S7E8

An episode of forgiveness and moving on. The patients, Walter and Edith, frame this weeks story. They come in to have the number tattoos from a Nazi prison camp removed from their arms. Having lived through the Holocaust, they want to erase this reminder of hate (Ediths’ daughter doesn’t approve). They’ve been together and through so long and through so much that this little operation will just be a ripple in their lives. But Walter has a bad reaction to the surgery from an infection and becomes incoherent and disoriented. He repeats an unsettling phrase to his wife before he recovers and she confronts him when he recovers. It turns out Walter was the man who gave the Jews their tattoos when they were brought to the internment camps. This obviously sends Edith for a loop, but she manages to forgive the man she’s loved and shared life with for decades.

With Sean and Christian’s professional and personal relationship in trouble it puts their situation into perspective. They’ve been through a lot together and they both have done very bad things in their passed, not many of which are secret at this point. Julia now comes to town to tell Sean that she is getting married and moving to London, if he signs the paper work allowing her to take the kids. Julia was the original fulcrum in the Sean/Christian/girl love triangle. Julia and Christian have crashed into each other like love struck teenagers over the years while Sean has been trying in vain to move on from his divorce. Julia has become the catalyst for change. She has truly moved on when she puts her foot down when both men try the old “Our Love is real and you know it!” routine. She says to them both that any romantic ties they’ve had are gone. Her, the kids, the men, they all need to get to stable grounds. This makes Christian back of and Sean steps up and signs the paper work. A painful situation, a painful choice, a real life changing moment.

Then the devil in desguise shows up looking for help. Eva Moore, probably the best character the show has had only behind Escobar, asks McNamara/Troy to help remove some scars from her infant son. Eva made a hasty retreat at the end of Season 2 that left some incredible damage to Sean and his family, Matt especially. His first love disappears after finding out that she is a post-op transsexual and her own sons kills himself right in front of them. Eva damaged Matt in life changing ways, he never really got passed it and the trouble he’s got into since hasn’t helped. Now Christian turns her away immediately, she’s so awful he won’t even consider hearing her out. She then tracks down Sean at his home because she knows he’s the easy mark. At she’s right. Except Sean is wise to her. He actually sees her as the manipulative liar that no one can trust and kicks her out of her house. Real change! Sean has actually learned something, changed and made a good decision for once.

Matt is the same old blithering idiot of a child though. Like an old black widow at work, Eva easily lures Matt in just days before getting married to Ramona. His chance for a real stable life is right in front of him, he even makes amends with his fathers to keep them close. Just when you think some sort of normal family bond can materialize Matt runs away with Eva in the very last scene.

Really fantastic episode, I was actually talking to the TV as Matt started walking towards the limo that Eva shows up in at the end. The promo for next weeks episode really got me worked up. I’ve been a fan of this show for so long that it’s hard to believe it’s over in a week. My only hope is that they end this show in a meaningful and deserving way. Time will tell butt I think I’m going to watch my N/T DVDs right away when all is said and done.

One episode remaining.

S7E7

The seventh episode proved to be an odd one. Maybe even a misstep? After last weeks psyche beat down things seemed awfully copacetic between the two doctors. The shift went from their relationship to the changing trends in their profession. We fell down the rabbit hole into Christians messed up head as he went under the knife for the good of the practice (which he really did because he wanted a face lift and I’ve never liked the hardcore LOOK AT THESE METAPHORS! moments of the show. Plus, you don’t dream when you get knocked out). It did work seeing Kimber though, man did he fuck that up.

It was a weak episode. They decided to give Liz another shot of love that of course ends in a soul crushing manner, Sean gets duped by a woman as he’s afraid of growing old too. Now Christians YouTube promo plan has backfired as he now clearly sees not everyone thinks plastic surgery is the greatest.

2 episodes remaining.

S7E6

A real dive into the psyche’s of McNamara/Troy! One of the best episodes in recent memory, the material and acting was top notch. The whole show took place almost entirely in one location and was fascinating from a long time fans perspective. This group therapy session really let the guys rip on each other, each one bringing up points that would sway you to think that they’re right.

Sean is good at playing the victim, but for good reason. Christian does pay people off thinking that amends everything and in a way it does. Christian tells Sean about the forgery and Sean clocks him for it, but he pays him back the money (with interest as Christian was clear to point out). Then when Sean tells Christian about sleeping with Kimber, Christian is quick to mention you really can’t pay that one off.

With grievances flying Liz comes in and tells it how it is. Sean doesn’t know who he is without Christian, everything he does he compares to him. They are joined at the hip no matter how much Sean doesn’t like it. Always in the middle, Liz pretty much tells them to grow up so they can all move on. Getting pregnant from Sean’s donation sure as hell doesn’t make anything easier though. Sean signs off on having no legal right to the child, but now he feels like he made a mistake. Figures.

Enter Matt who makes it clear that he’s separating himself with his new fiance. True to form, Christian goes in for the attack while Sean goes into bewildered self defense and concern. With Matt’s past, those are both understanding reactions. Can Matt really leave forever? I guess if his fiance is really a sugar mama, he could stick with it.

