Nip/Tuck: Joan Rivers (2.16)

Saying Ava being outed as a transsexual was a huge shock is the understatement of the century. Looking back now, there were always subtle clues to her past. Right back in Ava's second appearance, there was that awkward silence after Matt asked her if she knew what walking around with an erection all day was like. Obviously, at the time, she said no. Ha! Famke Janssen stole the show this season, and waits till the last episode to give her greatest performance. Her scene with Adrian was completely heartbreaking. While we learned to love Ava over these last couple of episodes, you can't deny that anybody who destroys somebody's life like that is a monster in several ways. But as Ava weeps over her son's corpse, you realize that she really did love him.

Nip/Tuck: Sean McNamara (2.15)

The sight of Gina slowly rotting away in a hospital bed was so sad. She's a terrible woman, but nobody deserves to go through the suffering of HIV, even when she took so many risks with her crazy sex life. Avoiding any preachy dialogue, the writers instead concentrate on the effect it has on Christian, and specifically how he'd feel if Wilber was revealed to be infected. Something like HIV can affect so many people, and just the scene of Christian repeatedly telling his past conquests to "stop crying" makes you want to rush out to your nearest pharmacy.

Nip/Tuck: Trudy Nye (2.14)

Famke Janssen gives another amazing performance. Despite knowing that Ava is a demanding, manipulative, lying, soul-destroying, family-wrecking, incestuous hag, Famke's performance still makes her somehow sympathetic. It almost makes my skin crawl to admit that, but her last scene with Matt really got to me. I'm not surprised so many people are drawn to her. As sympathetic as Ava is, it's nothing compared to Adrian, who is just a tragic example of what abuse can do to somebody. His life is a mess in almost every way possible, and because of Ava's actions, his abilities to connect with people and how to treat those around him is completely screwed up. It's so sad, knowing what one woman did to him.

Nip/Tuck: Oona Wentworth (2.13)

After killing that show dog and having his business crumble around him, you just knew Bobolit would come back a complete wreck. So, what do you know, one year later and he's become a crazy drug addicted psycho!

Nip/Tuck: Julia McNamara (2.12)

Julia finally learns at the end of the episode that her problem isn't that she chose to be with Sean all those years ago, it's that she always wants what she doesn't have. In both realities, she finds herself desperate to be with the man she isn't with, and it took her near death experience to make her finally realize it.

Nip/Tuck: Natasha Charles (2.11)

The audience has always been made aware of the good soul lurking beneath Christian's man-whore façade. Just look at his relationship with Wilber. But before Natasha Charles came along, nobody had really made Christian aware that he is a good person, no matter what kind of personality he tries to put across.

Nip/Tuck: Kimber Henry (2.10)

Kimber was so great in this episode. While it's depressing that she's ended up in the porn industry, you can tell she has her head screwed on right, seeing her sex doll as a "business opportunity", instead of some new way to become a bigger whore or something. I also liked that she acted generally nice toward people, especially Julia. Kimber's conversation with Sean about masochism was particularly intelligent for her to be talking about, and it looked like Kelly Carlson enjoyed exploring that side of her character. She's an awesome actress, and when given material like this she can shine.

Nip/Tuck: Rose and Raven Rosenberg (2.9)

It's a transparent metaphor, but undoubtedly a powerful one. Like Rose and Raven Rosenberg, Sean and Christian can be split apart, but they'll never be as strong as individuals. The two together is where the talent happens.

Nip/Tuck: Agatha Ripp (2.8)

Some of the best Nip/Tuck episodes feature a McNamara/Troy patient whose crisis parallels everybody else's personal crises. This episode is one of the more obvious examples of this, with a central storyline that is mirrored in the actions every member of the main cast commits.

Nip/Tuck: Naomi Gaines (2.7)

Famke Janssen just won't quit it. She's already stolen the show, but now she's running with it too. The writers have created such a venomous woman, but one you can't help but love. There's nothing more appealing on these kinds of shows than a female character that can run circles around every other character, wrapping them all around her little finger, while barely breaking a sweat.

Nip/Tuck: Bobbi Broderick (2.6)

Ava Moore didn't make a huge impression in her first appearance, but she completely storms through the show in this episode. The best scenes were undoubtedly the ones between her and Christian. They have chemistry that practically leaks off the screen, and it's amazing to see these two powerful, sexually-confident titans go up against each other. Their banter is hilarious, each line being another back-handed compliment or a brutal insult. Ava casually blackmails him into giving her what she wants, and Famke Janssen clearly loves this role. The scene where Christian harshly sticks the botox into her head and she barely flinches was awesome, and there was something so raw and sexy about it all. These two plain rock together.

Nip/Tuck: Joel Gideon (2.5)

Ever since the end of season one, we always knew the beautiful relationship between Christian and Wilber would end in sadness. Joel Gideon sees the end of the road for their father/son dynamic, and it's an undeniably weepy closer.

Nip/Tuck: Mrs. Grubman (2.4)

The concept of growing older plays an important part in practically every Nip/Tuck episode, but it was particularly evident here, with Annie hitting early puberty, Julia accepting that she is getting older, and Kimber making herself look older through a spiraling coke addiction.

Nip/Tuck: Manya Mabika (2.3)

For somebody I'd only ever seen before on sitcoms, Aisha Tyler totally blew me away as Manya. She perfectly conveyed the sadness and abuse of female circumcision, and her story was not only beautifully written but also extremely inspiring. I loved that she only had an orgasm after pleasuring herself, and that it's not all about the woman being satisfied by the man.

Nip/Tuck: Christian Troy (2.2)

This episode was all about Christian and Sean's relationship, and how both realize that they can only be excellent surgeons when they're together. They're a double act, and without the other person there, they're nowhere near as good as they can be.

Nip/Tuck: Erica Noughton (2.1)

Nip/Tuck has clearly grown up. Not exactly in the mature sense of the word (since the show is still silly-as-hell), but it's obvious that entering its second season has given it an added confidence. Ryan Murphy is now unafraid to venture into deeper, more character-driven storylines, and it's great to see every member of the cast get some great material to work with in this season premiere.