for Libby to fill the emptiness that she is feeling. A further exploration of Libby’s loneliness is appreciated, just don’t let it become a prop in a story exploring race.

The person who prompted Virginia’s desire to include those with sexual dysfunctions in the study is Barbs and after tracking her down Virginia opens up a trauma so deep that Barbs has buried it for what sounds like her entire adult life. Barbs explains the horror story of the pregnant girl who bled to death when she was younger as a potential reason for her condition. Virginia comments that it is curious that Barbs can’t remember the name of the first boy she had a sexual encounter with and a night time house call reveals the true horror of what occurred to Barbs. Betsy Brandt gives an incredible and heartbreaking performance as she recounts the childhood games with her brother that changed with time and how she believes God is punishing her for what she did with her brother. It is a devastating scene and having it take place away from the clinical landscape with Virginia in her home and in her nightclothes increases the desperation from Barbs, while highlighting Virginia’s lack of experience with handling something of this magnitude. This is something so traumatic that it can’t wait until the following day when there are no children sleeping upstairs.

Bill thinks a line has been crossed with this interaction taking place in Virginia’s home and while he could serve to be more compassionate what Virginia does next is a cause for concern. Barbs doesn’t want to talk to a man about this and she refuses the referral to a psychologist so Virginia goes in her place retelling the story she heard in her living room. Virginia’s intentions are honorable as there’s no way she can get qualified in time to help Barbs and yet there are flashing warning signs that this is a terrible idea. Despite the cool exterior Virginia projects she also has a lot buried beneath the surface as she protects herself far too much. The few times she has let her guard down with Lillian and Bill have been brief and her heart remains locked up; will these therapy sessions end up unlocking that box?

Masters of Sex went to some dark places this week and so I am incredibly thankful for Flo and her no BS, cigar smoking ways. Flo was introduced as a means for Virginia to make some more money and having her as one of the building tenants is a fantastic move for injecting some fun. It also brings Austin back in and even though this is a tad convenient to keep him relevant on the show, I also believe his character would leap at an opportunity to be adored by a large group of women and revive his flailing confidence. Austin has been rejected by his wife for the final time and he is seen as a joke at work; by becoming the spokesperson for Cal-o-Metric he gets adulation and a fancy title (even if those in the medical community would see this as an inferior position).

When Flo mentioned her original spokesman was going to be staying at a hotel outside of town I was convinced she was going to spot Bill and Virginia together and use this as a reason to not pay rent, instead the only crossover is that Bill was called upon by Elliott as the doctor on call when a man had pretty much eaten himself to death. The connection here being that this man was Flo’s spokesman, but Flo never crossed paths with either Bill or Virginia.

As Bill and Virginia move from a position of observation to intervention it looks like there will be further development of the inner lives of these characters; while we had one episode this season that did just this, there are ways to go to understand just who Bill and Virginia are in relation to each other, themselves and the study. There is a lot going on in Masters of Sex juggling multiple characters and plot points and it’s all feeling rather scattered at the moment. The ambition of this season is commendable, however the best episode of the season was the most stripped down (punnage ahoy) and the Bill/Virginia anchor is important. Let’s hope the show remembers this.

Tags: "Mirror, 2.09, Ane Crabtree, Betsy Bradt, costume design, Lizzy Caplan, Martin Sheen, Masters of Sex, Review

Comments 1 Comment
Categories Masters of Sex, Review
Author Emma Fraser

Masters of Sex 2.05 “Giants” Review: Taking the Plunge

11 Aug

So much of Masters of Sex deals with public and private battles for progression as these characters navigate a reluctant and repressive landscape; from the sex study itself to gender and most recently race issues. This is a period of fundamental change and as Bill’s new boss Dr. Charles Hendricks (played by the always excellent Courtney B. Vance) points out the actions of pioneers like Bill (and Virginia) are important when it comes to ensuring monumental change; someone needs to take the plunge.

Once again there are multiple power dynamics at play with the Virginia and Bill continuing their push/pull dance and home life at the Masters’ takes another turn for the awful. These aren’t the only relationships that are under strain as Virginia and Lillian continue to argue and Betty receives a blast from the past that threatens to disrupt her already precarious marital situation.

Bill’s new place of work is a lot more amenable with who he wants to hire as part of his work requirements as well as being fully behind the study – well to a certain extent as it turns out that Dr. Hendricks is the one sabotaging the recruitment of new participants and isn’t as in favor of the sex study as he is projecting – on the surface Bill is getting what he wants. To Bill, his new office is tiny and yet he is being accommodated in a manner that is at a disadvantage to the other doctors, one of whom is now in an even smaller thanks to the arrival of Bill. Bill also manages to secure a contract for Virginia, something she insists upon and isn’t the norm for support staff at Buell Green. For Virginia job security is a condition of her moving hospitals as she has her family to think about and even though her working relationship with Lillian is in tatters she also needs to ensure that she can provide for her children. So while Bill might refer to the diet pills in a fanciful derogatory sense, Virginia is only selling them as a means to an end.

Financial security is one thing, but she also has another issue to work through with Bill and their participation in the study. After Virginia’s huge blowout with Lillian where Lillian accuses her of sleeping her way to her new position and scoffing at the scientific nature of her work with Bill, Virginia now has other stipulations. As with season 1, Virginia asks Bill if she has to participate in the study to get the job. Back then he said no and this is his initial response here too and then he changes his mind; it is indeed mandatory. Virginia finds a way to assert her dominance and agency when they venture to the hotel as she tells Bill to strip and pleasure himself. This is a twist on what happened in “Fight” when Bill told Virginia to strip and beg for it and instead she showed she has control over her body. Bill complies with Virginia’s demands from the Q&A – why he closes his eyes and who he is thinking about – to when she tells him to stop.

The Bill/Virginia relationship is in a state of flux as both are trying so hard to deny any actual feelings and the intimacy of their work can result in moments like this. When Virginia tells him to stop before completion this is another moment where she is fully in control and Bill continues to meet Virginia’s demands; it’s a banner week for lady pleasure as Bill follows the Outlander lead and goes down on Virginia. It’s also worth noting that as the camera pulls away we see the very naked Bill and the still fully dressed Virginia. Bill is later propositioned in “Giants” by Libby (more on the reasons why below) and the sex between this pair is stale and kinda awkward looking (plus Bill keeps his t-shirt firmly on). Having established a new power balance and one that is sure to ebb and flow as they continue to view these activities as research only, Virginia takes the position at Buell Green.

The return of the white coat! Virginia might not be an actual doctor, but the symbolism behind this garment is incredibly important. This indicates her experience, expertise and equal standing with Bill when it comes to their work on the study so while she doesn’t come with Dr. before her name she shouldn’t get overlooked. The dress Virginia is wearing is one of her super professional and very Lillian looking outfits thanks to the grey tone and high collar. We first saw this piece of costuming in the episode where Lillian was introduced and it also happens to be the first dress Virginia wore the lab coat with and this is significant. Inner strength is something Virginia possesses in droves and yet she has the same insecurities regarding her self-worth and how she is perceived as everyone else. The white coat is like armor and it sends out a message that Virginia is not here as a play thing for Bill. After her argument with Lillian it is understandable that she embraces this coat and dresses conservatively to portray a certain version of herself.

When Virginia fights with Lillian several home truths come out from both parties; Lillian gave her work away to secure its future as she always suspected that she was Virginia’s second choice and Austin’s revelation confirmed her fears. As with Bill, Virginia references money and supporting her family to explain her actions and tells Lillian that she “had it easier.” This is one of those bitter arguments where every single fear and resentment is laid out and when Lillian first met Virginia she believed that she was using her looks to get by; in one respect Lillian believes her initial assessment has been confirmed, however it is far more complex than that. In a hurtful argument it is all the ammo Lillian needs to push Virginia further away. It is not the end of my favorite lady friendship on TV, although I suspect there isn’t much time left for Lillian and she is now done with work after she collapsed in the bathroom.