We have yet to get Julia’s take on this and I’ve read that Ava (!!!) is going to make an appearance soon. The best may be yet to come.

3 episodes remaining.

S7E5

The theme continues. Christian and Sean are completely bonded, despite anyones feelings toward the matter. Years of being together has pretty much fused their personalities together, everyone sees them as one unit. Their actions are seen as a complete partnership. Especially from Christian’s standpoint.

An epic throwback to the first season, Escobar’s (arguably the best character in the shows history) world comes crashing back into McNamara/Troy. His daughter, now 15 comes to the office looking for answers about her father, which brings back a whole mess of “buried” issues. Looking for some sort of redemption and a clean conscious, Sean ends up giving her some information on her pedo uncle and how her father and McNamara/Troy handled the situation. On cue, the Feds come-a-knocking as the young lady felt compelled to snitch. Terrific news for the boys.

Enter the new drama patient, Virginia Hayes. At least that’s the name she gives them. Well, Virginia is a con artist/ID thief who gets caught by Christian. In the end, she too is looking for forgiveness and a clean slate, but the real Virginia is not exactly forgiving. With a dead body in the recovery suite, Christian thinks she died because of the surgery he did on her and can’t go to the cops because he lied about what procedure he did to her (to be fair, those implants really weren’t hers!).

“Fix this!” Another brilliant flash to the start of the show by Liz. Given a sure fire way to separate from Christian, Sean falls for the same routine again and help Christian dispose of the body. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it!

There is no possible way this is going to end well. Sean is and always will be Christian’s bitch until one of them dead (cue Escobar’s poetic metaphor). Now the feds are sniffing around them and Sean still doesn’t know about the forged loan that Christian set up a few weeks ago.

Great episode, great music choices.

4 episodes left.

S7E4

My reaction to the last episode brought up a lot of questions, mostly “where is everyone and where are they going?” Due to a few hanging plot lines and some sloppy writing, I’ve been fearing a half hearted run to the end but this episode has alleviated most of my concerns.

First, I really liked how they handled Kimber’s appearance. I was afraid it was going to be shlocky and over done, but they used her really well. A brief and concise dialog that left Christian with a punch to the guts. He ruined her and he knows it. He can try to bury it, but it’s always going to be with him no matter what. He can’t be forgiven by anyone, even her mother. Great casting on Kimber’s mother too, Melanie Griffith was terrific. Seeing her demeanor and her husband was just perfect.

Now for Sean, the guy is seemingly stuck forever. I was disappointed to see him throw away his goal of leaving for Africa with Curtis last episode, but it was a great turn to see him just postpone the trip, give time for Christian and then contine with his plans. Enter the femme fatale! Sarah, Curtis’ wife is a hell of women. Sean is in a pretty similar position as Christian. He can’t be forgiven for sleeping with Kimber by anyone. He holds that secret in with her death. When Sarah makes her move, he tells her no! He’s turned a corner! He tells her he’s done that to a friend before and he can never do that again, the guilt is too much. For some psycho reason Sarah tells Curtis that they did sleep together and he believes it. Just being associated with Christian is like the scarlet letter. Curtis doesn’t believe a word of what Sean and tells him to GTFO. What’s a guy to do? Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Sean is trapped and I really don’t know what he’s going to do. Just head for the hills suddenly?

Finally, we get to see Jenna with Matt! Wilbur is still MIA, but at least Jenna is with Matt and he’s been making some moves of his own. Expected to hang out with him, Christian is shocked to hear that Matt is taking off with Jenna. The last link to Kimber isn’t going to be around him much. It’s really hard to tell how much time is passing in the show at once, but Matt has a job and has landed him a sugar momma! This is just amazing. Sean may not know how to break from Christian, but it looks like Matt has. They live together and his girl really likes Jenna. A new, “stable” family? The killer line is when Christian asks Matt when he’s going to meet his new girl friend and Matt just looks at him and doesn’t respond. If Matt has it his way, he’ll never meet her! Christians life of fucking everyone is mounting into a title wave at this point. Tired of the shit Matt has actually drawn a serious line in the sand with his dad in probably the only way he can.

The patient this episode was great too, good story parallels with some amazing acting by the two women. I’m really happy from this episode, it’s really cool to see new characters that are related to new ones, it’s been filling out the N/T universe really well.

5 episodes left.

S7 E3

They cranked up the sexyness in this episode! The animosity showing from Sean just gets greater and great. He sees Christian as a road block and looking back, he always has been. What benefit does Christian have to Sean? I really can’t see any at this point and it’s clear Sean doesn’t either. In fact, with sleeping with Kimber, he’s been passive aggressively “getting back” at Christian.

This was a really great episode because it focused solely on the old trilogy of Kimber, Christian and Sean. They’ve all screwed each other since the start and nothing has changed, until the tragic end of this episode. Kimber has been one of my favorite characters in the show and seeing her kill herself was a sad ending to her story. She truly loves Christian, but he’s such a piece of shit he can never love her back (like he said). Even going back to Sean to tell him their affair was over, Sean put her in her place…what they were doing was never about loving each other, it was about saying “fuck you” to Christian. This horrible, dysfunctional tripod finally fell over when Kimber falls back to her plan C: Dr. Mike who basically casts her aside, just like she did to him. All hope lost with no love left, she ends it.

