Previously on Masters of Sex...
I've seen the photographs.
Water-skiing with Dody on your shoulders.
And then at the end of the summer,
she broke your heart and you came back to me.
Ever since you two had sex, Virginia,
you have completely and irrevocably turned on me.
Could you ask Art to come in here, please?
Did we have sex, Art?
Any sort of physical contact at all?
We did not.
Have you had sexual experiences with men?
No. Boys, perhaps?
I mean, when you were also a boy.
Once. When I'd just turned 16.
You get out of AA what you put in.
I could go to some other meeting. You will stay in my meeting.
It will remind me of just how far I've come.
Well, what choice do we have? It's either this or nothing, right?
Actually, I might know someone who's a whole lot better than nothing.
You're everything a person could want.
In a sperm donor. I would consider it.
She is perfect. Congratulations.
Helen, stay with me.
I want my mom.
Ma'am, the grandparents made it clear.
Family only.
It's our old room at the Park Chancery.
I can't. Because...
Because you don't love me. You just want me today.
I don't trust you, Virginia.
I'm writing to you because it seems our talking of late
has left things more distant between us than not.
That saddens me.
I'm also saddened to learn that you no longer trust me.
That was quite an accusation.
Dear, Bill... It seems we find ourselves at an impasse,
and I write in the hopes of clearing the air.
I know there are things that I have done
that have made it hard for you to trust me.
But I have also been hurt by you in the past.
And it is my greatest wish to put those days behind us.
You can only trust me again by being with me.
We must put in the time, together,
to heal our collective hurts, and to find our way back to each other again.
Disseminated intravascular coagulation
is confirmed as the cause for organ failure.
Based on your presentation, Dr. Scully,
we find you took all necessary precautions
and performed impeccably before, during,
and after delivery.
Did they even read my report?
From the moment Helen was admitted to the hospital,
she was concerned about spotting, problems with her vision...
That's why you took her blood pressure every 15 minutes.
I should have monitored it more closely.
All vital signs were perfectly normal until after delivery.
I didn't see the warning signs.
There were no warning signs.
There was nothing you could have done.
Barton, this isn't the first time
you and I have sat in that room.
The patient was
she presented with bleeding and cramps.
I did an exam, I recognized the
placental abruption immediately.
By the time she was rushed into the hospital, the baby had stopped moving.
The hemorrhaging got worse.
Two hours later, the patient was dead.
You handed me your resignation the next day.
And you refused to accept it, because I'd been proven innocent.
Yet after all these years, there is a part of me that still isn't convinced.
I don't know how to forgive myself.
I'm just going to be direct about this.
The only way you're going to get that out
is with vinegar and baking soda.
Shit. Actually, there's something else
that I wanted to discuss with you.
Obviously, things have been a bit strained
between us these past few weeks.
And, obviously, if you'd told Nancy the truth
about our night together instead of lying to her and to me,
all of this unpleasantness could have been avoided.
It did create something of a rift between me and Nancy.
Well, I may be able to help with that.
From now on, you and Nancy should be partnered.
Working side by side, sharing your passion for the work...
I think that could go a long way
to repairing things between you two.
Thank you for thinking of us.
I'm guessing that means you'd be partnered again with Bill?
Well, it would logically follow...
And have you seen him with Nancy lately?
Some days I worry she actually has become his shadow.
I wouldn't worry yourself about that, Art. That's for me to sort out.
All right, let's resign ourselves to each other, shall we?
Let's even go one better and help each other.
And how exactly are you helping me?
Well, let's start back at the beginning
by giving you an opportunity to partner with your wife.
I want the Clavermores back.
Nancy's struggled to find her footing here from the start,
to make a place for herself.
She feels that she's been constantly undercut...
Which is not true...
Getting the Clavermores back would go a long way
to making her feel her work here is valued.
And not just by Bill.
It wouldn't hurt you either, would it?
Being able to bring your wife a big case like that.
Like a cat, dropping a dead mouse on his owner's welcome mat.
You get Bill back. I help my wife.
Everybody gets what they want.
Have you discussed this with Art?
No, not a word.
To be honest, the two of us are barely speaking.
I wouldn't normally complain about my own discomfort,
but I fear that our patients are beginning to sense
the tension between us.
So what do you suggest we do?
Well, I think there's only one thing we can do.
Reassign Art to work with Nancy.
Really? And before you assume
I have any ulterior motives here, rest assured I don't.
