Original subtitles

Previously on Masters of Sex. Safe to say that we are not in the best shape

financially. The money will sort itself out. I've been telling your husband for

the last year he should rent this space. It'd be better for our end of year

report. Well, you're a Virginia referral.

You've been a very naughty orthopedist, Dr. Langer.

In spite of what you may have heard, my relationship with my patients is

strictly professional.

Let's give a big calimetric welcome to the new face of women's nutrition, Dr.

Austin Langham.

Hi, I'm Frank, and I'm an alcoholic.

Disappearing acts have always been my specialty.

My dad taught both of his boys how to vanish. Didn't he, Bill?

I already knew the whole story. I knew it because it's my story, Francis.

You're one of the bravest people that I know.

You just see what you want and you go and get it. May I help you, Mrs.

Masters? I was wondering if you could use my help.

We need someone to make a sandwich run.

What can I get for you?

Just drinking.

Help to relieve your conscience about what it is we are doing to Libby. We

have a greater purpose, Virginia. It hasn't been about the study in years.

We're not going to find the cure for dysfunction in an exam room, we're not.

Then tell me, Bill, which sexual dysfunction are you proposing we treat?

Mine.

You comfortable?

I'm not good at staying in one place for so long.

There was a five-hour wait at City Hall the day Francis and I decided to get

married.

I wanted to come again another day because usually I'm a whirling dervish,

but Francis sat right next to me, held my hand, sang me all the Gilbert and

Sullivan songs he could think of just to make the time pass easier.

Husbands generally don't come for their wives' cappings, although Frank would

have been perfectly welcome.

Not so sure he believed that.

I know you and he had words recently.

If you'd like him here, Pauline, I could have my receptionist call him.

I'd do it if there were a chance of you two mending fences.

Well, there's really no mending to be done.

Meaning it's not necessary, or it's impossible.

He didn't come here to take you to task for anything, Bill.

He's made peace with his past.

The program has been so helpful for him in that regard. I think he just wanted

to share with you all that he's come to understand.

And here I thought you two came to me for fertility treatments.

We are desperate to have a family.

But I know for Frank that means more than a child.

Well, babies are my stocking trade, so let's focus on that, shall we?

Now, what can I have Betty bring you?

Frank? Or perhaps a magazine?

Um, yeah, it won't happen again.

Thank you very much.

What on God's earth? I just got off the phone with the electric company. I told

them to check today's mail where they would find our late payment, which they

did, so the lights should go back on shortly.

Now, why was our payment so late?

Because... I had to wait for checks to clear from eight patients we owed the

specimen lab, which was threatening to hold up our results. Then I had to put

off the electric company until Calimetric's rent came in on the 15th.

Should I go on? I understand.

Things are a little tight. Our only prayer here is to sub... Let the rest of

this floor in. I'm not going to have my patients sharing lobby space with second

-rate businesses.

Either it's tenants who aren't so fancy-schmancy but pay the rent, or

you're going to be doing pelvic exams with a miner's lamp stuck to your

forehead. I doubt those are my only options.

All right.

Here's another option.

If we can't pay the heat this winter, then we're going to be hosing down these

marble floors, turning this place into a skating rink, and charging admission.

What's your suggestion?

for viable tenants. I'm already looking.

You don't seem all that surprised.

Was it helpful?

Pretending to be somebody else?

I mean, did the advice I gave you, did it help your friend?

To be honest, no.

No, it was a disaster.

I clearly did not understand how therapy works. Otherwise, I would have realized

how ridiculous it was to think that I could stand in for her.

Maybe she provided you with a reason to seek treatment for yourself.

No, I came for her.

And I'm only here now because I thought I owed you an explanation as to why I

wouldn't be returning. As a patient, at least. I would love to be able to call

you in the future. I find this work fascinating.

If I have any questions regarding my own patients.

Still, I'm wondering if anything we discussed seemed to resonate with you on

a personal level?

My relationship with the married man. All the questions you asked surrounding

that, why it ended.

So that was your affair, not your friends? Yes, it was. It is. It

continues. But it's not an affair.

What does the word affair connote for you that relationship doesn't?

Something that's primarily sexual.

And yours is not?

No, no.

It's far more complicated than that.

