(S07E04) "I think, in a way, we all feel responsible." - Sean

Just when it looked like we were on our way to a major break-up, Nip/Tuck threw fans a curve ball last night as we head in to the series' final five episodes. For as much as Sean may despise Christian, what he's done, and how he acts, sticking with him for 25 years has left a scar -- Sean may see himself as the opposite of Christian, but the rest of the world views them as one and the same.

On some level Sean must realize that. If he didn't, the same impulses that he had when Curtis' wife Sarah came on to him last night would have been triggered the first time he thought about sex with Kimber. Within Sean, it seems at times his own conscience is at war with a simmering jealousy for what Christian gets away with. He may frown upon Christian's infidelities, but after what he did with Kimber, he's no better.

Sean may be the only person who knows what he did now, but that doesn't matter -- the scent of Christian has tainted Sean no matter how he views himself. So it wasn't much of a surprise when Curtis accused Sean of sleeping with his wife. Obviously, Sean said no to Sarah but his association with Christian negated anything Sean said. It's killed his credibility. I did, however, find it a little odd that Curtis so willingly believed his wife. He must've had no idea she was sleeping around on him. Regardless, no "more saving the children in Africa" for Sean.

At this point, there's far too much that binds Sean to Christian -- a break-up between the two of them can't possibly be clean. Without spoiling next week's episode, a relative of a certain someone from McNamara/Troy's past shows up and it makes perfect sense. Some of these ghosts need to be addressed before any type of closure can be achieved.

A few more thoughts --

• I thought Kimber's good-bye was very well done. Even though she was nothing more than a vision in Christian's mind, she still got to say the one thing that she never got to say when she was alive -- Christian destroyed her and he knows it.
• As for Melanie Griffith's guest spot as Kimber's mom Brandy, nothing really earth-shattering there. I understand the desire to get big name people for a long running show's final season, but this role wasn't exactly meaty or deserving of someone of Griffith's talent. So Christian slept with her -- not surprising.
• Glad to see Matt back as well and if this turns out to be his final appearance (I doubt it will), I like how he handled things. Matt has finally broken free of his family. He's got a job, an apartment, and a normal girlfriend. Even better was his response to Christian asking when he'd get to meet her. Matt's silence said it all -- I'm never bringing her near someone like you.
• Not much to say about the Wayne the Chimp plot, other than Frances Conroy played the cuckoo owner to perfection. You could tell right away that when she was talking about the guilt associated with hurting a friend, it was directed at the chimp (for killing him) and not at her friend (who got attacked).

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