My job is to see to the welfare of the clinic,
that is what I'm doing here.
Virginia, you were the one who was adamant
that you and I wouldn't continue the day-to-day work together.
Yes, but that was before Art accused me of having sex with him,
to his wife.
So you're saying there is no way to repair things with Art?
I really don't see how that's possible.
Then we'll fire him, hire someone else.
Fire him? No.
The Nancy would surely follow him out the door,
then we'd be starting from scratch.
I'll partner with Art, and you can work with Nancy.
How does that make any sense, Bill?
Part of the effectiveness of our technique
relies on having partners of different sexes.
It's also relied on partners from different disciplinary backgrounds.
I'm an MD, you brought a psychological component to the work.
So, why shouldn't you pair with Nancy, a doctor,
and me with Art, a psychiatrist?
Because pairing Art with Nancy in fact checks both of those boxes,
gender and discipline.
It also means that the two people
with the least amount of training
are on the same team.
I'm offering to take Art off your hands.
Isn't that what you want?
Yes. Yes. So it's settled then.
Look, I just hope you and Nancy
can find a way to work together.
Because... It's my turn to be honest now...
You're starting to get a bit of a reputation.
A reputation? For?
Being difficult. Combative.
Paranoid, even. Paranoid? That is ridiculous.
And surprising,
considering I've always relied on you
to be the one who can talk to anyone,
put people at their ease... Let me guess, this is coming from...
It doesn't matter who it's coming from.
It's there.
Well, I can assure you,
I have been and will continue to be very collaborative.
Good.
Then you and Nancy should get along fine.
Dr. Scully. Morning.
I must say, everyone is so happy to have you back,
and yet so terribly sorry about Helen.
That must've been just devastating.
Oh, thank you, Guy. Are those my first patients of the day?
No, that's the homosexual and his wife.
Dr. Masters and Dr. Dreessen are treating them.
Hello, Nancy. I have some good news.
In the world in general, or...
I thought it might be a nice idea for us to take some cases together,
so we will start tomorrow.
With the Flemings. "Us" as in...
Something's happened. What happened?
An opportunity has happened.
You've learned from Dr. Masters.
Now, it's time for you to learn from me.
I thought we could try that Italian place tonight.
Italian food outside of New York City is a contradiction in term.
Shouldn't they have moved on to genitals at this point?
Well, they're taking things slowly.
I have an itch right there. Can you... Yeah, lower. To the left.
Oh, yeah. That's it. Yeah.
There was a homosexual episode in Mr. Drag's past?
As an adolescent.
He now claims to be entirely heterosexual.
No one is entirely anything.
The Kinsey Scale taught me that.
We haven't used the Kinsey Scale much in our work.
Well, I found it to be a useful diagnostic tool at the Institute.
The scale helps the patient understand
that sexuality isn't binary. It's fluid.
And truth is, none of us is just one thing.
We're many things all at once.
Maybe you should conduct your own intake with Mr. Drag.
You and Mrs. Johnson already have.
But your expertise may lead to a different conclusion.
I think your perspective could be quite useful in this case.
I said I didn't want pizza.
No, you said you didn't wanna go out for pizza.
But it turns out,
pizza travels now.
And I heard, on good authority, that you're not eating much.
Or at all.
That there are mountains
of uneaten casseroles in your refrigerator.
Yeah, they keep dropping them off.
Which is strange, because between Virginia, Barton, and Lester,
there's not a cook in the bunch.
Guy's been cooking up a storm.
People are worried, Betty.
You want a drink?
Turns out shock wears off after...
I don't know, however long it's been.
Thirteen days?
And once it's gone, dear God, what's left is so...
I feel like a rabbit at the dog track.
Running around and around, just terrified, confused, exhausted...
And I keep turning to Helen to say, "What happened?"
I turn to her 100 times a day.
God, I screwed up so many things in my life.
But Helen was the one thing I got right.
We got each other right.
Not that everything was all daffodils,
but there was never a sliver of doubt
that we really loved each other, 'cause we really did.
Sometimes things are so right,
you don't even think to question them.
I suppose that's true.
I wouldn't know.
Never?
You never had a time when everything was just right?
In love, I mean.
There was a girl, long ago.
When I was still in school.
Her name was Dody...
And...
And when I met her,
suddenly I had this feeling like
I could breathe, or, um...
Like I was myself, finally.
I don't know why I'm saying this.