It has been sexual in the past, but it's not now.

You and he don't engage in sex?

No.

And why is that, may I ask?

Because he is impotent. As you recall, there were two years when we were apart.

But since then, just in the past month, we've been together. And I've taken care

of you each of those times. You yourself remarked on the trend.

When Libby had Jenny.

She was capped using... I have secondary impotence.

I can function when I'm by myself.

It's when I'm with a partner.

So you and Libby have discussed this. This is how you've explained this to me.

Well, there are things that Libby and I don't discuss.

I'm not interested in the explanation. I'm interested in the cure.

With any patient, we would... What? We would explore a cause, a triggering

incident.

Lester, for example.

He said that his problem started when Jane rejected him. Well, that's Lester.

There's Shelly.

That's when we stopped coming here, stopped having sex, when you learned

that I was seeing Shelly.

Bill, you know that Shelly wasn't any kind of rejection.

Of you. Are you with him now?

No, you know that I'm not. I know. You're not with anyone at the moment.

You're here with me. So if jealousy or insecurity were the issue, there's no

reason for me to feel either. And yet my difficulties persist.

So how can that be the cause?

The psychology behind these physical problems is very complicated.

To understand the why. We can spend forever on the why and not get any

closer to finding any kind of cure.

You know, the point, Virginia, is we have an opportunity here to find a

cure. Not just for me, but for millions of men.

We've drifted away from the work. I admit that. But this is the way back.

And you're the one, you're the only one who can fix me.

So you consider the relationship to have a higher purpose now?

I do.

Yes, he and I, we are uniquely qualified to develop a treatment to

prevent countless marriages from dissolving. Including his?

Your partner's? No, his marriage is not at risk.

You don't think his wife feels the loss of his sexual companionship?

Maybe I can cure him and send him back home to his marital bed.

That's very selfless of you. I was joking.

And I don't think that sarcasm really has a place in therapy, do you?

Did I misrepresent your intentions?

I think that you are making some kind of judgment about me.

Doctor...

I can assure you I am at peace with this situation now. I think if that were

true, you would have telephoned me to cancel the session instead of showing up

here. All right.

Why don't you tell me? Why am I here? I think you want me to be all right with

you.

In the very short time you've been coming here, you admitted to deceiving

two people.

Me and pretending to be someone else.

And your lover's wife.

And carrying on a relationship behind her back.

Is there anyone else you may have deceived?

You want me to say myself, right? That I've deceived myself?

Mama's gonna buy you a walking bird.

Libby promised helping out with this civil rights office wouldn't interfere

with dinner.

I'm happy to start dinner.

This little one is out like a light already.

Lullabies never worked with you.

You'd stare at me with that expression that said, I will not sleep ever.

Whereas Francis would just hum along happily.

Even before he could speak.

Always the entertainer, Francis.

He's more serious now, don't you think?

When Francis was a child, he couldn't see a little darkness under all that

light. He tells me now, I should have, that his good cheer was an act of, what

did he say?

Self-preservation.

You believe that?

Well, if I've learned anything, it's that everyone has their own version.

Of everything that's ever happened.

Francis doesn't like the fact that I have a drink every night.

He hasn't said anything to my face, but I can see his disapproving looks.

You don't think I drink too much, do you, Billy?

I think you drink as much as you want, which is as it should be.

It's that program of his, if we're going to be perfectly honest.

I mean, good for him, if it helps. All I want is for my sons to be happy. But I

also think it can turn a person into a policeman.

Or an amateur psychiatrist.

Or a member of a secret club.

Has he used the word amends with you?

I mean, why do you need such a fancy word for saying I'm sorry? Who do these

amends help?

It's not like they're making things right.

Dragging up the past.

spinning it so it only serves them. Has he forgiven you for something you didn't

do? I just said, thank you, Francis. That's very generous of you.

But it felt a little like an accusation that's dressed up to be an apology.

I'm being too harsh.

No, you're not.

My wife.

Home from work.

We split everyone into four groups. One group takes the towers here by North

Jefferson. There's ten towers down by Carr Street, so we'll put two groups on

those. And the rest will start here by North 20th and move west.

So, let's get on the phones and make sure we deliver the best turnout

possible. All right?

Uh, what time is everyone meeting tomorrow?

