Saturday, October 15, 2005

Nip/Tuck: Season 3, Episode 3: Derek, Alex and Gary Review

Derek, Alex and Gary
Original Airdate: October 4, 2005
Writer: Brad Falchuk
Director: Craig Zisk

It’s hard to find a balance between two people. Things can get complicated when you add a third person to the mix. It’s rare to find a three person partnership where all three maintain the same level of power. This episode covers several scenarios, with family, lovers and business partners, all ending in disaster because they can’t work that dynamic. Of course, you can also compare these characters to the patients this week, three frat boys caught in a prank gone awry. Whose head is glued to whose butt cheeks? Depending on whom you’re asking, each of them is glued to someone else and someone is glued to them, which would make for an interesting picture.

The first of course are Matt’s parents: Sean, Julia and Christian. Although Christian was always a third parent for Matt and Annie and Christian was close to both Sean and Julia, the revelation that he is the literal father of Matt changed that dynamic permanently. Of course, he has something to say following Matt’s encounter with the transgendered in “Kiki”. They don’t know that just yet, as Matt is covering it up. As Julia and Sean argue over how they raised Matt, Christian steps in, promising to bring in Kit to find out what happened because their way to solving the problem isn’t helping.

With the procedure to fix Matt’s broken face, we see the new three way partnership clash. Christian was unaware that Sean had Quentin in the OR because of his talents with facial operations. This procedure is only for two doctors. Of course this on going rift between the surgeons is explored a lot more in this episode, reaching a point that places our favorite doctors in a compromising position.

Speaking of which, we are drawn into this week’s clients. Two guys have had their faces glued to another’s butt in a fraternity prank. The industrial strength glue requires a chisel or sandpaper. Of course, this connection is extremely uncomfortable and the separation painful. Although their appearance in the episode is relatively short, it still ties in with the “3’s don’t work” theme of the episode. It also serves to give us a little more background information about Christian. It would be interesting to see Christian and Sean back in college in a future episode.

Later, Christian returns to the office, where Kit has prepared to question Matt. Although Kit was unable to discover that Christian was raped, she is a rather good investigator. She finds the truth behind Matt’s assault based on some simple observations and intuition. Initially she didn’t want to push him, partly because she knew that Matt was hiding something the parents wouldn’t want to hear, but Christian’s insistence allows her to get Matt to reveal all.

The parents clash about how to handle this situation. Sean and Julia both feel that Matt would be better off in a structured environment because the lack of discipline got him to this place. Christian sees it as military school and suggests that they use medication, but Sean just thinks that will mask the problem instead of treating it. However, Christian is in the minority, and is shut out. As he sees himself as an important guide in Matt’s life, he prepares some covert actions to get Matt on his side.

Sean copes with the revelation by going out with Quentin to the frat house the title characters were located and getting some special attention from a pretty co-ed. As it appears to be an isolated incident, Quentin comes in with a girl and we learn something valuable about his character and a valuable lesson: don’t have oral sex in the same room that your business partner is.

Afterwards, he returns home to find Julia looking through Matt’s room, trying to figure out what exactly went wrong in their raising of him. Both parents have been through a lot, and in this moment of weakness they reconnect, which only makes Matt more isolated. This episode has been largely about pushing Matt further from his parents and everyone he cared about.

Christian copes by bringing some antidepressant medication for Matt so they can keep him out of military school. Initially things work, but Christian’s curiosity leads to the revelation that he slept with Ava, explaining how they knew she wasn’t a natural woman. This only adds to Matt’s angst, as he feels betrayed by the only person he thought he could trust, much like Sean felt when he learned that Christian was Matt’s real father.

Christian’s mind has been on other things, which would explain why he wasn’t as discreet as he should’ve been. The “arrangement” between him, Kimber and Kit is starting to aggravate him. It’s no coincidence that one of the movies playing at the theater they’re going to involves castration because Kit has taken a large amount of the control from him. While she may have some good points, like Kimber’s need for her sense of self, Kit is far more interested in having Kimber for herself.

Both Kit and Christian “compete” for Kimber when they proposition Quentin to join them. It’s certainly risqué, even for Nip/Tuck, to have Quentin taste Kimber. In addition, it was rather disturbing that a rape case appeared to turn Kit on (or is that another Carver suspect?) However, it isn’t just mere soft-porn. The four get hot and heavy, but Quentin makes a pass at Christian. Of course, he should’ve made it clearer that he was off bounds, but if he didn’t, then how else could Quentin ensure his power in the business?

