Nip/Tuck

Faith Wolper, PhD

Season 4, Episode 6, Aired 10/10/06

Episode Summary

Sean soon discovers that Monica Wilder doesn't intend to leave him alone. Christian's therapist has an obsessive torment to reveal. And Burt Landau proposes an unusual solution upon learning that Christian and Michelle are having an affair.

9.1

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Cast & Crew

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Dylan Walsh

Dr. Sean McNamara
Julian McMahon

Dr. Christian Troy
John Hensley

Matt McNamara

Fan Episode Reviews (15)

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Another good episode, but there are some signs that may be indicative of them not having a plan for the season.

8.0

"Great"

By ticktock24, Apr 08, 2010 Report Abuse

Now in the second third of the season, I am overall glad with the progress of getting over the bumpy road of the third season. Of course, when Nip/Tuck goes straight to crazy town the show is at its best. We have jilted ex-lovers, betrayed spouses and a girl getting hit by a bus. It also does a good job with the overall stories this season, even if there are a few problems along the way that may be indicative of the writers not having a solid plan for the season. On this show, it's hard to tell the difference.

It is good that they didn't forget Christian figuring out if he's gay, but that opening sequence could've been easily trimmed to one or two minutes. We do see that Christian is aware that Sean's uptight nature would spill over even if he was gay and came out, but I don't it needed to take up this much of the episode. As far as dream sequences are concerned, it's generally best to keep them short unless somehow they can advance the plot or character development.

Speaking of which, what was with Michelle acting uncharacteristically perky when she locked the doors of his office? One big problem with this storyline is that these characters aren't acting the way they should be. Christian's inconsistency was mentioned in the previous review, but now we have Michelle acting rather unprofessional for the sake of her own pleasure. It especially doesn't work in the context of what she was forced to do at the end of the previous episode.

However, it does lead somewhere interesting, as Burt forces the two to have sex before him. For the first time, we feel bad for the guy, as he cringes over his payback (that look he gave when he saw Christian's endowment must've further emasculated him). At first their marriage could be dismissed as one where Michelle is the trophy wife, it's now clear that Burt genuinely loves her and the affair shook him to his core. He wouldn't have tried that pump for sure.

Monica continued to be creepy, but was cut down before she could make it to the extreme that was expected. However, breast feeding Conor alone was demented. One has to wonder whether she had any disease and could've passed it onto him via nursing. I almost think that Monica poisoned Marlowe so she could be close to the McNamara's.

Generally, if you're screaming at someone and the camera doesn't show whether or not your feet are on the sidewalk or the street, you're going to get hit by a bus. Killing off Monica so early in the game is an interesting, albeit puzzling choice. It is an easy out from a long subplot involving her accusing Sean of rape, but what was the point of this affair?

It was good that they followed up Faith's storyline in this episode, since her story in "Cindy Plumb" felt tacked on from everything else. They do a good job setting up her problems as a sex addict, which helps place what happened in the premiere in context. It's also placing her in position to be the new disturbed woman to cause a lot of problems with the company and Christian, with him being just not that into her. What ultimately, is the purpose of killing off one unstable ex (Monica) only to replace her with a new one (Faith)? This could be a point critics can claim that there is little planning for the season. Christian has a lot on his table already, between his questioning sexuality to his affair and bizarre arrangement with Burt and Michelle. And we've already had the woman scorned angle with Kimber. However, Faith has more power to manipulate people, using a clueless Burt to inflict the pain she feels on the doctors. So this may be a good idea when it pans out.

Escobar showing up, to convince Sean that killing Monica is the only choice he has, is still great, but also hints at a possible breakdown and duality for Sean. He has been acting increasingly unbalanced with his guilt and avoidance of the temptation of Monica. Killing off Monica may have been an easy way for him to get out of the affair, but he isn't ready to forget, as he imagines the splattered Monica at the dinner table with him.

Also, it's unlikely he'll walk away from it since he lied about what happened to Monica. This was a stupid choice, as she was killed literally just outside of his office. A girl getting hit by a bus may not be a major story in Miami news, but the fact that it happened there is a hard piece of information for him to claim ignorance to.

