After flirting with the idea last season, Season 3 of Nip/Tuck sees the series finally take the plunge into thriller territory as the Carver becomes antagonist number one for our brave plastic surgeon duo Sean McNamara and Christian Troy. They managed to antagonise the serial rapist last season by repairing the victims that he ‘carved’ the faces of; now they are his targets, and the conflict escalates between them in this, the best season of Nip/Tuck yet.
Despite the constant threat of the Carver in the background, business continues as usual for the characters of the show, with the typical run of failed relationships, darkly humorous situations, and completely screwed up characters and surgeries which so typify Nip/Tuck, only taken to a new level (keep a look out for the episodes Momma Boone and Frankenlaura for seriously messed up examples of this).
Don’t think that the third season is not just more of the same, however, as a lot of the staples of the series get shaken up with some interesting results. A major shift occurs in the status quo of McNamara/Troy, with Dr. Quentin Costa becoming a partner in the business. Christian and Kimber get engaged (which you just know will end in tears) after a three-way fling with Detective Kit McGraw (the detective assigned to the Carver case), and Julia and Matt continue their evolution into fully fledged characters in their own right.
The third season of Nip/Tuck has continued the successful evolution of characters, storyline and themes which are the heart and soul of the series. Season 1 focused on McNamara/Troy themselves, and was an interesting character study on the failings and foibles of two men working in a shallow industry whilst making a tonne of money, and the sheer amount of damage they can do when entering full-blown midlife crises. The second season began the fleshing out of the supporting cast, and brought about edgier storylines and darker themes, as well continuing the changes in the main characters begun in the first season
Season 3 follows in the footsteps of the last, handling difficult topics with an ease and aplomb that few shows can match; most shows on television wouldn’t even attempt to deal with issues like those thrown around in each episode of Nip/Tuck. The fact that the show can cross the borders of drama, comedy, thriller, and even occasionally romance without ever losing momentum is only slightly more surprising than the fact that so many fundamentally flawed (and at times downright unlikable) characters can be so sympathetic and human, and can resonate so well with the viewer. Then again, this has been the recipe for success for Nip/Tuck, and after three seasons you wouldn’t expect anything less.
If a great mix of major and minor plotlines, interesting and realistic characters, and situations ranging from darkly humorous to massively messed up interest you, then Season 3 of Nip/Tuck is the perfect series to lose a few hours in.
By far the strongest season of Nip/Tuck yet and probably as close to perfect as a TV show can be.
Nip/Tuck Season 3 Rating: 10/10
-Tim Sweeney
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