Nip/Tuck, F/X, Airs Tuesday 10pm E/P

Episode: “Ronnie Chase” (Season 5, Episode 15)

Synopsis: Colleen’s attack on Sean leaves him with long term injuries, not to mention psychological scars. Liz’s decision to get a breast reduction results in Christian requiring a mastectomy. Julia’s memory hasn’t returned, but Matt has discovered his calling in helping her and his father with their individual healing.

Review: It’s been a long time since last we saw McNamara & Troy, but fortunately the producers were kind enough to include a nice long “previously” montage. Following this with Colleen’s entry to the building, the build up to the stabbing and the dragged out reveal of how it impacted Sean, all added to the tension and reminded the viewer exactly how worried they were at the end of the previous episode.

Happily, the good times didn’t end there. Though the frantic pace of the stabbings and shootings in the past few episodes was exhilarating (or would have been, had it been viewed in a continuous stream), the drama contained within surveying the damage was not lost. Sean’s life and psyche have been severely changed, even his view of himself is skewed. It’s only at the end of the episode that we really realise exactly how different (re: f***ed up) Sean truly is.

It seems that Sean’s not the only one that has ended up a changed man. Christian starts out so confident and cocky, but disease is a great equalizer. This plot line could be another Carver for him, with his ego, his idea of himself and his entire life changed in a single afternoon. The distraught face in the mirror at the end of the episode shows how deep this goes, and even his attempts at sympathy sex go awry due to huge psychological issues. Julian McMahon can pull off trauma and he acted his little cotton socks off throughout this episode. The only question is, with Sean refusing to do surgeries and Christian undergoing chemotherapy, what will happen to McNamara/Troy?

Up Next Week: “Gene Shelly” – Christian and Liz grow closer when his chemotherapy makes him ill and she becomes his caretaker. Sean reconnects with his broken family.

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