Please. I want you to.
Okay.
Well, um...
One day, Dody was at the hospital, just simple appendicitis,
and so I left her some roses, and a note for her,
and in the note,
I asked her to marry me.
So I went over to the hospital to pick her up,
and I was literally floating on air,
our entire lives ahead,
such a deep happiness.
And, uh...
She was ice cold.
She didn't say anything to me. Didn't mention my proposal.
Nothing.
We just sat there
like two strangers.
After I dropped her off,
I never heard from her again.
What went wrong?
I have no idea.
But you didn't ask?
Why didn't you just ask her, "Why didn't you answer my proposal?"
Uh...
I don't know.
Why would you not ask?
It's been quite some time since we last spoke.
Dear Dody...
Has it really been nearly 30 years?
How time flies...
I hope this letter finds you well.
I've considered writing you now and then, over the years,
curious to know where life may have led you.
Turns out our alma mater has kept better tabs on you than I,
which is how I came to your address.
But I'm writing you now with the hopes of clarity, I suppose.
Things ended so abruptly between us,
and to be honest, I was never sure why.
Recently, I've experienced a great number of changes in my life.
In the process, I have come to learn
that in order, truly, to move forward,
one must first look back,
and take inventory of the various choices one's made.
Anyway, I hope to hear back from you.
Although, will understand if I don't,
lives being as complicated and unpredictable as they are.
Either way, I remain, sincerely yours. Bill.
For a year now,
I've been experiencing terrible pain during intercourse.
All right. And how would you describe the pain that you...
You're taking notes, Mr. Fleming?
Is that a problem?
It's just, we take the notes,
so you can concentrate on telling us about what brings you here.
He just does it to calm his anxiety.
His therapist gave it to him as a coping mechanism.
Certainly no reason for you to be nervous, Mr. Fleming.
But if it makes you feel better,
I think, in this case, we can make an exception.
All right, then. In terms of the pain, Mrs. Fleming,
how would you describe the sensation?
It's like my vagina is seizing up.
Almost like myotonia.
Okay. Any other symptoms?
M-Y-O-T-O-N-I-A. Myotonia.
Anyway, does that burning sensation begin at a certain point...
Do you understand the technical definition of myotonia, Mr. Fleming?
An inability to relax the muscle?
Hmm.
That's very impressive.
I wouldn't expect a bank manager
to know that kind of medical jargon.
Roger's father was a doctor.
Back to the pain.
Does it begin at a specific point during intercourse?
The excitement phase. Isn't that it, honey?
Well, sometimes plateau.
And interestingly enough, at the moment of penetration,
that's when my dyspareunia begins.
Your dyspareunia?
Will you excuse us for a moment?
Can I have a word, Dr. Leveau?
You do see what's going on in there?
You mean that I can't get a word in edgewise?
I have to be honest, Virginia,
if this is the dynamic you expect to establish between us...
Our dynamic really isn't the point here,
since we clearly have bigger fish to fry.
I did not mean to speak over you,
I just suspect that our charming couple in there
may not actually be a couple.
Because he's writing things down
and knows medical terminology?
Because it's highly unusual for a bank manager and a housewife to...
Maybe they're just a desperate couple
hoping to save their marriage.
Maybe the reason they know your book backwards and forwards
is because they've been tearing it apart,
searching for the answer.
Could be. Or they could be here for other reasons.
Well, how do we know which one of us is right?
I'm sorry to pull rank so early into our partnership, Nancy,
but I think we should probably start with my hunch.
Louise?
I shouldn't have just shown up like this.
You know what, I probably shouldn't have come at all.
No. No, no, no. It's all right.
It's just, not everyone here knows that I attend AA meetings.
This isn't about AA.
Really?
Obviously, you're joking.
We're not, no.
No. The treatment that we recommend for cases such as yours,
dual dyspareunia, is electroshock therapy,
for both the husband and the wife,
followed by divorce.
And that's the usual protocol?
Yes, we use this in about 80% of our cases.
We even have an ECT technician
as a full-time member of our staff.
Oh, my!
Yes, we've turned it into an in-house procedure.
So, shall we get started? Started?
Electroshock therapy?
Goodness. This is a lot for us to digest...
So much so that maybe it would be better if we came back another day.
What would be best is if you told the truth.
Who do you work for?
The Post-Dispatch?
Maybe you're detectives, in which case, I should remind you
that the commissioner of police does sit on our board.
