(S05E15) "Shaft had tit cancer?" - Christian
She sure made it look easy, huh?
After the way part one of this season ended, with Sean finding out who Colleen really was, most were amazed when they saw Colleen jamming a knife into Sean's back in the mid-season finale. With his new celebrity status, the likely restraining order Sean had out on Colleen, and the assumption that there must have been some sort of security at the new McNamara/Troy LA office, it seemed unlikely that Colleen would have been able to get within 100 feet of Sean. Not the case.
Again, she made it look easy.
The opening montage was a perfect reminder of where we last left off, showing just how Colleen did it. You have to wonder if that scene would have existed had the season not been broken in half by the writer's strike. But if anything, it served to remind us of one simple fact - Colleen may have been crazy, but she was smart, too. She had to have been in order to pull off her glitzy Hollywood agent scam for as long as she did.
Fortunately, she got what was coming to her. After that eerie scene where she put lipstick on while using the kitchen knife as her compact mirror, her demise was clear - she was literally looking death in the face. A few minutes later, the knife was in her side as Sean gasped for help.
Fast forward four months. For the most part, it seems like much of the first half of the season is being pushed aside - at least for now. We're still waiting on some sort of resolution for Eden (what exactly did she whisper in Olivia's ear in the last episode?), and even though we now know that Julia is quite angry with Sean about the "we're married" lie, it's unclear as to what she does and doesn't remember following her bout with amnesia.
No, the focus was very much on what's going to happen, rather than what already has occurred. As I mentioned in my Early Look, it's clear that Sean and Christian are falling victim to the one thing their job combats - age. However, who best to fight off their own mortality than two plastic surgeons?
With Christian's breast cancer diagnosis, I think we can assume that maybe he'll be a bit nicer (a little?) to his rotating harem of women. But then again, this could just make him far more bitter. While I love the decision to give him a life-threatening ailment, the unveiling was fairly unimaginative and seemed more set on just getting the news out of the way so as to advance the plot quickly. He takes Liz for a mammogram and mentions he has a lump? A little more build-up would have been nice.
As for Sean, his decision to share his talents in a classroom setting is admirable, but Ryan Murphy and Co. were smart to cut it short (it would have gotten old fast) and instead have Sean focus on just one protégé. The addition of Dr. Raj Puresh and his incredibly cocky-yet-innocent attitude to the McNamara/Troy office is sure to provide plenty of laughs.
More thoughts...
- Maybe it's just me, but the impact of Sean being in a wheelchair was lost when he walked at the end of the episode. It was too soon. I know his dream about Colleen was mentally healing more than anything, but this could have happened in an episode or two and been far more powerful. The wheelchair is going to become a distant memory fast. The guy was stabbed! Although, I suppose the argument against this is that Sean already had four months to cope.
- Wilbur's dog's name is Lipo. Hilarious.
- Sean screwing the bartender in his wheelchair was almost as funny as Christian having sex with diabetic Darlene in the last episode.
- What does everyone think of the events of "Conor McNamara 2026" coming true? Matt's enrolled at a community college taking pre-med classes...
- I wonder if anything happened with Annie after Colleen's attack? I know Liz and Christian were able to stabilize her, but were there any negative effects of being under so long?
Overall, a decent premiere. Not the best episode, but that's only because much of the plot felt forced in an effort to move things along quicker. Unfortunately, that's the price you pay for using a time-shift storytelling technique. The "four months later" makes sense, but it can be jagged more often than not because the characters have changed so much since we saw them last.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-07-2009 @ 7:37AM
Evan said...
Forgot to use Shazam until it was too late, but did anyone catch what songs were playing during the opening?
Reply
1-07-2009 @ 7:38AM
Taylor said...
I caught:
1. Back Stabbers - The O'Jays...which was ingeniously used
2. Stop Me by Mark Ronson feat. Daniel Merriweather
Reply
1-07-2009 @ 7:38AM
Joseph said...
Matt's far from being in med school - He's in what sounded like community college.
I don't see why they couldn't just call this season 6...
Was there a reason for that?
Reply
1-07-2009 @ 10:14AM
Jeff said...
In the preview for the rest of the season, we saw Sean still in the wheelchair. I thought we were supposed to think he has been faking, and will keep faking, because he doesn't want to operate?
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1-07-2009 @ 10:14AM
Matt said...