“I am scared though for what’s ahead, which means I can’t really afford to be upset with you, can I?” The line that caused my screen to go blurry and despite their big fight this friendship has not been broken and there is no need to say sorry for the things they said to each other; the hand holding is more than enough. This has been a sublime representation of a female friendship and I’m really not ready for it to be done. I know it’s not that kind of show, but I really want them to find a miracle cure.

Moving on from an interaction that is tear inducing to one that causes another emotional reaction – of the “Shut up, Libby!” variety – and Libby continues down the path of self-righteous destruction. Libby’s relationship with Coral reaches new lows of patronizing after she receives a visit from Coral’s boyfriend Robert regarding the degrading shampoo incident. Libby can’t understand that what she did was completely inappropriate until Bill points out just how horrific these actions were. Libby is being painted in a very unfortunate light and her attempts to do the ‘right thing’ like impart life lessons as she “knows a thing or two about the world” lead to further humiliation and anger. With Coral when she tells her to dump Robert, Coral uses her knowledge of the separate beds in the Masters’ bedroom to poke at Libby’s insecurities (and it prompts Libby’s ‘seduction’ of Bill later on) and Robert points out how she should be apologizing to Coral not him. Libby is shocked that Robert is calling her racist and while we saw some liberal attitudes from Libby last season there is still inherent snobbery that translates at racism with how she is treating Coral and Bill’s new workplace location.

Libby doesn’t apologize to Coral most likely because she thinks it will undermine her position and because she is already feeling inferior to her employee. This is the original reason why Libby corrected Coral’s grammar in the first place and a lot of Libby’s insecurities are bringing out this ugly side of her in the same it does with Betty Draper on Mad Men. Feeling powerless is not a reason to be awful and I worry that Libby is being portrayed in this way to make her less sympathetic when it comes to her marriage.

One thing we know about Libby’s past is that she did have it pretty hard as a child with her mother dying young quickly followed by her father walking out and never coming back. This makes her comment about knowing things about the world believable, but this is not how she presents herself so she comes across as spoiled and sheltered.

Embracing the past is something Betty has to do when ex-girlfriend Helen (oh hey Sarah Silverman) turns up unannounced and threatens to disrupt the marriage Betty is in the middle of trying to save. Gene is still upset with Betty, not because she can’t have children, but because she lied about it in the first place. The scene where she tries to serenade Gene with a cute song and dance doesn’t work (he compares her voice to “migrating geese” and Annaleigh Ashford is really a Broadway star, Betty not so much) and it adds depth to the Pretzel King and shows there is genuine affection here, even if it will never be that kind of love. In the same way Barton Scully is limited to how he can love in the eyes of society this is another version of this heartbreaking story. Betty married Gene as a way to secure herself a future away from the brothel and while she sees this as another form of prostitution in this version she gets a hat for each day of the week and gold facets. When Libby says she knows the world it sounds ridiculous, with Betty it’s totally believable when she states she “has seen things.” Gene isn’t a bad guy either, but this kind of settling is only going to lead to further misery for all concerned. This is clear during the double date when a story about how much Helen cares for Betty goes from hysterical laughter to teary bathroom kisses.

Betty reinforces why she chose Gene as there is no future for them; pretending to be sisters so they can live together is not enough and they don’t fit in with the style of the lesbian scene. For Betty it broke her heart, but she wanted a future for herself even if that future is built on lies.

Style wise like Betty, Helen wears colorful and bold attire refusing to blend in. They are an explosive pair and the chemistry between Annaleigh Ashford and Sarah Silverman supports this notion that they have been in love for years.

I also really want to include this shot as there is so much going on in this scene costume and set wise; there is a clashing quality between Betty’s colorful stripped skirt, Helen’s floral teal dress and Gene’s camel suit. The opulence of the room (haunted by the ghost of a 93-year old) adds to the busy looking frame underpinning the conflict at play. There are ghosts in this room of course, but not the one Gene thinks there is.

This whole episode is full of vibrant colors with strong blues dominating scenes; Coral is in blue when Libby attempts to give her advice and Libby is in a similar shade when she tells Coral she can take care of the master Masters bedroom. Betty wears electric blue when she confronts Helen and Helen in turn wears this to dinner. It’s like there is a power struggle between the women who wear this color. Virginia reverts back to red after her initial grey power dress and it’s the Capri blue car that gets referenced as a way to show the neighborhood isn’t so bad; this car is also the location for the Virginia/Lillian reconciliation. In the final scene Virginia is wearing a beautiful darker blue outfit when Bill pays her the ultimate compliment by referring to something she does way better than he does and I’m not sure if I’m reading too much into it, but this color plays an important part in the power struggles between some of these relationships. Now Bill and Virginia are in a better place she is wearing less black around him. The overall challenge is far from over and this is not a conflict free situation, however it does appear that Bill and Virginia are on the same page in the same hospital once again.

Tags: "Giants", 2.05, Ane Crabtree, Annaleigh Ashford, costume design, Lizzy Caplan, Masters of Sex, Michael Sheen, Sarah Silverman

Comments 1 Comment
Categories Masters of Sex, Review
Author Emma Fraser

Masters of Sex 2.04 “Dirty Jobs” Review: “Is It Worth It?”

4 Aug

Dr. Austin Langham spent so long lying to cover up his rampant philandering that he has since become the Masters of Sex truthsayer after his wife so very publicly dumped him in the season premiere. Now Austin is experiencing the bachelor lifestyle without the burden of his lies – it’s not all good as he’s on a diet of chips for dinner and he misses his kids – and he’s got pearls of wisdom to share; impacting the various other characters who are withholding or spinning a yarn that is further from the truth than they would like to believe. If the truth can set you free, why not return the favor?

Truth and trust are intrinsically linked; the conflict at the heart of “Dirty Jobs” and the show in general is down to the walls these characters have erected to protect themselves. Instead it just leads to more heartbreak. Last week’s incredible episode “Fight” saw Virginia and Bill slowly let their guard down with each other sharing pieces of them that were previously off limits and yet they still left the hotel room playing the same roles and insisting that it’s about “the work” and nothing more. Until they can both accept that this relationship runs deeper than that to not only themselves, but each other they are going to continue to struggle. Austin can see through Virginia’s very well told story detailing why she was in the hotel with Bill and her reasons for quitting the study the previous year because even though she talks a good talk, certain intimate actions Austin has witnessed like fixing Bill’s bow tie have betrayed her.

One person Austin can’t detect is lying is Lillian as he’s so excited to find someone to share his Virginia/Bill news with that he doesn’t detect that moment where Lillian’s disappoint betrays her lack of knowledge about this relationship. Virginia has been Lillian’s confidant since they bonded on a bus trip last season and Lillian disclosed her cancer secret; now it feels like Lillian has shared everything and has got nothing in return. Lillian gives Virginia the opportunity to open up about what she keeps closest to her heart and when Virginia claims there is nothing to confess this feels like an ultimate betrayal; Lillian even disclosed an academic cheating story and nope Virginia’s all “I’m not that interesting.” It’s not surprising Virginia says nothing as she can’t even admit it to herself, except in her dreams where she is haunted by the title of mistress despite the white coat and the very real research they are doing.

Lillian reacts to this in an extreme way and showing just how deeply this has cut her; she gives away her research that she worked so hard on to the man she named the test after and she won’t even get her own name on the study. For Virginia getting credit for the work she has done is important and part of this is because she has earned it, the other reason is so people can see that she is more than just a ‘mistress.’ When Lillian and Virginia present the work they are dressed alike, down to the high collar and similar shades of blue. The glaring difference is that one of them is in a white coat and the more subtle visual cue is that Virginia’s blouse is prettier and more feminine with bow and pleat detail. Lillian is all about unfussy clothing so that her gender doesn’t come into play in a field dominated by men. In Virginia’s dream she is wearing a white coat, plus her hair is pulled back a la Lillian and yet there is still this nagging voice that calls her mistress.