Quentin’s indiscretion causes Christian’s original arrangement to fall apart. Before, both Kimber and Christian were the ones metaphorically glued to Kit. Kimber is ready to go back to being with Christian exclusively because Christian is feeling better. But this won’t be an easy separation considering Kit’s position as the lead investigator in The Carver case.

Instead of turning to each other, the doctors turn to their new partner. During both encounters, each doctor discovers that Quentin is bisexual. At the end of the episode, they both share what they’ve learned and enjoy the one light hearted moment of the episode. However, Quentin is aware of what they were laughing about, and not so subtly hints of taking them down if he is mocked for his sexual practices in the future. Now they’re glued to Quentin’s butt. It’ll be interesting to see how he uses this new leverage.

Christian agrees to attend the intervention for Matt, but his feelings that he should leave it to Julia and Sean are justified by how miserably it fails. Matt shows up two hours late and drunk. Still furious at his parents, he threatens to walk out on them. But he is talking tough because of the pain he’s experienced lately. When he shoves his mom, he seems to regret it instantly. Before he can process it further, Sean throws him against a wall and punches him. In that moment, everything changes, clearly something Matt will use against Sean to his full advantage.

The focus of this episode shifted from Matt’s ungluing to how it affected his family and how they couldn’t continue raising him among three people. The characters are being knocked down far below what they were when Matt’s parentage became fact, if that was even possible. It’ll be interesting to see how much further these characters will fall and what will get them to stop.

Score: 8/10

Monday, October 10, 2005

Lost: Season 2, Episode 2: Adrift Review

Adrift
Original Airdate: September 28, 2005
Writers: Leonard Dick & Steven Maeda
Director: Stephen Williams

Probably the gutsiest thing about last week’s stellar opening was that there was no follow up on Michael, Jin and Sawyer. Last time we saw them, The Others took Walt, shot Sawyer and cast off Jin and Michael before blowing up their raft. Some of those unhappy with the ending of season one thought that Michael screaming for Walt would’ve been better than Locke and Jack staring down at the hatch. This frustration must’ve been increased with the lack of follow up in “Man of Science…”

So we get the aftermath in this episode, picking up immediately where we left them, complete with stock sound bytes from “Exodus II”. Michael screams desperately for Walt before almost drowning. Sawyer, reeling from his gunshot wound, saves Michael through mouth to mouth resuscitation, in a rare instance of selflessness. It’s interesting that neither of them initially shouts for Jin, who appeared to be going in after Sawyer in “Exodus II”.

The shock of having lost his son triggers Michael’s memory to the last time he lost his son, when Walt’s mother, Susan, gained custody. Throughout his flashback sequences, which don’t deliver much we didn’t already know from “Special”, we see how Michael’s fight for his son was marred because he wasn’t involved in Walt’s life and lacks the money Walt’s mom has. Despite that, Michael is determined to fight to keep Walt. His lawyers, her lawyers, and Susan ask him why he suddenly cares so much about him. We can assume that it is because Michael realized he took Walt for granted until it was too late and his pursuit made him overlook the fact that Susan could provide a good life for Walt.

But that obviously doesn’t mean anything following Susan’s death and their time on the island. Since then, Michael has grown as a father, as he fought a polar bear for his son, but clearly, he has work to do. Much of his present storyline focuses on him passing blame on Sawyer for Walt’s abduction. Had Sawyer not urged Michael to fire the flare gun, The Others wouldn’t have been tipped off to their location. Sawyer points out that the boat had to have been close, like the island. By morning, Michael is ready to admit that he is largely responsible for what happened because Walt was on the raft because Michael wanted it, and he is determined to get him back.

Co-creator JJ Abrams once said that Michael was his favorite character and he could do a series revolving around him. After “Special”, which was an all around well made episode, this statement had some weight. However, not much use has been made of Michael’s character otherwise. Early on there was some intimations that there was going to be some kind of relationship between him and Sun, but that was dashed by midseason. For the second time Michael gets an episode about him, we are given very little aside that we couldn’t already assume, although his goodbye to Walt was heartfelt.

I heard that originally this episode was going to deal with Sawyer, which would make sense because his high profile character is more suited for early in the season. Plus, his impromptu surgery was one of the highlights of the episode. However, losing Walt would make a Michael flashback appropriate. I wonder if there was footage for Sawyer’s flashbacks that will get pushed back to a later date. It’d certainly be interesting to see how this episode would compare with Sawyer flashbacks instead.

One aspect of this episode, which some felt was confusing, was the retelling of the last episode’s events from the perspective of those in the hatch. Considering the storyline ends exactly where it ended in the season premiere, we’re given little feeling of plot advancement. Though there are some aspects explored, it could’ve been just a part of the last episode or the episode afterward. Not that I mind it when there is a change in perspective. Often it offers an interesting look into the minds of the characters and can show the events from an interesting point of view. However, this time it doesn’t feel necessary.