The downside to reviewing a show in progress is that you can't tell how a story will develop (unless you read spoilers), so some twists have to be regarded in a "see what happens" manner. It can be tough to determine which is a good plot twist and which is a desperate reach to save a storyline, especially on a prime time soap like Nip/Tuck. Regardless of whatever problems this episode may have, it is still solidly entertaining, and it's great to see Nip/Tuck coming back to this level.moreless

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Monica... Meet Windshield

7.5

"Good"

By maxpower03, Mar 03, 2010 Report Abuse

Despite opening with a memorable dream sequence featuring Sean and Christian as gay lovers (shame the show caved to network pressure, forcing them to cut an actual kiss), Faith Wolper Ph.D suffers from being weighed down by two of this season's worst story arcs.

The Landau storyline unexpectedly blurs together with Brooke Shields' nutty shrink, a turn of events which briefly gives the Burt subplot some life. Faith herself is exposed as being completely wacko, and I loved her sadomasochistic tattoos ("Property of Christian", indeed...) However, the Landau arc doesn't interest. I can't understand Michelle's motivations for anything, her character is so inconsistent. At the same time, Burt himself comes across so sad that Christian and Michelle can't help but come off as terrible people as a result.

The Monica Wilder storyline continued to get more and more ridiculous, before a convenient bus literally sent her flying out of the show. While I'm ordinarily a fan of crazy women on film and television, this subplot was an uninteresting retreat of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, right down to the breast-feeding of Conor. Monica's, eh, "abrupt" departure almost implied the writers had finally stopped inhaling whatever they were smoking and came to their senses about the entire thing. Despite that, I liked Escobar Gallardo as Sean's "devil" conscience, even though it's rarely revisited after this brief subplot. That final dinner scene was extremely uncomfortable to watch, and that gorgeous Rolling Stones song playing over it was perfect.

Despite strong work from Brooke Shields and Larry Hagman, this wasn't hugely successful. Great soundtrack this week, though.

Director: Sean Jablonski
Writer: Sean Jablonski
Rating: Cmoreless

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Escobar: "Life is full of surprises. Just ask Monica."

7.5

"Good"

By Tim_Bronx, Jun 04, 2007 Report Abuse

This show keeps getting more and more bizarre.

The dream sequence at the beginning of the episode felt out of place. It's as if the writers feel obligated to keep mentioning the possibility of Christian being gay just because it was introduced in the season premiere. From Christian paying James off for Michelle, to his long gazes into her eyes, it's becoming more and more obvious that Christian is in love with Michelle, and I really wish the writers would just drop the "possibility" angle.

It looks like its crazy female week on Nip/Tuck, as both Sean and Christian face two past sexual encounters that come back to make their life a living hell. Monica really went up on the crazy meter this week, threatening to accuse Sean of rape and obsessing over him and his family. The worst was when Sean caught her breastfeeding Conner; very The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, eh?

As far as Faith goes, I thought her storyline was a little out of the blue. Last time we saw her was five weeks ago, and she was appearing pretty sane and reasonable. This week she returns, revealing she has a sexual disorder and that she's obsessed with Christian, going as far to get "Property of Christian" tattooed on her ass. Brooke Shields is doing a good job with the role, but the whole storyline is a too over the top for me. I'm a bit skeptical of where the writers are going with this.

I like Escobar as Sean's metaphorical demon, and I liked him edging Sean on to kill Monica. Sean clearly needed to get Monica out of his life, but that Final Destination-like death scene completely surprised me. My feelings on Monica's death are stuck between, clever way to kill her off and too easy of an out for Sean's problems. I loved that dinner scene at the end where visions of dead Monica and Escobar joined Sean and Julia for dinner. Sean's inner demons are obviously eating him up, and it's only a matter of time before he explodes.

So much for patient confidentiality. Brooke revealed to Burt Christian's affair and is manipulating him into how to deal with the two cheaters. I was a little surprised Christian agreed to Burt's deal; I guess Christian is ready to do anything now in the name of love. Let's just see how Christian feels when he finds out Michelle's an organ thief.

