Is it season 7? Is it season 6, part 2? Season 5, part 4? It doesn't matter how you look at it, the final nine episodes of F/X's Nip/Tuck begin this week. As per usual with this over-the-top drama, all remnants of last season's shock moments (Matt's Klepto-Mime, Annie's hair diet, the umpteenth attempt on Sean's life by a widowmaker, Erica and her pedo-pal, Mario Lopez) go unmentioned, and life resets for those employed at and associated with McNamara/Troy. The show, in this season's first two episodes anyway, appears to be headed towards its finale with a purpose in mind, one that may or may not tie loose ends together, ending in mass murder or suicide. That is only personal conjecture, because I really can't see this series's swan song being anything but the ugliest duckling, but in a sorta positive way.
One reason I don't care for Nip/Tuck anymore is because the characters are forever evolving cyclically. You know the deal, and you may enjoy it more than I do. Sean gets overwhelmed by an amount of attention that Christian gets, usually from numerous women, sometimes from business decisions. Sean feels like he should have matured beyond his current state, judges everyone quietly, and then does something so batshit that it almost gets him killed. Meanwhile, Christian hates himself and projects that hate via naked pounding upon any feminine orifice that comes anywhere near him. Then something temporarily life-threatening occurs, and he and Sean put aside their differences and tag team some opposing force. And then Christian gets out relatively unscathed, and Sean's inner hatred has nothing to do but swallow itself and grow. Disregarding other characters, this is always the overlying arc for each season. It seems to be no different this go-around, though these episodes are keeping a central focus, and it's ball-peen-hammer-subtle, instead of sledgehammer-subtle like usual.
We get to see Sean and Christian first meet at college. Their first few months together are visited frequently in the first episode, because they're being honored for a prestigious award that the very first scene introduces in rather dramatic fashion. The teenage versions are hilarious caricatures, particularly in the Julia girl's huge eyes. These scenes mirror Sean's current day feelings about Christian, whose former moochy impulses haven't changed. His marriage with Kimber isn't one he's faithful about, but that's hardly a shocker. His reaction to McNamara/Troy's money troubles is to spend more. Sean doesn't take to this too kindly. He's definitely headed down a specific path, and I'm surprised by how interested I am to find out where it takes him. As for Christian's schlubby looking self, I'm not so sure.
The patients this early on are well-tamed, and in the second episode enter into the plot more. There's a man suffering from a rare condition that makes his appreciation come out negatively, through cursing, stabbing, and self-mutilation. I'll let you guys look that up on Wikipedia. The other, more assertive patient is a "too beautiful" girl who just wants the attention to stop! Stop looking at her because of her beauty and get to know her! Tune in to find out how many times Christian gets to know her. Essentially, she's used as an opposite to the show's theme of attaining perfection. It doesn't strike any enormous chords, but is well told, and has a very amusing vehicle-to-vehicle exchange near the end, before things get crazy up in there. I'm pretty bad about finding good ways to hide spoilers. But it's very Warner Bros. cartoon in Christian's ability to recover.
Reading over this, I realize I glossed over the negative aspects, which I wouldn't have done had this not been a better initial outing than Nip/Tuck has had in two or three years, at least if something resembling reality is to be considered. I know how stupid things are, but I still end up judging it by those merits. It's a purely illogical method, but I can't shake it. If you dig the show, feel safe in checking it out. Maybe get blackout drunk first, though.