Conor McNamara could come true, but since Sean told Christian it was all a dream, I'm guessing only bits and pieces will. Guess the writers finally realized that episode handcuffed everything from hear on out so this was their way out. Good episode overall, but not the best. The show does go too far over the top at times, but if you accept that, it's fun to watch. And yeah, I think Sean's been able to walk for some time, but is using the wheel chair as an excuse to not work. It'll be interesting to find out when he gets exposed.
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1-07-2009 @ 10:15AM
slcjhc said...
I could have sworn that Sean told Christian that the "Conor McNamara - 2026" episode was a dream. Didn't he tell Christian that he looked like Ricardo Maltaban & had two wives?
But- Nip/Tuck is BACK and I have missed it! I am very excited to see what else they do...although they gave a pretty good idea on the coming up segment. All in all, I was glued to the set and savored every second!
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1-07-2009 @ 10:15AM
greg said...
Okay, this is pretty ridiculous. I have no problem with the content in this episode. Here is my problem. The first 8 minutes of the show was recap, which was need. Then it cuts to a 6 minute commercial break. After that, another 10 minutes of the show, and another 7 minute commercial break. I look at the clock and it says 9:31 when the show comes back on. Its halfway through and if you think about the first half, what really happened? Not much. Before each commercial break they also faded to black for a good 10 seconds. I think they had trouble writing this episode and were really pushing to make time constraints. In total, there was four 5-7 minute commercial breaks from 9:00-10:04 Central U.S. Time.
Basically, its getting sickening. I can do without the 4 minute FX show promos that come on before the show comes back from commercial break.
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1-07-2009 @ 1:19PM
John said...
Gotta tivo it, hold off at least 30 mins to really make sure you can cut out the commercial breaks
1-07-2009 @ 10:15AM
Jimmy said...
Damn! I missed this. Thank goodness for fx reruns!
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1-11-2009 @ 9:09PM
Jimmy said...
I thought this premiere was pretty damn good!
1-07-2009 @ 1:19PM
Matthew Fleigle said...
Did I miss something, when did it say it had been four months?
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1-07-2009 @ 1:19PM
Mike said...
Right after Christian tries to call 911 and yells for liz...the long commercial and then side of wheelchair and it says 4 months later.
I thought he was so disturbed from his dream he got up without thinking and walked..but once he thinks too much will be back in.
Matt said though taking all science wants to go pre med.. i think saying cards in place to be like the future episode.
From the previews looks like Christian going to hurt (mental) another woman again....anyone able to tell who was crying at end of previews...didn't look like christian
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1-07-2009 @ 3:23PM
MERVE-THE-PERVE said...
I think Sean is just too messed up mentally to operate so he is using the wheelchair as a crutch. I loved the wheelchair sex.
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1-07-2009 @ 10:05PM
ben woocher said...
Does anyone know what song played over the Colleen/Sean memorial service? It sounded a lot like Beck, but I wasn't sure.
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1-08-2009 @ 10:34AM
Mary said...
That was Beck. The song is Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime. The music in this episode from start to finish was great. I watched the show again later just to hear some of the tunes.
1-07-2009 @ 10:05PM
ben woocher said...
Oh, one more thing I missed. Who was Ronnie Chase? Was it the guy with the ear lobes?
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1-07-2009 @ 10:06PM
SImpression said...
"You have to wonder if that scene would have existed had the season not been broken in half by the writer's strike"
It wasn't broken in half by the writer's strike... Season 5 was always intended to be split. That's why the first half ended the way it did, with a clear midseason finale. They were planning on airing the second half the following Fall, but after the Writer's Strike, they decided to move it to air as it is now.
Anyway, I took Sean walking at the end to mean that he had been faking when he said he wasn't ready. Or just using it as an excuse because he wasn't mentally ready to operate but he was physically.
I'm pretty sure he has done something similar in the past of the series. But, my mind is blanking a little as to where and how it was used.
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1-07-2009 @ 10:06PM
SImpression said...
Oh right. And Sean did refer to the Conor McNamara 2026 episode as a dream to Christian. Thankfully. That episode inhibited so much, I'm glad it's being dismissed. Though, clearly there will still be some overlaps with that episode and the real future (i.e Matt becoming a surgeon)
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1-08-2009 @ 7:44AM
Lora said...
When Christian and Sean brought the two girls back to the apartment for a romp, what with Sean being in the wheelchair, am I the only one who thought of that same situation from Forrest Gump, with Forrest and Lieutenant Dan? Just me? Okay.
Reply
1-08-2009 @ 7:44AM
Dan Buckley said...
No, I thought the exact same thing.