In Virginia’s working and personal relationships with Bill and Lillian there is a power struggle as Virginia’s influence has made both doctors open up more than they have ever done before, but she is reticent to do the same. Her heart is still locked in that box. They in turn have all the power when it comes to their research so Lillian is well within her rights to give away the work without consulting Virginia, no matter how much she has contributed. Bill can carry on working on the sex study in a hospital without Virginia because he’s the one with the MD and his boss can’t entertain the notion that she is legitimately important to the study. Greathouse thinks that Bill and Virginia’s relationship is like his and Barbs, however Virginia can do the work, whereas Barbs is struggling. Bill even loses a participant because there is no female partner and there are certain things like warming Ulysses that Bill forgets to do.

Instead now he is surrounded by frat boy mentality and when his ploys to get Greathouse to stay away fail – warning him that there might be transference in the observation room (the actual excuse Bill and Virginia used with each other when they first felt something) and pretending there will be “old men masturbating” as the test subjects – he can’t keep his composure shoving Chinese food into one doctor’s mouth forcefully and landing two blows to Dr Greathouse showing the boxing prowess Bill hinted at last week. And he’s fired all over again.

Struggles come in all different forms this week and Libby’s attempts to give reason to Bill’s behavior around baby Johnny involves magazine articles that point to disruption as being the heart of the issue. Bill is incredibly calm and reasonable putting on his best doctor voice when Libby freaks out about the lice that might be in the house – they’re “just a few harmless insects” – and he also uses this tone when pointing out that Coral is right about it being unlikely that the lice came from her. When he’s just with Libby this is fine and she talks about their strength as team, with Coral it’s like an affront and as if they are ganging up on her. This is not Libby’s best self and her patronizing tone when she corrects Coral’s pronunciation is superseded in its awfulness by the way she addresses her employee using the lice treatment shampoo. Coral clearly can’t afford to lose this job and so in the end she succumbs to the hair washing humiliation and because Libby claims she can’t trust her to do it herself she insists on doing it in their bathroom right now. Libby gives Coral extra money to get her hair done in a move to make her feel like she hasn’t done anything wrong, but these scenes make for uncomfortable viewing as the power disparity is apparent and Libby’s ‘helpful’ actions often come after Coral has shown how good she is with the baby; it’s a way for Libby to assert her dominance.

Libby flips out when she finds out from someone else that Bill has lost another job as a result of the study – when Libby is asked for juicy sex study secrets she calls it ‘boring’ because she’s never really been on the inner circle even when she did help out – and she’s concerned that he’s so blinded by this that he is neglecting his role as father and husband. This provokes an unexpected emotional response that surprises Libby to the point that her rage subsides immediately as she never gets to see Bill in a vulnerable state.

To his credit Bill does go out and get a new hospital job immediately; Austin’s visit must have had an impact. Austin asks Bill if his relationship with Virginia is worth risking what he has (Libby is framed in the window behind them throughout their conversation) and while Virginia is so intrinsically linked to the work and so therefore she is, I also think that Bill cares a great deal for his family. Even if he is terrified of his son (and the kind of father he will be). Does Austin overstep boundaries in “Dirty Jobs?” Perhaps, but he doesn’t have an ulterior motive or personal agenda beyond stopping someone else from making his mistake and Teddy Sears really does have amazing chemistry with every character he comes into contact with. I also think he was highly motivated by a good home cooked dinner that he knew he would get if he dropped by at this hour.

One ongoing lie this season has been Betty’s ‘fertility treatments’ with Bill being the most reluctant participant in this charade. It could only go on for so long really and Betty’s big secret came tumbling out after she asked for one lie too many. It wasn’t Bill entirely who revealed the truth, but he definitely pushed for it after Betty asked him to tell Gene that he is the sterile one. Of course Bill has lied about this in the past to protect himself when he told Libby that it was her with the fertility issue. Double standards Bill.

Betty talks at the dinner table about Betty Crocker being a phony and a concept cooked up to sell products – Gene mentions that it was the invention of a woman – opening herself up to scorn from Gene about her own deception. Gene has his own secret and as part of this own love lie he sticks with the meeting Betty at church story, when really he met her at the brothel. Talk about Madonna/whore complex even if Gene was not under the illusion that Betty is a “good Christian girl.” Can this relationship survive full disclosure? In fact it is one sided full disclosure as there is still the matter of Helen, the real love of Betty’s life.

Circling back to Virginia (wearing an incredible sweater) and the notion of doing things alone after failures in her relationships with Lillian and Bill; both Bill and Lillian have let Virginia down and so much so that she tells her kids that “Everything that is worth doing you have to do on your own.” It’s a pretty pessimistic lesson and it looks like Virginia just bought a bigger padlock for the box that is housing her heart. Virginia receives some unsolicited advice from her Cal-O-Metric boss after Virginia has emphatically stated “I already have a career” and she is told in a rather sarcastic tone “maybe you’re special” when it comes to her dreams. This is enough to put a dampener on everything and coupled with her actual dream that opens “Dirty Jobs” Virginia ends the episode is a less optimistic place. By selling the diet pills to women she’s also spreading some of this misery by targeting people she met a year ago on the street outside their homes and even if she isn’t sticking to the script she’s still making people feel bad about how they look.

If you’re going to set the truth free, then it has to be the whole truth as otherwise you might end up miserable and wanting to go at it alone.

Tags: "Dirty Jobs", 1950s, 2.04, Ane Crabtree, Lzzy Caplan, Masters of Sex, Michael Sheen, Teddy Sears