So, maybe I should just call him,
see if he knows anything about this.
We're therapists.
Sex thera... We want to be sex therapists.
We want to open our own clinic.
Shame on you for lying.
No, please. Take it as a compliment.
We are so impressed by your work.
We're trying to do as much research as possible,
see how other therapists do it.
And you are by far the best,
although we are talking to all the others.
What others?
Broken vertebrae, how did this happen?
We left this bar about three years ago.
On his birthday.
I was drunk, but he was drunker.
So I said, "Give me the keys," right?
And the last thing I remember was
the radio playing Hang On Sloopy,
when we pulled out of the parking lot.
The next thing I remember
is waking up with a tracheal tube down my throat in ICU.
And finding out that James...
That my husband was paralyzed from the waist down.
And I know that AA is anonymous,
but I knew when you came into my meeting
that you were that famous sex guru.
I'm hardly a sex guru, Louise.
And this is hardly my area of expertise.
Right, but you specialize in sexual dysfunction.
And sometimes he can get it up, and sometimes he can't...
And I was just hoping you could explain all this to me.
Well, um...
Looking at your husband's X-rays,
there's broken vertebrae on the S4 and the S5,
his injury appears to be partial, which means there's
some kind of neural connection,
but it's probably haphazard.
So he can have erections,
but they can't be controlled through
thinking sexual thoughts or manual stimulation.
Does that sound about right?
Well, as for touching him in a sexual way,
we haven't tried that since the accident.
James hasn't...
He hasn't been interested, I guess, is the word.
This has been a very difficult transition for him, for both of us.
He feels nothing down there so...
So, you're actually here for more than an explanation.
Well, I did read up on you.
And I know that you're not one to back down from a challenge.
So I suppose what I'm asking, really, begging you for is...
Some kind of hope.
It's very hard to know what kind of sexual response
would be possible with James,
but the goal,
in any case like this,
would be to experiment with neural rewiring.
This is a very new area of science,
but it would involve mapping your husband's dermatomes,
areas on his skin that correspond
with certain spinal nerves,
and then stimulating them
to try and generate erotic feeling
that could lead to an erection.
Now, like I say, this is all very new,
but sometimes mapping can help us to see
where he feels sexual arousal in places aside from genitals
and then how it can be reconnected back to his genitals.
Okay, well, that's a start, right?
What it is is highly experimental.
I've never taken a case like this.
And the process would not be for the faint of heart.
Plus, there's no promise that this would work.
But mostly, it would require
complete openness and honesty from you both.
And I suspect it'd make you and your husband feel very exposed.
Dr. Masters, I can assure you that I have never felt more exposed in my life.
Three other clinics in the St. Louis area alone.
Two promise to eliminate
sexual dysfunction in a single session.
I ran into one of these quacks myself in Las Vegas.
Look, if you're worried about competition...
We'd be idiots not to worry about competition.
More importantly, we have charlatans coming in here,
posing as patients, people I very easily convinced
that electroshock therapy was standard treatment.
It's a symposium tomorrow,
happening right outside the city.
"The Joys of Partnering."
A seminar for singles.
But one of the topics in the pamphlet is sexual dysfunction.
That doesn't necessarily sound irresponsible,
and we didn't invent sexual dysfunction,
so there's no indication that they're stealing our work.
Yes, but we are just coming out from under a legal nightmare
based on the misunderstanding of our methods.
The last thing we need are frauds in our very field,
potentially spreading dangerous interpretations of our ideas.
You're right.
You should go. Take Nancy with you and report back.
Well, Art and I are still sorting out working together,
as are you and Nancy... Fine, then.
But, Bill, at a certain point, it's just negligence,
if you refuse to stand with me and defend what we do here.
Now, before Dr. Kinsey began his research,
most scientists were accustomed
to thinking of sexuality as a dichotomy.
Right? Two choices.
An individual either checks this box, heterosexual,
or this box, homosexual.
What Dr. Kinsey discovered, however,
was the vast majority of people
found themselves somewhere in between.
In between?
Right, now, according to the Kinsey Scale,
someone that is exclusively heterosexual would be a zero.
Someone that is exclusively homosexual,
on the other hand, we would label a six.
But how would you measure someone?
We make a calculation based on the number of homosexual experiences
an individual has had, as well as the frequency
with which the individual continues to desire
or fantasize about same-sex partners.
I'm not sure why you're pointing this out to me.