I need to make arrangements for my children.

They're not coming.

You just said you need as many people as possible.

The right people.

I can do as much as anyone else.

Look, we will be knocking on the doors of dirt poor Negroes with no jobs, no

prospects, and probably already lost any ounce of dignity they ever had. And

we're going to try to convince them to stop paying rent on the only decent

apartment most of them have ever lived in. I would hardly call a rat-infested

slum a decent place to live.

You'll just be one more white person showing up, trying to tell them how to

live their lives. These folks take one look at you, they'll close the doors.

And besides, there's rats in those towers.

And lice, too.

And I think we both know how you feel about lice.

Now, if you're looking for something to do, you can start by getting lunch.

No more tuna salad.

We're all sick to death of tuna salad.

Well, he does give us credit in the footnotes.

Masters and Johnson were the first to identify specific stages of sexual

arousal, four in all, in a 1958 study.

They have since ceased their clinical research. Well, we'll just have to call

Mr.

Kaufman and let him know that we are still... Call him. The worst thing we

can possibly do is rouse the beast.

The beast?

Only found four.

He's come up with the other two stages purely to distinguish his work from

ours. It's one study in a small journal. Well, the American Neurology Review is a

respected journal.

And everything we did in the past three years could be erased by...

Dr. Joseph Kaufman, who has the audacity to list dormant as a stage of sexual

arousal. Well, Dr. Joseph Kaufman is wrong. Yeah, he's wrong, and he's been

published. Phil, I would not overreact to this. Every name in the history of

science is the name of the man who got there first. Maybe it is, but it says

right here in this footnote that we were the first ones out of the gate.

And he doesn't mention a thing about dysfunction, so we definitely have the

edge there.

I'll be right back.

When my kids found it, they thought it was a teepee.

They even used it for playing cowboys and Indians.

I didn't have the heart to tell them it wasn't a teepee.

It was the only dress Mommy could still fit into.

But not anymore.

Smile, smile.

Clap, clap.

That's right, folks. When Cindy here came to my office three months ago, she

weighed in at nearly 200 pounds.

I was a size 60.

16. A size 16.

The prognosis was bleak, but the prescription was simple.

Just three small tablets of Cal-O-Metric per day.

And I went from overweight to feeling great, all thanks to Cal-Metric.

Cal-O-Metric.

Cal-O. O. With an O.

Why don't we take five to collect ourselves?

Girl's room?

Yes.

Boy,

she is fantastic.

A regular Barrymore.

Say, I ran into Dick Davis yesterday, a fellow orthopedist, when I was still a

maternity. I told him what I was doing now.

Touring the state, starring in television commercials, helping women

from... Here's this week's schedule.

Presentation at Vandervoort's department store tomorrow, St. Louis Zoo on

Wednesday, Jefferson County Fair this weekend.

Tomorrow night, 435 Harney Avenue. What is that, a Woolworths? My apartment.

Oh, and be sure to knock because the buzzer's broken.

I don't understand.

Cindy and I were presenting at your apartment? Just you. And me. I thought

we could have some special time. Well, you're not allergic to cats, are you?

Because I'll be honest, I keep thinking about that golden hair on your wrists,

wondering if that's the same gold color all over your body, or does it get

darker as it gets thicker?

I'd like to see for myself.

Tomorrow night.

Same rules as the mall. Do not be late or you will be fired.

I've been doing some reading and it turns out that every marriage manual has

suggestions for impotence. Many of which we already know from Betty.

But I've typed up a list. Then you've typed up a list of remedies that don't

work.

Even if the treatment is not 100% effective.

We can still learn something from each one. I've already tried all of Betty's

quackery on Lester. Nearly gave the poor man a nervous breakdown.

That's Lester, as you said.

Although the session with Lester did teach us that it's best to try to

resolve this condition with someone familiar.

And we are familiar with each other.

So?

Let's keep it very simple today.

I'll use my hands, my mouth, and you

just relax and stop thinking about it.

You know, I read somewhere that before Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa,

he did 140 failed sketches.

And before Roger Bannister ran the 4-minute mile, he ran the 4-minute and

22nd mile, and then the 4-minute and 12-second mile, and so on.

We've only covered about a third of the options on this list. I have heard that

there have been successes with hypnosis.