One thing the perspective change does is let us know Kate’s location during Jack and Desmond’s confrontation. Locke agrees to tie up Kate, knowing that she can escape and so he can be the one to interact directly with Desmond. All Locke manages to learn is that Hurley’s numbers need to be entered into a computer to reset a clock back to 108 minutes. Kate manages to find the food pantry and from there the ventilation shafts, which place her behind the vent Desmond shoots.

Desmond is certainly a lot like fellow island exile Rousseau. He has been on this island for a long time, and having to enter this code every 108 (the sum of the evil numbers) minutes has obviously affected his sleep patterns, which would totally warp his mindset. Add the isolation from being down in the hatch to that and we can see how Desmond changed from the way he was in Jack’s flashback. One must wonder now what Rousseau was like before her crew was shipwrecked.

The biggest advancement is the increased presence of the logo plastered everywhere throughout the hatch. The Dharma logo, which no doubt had fans scouring the internet and libraries for more information, is on Desmond’s uniform, the cans of food, and most revealingly, on the shark terrorizing Michael and Sawyer. This organization apparently must be behind what is happening on the island. Simultaneously it serves to answer some questions, while leaving many in its wake.

Only one scene appears outside of the A and B plot and that is the scene where Claire discovers Charlie’s Mary full of heroin statue. Although Charlie appeared to have kicked his heroin addiction with Locke’s help early in the first season, it isn’t as easy as it initially appeared to be. This scene functions not for plot so much as a reminder for something they will use in the future.

As the episode ends, Michael and Sawyer return to the island, a place Sawyer now calls “home”. This moment is thankfully underplayed, since its significance doesn’t need emphasis. They have been stranded on this island for a month and a half. For all they (and we) know, they could be there for the rest of their lives. Considering all the connections they have made and things they’ve experienced, the island is now home. Alternatively, we could look at it as Sawyer resigning himself to what Arzt had predicted before they set sail.

But the big surprise at the end comes when we finally reconnect with Jin, who is tied up and screaming at Michael and Sawyer, warning them of “Others”, a group of scary looking people. One claimed that one of the Korean words Jin was yelling translated to “Infected”. I don’t believe they’re affiliated with The Others who took Walt. Those others had a boat and guns, whereas these people don’t have anything as sophisticated as that. What we really want to know is how exactly did Jin go from the raft to the island in enough time to be kidnapped by these others and escape.

The second part of the three part introductory arc doesn’t introduce as much as the premiere or “Orientation” does, so the lack of momentum causes the episode to lag. Michael and Sawyer’s mid sea drama was well done considering the limits they have both in characters and surroundings. Perhaps had this episode merged with the episodes before and after, it would’ve made for a good two and a half hour event.

Score: 6/10

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Nip/Tuck: Season 3, Episode 2: Kiki Review

Kiki

Original Airdate: September 27, 2005

Writers: Lynnie Greene & Richard Levine

Director: Elodie Keene

We’ve all wanted to change something about our appearance to get something we desired, whether it is love, money, status or freedom. However, often the reality is that no matter how much we change our looks, we can never get away from what we are inside. Nip/Tuck explores this issue to its most extreme and disturbing. This is easily one of Nip/Tuck’s more unsettling episodes, largely because of Matt’s further descent into violent self loathing following the life changing revelation about Ava’s past. Though the title patient storyline is underdeveloped, the rest of the story is potent.

It begins with researcher asking the doctors to operate on a gorilla. The title gorilla has been studied to see how animals understand language, and the researcher hopes to breed her to see if Kiki can pass down her skills to her offspring. The problem is that when they found Kiki, poachers had slashed her face while they killed her mother. Kiki now has a large scar on her face. If the male mate found this, he would likely attack and kill her. This isn’t the first time someone came to them asking to fix an animal, as we remember from “Escobar Gallardo”. However, the circumstances are certainly different. It isn’t vanity to win a dog show, that’s for sure.

Although Kiki is the title character, most of the scenes were likely cut because Matt’s downward spiral is the biggest part of this episode. Christian’s arc, including why he became so invested in Kiki after initially blowing it off, is not explored enough. He claims that working on Kiki has made him forget about The Carver (which is probably a lie), but it isn’t given enough time to convince the audience of either argument. Therefore, the impact of Kiki’s death, and the added affect that Christian isn’t forgetting The Carver that easily, isn’t as strong as they were hoping.

