TVSquad

(S05E16) "Let me tell you what I don't like about yourself." - Raj

Eh... not so much. It's not that "Gene Shelly" was a bad episode, it was just awfully predictable for the whole hour. Every time something new happened, the result was painfully obvious. It took away the impact from a few things that otherwise, should have been pretty powerful moments. The one highlight? Dr. Puresh. Everything that kid says is comic gold.

Without going into grand detail on every moment I disliked, I'll point out the one that bugged me the most - Sean being able to walk and how Christian "uncovered" it. We knew from last week that he was faking and using the wheelchair as a crutch to pacify his, as Matt called it, "addiction to coddling." But just as he loved the attention on the set of Hearts and Scalpels, there was no way Sean was going to give up this new acting job either.

While Christian was smart to chug the extra glass of scotch to make himself puke and force Sean to see him at chemotherapy's will (playing off Sean's emotions), I just didn't like this new Christian. Old Dr. Troy would have thrown Sean out of the wheelchair and made him walk. New Christian played him perfectly, so Sean surely thought it was his idea to walk again. But this new Christian isn't aggressive or impulsive; he's calculating and uses kindness to his advantage. His breast cancer has made him a far more timid man. My point in all of this? You knew Christian would act this way after the events of the whole episode - Kimber laughing at him, getting attacked by that prostitute, sleeping with Liz. He's been whittled down and his brains are all he has left. I just want the old Christian back. Not this predictable, sappy version.

OK, moving on to the highlights. Raj is great! He let that ogre of a woman, who we later found out was a man, go down on him and still had a smile on his face! Plus he kept dropping lines like "that is a snap" and "the best sex I have ever had was from a dude." While his accent makes everything he says funnier, his upbeat attitude in general is a welcome change on the show. I lost it when he was singing while peeing.

A few more thoughts...

• Julia's return felt a little flat and I can't stand how there's still been no mention of Eden. Where the hell is she?!?
• Daphne! What a freak show! This was one of those obvious plots. Once she started calling Sean a baby and talking to him in that gurgly voice, you knew he'd end up in a diaper by the end of the hour. I didn't expect her to shave his junk and rub diaper creme down there though.
• Anyone else see the Rescue Me promo? 22 episodes, back in April, very excited.
• I almost wish Christian hadn't been awake for his sex with Liz. "Sleep f*cking" would have made for a way better story. As for Liz doubting her sexuality? I don't really see that going anywhere.

At this point, I'm not not really sure what the plan for the remaining six episodes is going to be. Sean has been outed and will presumably go back to business as normal with Raj by his side. Christian could hypothetically keep deteriorating and get sicker, but he's not going to die and his cancer alone can't sustain the rest of the season. So what else is there? Thoughts? Predictions?