We can already see the major theme that will run through this final group of episodes, that of the deconstruction of Sean and Christian's relationship. It's an inevitable approach to take. But what I found most interesting about this story was that so much of it came down to both character's inability to change or grow. They're both stuck in the same roles they inhabited right back in 2003 when the series opened, and are still making the same dumb choices. This feeling can also be found in every other regular character, none of whom have changed all that much since season one.
Is this Ryan Murphy saying that people are incapable of change? Or is this just an unexpected decision to explain why the character's personalities have remained stagnant and one-note for so long? Either way, it feels a little too late in the game to do this. Sean is once again blaming others for his own personal woes, and Christian's character is written as even more juvenile and sleazy than usual, purely to fit the story. It's again frustrating.
However, Dan Daly is still an entertaining opener for Nip/Tuck's final run. While a lot of what's here feels overwrought and contrived, I appreciate that Sean and Christian as people have been thrust center stage again, and the melodramatic nuttiness of recent seasons doesn't seem to have infected the final nine episodes. There was also some fine humor on display here, notably Sean's discomfort at being confronted with the fact that he's a failure as a parent, a failure as a surgeon, and even a failure when it comes to mid-air fucking.
The patient of the week worked well as a metaphor for Sean's image of Christian. Dan Daly is a self-mutilator, and no matter how many times his wounds are sewed up, he'll always revert to type. Great work in the flashback sequences, too, especially with the believable casting. Finally, I love the new incarnation of Kimber. Sure, she has another random profession she's wrapped up in, but she seems a lot stronger and self-aware so far this year. Which is positive.
Dan Daly is nowhere near perfect, but it at least attempts to cover some new ground with characters that have become totally exhausted after so many episodes. It's all a little shallow and manipulative as a story, but the concepts at work are admirable. B+
Credits
Guest stars Wayne Pere (Dan Daly); George Newbern (Dr. Curtis Ryerson); Paul David Story (Young Sean); Andrew J West (Young Christian); Bjorn Johnson (Omar); Jim Jansen (Professor Albini); Shea Curry (Rebecca); Sheetal Sheth (Aria); Richard McGonagle (Roger McGuiness)
Writer Ryan Murphy Director Elodie Keene
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