(S05E13) "Wait... you met your father?" - Matt
This is the way I remember Nip/Tuck. Hands down, best episode of the season right here. Controversial, all the main characters played a big role, and best of all? It was funny! The one thing that depressed me was the very end. Why? Because of that ridiculous "future" episode from last season, we know Julia can't die.
Perhaps it makes me a terrible person, but it sure was fun to watch her suffer. She's just so whiny. You wonder where Matt gets his neediness from? Take one look at his mother.
You've got to hand it to Christian though. He can't just break up with Julia. He has to invite her over for lunch to make sure she sees him screwing another woman "he picked up at the gas station." What an ass. Here's the thing though. Julia acted appalled! How is something like this unexpected? This is the type of cold hearted stuff that he's known for pulling. Couple that in with Julia's discovery of the source of her illness, and she didn't exactly have the greatest day. Eden had been poisoning her with mercury. Julia found out... Eden shot her with Julia's own gun. End of episode and what an ending it was. Eden is clearly nuts and this episode proved it. From sex crazed, plaid skirt wearing school girl, to raunchy porn star/wannabe murderer, Eden is definitely one of the better characters this show has introduced.
And speaking of new characters, how about Emmy? All I could do was cheer Matt on once it fell apart with him and Rachel. He hopped in the sack with Emmy right away and for once, it seemed like he might have actually found himself a normal relationship. How could I have assumed that after the giant clue from the "previously on" scenes? It showed clips of every crazy b*tch he's ever been with -- Eva, Cherry, Ariel, and Kimber. Add in Rachel too. He's doomed and Emmy was no exception. How did she find Christian as an option for her plastic surgeon? Emmy's the result of a one night stand Christian had many years ago in Cleveland, Georgia. All I can say is "wow." Honestly, really great twist. Christian is her father and she's sleeping with Matt. In true Nip/Tuck fashion, they're justifying the incest because... hey, the sex was really good. Transvestites, white supremacists, ex-porn stars, severe burn victims, and now half-siblings. Who hasn't Matt slept with?
Moving on to Sean, I really liked the plot with him and August Walden, the TV reviewer from Entertainment Weekly. The whole ordeal sort of re-positioned Sean as the caring and understanding guy that he used to be before he got consumed by Hollywood. While it was a little corny, the ending was expected when the victim of one of Walden's scathing reviews poured boiling coffee all over his face. I was surprised that no one had attacked him sooner. For a while, it even crossed my mind that Sean might try and "accidentally" mess something up during Walden's extensive surgery as a bit of payback. No such luck though.
More thoughts...
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Where had Olivia been? How could she have not known that Julia was having an affair with Christian?
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I sort of hope that Emmy turns out not to be Christian's daughter. Matt could use some good news.
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Is it to be expected that so many doctors misdiagnosed Julia? None of them had hair or blood or urine samples analyzed for any sort of toxins? I'm sure some liberties were taken, but if it's even remotely close to that... I hope I never get mercury poisoning.
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You could have played a drinking game with this episode. Every time someone said "ugly," take a gulp.
So next week is the seasons finale (officially) and it'll be interesting to see if it ends with a decent twist or cliffhanger, since it wasn't the intended bookend. However, it looks like the final eight season five episodes (whenever they get shot) will end up being a new sixth season as I predicted would happen long ago. The big question? Will this count towards the three season renewal that Nip/Tuck earned a year ago, or does this mean we get eight seasons now?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
2-13-2008 @ 10:13AM
Christopher said...
How could they not mention anything about crazy making teddy bear lady who posed as an agent but really works at the mall lady? She slit her wrist last week did she not?
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2-13-2008 @ 10:13AM
Seattle Yonkers said...
Could not agree more. One of the finest that Nip/Tuck has produced in a while. I loved how Eden used Julia's own gun, which she, in a delicious twist of irony, bought for protection. And I think I said "ew" about eighty times when Emme said that Christian was her father. But you just had to know that something was coming, poor Matt has never been able to have a normal girlfriend.
Wasn't Olivia in New York? Or wherever she and Julia originally met. And where are Julia and Sean's kids? Or Wilbur for that matter. You have to love how they only show up when it's convenient for the plot.
But I did love this episode, and I'm sad that the season is ending, because it seems like it was just now starting to build up to something.
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2-13-2008 @ 10:13AM
Seattle Yonkers said...
Oh, yeah Rose!
How the hell is she going to come back?!
2-13-2008 @ 10:53AM
Jonathan said...
I am not too sure, but something tells me the future episode was a silly story idea that may not be considered true canon with the story line. Think Simpsons halloween specials. Where the writers have free reign to do what they please and won't change story outline.
A thing about Matt, am I the only one to notice when he was listening to either Emmy or Rachel he had some sort of strange grunt. I dunno, to me it sounded like he was a caveman or something!
And that beard he is sporting, omg, it makes him so douchey looking too!
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2-13-2008 @ 10:06PM
SImpression said...
Yes but the thing about that is that they tied the future episode with actual 'flashbacks'/present time stuff so they cant simply say the episode wasnt canon. But until the producers/or writers say something otherwise than the future episode is pretty much set in stone =/
2-13-2008 @ 11:45AM
kickit said...