Because I'm desperate to believe
that what I am seeing is not what really is.
Well, I don't have time for riddles.
They are converting Mr. Drag from a homosexual to a heterosexual.
That's hogwash.
I thought this was the last place
that something like conversion therapy would happen.
It's not happening.
In your intake,
you brought up a homosexual experience
you had as a young man with a schoolmate.
Where does that put me?
Well, based on the fact that you continue to think about it...
Involuntarily.
Let's say, three.
So, right in the middle.
Nearly 12% of the men Dr. Kinsey interviewed in his initial research
were also threes.
That's more than 1 in 10. That's right.
And have you ever seen a three go on to get married? Have children?
Lead, you know, a normal kind of life?
Of course. It happens all the time.
The affair with your schoolmate,
I imagine that hasn't been your only homosexual experience.
Why would you imagine that?
But let's say that there was another.
Where would I be then?
One other experience?
I'd keep you at a three.
I did have one other experience.
In a movie theater.
Did you masturbate him or did you perform oral sex?
Both.
But it's the only time it happened, I swear.
I felt so disgusted after.
I tossed the clothes I was wearing
down the garbage chute as soon as I got home.
A brand-new suit.
When was this? Six months ago.
I realize it's not a coincidence
my impotence began at the same time.
Now, the way you felt about that man,
the intensity of the attraction,
how does it compare to the level of attraction you feel to your fiancee?
It's nothing like it.
The theater was just bodies.
When Cherlyn and I make love, it's hearts, minds.
Well, but sex isn't just an emotional exercise.
Bodies are important.
I know the sensate
isn't progressing as quickly as Dr. Masters envisioned.
I wonder if you would consider
helping us? Guiding us through it?
Your presence, it's quite reassuring.
Your being there with us,
I think it could really make a difference.
You have a call on Line 2, Dr. Bill.
It's a woman. She wouldn't give her name.
- Hello? - Bill?
It's Dody.
Dody?
How are you?
You got my letter?
It came this morning.
I've read it through only a dozen times.
I thought a letter might be more welcome than a phone call.
You know, in case you needed time to place the name.
William Masters. Now, let's see.
Oh, you're that man who sold me my Chevrolet.
How's that car been working out for you, ma'am?
Well, to be honest, not so great.
It's been in and out of the shop.
I think you sold me a lemon.
I'm considering pressing charges
with the Better Business Bureau.
God. Your voice...
You sound exactly the same.
Do I?
What about me? If I'd just called you,
and tried to, I don't know, sell you a magazine subscription,
would you have known it was me?
I'm not sure.
Say, "Apple pie a la mode-y."
Oh, my God, you're still holding on to that?
What can I say, I didn't speak French, I was trying to impress you.
Oh, you did. You were very suave.
Or should I say "suave-y."
Oh, now, see, that laugh I recognize.
You're taking inventory? You're not...
There's nothing wrong with you, is there?
You're not unwell? No, no, no. I'm fine.
Oh, I was worried.
I just... I just have some questions.
About?
Us. Um...
How things ended. Why things ended.
I don't mean to stir up unpleasant memories, but...
No, that's not...
There are things I'm unclear about myself.
I was hoping maybe you could tell me what happened.
From your point of view.
What I did to make you...
I'm gonna have to call you back.
I'm so sorry, Bill.
All right. Well, can I take your number?
Dody?
He's the leading doctor in his field.
The only doctor specializing in sexual dysfunction.
And he's very respected.
I didn't want to say anything until I knew there was hope.
I don't want people knowing our personal business.
My life now, I don't want people knowing about that.
Well, James, your life is my life.
And I miss being with you in that way.
And I know you miss it, too.
Dr. Masters said in treatments with spinal cord patients,
he's had real success with neural rewiring
and something called dermatomes.
It's restored his patients back
to their normal sexual activity.
He said that? What's his success rate?
They don't give numbers, but he's very hopeful.
You remember how you used to love telling the story
about when you first met me?
It was the state semi-finals
and I was with that louse, Darrell. Hmm?
He was all over me.
And you thought, "Well, that girl is taken, so why even bother?"
But you kept on looking at me.
Remember?
It seemed hopeless,
but you came and talked to me anyway.
And six weeks later...
I spent a whole paycheck on this ring.
Didn't even know if you'd say yes.
See, that's what I'm talking about.
You took a gamble, and it paid off.
