(S05E14) "I pretend to do the thing I actually do and suddenly I'm cool." - Sean
Going into this episode, I was really expecting it to be just be so-so. With the trend of so many other shows being cut short because of the WGA strike, I just assumed Nip/Tuck would fall victim as well. Not the case. Even if this season's full order of 22 episodes had been met, this installment was still clearly meant to be a mid-season finale. There's no way an ending like that gets a new episode the very next week. It worked here as the season ender and it worked well.
This entire season, with the McNamara/Troy move to Hollywood, the theme of celebrity has sort of been toyed with. Every week has essentially built up to this episode, the moment when it all comes crashing down. The moment when Sean and Christian both finally realized that their quest for stardom is actually ruining their lives. Of course, as everyone knows, by the time you finally make it to that conclusion, it's usually too late.
Think about it. If Sean had never taken the role on Hearts n' Scalpels, then Eden never would have developed a crazy schoolgirl crush on him. She never would have seen Julia as a leech on Sean's life and probably would have never started poisoning her in the first place. She wouldn't have shot Julia and Julia wouldn't have had retrograde amnesia. If it wasn't for the poisoning, Julia probably would have gone back to NYC by then.
If Sean had never taken the role on Hearts n' Scalpels, he wouldn't have earned his own paparazzi fan club and Christian and Annie wouldn't have gotten into a car accident. And most importantly, the episode wouldn't have ended the way it did. I'll come back to that.
If Sean had never taken the role on Hearts n' Scalpels, Christian would have never become so jealous of his partner's new found fame. He would have never done the Playgirl spread and he would have never met Darlene and his daughter, Emmy. Matt would have never slept with his half-sister.
Now based on the previews, we knew a tragedy was coming and I thought the writers did a good job of layering it. At first, we thought it was Julia. Then, we thought it was Annie and Christian. By the time the ending arrived, I had considered the possibility of what happened, but by then thought it was too late. It wasn't.
If Sean had never taken the role on Hearts n' Scalpels, he would never have met Colleen Rose, his crazy fan. If Sean had never taken the role on Hearts n' Scalpels, he wouldn't be lying in a pool of his own blood with multiple stab wounds, as his daughter lay unconscious on the operating table. You knew Colleen would be back.
Now I have questions...
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What did Colleen do with Bob's body before she hid him in Sean's closet? It's been a few weeks and the body didn't look like it had decomposed at all.
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Did Colleen stab Liz too?
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What did Eden tell Olivia before going to the hospital? I'm guessing she told her mother the truth and Olivia chose to keep her mouth shut once Julia's condition was discovered.
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Christian will obviously call 911 once he finds everyone, but is he going to be able to do enough in the meantime with only one arm? Did Colleen stab him too maybe?
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I'm not sure if it means anything, but do you think that maybe Matt got Emmy pregnant? I only ask because Matt was her first, and Darlene made a point of saying that Christian was her first and he got her pregnant.
The rest of the episode was pretty standard tongue-in-cheek Nip/Tuck fare. The return of Jennifer Coolidge as Candy Richards was great and I loved how her delusions of celebrity were juxtaposed against Sean's very real fame. The Christian/Darlene sex was hilarious too. It was one of those moments where you felt bad for laughing, but you laughed regardless. How could you not, seeing her diabetic foot stumps flail in the air as he screwed her? And I loved the part when Christian had to tell Matt that he can't sleep with his sister anymore. The look on Christian's face was priceless.
The other thing I wanted to mention was Dirt. I had talked about it before, but this would have been the perfect episode for these two shows to cross-over. Dirt's season one ratings were only mediocre and it would have been great for FX to merge the Nip/Tuck finale and the Dirt season premiere together. Anyway, just a thought.
So there are technically eight episodes left this season, but it looks like they'll be billed as a new season six since these most recent 14 episodes are coming out on DVD on May 20th and the set isn't called "season five, part one." If the show goes right back into production, we'll probably see the show return around this time next year assuming FX sticks to its schedule of airing The Riches, The Shield, and Rescue Me before it. In the meantime, for those looking for a new FX fix, Dirt returns with seven episodes starting on Sunday, March 2nd.
