(S06E06) "That's the wonderful thing about raising children -- they keep you young!" - Erica

With Teddy's murder now come and gone (I could go on for hours about how displeased I still am with the way her story ended), Nip/Tuck returned to safe territory last night in "Alexis Stone" by bringing back one of the most loved (and hated) characters to ever grace the show -- Julia's mother, Dr. Erica Noughton (played to icy perfection by Vanessa Redgrave). With Erica around, conflict is always guaranteed and this was no exception. Calling her the mother (and mother-in-law) from hell would be the understatement of the year.

After Sean's almost suicidal skinny dip in last week's closing seconds, he finds himself hospitalized in a psych ward staring down the one woman he likely wanted to see least. After all these years and all the turmoil she's put her own daughter through, it's a wonder why Julia ever called Erica for help, but that's besides the point. She's back and, smart woman that she is, Erica made quick use of the situation for her own benefit.

How long was unclear, but Erica has been married to a young Italian stud named Reynaldo and it seems as though there's trouble in paradise. He's wanted kids for some time and, withered old bag that she is, Erica obviously can't provide that service any longer. So she used Sean's breakdown as an opportunity to take custody of Annie and Connor. It's not like she didn't make valid points -- Annie eats hair, Sean married a murderer, Julia suddenly became a lesbian and dated a woman with a daughter her poisoned her -- and coupled with Matt's "they're bad parents" testimony, it looks like Erica might actually pull this off.

As gripping as the whole scenario is, it still feels like just a tiny bump in the road but I have hopes for where it might lead to. There are only 13 episodes left in Nip/Tuck's run (four this season, nine next year) and it would make sense for things to start building to an ending now. With Julia now planning to move to L.A. to help win custody of the kids with Sean, Erica's lawsuit could feasibly turn into the impetus for bringing the McNamaras back together as a family and that's a story I think most fans could get behind.

The same goes for Christian and Kimber. The will-they-or-won't-they get together shenanigans between these two has been going on since the pilot episode when Kimber was just a one-night stand for Dr. Troy, but again, the way this episode went between them suggests that it might finally be building towards an end.

Christian is softening -- he agreed to do Alexis' sexual reassignment surgery after he screwed her (him?) and even Liz is on speaking terms with Christian again -- and Kimber called it all off with Mike after fantasizing about her former lover during sex. There's clearly still chemistry here and with such little time left in the show's lifespan, sparks need to fly soon or why bother at all?

A few more thoughts --

• Matt is still the only one left in any sort of limbo here and if we assume this as the turning point for everyone else, then it may be the end for him as well. Maybe it's time for him to start embracing who he is and what he's done -- taking Erica's advice and being somebody's bitch might not be that bad of an idea. Maybe he'll bump into Merrill Bobolit in prison?
• Think there's any chance Erica might actually agree to let Sean operate on her and take off a few years? It could be a chance for him to finally get some revenge should he be so bold.

[Watch clips and full episodes of Nip/Tuck over at SlashControl.]