In the eyes of the law,
Miss DiMello here has no legal right to the child.
Helen Schiff was an unmarried woman,
so any offspring would go to the next of kin,
in this case, her parents,
who have been granted temporary custody of the child
pending a hearing.
And unless something goes wrong there,
temporary custody will become permanent custody.
Unless the biological father steps forward to challenge that custody.
Uh...
I assume you mean me,
given I'm the biological father, but...
Betty, I'm in no position to take custody of an infant.
I mean, no position.
The second part of this plan is that you and me get married.
I then will adopt the baby, so she is legally mine.
And then the two of us will get divorced,
and since you are unfit as a parent, the baby will stay with me.
Okay. You asked me to plant my seed in Helen and I did that.
I even enjoyed it, it had a certain three-way frisson.
Listen, Betty, we're old friends
and Helen, she was a great gal,
but this is insane. I can't do this.
And I'm going on the record as advising against it.
Lying in court and presenting your union as a real marriage,
it's against the law.
Ass officially covered.
It is too much, what I'm asking.
But I'm asking anyway, 'cause I loved Helen,
and out of love, we brought this baby into the world.
And I wanna honor that
and raise this baby as Helen would want me to.
Why are we here?
I'm not talking about existence,
although that would be a very interesting question.
I am talking about today, right now, this moment.
We are all here because we want to be
the best possible partners we can be.
So...
Who would like to tell me what the word "partner" means to them?
It's not a trick question. Anybody?
Yes, Burt.
Someone you can count on?
Reliability. Mmm-hmm.
That is certainly important in a healthy partnership.
Thank you, Burt.
Anybody else?
Yes, Nancy?
I think for me, a good partner in personal...
Well, as well as work relationships, is someone with whom
there's a mutual respect and understanding.
And maybe even an admiration.
Someone who's open and honest.
And of course someone I can feel safe with,
in our attempted intimacy,
and who feels safe to be intimate with me.
Wow. Fantastic answer, Nancy.
Did everybody hear that? Intimacy.
Or as we like to call it here at the center,
"into me you see."
No points for subtlety there.
Oh, I wasn't going for subtlety.
Let's just remember that we're here to gather information.
You know, I don't know if it's sitting on these little pillows,
but what I realized is I'm sad.
Well, then do what I do when I'm sad.
Snap out of it.
I wanted nothing more than for you to be my mentor.
But instead, you just don't like me.
This has nothing to do with anybody not liking anybody.
Actually, I take that back. I like your husband.
Not sexually. I believe we've covered that.
But as a colleague and a friend and...
Well, I see the way he's suffering.
"Suffering" meaning?
It's really not my place to say.
Fine. Your so-called lifestyle
is hurtful and unfulfilling to him.
He's miserable, but doesn't dare say it
for fear that you would leave him.
Wait, he told you this?
Art told you?
I don't... He's never said anything to me.
I'm surprised, I suppose. And hurt.
Oh, my God.
Is that one of our patients?
Daddy?
For cripes' sake, Gini.
What are you doing here, honey?
I'm here for work.
I think the better question is what are you doing here?
I'm here for pleasure, I suppose.
At a singles retreat on partnering?
Where's Mom? Is Mom here?
Does this look like a place your mother would come?
I told her I was on a fishing trip, rainbow trouting in Branson.
Oh.
Jade gave us an hour for lunch.
Let's take a stroll on the meditation green.
So each spinal nerve is responsible
for an area of skin called a dermatome.
Now, the idea is that you close your eyes, James,
while Louise sensually stimulates each area.
You will respond verbally with a yes or no
to let us know which regions, if any, generate a sexual feeling.
Yeah, yeah.
Yes?
We'll be able to observe if an erection occurs,
and how to maintain an erection,
with the end goal of satisfying both partners.
You, through experiencing sexual pleasure through non-genital stimulation.
And you, through intercourse,
just like you did before the accident.
The key here is patience.
We're all entering uncharted waters.
After I finished your book, it lit a spark for me
and I started reading everything I could get my hands on.
I started exploring and...
I am a lot like all these other folks here.
We're all just trying to learn about our bodies
and our feelings and sex and intimacy.
"Into me you see."
There was this one seminar that I took...
What, in addition to this seminar?
Mmm-hmm. It explained, in very scientific terms,
how swinging could actually help couples realign their desires
and ultimately bring the focus back to each other.
"Realign"?
"The Science of Swinging," I think it was called.