You okay?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I am.

I just, I'm a little dizzy.

I'm okay.

Here, come this way.

Don't be embarrassed at all. I almost went down like a ton of bricks on my

first look at a retreating cervix.

You're one of the doctors?

Oh, no, I'm the archivist. I'm documenting the study on film to keep a

record of it for posterity.

You make movies?

I prefer to think of it as telling the truth.

24 times a second.

Le Petit Soldat.

Godard. So you must have seen a lot of people come in and out of here.

Hundreds.

Does it work?

Dr. Masters said that he could cure me. Never mind. It doesn't matter.

Dr. Masters can cure anything.

Well, most things.

I mean... Some things no doctor can cure, no matter how good he is.

Right? You can't operate on the soul. Only God can do that.

I believe in that sort of thing.

I mean, lots of people do believe, obviously.

For science, you had to come up with some way of explaining things.

A man in the sky with a beard makes as much sense as anything else. It's

oversimplifying things a bit.

Well, I only... People need to find meaning in something.

They need to believe in...

Something.

Second law of thermodynamics is good.

And pretty irrefutable that the universe is hurtling inexorably towards entropy.

So life is meaningless.

All the pain and suffering is just blind random chaos. Thank you for the water.

Sorry, I didn't come up with that theory.

Blame Lord Kelvin.

Brand new this morning. Now I know why they were on sale.

You're a lifesaver, Ginny.

Or an expert, since I only buy on sale.

I didn't dare ask for nail polish downstairs.

Not that they would notice my run.

Not that they would notice if I mimeographed for them in a day-glow

bikini.

Yes, well, they do seem like a pretty determined bunch.

Core office.

They're determined to make this rent strike a success, which I certainly

applaud them for. A rent strike in this building? Oh, no, no. At Pruitt-Igoe?

The projects?

I'm sure Bill didn't tell you since he hates my working there.

People in the core office think I'm nothing more than some bored housewife.

I'm sure that they appreciate you.

Trust me, they don't.

Which is why I'm going to canvas with them tonight.

Even though they don't want me to.

Bill agreed to you going?

Which is why I need your help.

I'm assuming you two will be working late tonight again.

What if you told Bill that your sitter cancelled at the last minute and I'm

filling in for her?

That would explain why I'm not home. You want me to lie to Bill?

I could drop my kids off at your house with Henry and Tessa. I would pay for

the sitter, of course.

No, that would not be necessary.

It's a good cause.

And we just keep it between us.

Unless the idea of lying to Bill is too... uncomfortable.

It's not.

In fact, what time should I tell the sitter to expect you and the kids?

This way.

Virginia, good. I want you to meet Shep Talley, Mr. Talley, a partner at

Williams and Kulik Public Relations.

You are as pretty as the first day in June.

Thank you. Forgive me, I tend to think in terms of commodities.

Mr. Talley was instrumental in helping my colleague, John Rock.

The John Rock who developed the birth control pill? That one was a race, I'll

tell you, neck and neck the whole way. Well, Mr. Talley made sure that Dr. Rock

came in first, and he's going to do the same for us with Dr. Kaufman. This is

quite the space.

Do you ever get the urge to strap on a pair of roller skates, do a few loops

around the lobby?

Uh, never once.

I thought we could start with the archives.

This is Lester, our archivist.

Lester, Mr. Talley would like to see some footage from the study. Mrs.

Johnson and I will join in a moment.

Please. We cannot afford an ad man. In public relations. A PR man who's going

to charge us to turn June into a commodity.

Either Joseph Kaufman is a footnote in our study or we're footnotes in his.

All I'm asking for now is for you to join me in putting our best foot

forward. Show Mr. Talley the value of our work.

Turns out ejaculate can travel up to three feet from where the sperm started

its original journey. Oh, thank God.

Mr. Talley, I think the best way to understand our work is to start with the

four stages of sexual response.

Orgasms tend to be shorter in duration and intensity, but aside from that,

we've seen very few changes at all. Our study has already invalidated a whole

host of myths regarding the effects of aging.

on sexual response.

Dr. Masters, I'd like you to meet... Not right now. Herb Splieb. When life kicks

you to the curb, call Herb. Herb's a divorce lawyer. Very interested in

renting office space. Mr. Talley, why don't we continue to the exam room?

