The ramifications of Masters’ disastrous presentation ripple beyond his firing from Maternity Hospital as Libby, worried about supporting their new baby, pushes him to get another job. Johnson, still working for Dr. DePaul, must fight off the advances and innuendos stemming from the belief that she was the woman in the film. “Parallax” was written by Michelle Ashford and directed by Michael Apted.
Masters begins his new job at Memorial Hospital under Betty’s extortive terms only to find his boss insisting he leave Johnson behind in favor of a handpicked secretary. Johnson, still alienated at Maternity, is torn between pressing Masters to rehire her and staying by DePaul’s side as her condition worsens. “Kyrie Eleison” was written by David Flebotte and directed by Michael Apted.
Masters delivers a baby with ambiguous genitalia and urges the parents not to surgically assign the child a sex out of fear or convenience. Upon meeting Johnson at a hotel for a secret rendezvous, the two divide their attention between sexual roleplay and a championship boxing match, prompting Johnson to unearth Masters’ troubled childhood. “Fight” was written by Amy Lippman and directed by Michael Apted.
Langham sees Masters and Johnson exiting a hotel room after an evening tryst. He brings his suspicions to DePaul, causing problems between the two women and putting Johnson’s job in jeopardy. Masters is thwarted by the head of the hospital – a man with a prurient interest in the study – when he tries to bring Johnson on as his assistant. Betty attempts to conceal her infertility from Gene. “Dirty Jobs” was written by Steven Levenson and directed by Michael Engler.
Masters continues to break new ground by continuing his study as the only white physician in a Negro hospital but at the cost of his gynecology practice. Libby is confronted by Coral's brother, Robert, over her poor treatment of Coral, Betty reunites with her former lover, and Johnson struggles to right her relationship with DePaul, who is newly aware of Johnson's ongoing affair with Masters.
After Hendricks bans Masters from using black participants in his study, Masters contacts a journalist to promote his efforts, using the debunking of black sexual stereotypes as the lure. Johnson is forced to accept DePaul’s choice to end her chemotherapy treatments. Gene uncovers the truth about Betty and Helen’s relationship. Libby fires Coral after discovering she lied about Robert being her lover.
Michael Sheen
William Masters
Lizzy Caplan
Virginia Johnson
Caitlin FitzGerald
Libby Masters
Nicholas D'Agosto
Ethan Haas
Teddy Sears
Austin Langham