Notes and Quotes

- No Matt or Kimber this week, although it looks like they'll play a bit part in next week's episode.

- Having Escobar (sort of) back, made me think of other characters I would love to make a return appearance:
* Ava
* Grace Santiago (just to get some closure
* Christian's mother
What do you think?

- Faith interpreted Christian's dream, saying that he loved the woman who was in the operating room. Christian forgot to mention that there were two women in there (Michelle and Kimber).

- Sean: "Do you realize that, between the two of us, we've almost ruined a marriage and a business by sleeping with the wrong women in this month alone? What's wrong with us?"

Final Rating: 2 out of 4 stars.

- Tim Bronx
Find this and many more reviews at: www.motionpicturereviews.commoreless

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die,fckn bxtch die!! :))))

9.4

"Superb"

By fallenepitaph, Nov 05, 2006 Report Abuse

That,was what i was screaming as she stood on the road! :))in this episode of nip tuck,i found myself screaming to the screen, \"no sean dont do it! fcking woman! / oh my god this is happening?! / oh my god,oh my goddd!! :))))

there had been dozens of scenes that are hard to watch in nip tuck, but the opening dream sequence was scariest and funniestly the scene in shows history :) i closed my eyes through the most of it :)))

Monica was a blast.really good choice of actor,she looked so patheticly mad from the first second.i thought she was gonna hang around to cause more problems,but this way both i was satisfied,and seans\' devil:))) it would be really boring if they\'d go and do that \"i cheated you i\'m sorry\" thing ever again.This way julia will never learn,unless sean makes a stupid confession.(which feels like it\'s gonna happen eventually,but at least they didnt go with \"that\" much of a cliche) Whatever, troy+hot chick (michelle) thing with the old guy watching was fun(sorry not good with names) and it was just about when i started thinking that they cant get any sicker than that.(well they did got sicker before,but whatever)

and a guess from me. this season will end with Sean \"cant take it anymore\" He is losing his mind.Too many demons all around him.The pressure will start to make him drive crazy and towards or at the end of the season,he\'ll do something totally out,like commiting suicide or doing something very violent leaving us with the cliffhanger of him being taken away,into a prison or mental hospital,probably mental hp.

hey,wouldnt it rock if the carver comes back towards the end, and than we find out that this time it is seans who finally gone crazy?moreless

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Buses And Hoyay<br /> <br /> Written And Directed by Sean Jablonski

9.0

"Superb"

By shawnlunn2002, Oct 20, 2006 Report Abuse

Christian (to Sean): "Fine, if you won't come out, I'm coming in".

Secrets and lies and the fallouts that the hurt and trauma can cause from it, we've all been there and with this show, it's a case of repeatedly being there too. In Nip/Tuck's defence, every show nowadays consistently doles out a lot of pain that characters bring on themselves but provided it's still effective, I'll still care and I'll still keep watching. Both Sean and Christian have a whole new set of skeletons that are half outed tonight and the consequences are stunning to watch.

Despite his abrasiveness this season, I still like Sean, so while I may have hated him for sleeping with mad Monica, he earned points for dumping the girl in an amicable manner. Unfortunately for everyone as well as Sean, Monica doesn't take being dumped very well and when the delightful Marlowe is struck down with food poisoning, Julia enlists Monica's help to look after Connor while her and Sean can go away to celebrate their honeymoon in a better and more private fashion compared to their first. I totally support that but I don't why for this sake they couldn't have left Connor with Christian? After all, he's their closest friend and judging from early Season Two, he's more than capable of looking after a baby.

Still though this hour helps confirms two things that we already knew and these are that every now and then, Sean has a woeful taste in women and that Monica is a nut job and sadly for Jennifer Hall, not the kind of one you feel sorry for. Monica's obsession with getting Sean all for herself followed with that annoyingly coy "I won't tell Julia what we did" only half ignited my burning hatred for the woman. Seriously this woman who make you miss Kit, she's that annoying.