Should the need arise.

So, as we observe, the tooral stimulation, testicular swelling, skin

flush. We measure heart rate during sexual activity, as well as prostatic

contractions, vaginal elongation, and so on.

So, the two of you catalog what happens to the human body during sex.

What else do you do?

Well, we've recently begun a new phase of the study, treating patients with

sexual dysfunctions.

Okay, that's interesting.

It's also premature.

It's in the early stages.

We've barely begun. But we've already made some major discoveries.

Discoveries we're not yet ready to discuss. But we'll be, very soon. If by

very soon, you mean years from now. Hey, you know what's great about you two?

This.

The two of you arguing, the back and forth.

You are like every married couple in America.

No, we're not married.

Doesn't matter.

Look, some scientist comes on TV, starts talking about sex. People are going to

tune out.

Maybe they think he's a pervert, or maybe they just think he's dull. But the

two of you come on, both scientists and yet looking like the nice couple next

door.

And suddenly I trust you. I'm sorry.

Us. On TV.

CBS is looking for documentary subjects.

Your archivist has hours of footage. We would focus on the two of you. We'd make

it a human interest story.

Something along the lines of man and woman researcher plumb the mysteries of

desire. The two of you could finally teach America how to have sex.

Um.

Television.

You're right.

I overreacted.

Joseph Coffin is one article.

It's a minor setback. We'll catch up.

Or we'll come in second place.

Which, in this case, would be last place.

You said hiring Mr. Talley is not the best use of our resources right now. I

did, yes.

And then I listened to him.

Bill, if only one person gets the credit in these things. I thought Mr. Talley

was going to land us in the American Journal of Medicine, not TV Guide.

It is a less specialized audience, yes. But think of all the people we could

reach. We could help. We could alienate entirely.

We already saw what happened to a room full of doctors exposed to this work.

Imagine what'll happen when Grandma turns on the TV and finds the two of us

discussing swollen labia. Or maybe people are ready to hear what we have to

say. Wilhelm Reich died in a prison cell because of his theories of the human

orgasm. The FBI burned his research. Phil, this was your idea.

You hired Shep Talley because you want attention and recognition. I want to win

a Nobel Prize. I do not want my work reduced to the warm-up hour before Mr.

Magoo.

I see.

Well, then, would you be able to forgive yourself if you did nothing when Joseph

Kaufman walked away with the prize?

We're working groups.

Three to a floor.

Now, the elevators are either broken or will break, so we'll take the stairs.

Be sure to tell the tenants that you're not with the Housing Authority.

Remember that not everyone will be happy to see you.

Be patient.

Let's go.

Put these up in the common areas.

Good evening, ma'am.

I'm... Robert Jefferson Franklin.

Delilah, tonight is serious business. Oh, nights are always serious for you,

Robert Jefferson.

I can't afford to lose my home. We understand that, ma'am. We just want you

to understand that you have certain rights. Rights?

I don't even have the right to have my husband live with me.

Look, this apartment, this is all I have.

Yes, ma'am. Nathan, Mama, come inside now.

Mrs. Robinson says she's interested.

She wants to strike.

You may have to convince your daughter, though.

Don't worry about that.

She'll do what I tell her to do. Come on, baby.

the olive brine so it's extra dirty thank

you um uh we need to talk

you are so handsome i

mean my god if you had curly hair you would be david

the one in florence um You know how much I respect you, Flo.

And you are one hell of a good boss.

You know just what to say to a girl.

But I have to warn you.

What you're asking me to do tonight, it's... It's just not possible.

Is that right?

You see, when you've been married for 12 years, you develop a knack for

pretending.

Pretending to be in...

interested in nine-tenths of the chatter that comes out of your wife's mouth.

But no matter how good you get at pretending, there are certain

things that you just can't fake.

You know when a man doesn't feel about a woman maybe in the same way that she

feels about him?

Do you?

Because he can try.

Oh, he can try as hard as he would like. He could lie to her and he could also

lie to himself. But his equipment is not going to function. Do you understand

what I mean? It's not going to function because his equipment is a lot like

George Washington and the cherry tree.

