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Nip/Tuck: Conor McNamara
(S04E08) I'm really loving this season. Might be the best one since the first. The whole exploration of the McNamara family and their issues is far more compelling than any of the Quentin/Carver stuff. It's not that I disliked last season, I just think this kind of material works better for Nip/Tuck.
This was a really well crafted episode. It brought back a wonderful character in Mrs. Grubman and we got a rare glimpse into Sean's childhood. Plus, the surgery du jour was none other than young Conor McNamara, something that's been causing tension between Sean and Julia since the child's birth. On top of that, Peter Dinklage was back and Mo'Nique guest starred as Mrs. Grubman's sassy live-in nurse. Sounds like a winning combination right?
Well it was... at least I thought so. I'll talk about Mrs. Grubman first because it was incredibly sad. She finally came back to McNamara/Troy. It's been a full two years since the stroke and she's recovered almost fully with the help of Evetta (Mo'Nique). However, she's come to enlist Christian's help to make her look her best for her funeral. Mrs. Grubman was diagnosed with stage-four lung cancer and it's spread pretty much everywhere. Despite the sad note, there were still plenty of laughs. Especially when Evetta called Mrs. G "shit pants." Comic gold right there.
After her initial visit with Christian, we found out that Mrs. G was almost a back-up singer for Burt Bacharach. She could have had quite the singing career. She finally gave in a few days later back at the practice. Christian went to get a botox shot and when he turned around, she was gone. Her final scenes were touching. We got to see her actually singing with Burt Bacharach (I'm now convinced this show can cast anyone) while Christian operated on her corpse.
But the funeral was very telling of the life she lived. No one came. She was vain, kind of an ass, and no one really liked her. Christian came to that conclusion when he eulogized her to an empty house. Fortunately, she did leave all her money to McNamara/Troy in a fund "for people who need a little work, but don't want to pay for it." She's still worried about body image, even in the afterlife. Rest in peace Mrs. Grubman.
Moving on, we got a shocking revelation about Sean as a child and it shed light on why he became a plastic surgeon as well as why he's been so insistent that Conor be operated on as soon as possible. Sean was born with a cleft lip and he had it until he was maybe 6 or 7. His mother finally had Sean operated on, but not before she defied her husband and ultimately broke up the family. Sean saw himself in his new son in far too many ways.
The ironic thing is that Sean's strong feelings about the operation have pushed Julia into Marlo's arms. They kissed and I don't think the sexual tension between mother and male nanny is going away soon. In an attempt to not break up his family, Sean may be doing just that. I did enjoy the surgery scene, cutting back and forth from Conor to Sean as a child and seeing them both go through their respective operations. It was a cool way to tie it together.
Now I had nothing wrong with this little bit of back-story, only that it's awfully convenient. Do you think this was something that was known about Sean when the character was first imagined or was this childhood characteristic supplied simply to tie in with Conor's problem? A bit of a chicken or the egg question. Thoughts?
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