Comments 1 Comment
Categories Masters of Sex, Review
Author Emma Fraser

Masters of Sex 2.01 “Parallax” Review: Going off Book

14 Jul

The big rain soaked grand gesture that ended season 1 of Masters of Sex is revisited in the form of flashback from both Bill and Virginia’s perspective throughout this premiere – the different points of view give the episode its title – and it is even followed by an equally rom-com like “What do we do now?” This question is incredibly loaded and neither Bill nor Virginia is very good at saying what they really mean; there is no scientific instrument than can speak for the (metaphorical) heart. Everything has been displaced and in this excellent first outing back we see pretty much every character clinging to the past while being deluded about the present. As with last year these reviews will be looking at Masters of Sex through the prism of costume design and how this plays a part in the overall narrative, as well as exploring other broader themes this show is addressing. Starting at the end of the episode, which in a sense is the beginning of this seasons time line as Bill and Virginia discuss the finer points of Freud’s “there are no accidents” philosophy – this is one occasion where they agree with Freud after debunking his female orgasm theory – and end up in their standard stalemate relationship position. Bill and Virginia work incredibly well together and are both rather intuitive when it comes to the work, not so much with saying how they really feel as one of them is always erecting walls to protect their heart. Bill was the one to lay it all out this time and then pulled the classic “oh you misunderstood what I was saying” after Virginia use word “affair” and how amazing he is for getting that she choose work over love. They can barely look at each other in this scene and they’re wearing their standard armor; Virginia’s high neckline/dark palette is her serious person wear and Bill’s immaculate suit and bow tie reflects his stiff exterior. Their versions of armor do get stripped away in the bedroom and this is the first time they have been intimate outside of a controlled environment and it is jarring seeing them engaging like this outside of blue robes and medical instruments. The quick cuts as they go from doorstep to bedroom and finally a longer sequence of them naked enhances how impulsive this moment is and they are both laid out bare both physically and emotionally. Bill’s inquisitive side comes into play as he checks Virginia’s pulse and the first mention of no medical equipment is uttered; it’s impossible for this pair to separate the study from intimacy. This is the barrier they have used in the past to justify what they are doing as science. Now comes the psychological side of sex and Virginia ponders how they will measure this kind of data. Ah the study and its ability to provide an excuse for ignoring what is really going on while confronting these feelings in equal measures; Virginia even refers to it as “like nuclear rain falling on us all.” That is some stark imagery. Virginia barely wears any color in this episode and the ones she does are relatively muted aside from the celadon scarf that gets commented on at the hotel (“you can call it green”) and this incredible floral kimono. Again this is a much different look to the blue robes worn during Virginia’s previous sexual encounters with Bill and while they have of course been intimate with each other prior to this, the different setting and personal details like this kimono show how this relationship enters a new phase only to be back where they started by the end of the premiere. The different versions of the phone call, one in which we see Bill with a post-sex hopeful glow as Virginia turns down Ethan and the other as we hear Ethan’s side and see Virginia choosing work over love (even if she was never really in love with Ethan) earn an “it’s complicated” relationship status update. If this episode had a sponsor it would be denial and the result of what denial can do is helpfully demonstrated by Dr. Austin Langham as he hides from his scorned wife in Dr. Lillian DePaul’s office – he interrupts Lillian and Virginia having their own conversation about denial – as she roams the halls with her kids in tow yelling about her unfaithful husband. I have to admit that I totally bought into Austin’s sincere sounding declaration that he was a changed man and was no longer the cheating hound dog he was last season. Instead he has actually been sleeping with his sister-in-law and his fear of the study being like a mummy’s curse wasn’t his downfall, his inability to keep it in his pants did that just fine. Virginia getting to hold yet another baby reluctantly combined with Lillian’s admonishing of Austin made this the comic relief this episode craved. It also raised the question of whether Virginia should have ratted out where Austin was as a sign of solidarity even though Austin is the one who is her friend, not his wife and this situation is even more problematic as Virginia is also currently sleeping with the husband of a friend (no I am never buying the “it’s for science” defense which is why the Bill/Libby/Virginia love triangle is so fascinating). In one other moment of hilarity Lizzy Caplan did get to show off her fantastic comic timing as she attempts to use the script given to her to sell the diet pills, improv is definitely more Virginia’s speed. While I’m on the subject of the Libby/Virginia friendship it is a good time to point out the stunning outfit Libby wears while on her trip to the hospital – inspired by Dior’s New Look – and there’s a couple of things that stand out to me here. First there’s light and dark; Virginia is in her standard dark tones and it’s not surprising considering the reaction from hospital employees that Virginia is doing all she can to not stand out. Libby is facing similar stares when out at functions and I’m not sure if she is aware of these disapproving looks or is she is using standard WASP protocol and pretending everything is fine, I suspect the latter. The color of this dress matches her son’s attire and it instantly made me think of how the Virgin Mary is often depicted wearing light blue and white. This is reflected later when Bill scoffs that their baby isn’t Jesus despite being a ‘miracle,’ no to Bill he is like a crying monster to be drowned out by records and thoughts of Virginia. If only he could see the above shot to make things even more jumbled in Bill’s mind. Pure horror movie POV as Bill contemplates entering dear, sweet Johnny’s room before opting for the record player. Libby later calls Bill a “baby magician” before realizing that his mother is the one with the baby skills beyond the hospital. Bill’s baby fear stems from his own troubled family history and he banishes his mother back to Ohio after spitting at her how he is sleeping with Virginia and that he has become both his father and her. Bill really needs therapy as these issues are not going away and it is unfortunate that Libby has to deal with both their crying child and her repressive husband. Libby asks for advice from Virginia with how to deal with Bill’s work situation and Virginia’s words of wisdom focus on Libby “most of all I would take care of myself, it’s all you can do” as Bill is not great when being pushed in a certain direction. Libby does some of the former, but really more of the latter and this calls for more stunning vintage garments including this blue alpaca coat. Libby is all poise at this event showing off what is under the above alpaca coat – a spectacular necklace and pale blue dress -as she tries to make things work, all while Bill is polishing off multiple martinis and snarking about her attempts to talk to Greathouse. Bill has his own chance meeting that helps him secure a new job and outlet for the study (more on that below). Tying Virginia and Libby together through floral print is not something I would have necessarily expected; Libby wears hers to maintain her social standing and to help Bill’s career through the only way she knows how and Virginia’s comes as personal and professional intersect in a new location. Libby and Virginia are of course linked through Bill and as their friendship developed prior to any Bill/Virginia sexy times it makes everything even more complicated. Libby is a sympathetic figure – which a lot of other shows with a difficult/brilliant man storyline have struggled with – and at the same time she isn’t painted as a weak 1950s housewife. There is real steely determination here and I worried when Masters of Sex first started that Libby would end up as nothing more than a pretty face with a nagging disposition so that you would will Bill and Virginia to be together. Instead we have a character who has strength and isn’t afraid to go against her husband’s wishes if she thinks it will help her family. That Bill has two women like this in his life who want to go to bat for him, despite his prickly and difficult nature is pretty astounding.

We know that when Bill lets his guard down there is a very caring side as he shows when he accompanies Barton to his electroshock therapy. When Barton pukes on him he barely blinks “it’s just a suit.” Bill can’t hide his disgust at this barbaric course of treatment and he uses science to try and convince Barton that he shouldn’t continue down this path.

I’ve talked about how the theme of this episode is denial and Barton has this is droves as he tries to convince himself and Margaret that he can be ‘cured.’ Margaret sees through his sexual advances as soon as he wants to do it from behind pleading with him “there’s only a shred of me left that feels like a woman.” Margaret and Barton break my heart on every level in this episode – and have all but guaranteed repeat Emmy nominations for this time next year – as they both struggle with the reality of Barton’s sexuality. He so desperately wants to feel another way that his last resort is suicide and he is saved by his wife and daughter who have just returned from a shopping spree. Mother and daughter discuss the color of Vivian’s new top – she’s moving away from the pinks of last season as she has grown up and is talking about moving away – when they hear what they think is a thud from the basement window. Instead it is Barton’s hanging attempt and thankfully they reach him in time to save his life. Where the Scullys go from here is unclear, but they aren’t letting even those nearest to them in as Margaret makes excuses to Bill; a long distance phone call is the 50s version of a video call I guess. What dish of denial is Lillian cooking up with her medicine cabinet story? Am I wrong in inferring that alcohol might be behind this shiner? One thing that I love about Masters of Sex is that it doesn’t have just one great lady friendship, there are currently three – though Jane will be departing soon sadly – and each brings out a different richness. Lillian and Virginia call each other out on their BS, Lillian disapproves of the diet pills Virginia is hawking and Virginia quickly flips the tables when Lillian blames her black eye on an object and not a person. Lillian has trouble getting her words out which might add to my booze theory or it could be down to her illness which I fear will take this incredible character away from us. It’s all about being careful and not reckless, a position that sends Virginia down Bill Masters memory lane for the final time in “Parallax” (this title also sounds like a diet pill to be honest) as their guarded nature could be seen as being careful, but it is probably going to be far more detrimental in the long run. Lillian as ever is buttoned up and muted in her costuming. Yellow bag, coat, dress and jewelry is what I wanted from Jane’s brief appearance this season (Heléne Yorke is switching with Annaleigh Ashford as the actress with Broadway commitments this year) and I’m really going to miss this character’s ability to be honest without being hurtful. Jane wants Virginia to move to California as she thinks Virginia is deluding herself with the study and Bill. It’s colorful versus muted tones once again (Virginia’s collar is making me think of vicars and how she is trying to reject the sexual image people associate with her after the presentation) and Virginia also uses this opportunity to convince her friend that maybe she isn’t making the right choice either. Jane is following her dream and in a way Virginia is doing the same by putting her faith in Bill and their work. Betty is back! Welcome to another installment of denial as she still hasn’t told her husband that a) she is gay and b) she can’t have kids. Masters knows about both of these things and is pissed that he has been drawn into this mess again, but hey he also gets to restart the study and get a new job out of this association so let’s play nice Bill. Betty is also not thrilled to see Bill and the Pretzel King is oblivious to all of this. Oh, Greg Grunberg (and another Felicity alum getting discussed on both his former and current show). Betty wears red, which was a staple color during her brief, but memorable stint last season and her relationship with Bill is one of the many conflicts I am looking forward to them exploring this year. An excellent first episode back propelling the story forward while characters try to adjust to big changes while denying that anything is different despite the obvious shifts and upheavals. Incredible work from Ane Crabtree and her costume design team as they add another layer to the text through what the characters wear and how they wear it.

