The plastic surgeons of McNamara/Troy have left Miami this season and are making a fresh start in Los Angeles and the move has, as plastic surgeons say, rejuvenated “Nip/Tuck.” It’s as if the show has gotten an injection of Restalyn and filled in all the frown lines from Sean’s child with polydactyly, the Carver and the internal-organ stealing Madame thanks to rediscovered humor, thanks to Rosie O’Donnell’s Dawn Budge and Oliver Platt, director of the fictional “Hearts and Scalpels” show on which Sean is guest-starring.
But the show has also returned to some of its more spiritual storylines, exploring Dr. Troy’s internal struggles, amidst the more unbelievably salacious plot points. On last night’s episode, a young nun comes to see Christian, who has now taken to turning kinky tricks for some extra
cash, for a breast reduction. She tells him that, she wants to “inspire people with her faith, not her bustline.”
As she goes under the knife, the Sister hands him her St. Christopher’s medal, telling him to keep it and not to doubt the power of prayer. He explains that he gave up praying as a child when God didn’t answer his prayers to stop his foster father from molesting him. Apologetic, the Sister replies that she cannot know God’s plan for everyone, but that “There’s a good light in those eyes and I can see it fighting for a place at the table.”

Later, when one of Christian’s extracurricular clients almost dies while prepping herself for one of their bizarre sexcapades – think horse tranquilizers, bathtubs of ice and a twisted necrophilia type fantasy, Christian prays to God and lays the medal on the unresponsive body of
the woman. Moments later, she gasps for breath and opens her eyes.
This of course acts as a fascinating metaphor for the superficially shallow Dr. Troy, as the client’s desire was to have the act of sex “bring her back to life,” but in this case it was not the body that revived her, but the spirit, so to speak.
Christian later visits the nun at her church under the auspices of checking up after the surgery and giving her a new St. Christopher medal, but then asks her to pray with him. Somewhat suspicious she asks what they are praying for and, in one of the most moving moments of the
entire series, he answers, chokingly, that he doesn’t know. They both kneel in prayer before the altar.
It’s not a new theme for Christian — his struggle with the Church, his quest for unconditional love while looking for the next one-night stand — but it is the show’s most human theme. Even the familial storylines seem overwrought and overdone Take Sean’s situation for example: His
ex-wife is now together with another woman whose teen daughter wants to sleep with Sean and is wreaking havoc in Sean’s own daughter’s life by teaching her how to become bulimic and perform oral sex. Maybe that’s relatable in L.A., but I dare say it’s a bit of a stretch for many
people to relate to.
But, 99% of the population has struggled with spirituality at some point; heck, even Mother Teresa had doubt. So please, Ryan Murphy, please nip and tuck some of the more ridiculously overdone “Sean wants to have sex with a younger woman and Christian will have sex with anyone” storylines and focus on what’s on the inside for a while.