Daddy, there's no science to swinging.
Nowhere in our book
do Bill and I mention swinging as a form of therapy.
What we advocate, what we've always advocated,
are protocols that keep people together.
Heck, honey.
You might as well get up in front of these folks and take a bow,
because your book, what you and Bill did together,
it's what allowed all this to happen.
Don't say that.
No, I'm trying to keep a low profile.
God, now I'm just worried about you.
And Mom. No, no, no, no, no, no.
I feel alive. That's my point.
And I'm gonna take whatever I learn here back to your mother,
and hopefully, we could be looking at a second honeymoon.
Dr. Masters, please.
Dody.
He'll know what it's regarding.
Oh, good, I wasn't sure when I'd hear from you again.
I'm so sorry about before.
Not at all, not at all.
Is now a better time?
Bill, I've been thinking, and I hope this isn't too forward.
Maybe we should get together.
Or is that...
Yes. Yes, absolutely. Let's do that.
I would like that very much.
Um... I can come to you.
Oh, no, no. You don't want to drive from St. Louis to Topeka
and back again in a single day.
Why don't we meet halfway? I know just the place.
I want you to relax into the sensation.
Focus on the pressure of her fingertips on your skin.
The warmth of her hands.
I'm so sorry.
I was looking for Bill. I suppose he's not back yet.
Bill mentioned this case to me.
Thought I might be interested in observing.
Oh.
Well, sure. If it's okay with Bill.
Nice. And breathe into it, Bob.
Allow the feeling to go right through.
That's right, nice and easy.
That's right.
Something seems to be working.
William Masters?
This'll just take a minute. Actually, I'm expecting someone...
My wife, yes. But she's not coming.
No, I think there's been some...
You're waiting for Dody,
but I talked her out of coming.
Which is sure as hell better for her.
But, you know, I suspect it's better for you, too.
See, I found your letter.
She was all dressed up,
something about a lecture on Impressionism at the library,
but it didn't take long for her to admit
that she was coming to see you. Just to be clear,
I have no designs on your wife.
None whatsoever. In fact, I haven't seen Dody in...
Thirty years.
I can probably tell you to the minute.
Although, knowing the first 10 years of those were devastating,
I'm not sure what you're doing here.
"Devastating"?
For... My wife.
Has something happened to Dody?
Aside from you breaking her heart? Is that not enough for you?
What? No, I...
I broke her heart? No, that's not what happened...
I'm the one that picked up the pieces.
And it's humiliating, let me tell you,
helping the woman you love mourn the loss of another man.
I wrote to your wife because I had a question.
One question.
And since she's the only one who can answer it...
I guess it stays unanswered.
Because I'm not gonna go through that again.
And neither is she.
Have a nice drive back to St. Louis.
You should see these.
Not right now, Nancy.
Just read them.
"Experience intimate and professional sex therapy,
"results guaranteed."
What's going on here is pretty innocuous.
But Jade told me about these other clinics,
places that have protocols alarmingly close to what we do at the clinic.
What you do, I suppose I should say.
Why would you suppose that?
Because I don't see how we're going to continue to work together.
God, please don't start.
Your derision aside... Okay, I...
I just gave you the Clavermore case.
Because your husband, who loves you, came in and fought for it
so that I could give it to him,
so that he could give it to you.
I don't... Art did?
We're all trying here, Nancy. Trying our best.
You ladies enjoy the seminar?
No. No.
How could you possibly... What'd you...
- I saw it with my own eyes! - What did you see?
We're not performing conversion therapy.
Call it what you like, I saw what was happening.
You were trying to turn a homosexual into a heterosexual.
Our patient is not a homosexual.
He's a Kinsey three.
Has he had sex with other men? He's a homosexual.
Well, our supposedly homosexual patient
happened to achieve an erection last night with his wife.
Because he was listening to you.
It was you he was responding to! Listening to me?
That's a supposition!
Well, it's all a supposition.
We can't even agree the definition of a homosexual.
Well, according to the Kinsey Scale...
Kinsey's survey has not been tested rigorously.
Okay, well, then let's base it on the number
of homosexual experiences our patient has had.
In which case we can say with confidence
that he is ambisexual, attracted to both men and women.
Well, as a recovering ambisexual myself, I can tell you,
there's no such thing.
Of course there is! Well, how do we know that?
We don't know.
Where are the numbers to support it? Where is the data?
This is about more than one patient.