Tags: Ane Crabtree, Annaleigh Ashford, Caitlin Fitzgerald, costume design, Greg Grunberg, Helen Yorke, Julianne Nicholson, Lizzy Caplan, Masters of Sex, Michael Sheen, Teddy Sears

Comments 7 Comments
Categories Masters of Sex, Review
Author Emma Fraser

The Good Wife, Identity and What it Means to be Good

5 May

The word is in the title and question of ethics and morality have been at the center of both The Good Wife and who Alicia Florrick is since the pilot. The moral grey area has expanded with each season and Alicia is no longer naive and wide eyed when it comes to these boundaries. Alicia tells her mom that “Nothing’s as simple as it used to be” and considering how tangled her romantic life was prior to Will’s death this might seem like a ridiculous notion. There was simplicity in that there was Will and there was Peter and while that was a mess of sorts, it was something Alicia has lived with for five years (more if you include their bad timing at college). Now there is Peter and there is nothing, the nothing is the daunting thing and work isn’t enough to keep her occupied especially when Cary forces her to take a day off.

Will’s death continues to hang over each episode in a way that doesn’t make it too maudlin or disingenuous for Alicia and Diane. With Diane it’s mostly in a work sense (more on that below), for Alicia it has her questioning everything. There have been moments in each episode since this tragedy where something causes Alicia to have a teary eyed reaction and Julianna Margulies is working the glassy eyes so well as she draws breath and stops those tears from exploding. They do come eventually as she breaks down on her mother in a way she stopped herself from doing in front of Owen last week; with Owen Alicia still wants to appear as the pillar of strength she likes to project, but with Veronica she lets the facade slide.

The Good Wife is Alicia’s story and this season filled in some of the blanks of Alicia’s return to work after Peter’s scandal. For the audience Alicia’s role has always been more lawyer than wife so to hear her question this part of her life is jarring. It is something Alicia mentioned when she encountered Grace’s old tutor Jennifer and at the time it came across as an extreme reaction to her grief. Is this something we should take seriously now that she has mentioned it on more than one occasion? Alicia spends so much time between work and whatever she is with Peter now that everything else is muddled; last week she told Owen she was happy with this and at the time she was very convincing. However, the cracks continue to form and Alicia’s black/beige/white block Narciso Rodriguez jacket is trying to present some form of order and yet it highlights how fractured her life is.

Jury duty selection produces a meet cute and it is the catalyst for Alicia’s confusion this week as she doesn’t know how she should behave with Daniel. It’s always been Peter or Will so to throw in a brand new flirtation is rather jarring for both Alicia and the audience. There’s no real reason why she can’t go for a drink with Daniel – technically she is still married, but what’s one drink? – and it doesn’t even have to be about getting laid as Owen suggested in the previous episode. For Alicia it feels like she is cheating and when she asks who she is being faithful to, the crane shot and the look up infer that it is Will. I don’t know if the audience are ready for Alicia to move on this quickly from Will and while there has been some chat about her chemistry with Finn, for me they are reading very much as solid friends. This isn’t to say that something won’t happen down the line (he is also married), but their catch up call at the end of the episode felt very much like BFFs checking in on each other rather than romance.

The notable thing about this relationship is how Finn has become her go to person and as Alicia has always had a glaring lack of friends since the whole Kalinda breakup, I’m glad to see her find a friend as a result of this tragedy. During this conversation Finn mentions how Eli is trying to turn him into a hero and how Eli already made her a saint so we circle back on this idea of purity and Alicia’s identity. This might also have contributed to Alicia’s decision to not go into the bar for a drink and while we know Alicia isn’t a saint (because who is?!) this has become part of her persona as it has been reinforced on multiple occasions.

Saint and hero are both labels that suggest an inherent goodness and while Alicia and Finn are uncomfortable with this notion, they also let Eli manipulate the press to adhere to this image. Finn’s soft spoken answers about the shooting and his sister’s suicide help with this perception and so far he’s very much the good guy. We’ve also seen how Castro is not above leaking personal information about Finn and so this SA race is going to get dirty; will Finn be able to retain his hero status? Alicia has committed many actions that could impact the image the public has of her as the woman who stood by her man, Will being the main one and it’s the glance she is given in the bar that sets off her alarm bells when it comes to socializing with Daniel over lunch. There’s still so much conflict about who Alicia is and how she is perceived; at the moment her grief is compounding this further.

Alicia’s relationship with Will was never public and that impacts the legitimacy of it and how she is dealing with his death “It’s unreal. Like he’s, like he’s still there, you know? Or he was never there at all.” It was always so hard to define what she had with Will, particularly with the added emotional turmoil this season and so it is not surprising to hear Alicia complain that everything is in a tailspin. Part of the reason why Alicia decided to leave Lockhart Gardner was down to the overwhelming Will feelings as she used work to avoid her personal life. Losing Will has caused Alicia to look inward and she doesn’t like what she is seeing and this might be why she is questioning if she wants to be a lawyer anymore. It’s never really been about being a ‘good wife’ more like becoming someone beyond this label and this crisis has Alicia examining everything that makes her who she is and it is terrifying.

Over at Lockhart Gardner, Diane is taking a very different approach as she is concerned about the actions of David Lee and Louis Canning in regards to her clients. Diane’s not going to roll over and let them take the reins of the firm she helped create and she’s got Kalinda in her corner to help with any potential sneak attacks. Canning tells Diane he is dying, which turns out to be true and yet Diane’s instincts are spot on as he’s also trying to screw her. Kalinda notes there is something different about Diane in a good way – here’s that word again – and Diane explains that she feels like she is “channeling Will’s ghost.” It’s like Diane has taken the best of Will to help with her current situation. The women of Lockhart Gardner are making their presence felt as Kalinda and Diane are wearing colors that make them stand out; purple and royal blue are colors that emphasize power and neither are going to go gentle into that good night.

Tags: "The Deep Web", 5.20, Alicia Florrick, Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife

Comments 2 Comments
Categories Review, The Good Wife
Author Emma Fraser

New Girl 3.22 “Dance” Review: Love is Forever and Ever and Ever and Ever…

30 Apr

So I didn’t have enough space for all of Jess’ use of forever, but hey it’s infinity anyway in true tween 4EVA IBTS (if broken still true) declarative style. New Girl returns to school tonight and the beauty of Jess (and now Coach) working at a middle school means these characters can resort to broad generalizations like boys are dumb/girls are stupid even though they’re in their early 30s. There are aspects from school that will always stay with us and so it makes sense that Jess wants to organize the perfect dance when she has such rotten memories of the ones she attended when she was a kid. Throw in her recent heartbreak and it is going increase this desire as Jess’ outlook is to focus on the positive. In fact “Dance” is about embracing childhood moments, no matter how painful or stupid as a way to circumvent what is going on in the present.

There’s a push/pull in “Dance” between what makes a grown-up or in more specific cases what defines manhood and Nick tells Schmidt that he genuinely misses goofing around with Jess. The goofing around suggests play, but being an adult doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t be ridiculous anymore and the activities this group partake in are often just games you could play as a kid, with added alcohol. Schmidt thinks Nick is being rather mature with his assessment that breakups should hurt and how they’re using Winston as their sexual tension killing device. In the last scene they do get to dance together and it’s both goofy and full of sexual tension; even though they’re in a room full of people for a fleeting second it’s like they are alone. Jess finally gets to dance with her dumb boy and I don’t feel like I’m going out on a limb when it comes to predicting a reconciliation of sorts in the season finale next week.