While the show is razor sharp in it’s focus on these characters, it feels like the writing suffers because of it. There’s a lot of glossing over and ignoring consequences and even other characters in the show. With Christian ramping up the kink factor (thanks to the man in the title of this episode) he thinks he’s found that missing piece in his puzzle. Sean finds out and tries the same to Kimber and it freaks her out (as she is trying to break up their affair). That scenes was so awkward and bizarre because Sean pretty much attacks her at the start of the scene. She finally gets him to stop and he says some lame “Christian told me you liked this, I just wanted to really see” and they both just move on like nothing happened. Also, no one comes to the house after a panicked 911 call from Kimber after Christian’s little bathroom session? I agree in the end it’s not that important to see every single detail, but it’s one of those things that takes me out of the show (like when Christian accidentally kills Wilbur’s mom a few seasons ago and there is no investigation despite there being a shit load of evidence all over the place). There hasn’t been a single mention of her daughter, he doesn’t even look like she’s been living with her and Christian. Matt doesn’t have her, he’s still a mess and we haven’t seen him in 3 episodes. Characters are all about forgotten until they are written into the background of a scene as if to say “See! They’re not dead and forgotten!” It’s just leaves the show feeling amature in nature because the writers make these elaborate and dramatic events but expect to the viewer to tighten down their blinders to ignore all the stuff that doesn’t make sense. It’s really sloppy (the most glaring being Sean’s last wife being killed off in the most random, yet convenient way possible last season).

That said, these events are a big speed bump for Sean. He’s been beyond thinking about moving on, he’s hooked up with his old colleague to do more with his life. He’s been sleeping with Kimber. It’s all about dividing himself from Christian in every way possible. With Kimber dead, his secret affair disappears with her, but the guilt of her being gone makes him (seemingly) abandon his plans for working in Africa. That’s disappointing to me, but he still doesn’t know about Christian forging his name so that could still be an excellent catalyst for Sean to leave. Now, with Kimber gone I’d like to see her really gone, but judging from the preview of next week, she comes back as Christians conscience. I’m not a fan of that. We’ll see how they handle it.

6 episodes left.

CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN! CONAN!

Brilliant till the very end.

Last night started the last 9 episodes of Nip/Tuck. They’re calling it season 7, but that’s stupid since it’s still season 6.

My prediction is that Matt will be killed and Sean will permanitly end his personal and professional relationship with Christian. Sure that’s basic and seems obvious but that’s the minimum of what I expect. If anyone didn’t notice over the past 6 years, Sean has always been a doormat for Christian and last nights show piledrived that point home. We got flashbacks to their time back in medical school when they were in their mid twenties. Even then Christian was Christian (the actors they found don’t look anything like them, but they did get their mannerisms pretty close).

It is time for the show to end, I just hope one of my favorite TV shows of all time gets a proper ending.

Sons of Anarchy:
Season 2 ended this passed Tuesday and it was fantastic. The entire season, start to finish was awesome. Incredible job from everyone who works on this show. Action, suspense, funny shit, drama like you wouldn’t believe with an incredibly satisfying end that sets up another season. This show has some of the best characters around, a real achievement for when a character gets hurt or dies you actually care.

Nip/Tuck:
Going strong! Really happy to see it. 7th episode just aired of season 6 and it was fantastic. Really brought things back to classic N/T with focusing on Sean and Christian’s core relationship with those closest. Really great writing that made Sean, Chrisitian and especially Kimber show what their characters really are (arguably the 3 pillars of the show). The custody battle was put to rest last episode (much faster than I thought) which probably means it marks the end of Julia’s mother on the show. The real dramatic shit is with Matt in jail. They put his ass in THE nightmare prison and he killed a dude to survive. Epic to say the least, next week should show his fate.

The show finished filming in the summer, for some reason FX is “splitting” it in half, airing 9 episodes taking a week or so off and then airing the last 9 episodes as “season 7” starting January 6th. Weird but a hell of a lot better than the first rumored “first half in 2010, end in 2011” idea when the show was filming.

Dexter:
I’ve read a lot of backlash for the show (low kill count! Rita sucks!) but I’m really digging it. 10 episodes in and this storyline has really hit it’s stride. I was worried at the end of 9 because there was a crazy end that could have sent the show into creative skullduggary. Holy shit did they come through. There’s 3 or 4 episodes left, I can’t wait.

Californication:
Not much to say, Hank Moody is Hank Moody and I love it.

Fringe:
After a long hiatus, my fav sci fi show is back and it’s still awesome.

Dollhouse:
The asses at FOX abandon another great show. At least they are giving the show the chance to end, but they’re rushing it off TV by airing 2 episodes at a time for the next month to burn through the remaining episodes. Joss Weadon needs to stay the hell away from these moes.

Always Sunny In Philadelphia:
One episode left in the season, god I love this show.

FX is the channel to beat. Their original programming is unstoppable.

The koala part kills me everytime.