Really great episode. Good review and points as well.
However..
"Because of that ridiculous "future" episode from last season, we know Julia can't die."
I don't believe this is necessarily true. I took the future episode to be more of a hypothetical episode, kind of similar to the Heroes season 1 "future" episode where Hiro saw what "could" happen. It seemed like that future episode of Nip/Tuck was mostly based around if Julia left for NY for good last season (this was when the actress left the show for an indefinite amount of time due to family stuff). Now that she's back, even if only for a little while, it looks to me like that episode was more and more a hypothetical one... and as another poster said, just something for the writers to have free range on with creativity.
All that being said, I do tend to agree with you that Julia will probably not die... but I wouldn't completely discount it either. While I do think she will live, I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't.
As for Olivia, I'm assuming she was away in NY or something all that time. But that was something I had noticed the last few episodes as well. But as with all the seasons of Nip/Tuck, they usually have so much going on in the show that they don't talk about certain plotlines for episodes at a time. This kind of goes along with the person's question about Rose -- weird how the end of last episode she was at Sean's house bleeding, then the next episode we hear nothing of her. But I guess that's just how Nip/Tuck rolls, since day 1.
Just to name a few examples of plotlines seemingly disappearing out of the blue for episodes at a time then reappearing: Matt hitting that girl with the car, Eva stuff, the Carver, Escobar, Gina, Rose, etc. etc. It just seems to be the way they like to do it; either that or they just have so much going on they can't fit everything in every week!
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2-13-2008 @ 10:06PM
SImpression said...
Well, here is another reason she can't die, if not for the future episode. Joely Richardson was contracted for 15 episodes of the 5th season. she has only been in about 11-12.
2-13-2008 @ 11:45AM
kickit said...
*when I said Rose I meant Colleen Rose. Sorry bout that =P
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2-13-2008 @ 11:58AM
iamored8907 said...
Julia does live, but Colleen dies.
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2-13-2008 @ 2:25PM
Taylor said...
"It showed clips of every crazy b*tch he's ever been with -- Eva, Cherry, Ariel, and Kimber. Add in Rachel too."
I wouldn't call Rachel a crazy bitch...
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2-13-2008 @ 2:25PM
Jimmy said...
I must admit the realization that Matt and Emmy were related was one of the show's classic "Oh Shit!" moments. They've covered some taboo subjects before, but never incest (that I can recall).
I agree with the other comments about the future episode not locking in current story lines. Just die already, Julia!
This season has been an improvement over the last two, but I don't think they'll ever reach the quality of seasons 1 and 2 again.
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2-13-2008 @ 10:06PM
SImpression said...
In Season 3, a guy (works at the morgue like sutffinf boddies or something), had sex with his dead sister that he had been working on. Called Frankenlaura, i believe.
And then there is of course the Carver. Quentin and Kit were siblings and clearly had a sexual relationship.
But other than that, incest would be new.
2-13-2008 @ 10:07PM
Jimmy said...
Good points. I should have remembered Quentin.
2-13-2008 @ 2:25PM
Bob Baft said...
Maybe I'm way mistaken, but wasn't Wilbur diagnosed as being deaf at one point?
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2-13-2008 @ 10:06PM
SImpression said...
Uh... yeah i'd say you're off the mark, lol.
2-13-2008 @ 3:40PM
hunter1riley said...
There was an error in the episode as Emmy said she was from Cleveland, GA. - in the Smoky Mountains. The Smoky Mountains are in TN and NC. Cleveland, GA is in the northeast Ga mountains. Cleveland, TN is not in the Smoky Mtns either.
And BTW, I've lived in the South all my life. Born and raised in Alabama. Lived in Georgia for 13 years after college and recently moved to Tennessee. Southerners may have an accent, but it is nothing like the over the top dialect that is portrayed by Hollywood.
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2-13-2008 @ 10:06PM
Christopher said...
So true, its always a misrepresentation of Southerners on tv, but then again the way people from New York sound I always think of Joe Piscopo.
2-13-2008 @ 4:20PM
nattyff said...
LOL, the incest thing... only in nip/tuck. When she made the revelation i didn't even react, they do crazy things like that all the time, guess that i'm finally used to it, and is one of the reasons why i like these show so much, if you think about it, is like it's a sci fi show... anything can happen... lol
About the future episode, as i posted way back then, that was an "what if" episode, i'm almost sure of it (not 100% it was a long time ago), plus i remember that connor didn't get the surgery, and mat has a doctor!!!, even if he straigh up his act he could never be a famous doctor by the time that the episode took place (even if he was a very fast learner, or smart, wich if you have been folowing nip/tuck since the begining, you know that these isn't the case).
PS: i was a little weird that coleen didn't make an apearence (just tell us if she makes it or not, bet she did, bad guys always live the longuest!!!).
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2-13-2008 @ 10:06PM
SImpression said...
*head explodes because you spelt Ava wrong*
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2-13-2008 @ 10:09PM
Jonathan Toomey said...
big deal.