Speaking of things that are dumb and the reason behind their breakup is still one of those things that compel me to say “really?” When thinking of Nick and Jess it actually does make sense that they would end their relationship for something as silly as this. After “Big News” I wrote about their inability to define what they are to each other and how this traces back to their first date encounter with Russell and I want to expand on this a little further. This is still what is going on as despite knowing and living together for three years, they’re still pretty clueless when it comes to admitting how they feel. Jess shares too much sometimes without saying what she means and Nick withholds giving the same effect; this is why they broke up, not because they don’t have anything in common, but because they share this inability to get to the heart of the matter.

It’s not just about Nick and Jess though and what makes “Dance” a great episode is its focus on the group; the breakup informs the actions without becoming this BIG ISSUE that dominates proceedings. Jess’ desire to create the perfect dance is rooted not with Nick, but thanks to her bad memories. It is not a completely selfish driven endeavor as Jess has shown on multiple occasions how much she wants to give the kids she teaches a really great middle school experience, whether it is showing them the ocean or dealing with a bullying issue. The dance does not go down perfectly, far from it and at first it looks like one of the teachers is behind the sabotage – the banana in the dark song is hilarious – instead it’s Wendy, the girl who is pretty much a mini Jess but with a shark tee and missing a Cece to share her misery with. Hey, they’re still doing the hanging out in the bathroom thing as adults too (this from season 1 “The 23rd”):

In terms of screen time the Cece/Jess relationship suffered as a result of Jess and Nick getting together – the same goes for Nick and the guys – so one benefit of breaking them is focusing on the other friendships that are at the heart of New Girl. Cece is often the stabilizing influence in the group, in part because she doesn’t live in the loft so she has a calming outside quality and because she generally has her shit together. Even though she’s not in the same place as she was last season in terms of career and relationship, things could be so much worse in that she could be in a loveless marriage doing modeling jobs she hates. Now she is working in a bar and dating a 20 year-old (who was seven when Good Will Hunting came out), but she seems pretty happy at the moment and takes the guys attempts to make fun of this age gap in her stride. It helps that they are terrible at doing this and declare their manhood by chanting “men, men, men” with a chest bump injuring Winston. They really are the dumbest boys in school. Jess also demonstrates that she’s not always the smartest as she thinks the good in good cop/bad cop means good at their job – this is up there with Batmanmobile for hilarious things that Jess doesn’t quite get. Another brilliant Jess moment comes courtesy of terrible self censorship when the lights go out “Son of a boooooo… penis. Ah, that wasn’t better. Sorry everyone.”

Coach gets to use his recently earned wisdom about kids “you have no idea what these little bastards are capable of. I mean I love them, I love them with all my heart, but they will hurt your feelings sometimes” while attempting to coach his roommates. So when Schmidt sees a kid being mean to someone about food, instead of standing up for the boy who was probably like him at school, he instead seeks the acceptance of the bully and in return gets called a “flamer.” Schmidt is persistent and the bully won’t back down either, so Schmidt challenges him to a foot race. In the parking lot Nick gains the acceptance of the boys with a box of fireworks because really Nick just wants to be pushed around in a shopping cart and not as part of the system. It’s clear that Nick definitely did everything in his power to not be a narc while he was at school, so much so he won’t admit to being a chaperon, or ‘rone.

Winston faces a different kind of challenge as his “Call Me Maybe” moves make him irresistible to an ever increasing group of girls – if the whole episode was Winston being followed by a giggling girls I think I would be fine with that. It all ends up in the parking lot as the three of them earn their rap group name and Coach list of better chaperons is hilarious – a dog, a plant wearing underwear and Ray Charles’ ghost. They might be dumb boys, but they’re needed. The rapping that follows is amazing, mostly because it is so terrible and in an unsurprising twist Winston takes it too far and goes to a dark, dark place.

Returning then to Jess and Cece’s conversation with Wendy as Jess explains that things “never work out the way you plan them, but in the end it’s all worth it and that’s why you have to try.” This pretty much explains the root of Jess and Nick’s issues with each other – the future planning – and what they haven’t done so far as they gave up pretty quickly without trying to work through this issue. What I don’t want New Girl to do is go for the breakup/get together cycle that sitcoms tend to favor, this doesn’t need to be a Ross and Rachel situation (does anything?), but what these past two episodes has shown is that Nick and Jess not being together has been beneficial to the overall group dynamic. Maybe it is because there are now stakes once again with increased tension and by addressing the coupling situation; they’re also approaching the overall story in a different way. With this in mind, next week’s finale will hopefully continue the quality and consistency of the past few weeks while wrapping up what has been a messy season in a satisfactory manner.

Tags: "Dance", 3.22, Damon Wayans Jr., Hannah Simone, Jake Johnson, Lamorne Morris, Max Greenfield, New Girl, Zooey Deschanel

Comments 2 Comments
Categories New Girl, Review
Author Emma Fraser

The Americans 2.08 “New Car” Review: “We All Serve”

17 Apr

Consequences and accountability dominate “New Car” as both Philip and Elizabeth deal with decision they have made that result in the death of someone else. While family continues to be at the heart of season 2 of The Americans, the work they are doing is taking them down some incredibly dark paths and each mission has an aspect that goes horribly wrong. As we find out in this episode even the ones that go off without a hitch (well practically), there is still a chance for devastating blow back.

Philip has been harboring a desire to get the new Camaro for weeks now and even though he tells the car salesman that he is merely looking, he succumbs to temptation. This is what Philip enjoys about his life in America; we’ve seen it in how much he likes country music and certain fashions. In fact this is the first time we have seen Philip in a flat cap and sunglasses like this; it’s like he got them to go with the car. He’s basically playing the 1982 version of the cool dad (the lesser discussed of the ‘cool’ parent trope). This is easy going Philip and it’s one we’re seeing less frequently as a result of the terrible, bad things he is doing this season in the name of his country.

The push/pull here is fascinating as the new car that he lovingly patted when he left it turns into a symbol of all that is terrible about this country when he hears about the submarine disaster. A tragedy he played a part in as he was the one who stole the defective plans. Philip’s been dealing with a lot of death recently and to add 160 more to his list takes the thrill out of his new toy. Elizabeth has always held the material benefits of America at arm’s length; yes she wears the beautiful shoes and has way more than she ever had at home, but she has never seen this world as better. So while her relationship with Philip has altered drastically since the pilot episode, how she feels about things hasn’t. These are all props that aid their cover, this is not who she is and she won’t be seduced by advertising.

With the new car, instead of blending in Philip now stands out. The color and shape are completely different to every other car we see as everyone else is still driving 70s boxy looking vehicles. Philip’s car has a futuristic vibe and Stan looks upon it with envy and when he parks his old car in his junk filled garage he lets out all of his frustrations on the car door. Philip’s life looks pretty rosy from the outside, if only Stan knew.

There is a delinquent son to address; well Henry isn’t all that bad in the grand scheme of things. Instead of dealing with Henry’s breaking into their neighbor’s house to play video games problem, this doesn’t get resolved until a day later. This is the problem when you have spy issues to deal with, the kids come second. In part this could be seen as a reason behind Henry’s misdemeanor and this does have classic cry for attention written all over it. Or he just really wanted to play that video game and this adds another tick into Elizabeth’s fear for her children in a capitalist society column. The neighbors are very understanding and this adds to Henry’s feelings of guilt. When his parents eventually talk to him about it, Henry does pretty much all the talking and this scene perfectly captures the moment when you know you’ve done something wrong and you emotionally vomit your feelings.

Incorporating teen characters into the story can be a treacherous path with cougars and hit and runs being used to spice up the story. So far I’ve been impressed with how The Americans are weaving Henry and Paige into the overall narrative and Henry’s “I’m good” breakdown could be seen as being a touch on the nose, but it also goes to illustrate the varying moral grey areas this show is working in.