Looks like your equipment's gonna be just fine, Dr. Langer.

Shall we start?

What's the agenda?

Why don't you let me worry about that? Well, I just think we should... I just

think that you need to stop.

Isn't there anything you ever think about doing?

To me, I mean.

Something unusual.

Because I think about doing things to you.

I think about making you powerless.

Completely at my mercy.

Making you beg. I don't beg.

You know that.

You can't touch my breasts.

Not with your hands.

Not with your mouth.

I said, you know.

You can't touch them.

You can't kiss them.

Or lick them.

No matter how much you want to.

No, I didn't say that you could move.

I do want you.

I'm going to put you inside.

No, wait. Keep talking. I am talking. Don't touch me. What you said before.

You're right there.

That's good.

No, I don't. You do, yeah.

That's not true, Virginia.

We can begin again. No, we can't.

It was working.

God damn it.

Bill.

Have you seen my...

I hope that was good for you.

Well, I know it was good for you.

Both times.

Well, now that we've gotten that out of the way, I hope that we can resume our

professional relationship without any sort of awkwardness between us.

What do you mean, out of the way?

This, you know, one-time thing.

Oh, Flo, please, okay?

I love this job.

I'm good at this job. I know how to talk to women. I know how to make them feel

like happiness is one small dose of calimetric away.

I know how to make women feel good about themselves.

So do that for me.

Make me feel good.

I used to be young and beautiful, you know.

Make me feel like that again.

Like young, pretty, desirable girl.

Okay?

We're, um, preparing for the second canvas.

It'll be the night after next.

Same time.

How many signatures did we get last night?

In the first wave of buildings?

We're about at 30%. That's better than you hoped.

Yeah.

Do you mind if I sit?

I'd like to apologize.

Is that the apology?

No.

Um, this is it. I feel like I may have offended you yesterday.

Well, I hate to break it to you, but you're not the first person to call me a

nitwit because I believe in God.

I don't think you're a nitwit at all.

I was always jealous of people that could believe.

I went to grade school with a guy, Freddie Russo.

He used to always brag that whenever he did anything bad, all he had to do was

go to confession.

And it was like it never even happened.

Well, it's not as easy as all that.

I know, but... There is something comforting in the idea that you just

have to tell the truth and you can be... Absolved.

I once heard the greatest sin is despair.

That's true, I think.

When you decide to just give up.

I think I may have done that.

Given up like that.

I have a condition.

I can't do anything in the... With a girl.

Dr. Masters tried to help me with it, but I... I decided it wasn't worth it.

It was just too...

Painful.

And humiliating.

So I gave up.

Guess that's my confession.

Okay, here's mine.

I also have a condition.

And I always thought that it was God punishing me and that there was nothing

I could do but learn to accept it.

So I gave up, too.

Greatest sin, right?

Maybe it doesn't have to be.

I'm Lester, by the way.

Barbara. Barb.

Nice to meet you, Barb. You too.

Did he try the pump?

I think that he would rather jump out a window.

Can you blame him?

Sometimes that cure is worse than the disease.

For Lester.

You know, it can get under your skin, that particular problem.

One guy used to come in every Thursday night.

Worked at the florist shop on Jefferson. Always brought me something new.

Daisies one week, lilacs the next.

Until one time he came in and he couldn't get anything going.

So I pulled out all the steps.

But it was like trying to raise the dead.

So he got upset and embarrassed and I told him, Come back next week. You'll be

fine.

And now every week he's coming in, lying there for 30 minutes while I'm going at

it, pretending that maybe this time it'll work.

I start taking Thursday nights off, and he's coming around

asking for me another night, and I have the girls telling him I'm out because

there was something about...

The way that he looked at me, like he was in agony, and I was the only one

that could fix it.

And why wasn't I fixing it?

What was wrong with me that I couldn't make it right?

You dreaded seeing him.

Mm-hmm.

Masters.

What? Francis, you always said never to let a regular doctor stitch you up. You

look like Frankenstein.

I'm not angry you called me, Mother.

I'm angry you were drinking.

Oh, honey, for heaven's sake, don't be ridiculous. I had one Tom Collins like I

have every night.

That car came out of nowhere.

You're going to blame the other driver.