The Upfronts: FOX
Carter Bays of How I Met Your Mother: The TV Squad Interview
The Upfronts: CBS
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
2-20-2008 @ 10:23AM
Lou said...
granted this show stretches credibility even at the best of times, but how bad is the security in T/M's office building. Hello? Colleen was just thrown out of the place. Do you think security would be on alert?
It was one twist too many
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2-21-2008 @ 10:54AM
SImpression said...
I don't think McNamara/Troy has security. If you recall, Christian and Sean had to escort her out. They dont have security there.
2-20-2008 @ 11:10AM
rene said...
cable networks do not order 22 episodes of a show, mainly the major networks do that. this show is only 15 episodes. check past seasons of nip/tuck and you will see that they were not 22 episode shows. this was meant to be the season finale - not mid-season finale.
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2-20-2008 @ 11:15AM
Jonathan Toomey said...
Rene --
I'm sorry, but you're wrong. This was supposed to be a mid-season finale. Nip/Tuck was given a 22 episode season 5 order:
http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/02/19/nip-tuck-gets-three-more-seasons-on-fx/
FX also recently renewed Rescue Me for a 22 episode season:
http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/11/02/light-it-up-fx-gives-ok-to-rescue-me-renewal/
2-20-2008 @ 2:20PM
nattyff said...
the show is sooo over the top, and i love it!!! the way that tragedy after tragedy happened was just funny, and the Julia storline... boring at most (C'mon amnesia!!!). the way that the show just give us the most unbeliveable stories (and we gladly roled with them) it's why i love these show (it's a soap/sci-fi combination) c'mon how the security in general can be so bad, and how colleen even carry the body to sean's house...etc .
I'm just hoping that Sean will be able to operate again (obviously he will not die, right???) with that many stabs wounds in the back, it's very dificult that he can make a full recovery (non the less these is nip tuck we are talking about).
I bet that Olivia knows what her daughter do, but she will not tell anything, i also think that liz got stabed too (no way that she woudn't run in with coleen in her way out, or that she didn't return sooner), christian will be fine (not all the character can end up in the hospital...), and matt, well he probably got her sister pregnant (what else can possibly happened to him anyway???). Well, hope the show return soon for the new season, until then good bye, these was fun :)
PS: you forgot to mention other repercution of Hearts n' Scalpels... we thank the fictional show for the most hilarious moment in tv history (c'mon camera in the paparazzi ass!!! with his friends out side!!!) LOL.
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2-20-2008 @ 2:21PM
ryanrobot said...
We were just talking about the finale here in the office and a co-worker brought up an interesting insight that I didn't catch...
If you remember... in the "reality show" episode - Olivia used her acupuncture talents to sedate a patient that didn't want to use anesthesia... Is it possible she used her acupuncture talent to induce the amnesia Julia has when she wakes up?
Notice how Olivia beat everyone else to the hospital? Eden may have told her mother about poisoning Julia, and to protect her she could have induced the amnesia... preventing Julia from identifying Eden as the shooter.
It certainly fits within the twisted story-lines that NipTuck is known for...
What do you think?
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2-21-2008 @ 10:54AM
hoglady said...
That was my thought right from the start...that woman will do anything to protect her daughter Edan, and I thought she HAD to have something to do with that amnesia especially since she was the first one there, and if she didn't do it herself, she must have had someone she knew on the hospital staff make sure of it. atleast I am not the only one who caught that one
3-07-2008 @ 10:28AM
Shannon said...
The was an excellent point accuputure and amnesia.
I just watched it on DVR and my mouth is on the floor as usual.
3-08-2008 @ 8:27PM
sookietex said...
interesting theory ryanrobot, in fact i was thinking the same may have happened, but nip/tuck creator ryan murphy says olivia did not induce the amnesia. guess we'll just have to wait 'til S6 to see what happens next.