We’re so used to the spy story dominating the trajectory of an episode that often features Philip and Elizabeth deciding whether someone lives or dies; Philip letting the septic truck driver live in an act of mercy that could ruin their cover, but Philip has way to much innocent blood on his hands to be swung by all of Elizabeth’s “what if” hypothesizing. So when they’re dealing with something at home, the consequences are far less but it still holds emotional weight that grounds The Americans and makes it so much more than a spy show. Henry feels terrible that his parents and the neighbors now think badly of him and while his justification as to why he kept doing it (“It seemed like no one would even know”) is pretty flimsy, I can’t help but feel for him as he works himself up into tears.

There’s an air of melancholy hanging over the entire episode as Elizabeth has to deal with death out in the field as Lucia proves that she runs too damn hot. For Lucia the mission with Larrick was always a means to kill him for training the police officers who tortured her father. Lucia goes too far and compromises everything they have been working towards and Elizabeth’s decision to let Larrick kill Lucia is a huge blow for Elizabeth; it shows just how vulnerable she still is post shooting. It also highlights that almost anyone can end up as collateral damage if they don’t understand what comes first and that is who they serve. Personal matters should never impact the overall objective, but that still doesn’t make it any less awful that Elizabeth had to watch Larrick choke the life out of Lucia. Philip wants to kill Larrick when he gets back from Nicaragua, it’s getting rather personal for him and this is worrying. Elizabeth’s “I let him” is heart wrenching and can we give all of the awards to Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell this season please?

When it comes to shifting blame, Oleg isn’t going to be held accountable for the submarine disaster in the same way Philip is feeling it – side note Kate was a tad too emotional about this incident and it’s hard to work out just how genuine she is being right now, maybe she knew someone on board? Oleg mentions the hasty time it took to build the sub, with little regard to testing it properly but as Arkady mentions they were the source of the original plans so they are at fault. Oleg remarks that “We all serve” and so there’s always a chance that any one of them could die for their country. There’s a glimpse at an old face with Vasili (who was sent back to Russia last season and who Arkady replaced) attempting to bond with Anton so he will reveal his scientist secrets “Mother Russia isn’t easy, she has to defend herself. But she is good in the end.”

The Stan/Nina/Oleg triangle is a rather curious one and Nina continues to be an enigma; everything she says to Stan appears to be coming from a place of honesty and in their scene together I really believe she cares for him. As soon as we cut to her playing video games with Oleg and generally larking around this changes and it’s hard to work out just where her loyalty lies when it comes to Stan. Stan is fighting a losing bureaucratic interagency battle as he keeps getting denied access to files on Anton. Anton he believes is the key to winning against Oleg and protecting Nina, but does Nina even need protecting anyway? Arkady is concerned for Nina when it comes to Oleg as his powerful family have the ability to be both cruel and kind.

Martha feels bad about spying on her colleagues who she believes are “good people” – there it is again, this notion of good – and no longer wants to do this for Clark anymore. Philip edits one of the recordings to make it seem like they were calling Martha ugly to get her back on side. It’s a pretty shitty thing and there’s apparent tension between Philip and Elizabeth when the Clark/Martha stuff is discussed. Luckily Philip doesn’t have to play it as Martha has changed her mind; however Martha is a ticking time bomb as she continues to throw up new potential issues. Oh and meatloaf and eggs for breakfast sounds like the worst, first washing her hair in the kitchen sink and now this. Come on Martha, you are better than this.

New wig alert! The pixie look really suits Keri Russell here and while I don’t think she will ever go full Felicity chop again, it works. Elizabeth showed mercy with the worker who stumbled upon them while they were stealing what turned out to be bad plans, now Philip is doing the same with this dude.

“Look at him, he’ll do anything. He doesn’t care.” As a Ronald Reagan speech about defense budget and basically being better than the Russians plays in the background, Elizabeth can’t help but utter her dismay upon hearing the news of the submarine deaths. The tuxedo Reagan is wearing only adds to this notion of them vs. us and while Elizabeth’s statement could apply to them – after all they also serve a country and do terrible things for their cause – Reagan’s speech punctuates their conversation as if he is taunting them.

Notions of goodness, like beauty can be in the eye of the beholder (though it is probably a less abstract concept) and it all depends on what side you are serving. The question of whether Philip is a monster has been raised this season and while he has done monstrous acts, he still feels things like remorse and guilt and this coupled with the job he is tasked with means he operates in the moral grey area. The same applies to Elizabeth and the look she shares with Philip as Henry is purging his soul suggests they want to believe they are good people too, but can they ever really be when they have committed such awful and criminal acts even if it is in the name of Mother Russia?

Tags: "New Car", 2.08, Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, Review, The Americans

Comments 6 Comments
Categories Review, The Americans
Author Emma Fraser

New Girl 3.21 “Big News” Review – “Faaaaaaaantastic”

16 Apr

When we first met Nick and Jess in the New Girl pilot both of them were dealing with breakups – Jess’ was of the immediate kind and it’s why she moved into the loft in the first place and Nick was still in his drunk dialing Caroline phase. Cheating and a lack of attention were the reasons behind these splits. Cut to the present day and they’re both dealing with a whole new kind of breakup; the reason behind their split does have a whiff of end of season dramaz as it’s all down to how much (or rather how little) they have in common. Nick and Jess still love each other, it’s just the other stuff that has got in the way.

There’s been a lot of talk on here of “What next?” and the “will they/won’t they” on New Girl and The Mindy Project and while this is only the first episode exploring the other end of the sitcom romance, “Big News” is quite possibly the best episode of this uneven season.

This big breakup comes after the pair just started sharing a room and this is something that was semi forced upon them in the first place ; their relationship is already following a somewhat non-traditional trajectory as they started dating when they were already roommates. This already impacts on those big couple milestones as they already lived together before they’d had their first date.* The second half of last season was all about navigating the getting together, whereas the bumps this year have all been around the big declarations -using boyfriend/girlfriend, the first “I love you” and effectively moving in together. The latter meant that even though they were already living together, being in such close quarters led to this examination of just how different they are and the hangover they were both suffering from in the last episode magnified these issues.

*On their first date they bumped into Russell and he made them write down what they think they are to each other. Now we never got to find out what either of them wrote, but this moment is indicative of what is happening right now with them. They still don’t really know what they are and it’s something the show clearly wants to explore beyond just boyfriend/girlfriend shenanigans.

“Big News” is the day after the breakup (and I really wouldn’t be surprised if they weren’t suffering from a two day hangover, those are the worst) and thanks to Nick’s Memento style hand notes he knows this isn’t a dream. The sight of the make shift bed on the floor is pretty devastating, that is until Nick’s high pitch scream of wonder makes everything fine just for a moment. So what are the rules for Nick and Jess? Well first of all boob season is over and that’s about all they figured out; by the end of the episode they still don’t have much else as Jess doesn’t know where she is going to sleep (why not at Cece’s?) and they don’t know what to call each other. Nick goes for “honey” which is adorable and heartbreaking at the same time. One thing is clear and that is neither of them are OK, no matter how much they say they are at the start.

Thanks to some very good news for Winston – he got into the police academy! – they decide to put off telling everyone so Winston can bask in joy. This could get tired very quickly, but instead of having Nick and Jess enduring the episode together, they spend the first half trying to deal with their misery without talking to anyone from the loft. The first port of call is ringing Jess’ mom and she’s more cut up than Jess is as she’s dealing with lack of grandchild prospects anxiety. Nick heads to the park and to work through his feelings with Tran (who he had to get out of dance class) and this conversation is as ridiculous and one sided as all of Nick’s Tran therapy sessions.

