Nip/Tuck: Season 3, Episode 1: Momma Boone Review

Momma Boone
Original Airdate: September 20, 2005
Writer: Ryan Murphy
Director: Elodie Keene

When Nip/Tuck left us last 11 months ago, Christian received a surprise visit from psychopath The Carver, who gave him a slash we almost could feel. It was easily the biggest shocker on a show known for provoking. For almost a year fans speculated whether Ryan Murphy would be willing to kill off one of the primary characters while the show was only going into its third season. It would require audacity that we know Nip/Tuck has. However, Christian plays such an integral role on this show, it would be hard to imagine the show without him.

As the curtains rise, you think they went through with it. Sean arrives at Christian’s apartment to find his partner and closest friend’s throat slit and his blood everywhere. Then the funeral, where those closest to him eulogize (except for Matt oddly). When the coffin is being set into the ground, it stops before it can go all the way. We find out that this has been Christian’s recurring dream since his attack. We’re spared a cheesy shot of him waking up relieving not to be dead. While this scene may be considered to be a cop out or overlong, the final image, of Christian’s casket being unable to move on, is integral to this episode.

Christian is dealing with moving on after the attack. Since the attack, Christian has been far more subdued. Not even a cozy place and doting Kimber are enough to make him happy. However, we don’t know the full story yet. During the attack, The Carver raped Christian. Sexual abuse isn’t new for Christian, as we know from “Cara Fitzgerald”. As the second season ended, he appeared to be a man approaching peace, even being tender towards Gina after her HIV diagnosis. With this action, he is reset to where he was as a kid.

It has affected him personally, as he lays there stoically while Kimber shows him her new porn movie, something he would’ve loved. His distance has made Kimber incredibly lonely. Christian makes a half hearted proposal at marriage, but Kimber doesn’t buy into it. This scene is juxtaposed with Julia requesting that Sean and her finalize the divorce proceedings. This type of parallel action is common with Murphy penned episodes, and he tends to do them very well.

This fear also stems into the investigation, where Christian doesn’t answer the questions of a sexy detective investigating the case. Despite the fact that she knows Christian is hiding something. The only person he has told about the rape is Sean. He wouldn’t let such a secret out to anyone aside from Sean and maybe Julia. Christian isn’t willing to admit weakness to anyone except for Sean, even after a trauma like being slashed and raped by a sociopath.

Instead, he stays at home, which causes Sean to be more tightly wound than usual because he is working more than half of his week while patients are being bumped back. Sean sees little choice but to ask Dr. Quentin Costa, the doctor who came in to help Christian after Sean’s attack, for help keeping up. Obviously it doesn’t go well with Christian, but having Quentin come in is enough to get him to get back to work.

Christian isn’t the only one dealing with letting go. Julia, who has cast aside the guy she was seeing last season for Jude (!), is now faced with going through with the divorce, something she has been putting off for almost a year. Sean too is reluctant to admit that the marriage is over. Though the audience has a good feeling that they will get back together sometime, they do need to stop avoiding how their lives are now. On a lesser scale, another woman thought ignoring her leaking implants for three years was better than getting them fixed.

But the most extreme case would be the title character, Momma Boone. Morbidly obese, she has remained on her couch for years because of chronic back pains for which she’s never gotten help. Because of that, her exposed skin has fused into the couch, rendering her immobile. Some shows, like Rescue Me, have used this premise for comedic purposes, but on Nip/Tuck, we’re given a more tragic look into Mrs. Boone’s circumstances.

We also see another shot of how deep Sean’s compassion goes. Momma probably didn’t expect to have any of the emergency workers come in and not wince at the stench or stare at her. He doesn’t wear the mask, which doesn’t isolate him from her. In addition, he respects her wishes not to have yokels gawk at her by getting some of the workers to use a tarp to block their view. When Momma gets too scared on the truck, Sean sits with her, holding her hand on the way to the hospital.

When Momma’s husband, Denny, arrives, Sean is quick to condemn him for allowing her to get to this point. Denny informs him that she had much more to do with it. He couldn’t make her get off the couch. While letting go may be tough, it is necessary for the person letting go to want to do it. For example, Christian won’t be able to recover fully from his attack until he wants to get help.

Through Momma’s dialogue, we are given a sympathetic portrait of a person who couldn’t face her problems, and because of that, her life ends tragically. When the doctors inform her of her husband’s arrival, she doesn’t want him to come in because she doesn’t “have her face on”. This could’ve been played comically, but instead, we feel bad for her. Make up and manicuring are the only things she has control of anymore. In the end, she decided against resuscitation, which was appropriate for her character.

Momma clearly affected both of our doctors, who move ahead in their lives. Christian invites Kit, the detective, over to analyze the crime scene. It soon becomes clear that Kit has some issues, as she uses this moment to seduce Christian. The interrogation quickly turns to angry sex, which an angry Kimber bears witness. Initially she’s appalled, but when she’s reminded of how this is how Christian normally acts, she jumps in bed with them. Christian is back to living his life as a Skin-e-max movie, but this likely isn’t enough of a remedy for him to get over what he experienced.

Sean also is motivated to finalize the divorce, but Julia has a sudden change of heart. While reviewing the case with her mother (the terrific Vanessa Redgrave), Erica recommends that Julia go after Sean with everything they got, including a ruthless NYC lawyer. Julia must’ve known asking her mother for help was a bad choice, but perhaps this could indicate that she never wanted to go ahead with it because she still has feelings for Sean. Nevertheless, Sean acquiesces his ring, and fades out.

While the overall theme of letting go was well established with the tragic story of Mrs. Boone, there wasn’t nearly enough action from The Carver. For a 90 minute premiere, it didn’t seem to be enough content wise to warrant it. There are many lingering questions about why he attacked Christian and didn’t kill Sean as he threatened. Perhaps they could’ve done more about having The Carver’s presence more noticeable. Has he attacked another person since the finale? I'm sure we’ll find out soon. However, I do appreciate that they decided to give this storyline enough time for a solid pay-off, and clearly we’ll have to wait for that.

Score 8/10