So what exactly did Monica do to warrant some hatred in her final outing in Miami? Let's see, how about breastfeeding Connor? That's pretty out of line, right? You don't have to be a parent to be disgusted by someone, including Monica breastfeeding their client's child and although Monica had Sean over a barrel with Connor in her arms, he missed the boat completely by not calling the police there and then. He should have given that Monica had strictly violated his child, it would certainly warrant more attention than a spurned ex-lover crying wolf. Also, why the hell didn't Sean tell Julia before confiding in Christian about it at work? This is something you do not hide from your wife Sean!

Christian doled out the wise old gem that if Sean told Julia about Monica breastfeeding their son, any claim of an affair would be dismissed and I agree. However Sean should be telling Julia of this incident in regards to the safety of their child and not because he wants to save his own hide. I'm hoping I'm not sounding self-righteous but that scene with Monica really angered me a lot.

It wasn't until Escobar visited Sean for the second time this season and more or less told Sean that the best method of keeping Monica was to kill her and while Sean didn't, it was a great motivator for him. How come the baddies on this show are the ones to get the good guys off their butts and take affirmative action? There are times when I'm amazed about how much pushing these characters actually need in order to do something.

When Monica came in to get her infected breasts checked out, Sean had her in a vulnerable and if he had been watching Showtime recently, he could have taken some inspiring tips from Dexter and bumped her off when the going was good. He got pretty close when he was gassing her and wrestling with conscience but in the end, Sean couldn't bring himself to kill Monica.

Unfortunately for Sean, Monica doesn't seem to be the type to get life changing epiphanies and instead of taking heed on his advice to get psychiatric help, she decides to go to the police and accuse him of rape. Luckily for everyone else and Sean she only makes outside the practice before a bus flattens and kills her. As comic deaths go, this one is hilarious but if Sean thinks that the Monica problem is resolved, then he might want to listen a bit more to Escobar.

Sean and Julia may want to connect after they married at the end of "Dawn Budge" but it doesn't look like they'll be starting on the clean slate both of them were hoping for after all. Monica may be dead but she's still leaving damage in her wake but Sean's got a guilty conscience, one he could relieve by telling all to Julia. She mightn't like it but she does need to know. After all, Sean's latest bit on the side breastfed their child and told him her breasts were infected. There's the possibility that she ma have passed on something to him and if she did, then it'll be more than Sean's ass on the line. If past experiences are anything to go by, Sean needs to bite the bullet because it's more of a case of when Julia will find out and not if or how.

Finding out about anything, especially the more intimate details of your own personal life and sexual preferences is always going to force you to question how you view yourself. This episode opens up with a brilliant homoerotic dream as a Speedo clad Christian and Sean are lovers basking in a gay resort surrounded by some of the most beautiful men on the planet. Christian is totally within his element and Sean wants to stay in the closet for all eternity and storms off with Christian in pursuit. I can see where this parody is going and what fun it is when devil duo Michelle and Kimber take away Sean's hopes of living with Christian having to give him the kiss of life. Then Christian wakes up and Sean tells him that change takes time but they can pull through together and then they kiss. The sucker punch is that both kisses happen off screen and while I more than accept the reality that Christian and Sean are straight, why the hell couldn't we have gotten one kiss between Julian McMahon and Dylan Walsh? After all we've had Ava/Julia kiss, Kit/Kimber kiss, James/Michelle kiss and all these women are straight (well James and Kit are up for debate). If people think a kiss in a dream between two straight men is jumping the shark, then they are pretty daft. Sean and Christian having hot sex would be tame in comparison to 90% of the outlandish stuff this series has already done.

Christian however then interprets the dream because of the Michelle appearance as another inability to commit to a person he has deeper feelings for and decides that because he can't have Michelle completely that dumping her is the right thing to do. This would be a great moment for all those Christian/Michelle non shippers if trouble stirring shrink Faith Wolper wasn't stirring further poison.
With Monica dead the position for Stalker Lady is now filled by Faith who openly admits to Christian that she suffers from sexual compulsion and is obviously miffed when he doesn't reciprocate her feelings (which oddly enough doesn't enter Christian's radar). Some women don't like being rejected and I'm guessing that Faith finds a nice of conveying Christian and Michelle's affair to Burt, whose response to his wife and employee at it is strange.