Advice is flowing from all corners as Jess tells Cece and Coach’s concerned voice coaxes it out of Nick. While Cece gives good advice (talk to him), Coach tells Nick to go down the “you should hide your feelings” route coupled with taking some of Schmidt’s anti-anxiety pills. As Jess and Nick have seen how broken the other has been post big breakup this “I’m fine” route is bad for them, but makes for damn good comedy. This coupled with everyone knowing except Winston, who is enjoying new career happiness and the amount of wine Jess – having a holiday pour – consumes means the honey roast is at times hilarious and also incredibly painful. Zooey Deschanel gives a standout performance and drunk acting can easily stray into over the top and nonsensical. Instead what Deschanel does is show Jess’ sadness and hurt at how fine Nick is, grounding it and all while she is dressed as Ferguson. Nick’s wearing sunglasses to mask his winking twitchy eyes (thanks to the medication) and it’s one of those scenes that has so many farcical elements (including Winston’s white tails) and still hits every single emotional cue.

Jess isn’t so good with the roasting even if she’s terrifying when she insists IT’S MY TURN pointing out that Coach needs to buy ordinary pants, Cece’s hair is so long and Schmidt has a big head. Jess never gets to Winston as she reveals what word Nick says when he climaxes (Yahtzee) and the names he uses for birds (wind mice) and turtles (shell beavers) and as the tears brim in her eyes she utters the worst thing which is “he’s ok and I am not ok.” This TV season has seen a shift in the kind of shows that have elicited a misty eyed reaction from me and with probably the exception of The Good Wife it is comedy that has been the source of most of my tears. Sometimes this is a happy response – generally Parks and Recreation – but there are a lot of sitcoms that have been dealing with a whole host of tragedy whether it is something like Enlisted and it’s examination of PTSD, the Mother singing to her now dead love in How I Met Your Mother or simply a break up sitcoms have been killing it this year with the emotional spectrum. New Girl can be added to the list (I’ve just remembered it made me teary earlier this season when Nick put together that video package for Jess *sob*) and it’s a testament to both Jake Johnson and Zooey Deschanel that they really sell this heartbreak while also playing wasted.

With Spencer (Jess’ boyfriend from the pilot) and Caroline we have no emotional connection to either of them or their relationships with Jess and Nick so the Dirty Dancing repeat watching and drunk dialing don’t mean much more than a visual gag. Now it holds so much more meaning and the closing scene of the episode brings us full circle to the pilot, but Nick and Jess are not the people we met three years ago. Yes they still have their comforts (booze and Patrick Swayze), however these things were solo wallowing ventures in the past, now they are sharing them in this breakup together and as they both sing-along to “Hungry Eyes” from different rooms I think these kids still have a chance. It’s just New Girl has to learn how to be again without them together.

The day was meant to be all about Winston and while the gang try all they can do to make this the case, it is of course very much a Nick/Jess episode. This is the Winston thing and it reminded me of his birthday last year when everyone forgot and he spent the episode thinking things were about him, when everyone was preoccupied with Cece’s wedding and Jess and Nick sleeping together for the first time.

There are two episodes left of season 3 and they will no doubt be figuring out how to deal with the logistics of the breakup. One reason why “Big News” works so well is that while the focus is on Nick and Jess, it’s also very much a group episode; so hopefully time apart from each other will allow for more Cece/Jess (something that has been lacking this season) and dude bonding. The romantic aspect is one I am invested in, but at the heart of New Girl are these friendships so like Nick and Jess I want to see what this show will do as it leans towards these relationships instead of just the big love story.

Tags: "Big News", "What next?", 3.21, Jake Johnson, New Girl, will they/won't they, Zooey Deschanel

Comments 3 Comments
Categories New Girl, Review
Author Emma Fraser

Scandal 3.17 “Flesh and Blood” Review

11 Apr

“I’m a patient man, but a vengeful one and I have a very long memory.”

This declaration came from Rowan on last week’s Scandal and if nothing else he stayed true to his word as he showed little mercy for the man he believes to be responsible for the entire lie that was his marriage to Marie Wallace. Time is a something that can heal old wounds, alternatively it can build up the desire for revenge and there’s a mixture of this in the somewhat messy (both in structure and story) penultimate episode of this somewhat messy season.

As I mentioned last week the focus turning to all things B613 and Olivia’s family has been problematic as the serialized story has got more ridiculous each week and it has me clamoring for case of the week episodes. The setup is still the same in a way with montages set to 70s funk and the window of photos; unfortunately protracting the story in this manner has woven a complicated web that leaves Olivia shouting in the wind every week.

In terms of short memory it looks like Fitz stopping by the OPA office has meant that everyone forgot how Jake made his entrance last week – by grabbing Olivia’s throat – and Olivia is more pissed off about being accused of treason. All while wearing an Escada coat which is reminiscent of this Scandal shredded paper promo shot. Olivia has lost her agency in a way and while she effectively shut down B613, it also leads to B613 past and present duking it out in her office. Everyone else is making the decisions and Olivia only gets to decide which Command gets to stay, sorry Jake you’re outta here. The other matter in which she lays down the law is with grounding Fitz, but this doesn’t stick when he sees he’s losing to Sally Langston. Oh and somehow the election is only six days away.

Olivia butts heads with all the dudes in her life; when Jake leaves she tells him she has set him free, but he insists that even without an actual B613 this is still who he is and you never really escape. As with Fitz and Olivia, the Olivia/Jake pairing goes in circles so when things go bad at her office, Jake is the person she rings. This never ending dance goes the same way; she loves Fitz, but she also feels something for Jake (she still doesn’t mention the throat grab) and it’s all becoming a bit love triangle tiresome.

The whole back and forth between Fitz and Olivia has never really interested me (I know there are many viewers who disagree) and at first the Jake angle added something new to this dynamic, now that’s old hat too and I can’t see a way out of it. Olivia tells Jake about her realization regarding her mother’s inability to love and how it must be easier to feel nothing and care about no one. Now I don’t want Olivia to become this nihilistic, but I hope that something happens in the finale to propel the love story forward that stops the merry-go-round we are currently stuck on.

It’s nothing new to see Olivia fighting with her dad about the right way to do things; it doesn’t normally end up with a dead body in her office. Rowan gets his long awaited vengeance and thanks to the longest car park hook up – seriously how long were they down there for? – Mama Pope gets to walk into OPA with no one noticing. Other questions on this matter include where is Charlie? Plus, why must there be so much licking and spitting this season? Not cool, show. More blood is shed as Rowan takes what looks like several bullets to the chest and it doesn’t look particularly good for him.

Olivia’s main contention with Fitz this week is far less dramatic, in that they only really argue about whether he should be on the road or not as there is a bomb with his name on it out there somewhere. That somewhere isn’t the school in Defiance as they expected, but in a church basement that is about to hold a funeral Fitz is meant to go to. The twist comes in the form of Cyrus going full monster as he wants to win the election at any cost and so he withholds the information Jake has just told him about the bomb location and goes on his merry way, smiling ever so eerily to himself about the potential easy win if Sally dies. Now, why can’t Jake just call in an anonymous tip to the police about there being a bomb in the church? I also get that Cyrus made his peace with what happened with James, but he is still being way too courteous over the phone with the guy who murdered his husband. Another case of short term memory on the show.

Other big story developments include Mellie spending the episode drunk and inadvertently revealing to Olivia what happened to her with Fitz’s father. Mellie’s a mess partly because the Andrew thing is over – Andrew is at the church and I’m going to be so mad if he gets blown up – and she doesn’t really care about anything at the moment. Leo wants to find out if Jerry is Fitz’s thanks to a loose lipped White House doctor and Olivia confronts Mellie with this news. It turns from a shouting match to Olivia’s realization that Mellie isn’t that stupid or reckless and Mellie’s heartbreaking secret is out. Olivia gets Mellie the test results on the sly and it’s hard to gauge from Mellie’s reaction shot who Jerry’s father really is.

In the gallery see how Mellie and Fitz are in sync in wardrobe only (purple tie, purple Michael Kors dress), the Grant fake smile parade, so much serious phone face from Olivia, the cushion fort that has been built on her sofa, a close look at Olivia’s trusty Prada purse and the eavesdropping OPA team.