Christian’s reduced presence in this episode also hurts the ongoing resentment he has towards new partner Quentin Costa. We still get some good moments, as Christian brushed off Quentin’s complimenting Liz as coming on to her. But the one moment that will stay with viewers is his odd comments about working in Africa and blood oaths. This is meant to draw some suspicion that Quentin could be The Carver. Of course, each of the characters will have moments like these throughout the season until The Carver’s identity is revealed.

One aspect missing in the season premiere was Matt’s feelings following the Ava fall out. They made up for it this week. We see that he still has intense feelings for her as evidenced in his fantasy where he remembers the extra ticket still at Ava’s house. Of course, he doesn’t know that Adrian’s rotting corpse is there. One thing I wish they explained was how much time had passed between seasons. Considering the rate of decomposition, it had to have been some time.

Both Sean and Julia are brought in as Matt is being questioned. They initially rule it as a suicide, but they still want to question Ava, leaving the door open for her return. Sean’s surprise when he finds out that Matt was planning on finding her is a bit of surprise in itself; he must’ve known that having Ava leave wouldn’t erase her from Matt’s memory. To keep Matt, Sean reveals Ava’s secret. Obviously this was a bad decision, and that’s not taking in the fact that Sean didn’t consult Julia or Christian before.

This revelation sets off a chain of events that send Matt into territory darker than he’s ever been before. Later that night, Matt gets drunk, and curses out Sean, even playing the “you’re not my real dad” card. Matt begins to question his own sexuality and the truth isn’t one he’s ready to face. He already sees transgendered people as “sick and disgusting”. Therefore, any exploration would be a disaster. Erica pointed it out very well when they were smoking weed together. Repressing his feelings, especially with rage, is going to cause him a lot of pain, as we saw at the end of this episode.

Erica also provides one of the rare moments of levity, when Julia walks in on her smoking. I'm not sure if Erica re emersion in marijuana is possibly a long term story for Erica, but as a one off scene, it’s good stuff. Julia’s confused about how someone who grew inside her would turn out this way. Erica seems to be happy knowing that she’s a better mother by comparison. I'm sure such guilt will persist with the parents for a long time, especially as Matt gets darker and his humanity fades.

Matt decides to explore his feelings by visiting a transgendered bar. After some doubt, his subconscious manifests as Ava. Of course, this side of him argues that he should pursue what pleases him, regardless of whatever it’s labeled. Although Ava wasn’t born a woman, she still pleased him more than anyone else has. This thought convinces him to go somewhere private with someone he meets.

Initially he seems willing to experiment, but when he discovers that she is a pre-op he, we see Matt’s unadulterated brutality. He proceeds to beat him severely as we see later in this episode. It’s an absolutely disgusting and unsettling mix of rage and self hatred. The episode ends with a violent confrontation when Matt’s victim and his friends gang up on Matt for revenge. This event stands to be a turning point in both Matt’s story and for the season arc.

John Hensley, as Matt, delivers one of his strongest performances to date. During the scene where he shaves his head, his attitude and mannerisms are downright scary. Matt has a history of being cruel; he’s left his friend to rot in prison, he broke Vanessa’s heart, but this is a devastating new low. You really don’t know what he’s capable of now. Shedding his hair was a symbolic shedding of his old identity and the new identity is angry and violent.

On the other side of that equation is of Marlon, the former gang member trying desperately to shed his image and start a new, nonviolent life. However, his past life isn’t as easy to get away from as having his gang tattoos removed. Many places won’t hire him because of his criminal record. And after one unsuccessful search, he encounters the gang bangers who don’t want him to go clean. They chase him and beat him.

The gang chasing Marlon is paralleled to the transgendered kids chasing Matt, each culminating in a vicious attack. It’s interesting to see how these two characters’ situations are similar, but different. Both are attempting to shed an image, but they’re going in different directions. Marlon is trying to make a peaceful life for himself, while Matt is descending into a world of violence. Both men meet similar fates which will be a critical moment for their stories (assuming that we see Marlon again). But Matt doesn’t see any problem with his trip toward violent self destruction. It’ll be interesting to see if he ever does.

This episode is one of Nip/Tuck’s edgiest, most disturbing episodes. Matt’s anger dealing with his sexual identity, hoisted by some superb acting, is at times relatable and other times revolting. Even without The Carver, just mentioned so we don’t forget him, this season is shaping up to be the darkest yet. Thankfully, they included some comic relief, as Vanessa Redgrave with a bong can only provide. But I don’t think Ryan Murphy and his team have any plans to take this season off the course through the darkest valleys they can imagine.

Score: 8/10