Instead of filing for divorce and selling McNamara/Troy, he demands that Christian and Michelle have sex in front of him with lingerie that he buys for them and if they don't do it (which they shouldn't have); he'll make it his personal mission to destroy the both of them. I knew Michelle and Christian would cave in, despite the vague hope of Michelle actually having enough willpower and strength to not wanting to be degraded sexually but sadly they did and I had to watch one wholly freaky and painful sex scene that looked like it came out of One Hour Photo. Burt came across as broken, pathetic and sympathetic by turns. I've never really rated Larry Hagman's ability as an actor but I was impressed with him in this episode. Sadly though, this episode saw Michelle going from a feisty woman who wouldn't indulge Christian's chauvinistic crap into a bit of a nymphomaniac. I kept think "Michelle, stop begging him for sex, it makes you look needy". It also turns out that in between Burt's inability to keep it up, the spark in his and Michelle's marriage is well and truly gone. Michelle even admitted to feeling trapped by being with him. At this rate maybe Christian should consider men, even shallow ones like Mitchell or Mike because seriously, Julia excluded, this guy seems to attract every psychotic, needy or volatile woman on the planet. Originally I wrote Faith off a poor Ava/Kit clone (I still think she's designed on these characters, especially with her hair colour) but Brooke Shields is doing a wonderful job with her as Faith caused a lot of trouble for Burt, Michelle and Christian and this was after we were fooled into thinking that her sexual encounter with Christian was a wake up call to sort herself out, which she told Christian as well. Now she ends the episode with getting a tattoo saying "Property Of Christian Troy", despite his absolute lack of interest in her. It'll be interesting to see what happens next.

Also in "Faith Wolper"

Main Patient Of The Week: Faith Wolper had the tattoo of her ex-lover Marco removed by Christian. Apparently Marco would submit her sexually by having her sleep with other men. Then again, Faith probably made that all up.

Michelle (re Sean): "What do you think?"
Kimber: "Definitely more gay".

Julia: "I remember having fun"
Sean: "I remember having to put our faces in a pillow everytime we had sex".

I liked seeing both Dylan Walsh and Julian McMahon in Speedos. Shame we didn't get that kiss. Well there's always slash.

Burt (re Michelle): "First time in my life all I wanna do is please her, not myself. First time I've ever felt like that".

It was nice that we learned more about Burt this week. He first wife, he was married to her for 20 years before she died of leukaemia.

Christian: "So Marco was a romantic?"
Faith: "Marco was a low point in my life".

Faith mentioned being sexually abused as a child. Also even with makeup, wouldn't Christian had smudged her back with his hands when they were having sex?

Michelle (re Burt): "He tried but he went pretty soft fast"
Christian: "And you want me to be your stand in dick?"

No Matt this week and Kimber and a recovering Liz only had one scene each. I also wish we would get a Gina update soon.

Escobar (re Monica): "You're never gonna have any peace as long as this **** is in the picture"
Sean: "What am I supposed to do?"
Escobar: "Kill her". Christian: "What's this?"
Burt: "I thought you might want to wear them the next time you two have sex".

Did anyone else get the impression that Burt has an idea of Michelle's former profession? Maybe not the organ stealing, but definitely the escort stuff.

Burt (to Michelle): "Do you love him?"
Christian: "Yes".

The parodies in this episode seemed to range from The Hand That Rocks The Cradle (Monica breastfeeding Connor), Final Destination (Monica's death), South Park (Sean/Christian opening scene) and Our Hour Photo (Burt watching Michelle/Christian having sex).

Faith: "I hope you're not losing faith"
Burt: "I just don't want to lose Michelle".

The chronology this week I guess would be a week and a half since "Dawn Budge".