That's where the blame belongs, and the police officer agreed with me. I can't

listen to this. Why don't you ease up, Frank? Oh, because this is my fault?

What about what you're doing?

I'm standing here comforting her. You are enabling her.

Bill, she was drinking. She got behind the wheel. One Tom Collins.

You could have been killed tonight.

Stop badgering her, Frank. My mother has a problem.

My mother has a laceration. This is what you do. You just put your head in the

sand and continue to ignore the fact that she is an alcoholic.

Alcoholic. Oh, alcohol.

Give me that needle and get out of here. I am still stitching her. Not anymore.

Do not come near me when I've got a needle near a patient's face. You too.

Don't start.

Look what you're doing to her. Giving her the best medical care.

All right, enough.

I am the patient and I say no more fighting. And I am the plastic surgeon.

And I'm telling you, your privileges here in my office are over.

Now you can either leave of your own accord or I will remove you myself.

for Libby to come over and pick you up and she can take you home.

Please.

Don't fight with your brother.

Please. I cannot stand it.

This

doesn't have to

end badly, Bill.

Please, summon your better nature.

i came to you after all these years with nothing but the best intentions

after years of despair i finally had achieved some clarity

clarity that you're an alcoholic but our mother is an alcoholic who's next frank

me

It took spending time with you to see it.

You mask it better than most, but you have all the signs.

Mood swings.

Aggression.

Impulsive decision-making.

Chronic lying.

Really?

Who am I lying to, Frank?

Yourself.

We are a family with a shared disease, a corrosive disease.

And if you view us through that lens, if each of us is able to address our

sickness and treat it, I believe we can

mend what's broken here.

We can find some peace, forgiveness, understanding.

Faith, hope, charity.

Christ.

You toss around platitudes like it's confetti at New Year's.

I have surrendered.

That's all.

Once I accepted my hour affliction,

all that self-pity, all that resentment I had toward Dad...

that for so long do you remember how he used to drink

one glass of seagram's

neat every night that was it it was much more than that no it wasn't frank and

for you to suggest it all fits bill his drinking his rages for the

first time i understand

Dad, his own feelings of impotence and self-pity.

He was being eaten alive, too. This is our father. Our father was a monster.

Yes.

Drunks are monstrous.

But our monster was a sick, suffering alcoholic.

He beat us because he drank, but he drank because he had a disease. He did

not beat you. That is not true. You know he did.

You're lying because you're needy. You know, because you think that somehow if

you take my story... Phil!

Our drunk dad beat you.

And then he beat me.

But that doesn't have to be the end of the story.

That's what I'm trying to tell you.

I forgive you.

For leaving me.

And I forgive our dad.

The man that beat you.

That... monster.

who beat you.

What kind of man forgives that?

I do.

Well, you did everything you could to avoid those beatings, didn't you?

First, you turned yourself into a pathetic clown with the jokes and the

magic tricks.

Ways to deflect him.

Try and run and hide.

I did what I had to do. Yeah, but once I left, you had no left to run. Once the

real object of his fury was gone, then he needed a replacement. This is your

story, right?

I forgive you, Bill.

That's what matters here.

Yeah? I bet once he threw the first punch, you begged for mercy.

What matters is that we understand what happened to us. You know I never begged

for him to stop. I mean, you heard us. You were there. I never begged. So why

did you?

Maybe the same reason you were drunk.

A sloppy alcoholic.

Sorry, with your amends and your steps and your chips clinging to your little

code words and your trinkets, because there is something inside you that is

weak. You know, you've always been weak, Frank.

Francis.

Well, that's your real affliction.

It's cowardice.

You are a coward.

You want to forgive me?

Okay, forgive me for not respecting you.

Forgive me for seeing you for what you really are.

A weak little boy.

Who became an idiotic clown.

Who grew up to become a gutless, pathetic man.

What are you, a girl?

Fuck you, Frank! You weak fuck!

You been drinking, Frank?

Huh?

See, this is what binds us.

Him living on in us.

Not a bottle in sight.

I was thinking, it's already so late, why don't we just go downstairs and have

some dinner tonight?

Maybe even just some drinks.

You don't have to stay.

I just couldn't go on.

Face Libby like this.

I abandoned him to that monster.

And then I punished him for it.

I give up.

Ugh.