This needs to be a study.
A study?
We should be observing homosexuals
exactly the same way we did heterosexuals.
Collecting data on the four stages of sexual response.
Studying the physiological changes during sex.
Conducting detailed psychological and sexual histories.
Otherwise,
we're just stabbing in the dark.
That could be very interesting.
And as for conversion therapy,
that will never happen in this office.
There's no cure for homosexuality.
I know how dangerous that line of thinking is.
I know where that leads.
Good.
Art, how do you feel about laying the groundwork
to broaden this into a study?
That would be great.
I can start now.
Well, that's a relief.
I told them that you could never be involved with conversion.
Something on your mind?
Well, I... I guess I was just wondering whether there's times when...
When it's better not to know.
If there are just some doors that should never be opened.
Or do you think it's always worth pursuing the truth,
no matter what?
Are we still talking about the study?
Maybe.
In my experience,
the truth can come at a very high price.
You could lose people you love, pieces of yourself.
But in the end, it's worth it.
It's worth it to know where you really stand.
What do you feel?
My shoulder, a tickle in my shoulder.
Am I... Am I still good... Am I still good down there?
Yeah. So good. Okay.
Yes.
So good.
That was so good.
You wanna keep going? 'Cause I could...
I don't want to do this. I don't want to do this.
And I think it's wrong you're asking me to.
Good for you, you're getting off on this.
But I got nothing.
That half of me that's dead, it's still fucking dead.
I can't walk. I can't... I can't fuck.
But now you want me to do this with you every night, watch you...
Watch your face while you're coming? It's fucking cruel.
Fuck, Louise.
It's fucking cruel!
I... Fuck.
All right. I'm coming.
Oh.
Edith.
I just want to know how you figure in all this.
My husband and I were at the courthouse this morning.
Turns out there's been a petition filed by the biological father.
A man who runs a strip club, although apparently is also a doctor.
Do you know a Dr. Austin Langham?
Helen didn't get pregnant by a traveling salesman
passing through town. She only told you that
because she didn't want to upset you with the truth.
A little too late for that.
Okay, then.
I know Dr. Langham through work, yes.
And Helen and I decided together
that he would be the father of our baby.
He has many fine qualities.
Our daughter had a whole life that was hidden from us.
This bizarre existence of yours.
It turns out our daughter was someone we barely knew.
That's not...
That's not true.
The fact that Helen loved me doesn't change who she was
and how much she loved you.
She was my daughter.
I know.
And now, there's a baby to think about.
And...
Maybe we can come together
out of our love for Helen and out of our love for that little...
Do not get near that baby.
You are unfit to raise a child.
You know nothing of being a mother, you live an aberrant life,
you're alone, and that strip club owner is a joke.
Do the right thing. For once.
Do not play fast and loose with this baby's life.
Stop thinking about yourself,
and do what's best for her.
And one of those. The red one.
This one?
Yup.
Virginia.
There's something we need to discuss.
Can I come in?
You seem upset.
I am.
Scared, even.
Scared? Why? Did something...
Something did happen.
At first, I was just worried about the competition.
God knows that's out there now, in spades.
All three of those places use our exact protocol.
Exact, down to the letter.
Each patient undergoes a detailed intake, then they move on to sensate.
Each treatment takes two weeks, same as ours.
Apparently, we supervised this therapist's graduate work in sexology.
Which brings me to the bigger problem,
which yesterday made all too clear.
There are hundreds, if not thousands,
of suffering patients out there seeking treatment.
These are innocent people,
Bill, being fed this misinformation and outright lies.
These are real marriages on the line here, Bill.
People who have been together for 30, 40 years,
who have been through countless ups and downs...
Are you all right? Yes.
What have all the years and years
of hard work and good science been for?
If people can now get more bad information than good?
Well, we're leaders in this field,
we could be organizing a regulatory body,
something to handle oversight of therapists, licensing perhaps.
And in the meantime, we can start in our own backyard,
investigating these therapists that are stealing our work.
Put them out of business. Exactly.
We send a signal to all of these charlatans
that this type of infringement will not be tolerated.
So we go in as patients
and we document everything that's going on in these clinics...
We go in there together? No.
No. Actually, I would rather that we investigate separately.
We each pick a clinic
and we divide and conquer,
as we've done so often in this work.
So, here's one in Chicago, Louisville, and Topeka.
Take your pick.
Well, Topeka's close.
I'll take Topeka.