Escobar: "You know Sean, life's full of surprises. Just ask Monica".

Standout music: "I Like The Boys" by Pleasure Seekers. And I thought "Filthy/Gorgeous" by the Scissor Sisters was super gay!

Well, "Faith Wolper" is definitely another brilliant instalment to this impressive fourth season and the ongoing storylines are continuing to be more and more engaging, although now the threats to McNamara/Troy this season seem to be on the increase. I'd give a ten but we got no Sean/Christian kiss so a nine will do.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
ADD TRIVIA
- It's revealed that Sawyer's first name is Marlowe. Edit
Notes
ADD NOTES
- Original International Air Dates: Czech Republic: January 7, 2009 on TV Nova Edit
- Although listed in the opening credits, John Hensley does not appear in this episode. Edit
- Brooke Shields (Faith), Peter Dinklage (Marlowe) and Sanaa Lathan (Michelle) were credited as "Special Guest Stars". At the same time, Lathan received the "And" credit. Edit
Quotes
ADD QUOTES
- (Monica goes to see Sean about an infected nipple; she is lying on the table when Escobar appears to Sean again) Escobar: (handing Sean a scalpel) Do it. Slit her throat. Sean: No. Escobar: OK. Uh… cut her wrist then. Let her bleed out. It'll look like a suicide. Monica Wilder: What do you need a scalpel for? (Sean puts the scalpel down) Escobar: Sean! This is better. (holding the gas mask and a hypo) Put her under. Pump her full of tranquillisers, then dump the body in the Everglades. You've done it before. Monica Wilder: I don't need surgery, do I, Sean? Sean: (taking the gas mask from Escobar) Just try to relax. Haven't you learned you can trust me yet? (Sean goes to put the mask over Monica's nose and mouth) Escobar: Sean, do it. Do it and get your marriage back. Your family. Sean: (taking the mask away from Monica's face) You don't need surgery, Monica. You need psychiatric help. Get up. Get dressed, go on. Monica Wilder: (getting up from table) What are you talking about? Sean: We'll call a psychiatrist and we are going to get you some real help. You're delusional and I'm worried you're endangering my family. Monica Wilder: Delusional? I've been doing my job! No, you're the one who needs help, Sean. You… you took advantage of me. You tried to take away my job and now you're kicking me out of your office when I'm clearly in pain. Maybe you'll learn your lesson after I go to the police and tell them you raped me. If you didn't want to take care of your son, you shouldn't have screwed me like your wife! (Monica heads out of the office) Escobar: You'd better go after her, Sean. Quickly. (Sean follows her out. Cut to outside the office; Monica is heading across the street when Sean comes out of the office) Sean: Monica, wait! You're being irrational! Let's talk about this. Monica Wilder: (stops in the middle of the road) You should worry more about what Julia's going to say when I go to the police and tell them what you did! (A bus comes out of nowhere and flattens her) Edit
- Burt: I took your advice. I confronted them. And I made the offer. Dr. Faith Wolper: And? Burt: And I feel like shit. (pause) Did I really do the right thing? Dr. Faith Wolper: You don't know if they're going to follow through with it yet. Burt: But even making the offer, it almost killed me. Dr. Faith Wolper: Burt, you've been through a lot this year. Cancer. Losing your ability to function as a sexual person. Discovering the affair. Getting your power back is what these intensive sessions over the past couple of days have been about. I hope you're not losing faith. Burt: I just don't want to lose Michelle. Dr. Faith Wolper: Then trust me. Edit
- Christian: Michelle has suffered enough. There's no need to be so cruel. Burt: Cruel? You want cruel? Alright, first I sell the business. Then after I've sued you for negligence, you'd be lucky to find a job as a veterinarian in some shithole South American village. (to Michelle) And when I'm done dragging you over the coals in a divorce court, you'll go back to your gutter where I found you. Michelle: Go ahead. I'm not going to be your whore. Burt: I swear on these fake balls of mine that I will ruin you both before I give my blessing so you can run away and play happily ever after. Edit
Allusions
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