Nip/Tuck: Merrill Bobolit (4.10)

I've never been as big a fan of Escobar Gallardo as pretty much everybody else, but his presence does admittedly create unrivaled fear and a sense of complete unpredictability. However, I'm not sure his re-appearance here was particularly wise. Season four has already been driven by so many varying plot strands and its various villains (some storylines having already been quietly dropped or forgotten about) that adding in yet another feels unnecessary. I guess his storyline here is pretty entertaining, even if it is held together by some clumsy exposition and equally contrived plot twists, but the real star of the show is Bobolit.

Bobolit, a great antagonist for Sean and Christian, ran the complete gamut from sleazy Miami douchebag to full-blown psychotic; and it's fun to see prison hasn't changed him. The idea of Bobolit becoming a 'prison bitch' is an awkwardly amusing plot development, considering the back-alley practice he was running in season two. It's not like he's some innocent. His lengthy revenge plan was unexpected, too, and it's a little unfortunate that he never came back after this episode. His re-appearance does at least further the belief that season four was once intended to be the series' final act. It has at certain points felt like a 'greatest hits' year, with the various returns of memorable characters from the past, and the closure given to the events of the pilot delivered here.

The rest of the episode is fine. Matt and Kimber's announcement of a marriage and a baby is ridiculous, and doesn't help diminish the feeling that their entire storyline this year is a result of the writers enjoying both John Hensley and Kelly Carlson's work, but having no idea what to do with their individual characters anymore. So just throw them together as a couple and see what happens... There was an interesting moment this episode, however, where Christian and Bobolit discussed the power Kimber has over the men in her life. It's ironic that, in reality, it's the complete opposite. It's Kimber who is defined by her men, and who submits herself to being passed around the table by a series of assholes that do nothing but destroy her self-worth. Sadness.

The Sean/Julia saga needs no discussion. Both characters are so tired right now, their repeated getting-back-together episodes rendered redundant by their constant affairs with other people. It's not surprising anymore, and it's certainly not interesting to watch the same two people repeat the same exact storyline every single season.

If anything, this episode proves how problematic reliance on past storylines can be. Returns by two great characters from a show's history is fine, if the time is right... which isn't right now. Likewise, too many returns to the same plot developments can only be endured so often before people start getting sick of it. Hmm. B-

Credits
Guest stars Peter Dinklage (Marlowe Sawyer); Robert LaSardo (Escobar Gallardo); Raymond Cruz (Alejandro Perez); Ricki Lopez (Armand Ortiz/Jorge Barco); Adria Dawn (Parker); Luis Saguar (Federal Correction Officer #1); Joey Slotnick (Dr. Merrill Bobolit)
Writers Sean Jablonski, Brad Falchuk Director Charles Haid