How ‘Episodes’ Expertly And Empathetically Addressed Erectile Dysfunction

As Episodes is about to premiere its fifth and final season this Sunday (you can watch the first episode on the Showtime site or on YouTube now!) we’re taking a look back at a storyline the comedy executed in such a touching and flawless manner. And yes, it’s about boners.

When we first meet Sean (Stephen Mangan) and Beverly Lincoln (Tamsin Greig), they’re leaving their hometown of London to move to Los Angeles, where they believe they will do the US version of a show that was hailed as nothing short of brilliant in the UK. Needless to say, things do not work out that way. And if they had, we’d have a much more boring show on our hands.

Enter Matt LeBlanc, who causes problems for the married writing partners with remarkable ease. Season 1 ends with Bev very unexpectedly sleeping with Matt after fighting with Sean and suspecting a relationship between him and beauty Morning (Mircea Monroe). Except he hadn’t cheated — yet. Oh, but he does in season 2, which might be the most heartbreaking season of the entire series. Seeing Bev and Sean apart is the worst! Episodes introduced us to this witty couple in a way that was just so real and relatable that #relationshipgoals doesn’t even do them justice. They seemed to always be on the same page, physically, when it came to work, and metaphorically when it came to their relationship. Mangan and Greig’s acting is essential and excellent when it comes to showcasing the chemistry and the understanding these two characters share with each other.

Keeping them apart for the majority of season 2, aside for a very brief office desk hookup in episode 6, was painful. These two should be together! They work best together! The fact that the creators of the show (David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik) established them as such a strong couple in the viewers’ eyes, and in only a handful of installments, is exactly what led to the deep frustration of them being apart. They do reconcile by the end of the season, amid a brawl at a fancy event, no less, and everything is great again!

Except not so much for Sean’s penis. Sorry, buddy. But on the bright side, it did give Episodes one of the best plotlines the show has ever executed. For Sean, getting back with Bev was lovely…but it wasn’t so simple. You see, images of her in bed with the other men she slept with, Matt LeBlanc and then Morning’s brother Rob (James Purefoy), doesn’t exactly get him hard. In fact, it doesn’t get him hard at all. So while the two get back together, they have yet to be together. Matt tries to repair things by buying the pair a bed, so they can begin their sexual relationship again with no traces of former partners. After Sean found out that Bev revealed their bedroom speed bump to her pal Carol (Kathleen Rose Perkins) in season 3, episode 3, well, that doesn’t quite get him going either, and certainly not in the way a free gift bag works wonders on Bev. So the two line everything up perfectly: wine, a discussion about their prior mistakes “fornicationally,” and then a bit of making out…but no luck. Bev’s suggestion to “suck it up and power through,” seems reasonable, but as Sean explains, “It’s a lot easier for you to get over it, I’ve got to get up and over it, if you know what I mean,” going on to say, “I’m the one that has to deliver the goods, all you have to do is lie there,” regretting that notion as soon as Bev’s hand is down his pants.

As the two sit in bed after an unsuccessful attempt at lovemaking and Sean laments, “I hate my dick,” Bev really steps up. She’s caring and reassuring and supportive, rubbing his arm and running with the metaphor that his dick is the villain of a movie. She gets silly and not at all resentful, proving why she’s a perfect partner for him.

While Episodes handled the erectile dysfunction storyline with equal parts class and comedy for nearly half of the third season, they never made it the complete and total focus for Sean and Beverly. We still see them writing and battling with Matt on set, showing that they can function as a professional couple, despite what is or isn’t happening at home. But in episode 5, we get a breakthrough! The couple go to what they believe is a counselor recommended by Carol — except she’s specifically a sex therapist. Sean is less than comfortable answering questions about his (lack of) erections, while Beverly once again steps up by speaking as her vagina, in what Sean later classifies as a Yoda voice (he’s not wrong). Mangan and Greig give really special and subtle performances from the therapist’s couch, as he reflects on trust in the relationship and she gently reaches for his hand. Sean isn’t mocked or met with eye rolls for being sensitive and still working through the emotional and physiological toll of their separation; Bev isn’t unrealistic about her expectations or the work it will take to mend their relationship and she commits to overcoming this underwhelming obstacle.

Of course, it is the joking about the therapy session later at home that lands them in the sack, for a romp so good they completely forget to tune into their own show on its new night on TV (so you know that’s some good sex). The comfort is there, and while the trust isn’t back in full, it will continue to grow for them.

At the same time, Carol has been crushing on her boss, the eccentric Castor Soto (Chris Diamantopoulos), who is experiencing a different kind of dysfunction, but dysfunction, nonetheless. You know, the kind they tell you to “consult” a doctor about. Due to the prescription meds he’s on, he confesses to his doctor, “everything makes me hard”— and yes, that includes pumping gas. The dichotomy between these two genital issues, sure, can be a smidge humorous to viewers watching how the women (and the men) navigate the different problems. But the fact that they are being shown at all is what really matters.

For an infliction that affects millions and millions of men, likely many of which are currently holding positions in our government, addressing this was wise of Episodes. Surely, there are many men (and the women in their lives) within the entertainment industry that also come face to face with this every day. Exploring this gave Episodes a grounded and human perspective that only contributed to the joy of discovering our favorite and most stable couple had been reunited, but not fully repaired. With the help of talking with each other, and even seeking outside counsel, Episodes displayed a rather mature and composed way of handling this situation. They could’ve played it up for comedy, having Sean make outbursts at work (and not that Castor was entirely innocent) and blaming it on his flaccid friend, but by treating this with respect, it gave them more room for comedy as other storylines played for levity within the show.

This proved to not only be good, but necessary for the show, as season 4 and the upcoming season 5 finds the Lincolns serving as a united front: against Sean’s former writing partner, against networks, and of course, against Matt LeBlanc. And to think, all it took was a Yoda vagina voice…

Where to watch Episodes