2-20-2008 @ 2:46PM
Pamela said...
Poor. Very poor. Don't think I'll be extending N/T's contract on my DVR next season. The show is horrible.
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2-20-2008 @ 3:58PM
Tess Capra said...
The fact that I'm a lot more worried about Liz than Sean speaks to how unlikeable the shows leads have become. But I did enjoy the drunk scene with Christian admitting the only child he cares for (in a hands-on way) is the one that's not his.
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2-21-2008 @ 10:54AM
SImpression said...
I was worried more about Liz too, but not because i dont like Sean (which i do) but if the Future episode is reality then Sean can't die. Liz on the other hand can. So i was more worried about Liz for that reason.
2-20-2008 @ 5:21PM
Caroline said...
WHAT are you guys talking about? I've been a fan since the first season and I actually think this has been the best season (though it had been cut short). In every episode I've genuinely laughed, been seriously suprised and the new characters have been intriguing, not to mention the plot lines just as controversial as always. Plus that scene at the end last night of Sean's mouth filling up with blood all the while with "Fame" playing in the background will stick with me for a while, it was so chilling.
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5-12-2008 @ 10:24AM
Karin said...
I agree I have loved the show since it started. Then when I turned on the TV and saw Nip Tuck on I was glued to the TV Well tonight how come it wasnt on :( I dont watch much tv but then I came on the internet to c why then I found this site. :)
2-20-2008 @ 8:02PM
Rmpr said...
I think julia is pretennding to have amnesia because when eden told olivia the truth olivia got so scared that she threatened julia to say she has amnesia and doesnt remember anything. I knew colleen was coming it was just soo obvious... although i never thouhgt she would stab sean, i thouhgt maybe she would kidnap everyone in the bulding or something.. Great season finale can't wait for next season
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2-21-2008 @ 10:53AM
tv junkie said...
that's my thought too! but it was really sad to see her ignoring poor annie though.
also, i agree the last twist was one too many, although great shock value, it was a bit predictable...and gosh, the security at their office has always been unbelievably poor, even when everyone in town knows there's a crazy Colleen out there haunting Sean.
is FX gonna order more episodes to fill up the now shortened 8-episode sixth season? (since this was supposed to be a supersized season.)
2-21-2008 @ 10:54AM
tfizzle said...
How can you say that this show is horrible??
This show is f**king brilliant. There has never been a show in the history of television that has pushed the envelope more bye bringing preverse and violent themes and photography with completely twisted and complex plots. The plots are rediculious, and The writer is amazing to say the least. Every event in the show and every object is connected is some way. I don't like any TV except for comedies, and I have very high standards and expectations, and this show has blown me away with every single episode for the last five seasons.
My attention is exclusively directed towards the television after 9:59 on Tuesday nights.
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2-21-2008 @ 10:54AM
tfizzle said...
And the music is also great. when you are watching the dvd's listen to the songs they play, and think about what is going on in the show. It is the perfect song to play at the moment every time.
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2-21-2008 @ 10:54AM
Will said...
Does it say something that I didn't really care when the car accident happened and when Sean was stabbed? I'll watch the show when it comes back because I'm loyal like that, but I hope they figure out how to make it interesting again.
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2-22-2008 @ 11:01AM
Kate said...
Like the others above, I also thought Julia's amnesia was too convenient. Why did Sean tell Julia they were still married? It didn't benefit Julia and I see no benefit for Sean. Plus, Olivia's obviously going to have a problem with that. Wouldn't Olivia have told her they were a couple when Julia first asked who she was?
I always thought that Eden hated Julia for her relationship with her Olivia and especially when she started the affair with Christian. Has Eden ever said her hatred of Julia had to do with Julia's relationship with Sean?
What's happening with Julia's mercury poisoning? Will she get better now that Eden's not poisoning her anymore? Or does she need to take medication? I assume Eden already destroyed all the evidence.
So many questions!!!
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