Issues addressed in Nip/Tuck

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Nip/Tuck is an American drama television series on FX. It has become controversial for addressing and exploring various taboo subjects.

Contents

[edit] General issues

Matricide

# Episode Name Information
3.12 Sal Perri After a plane crash in Miami, Sean, Christian and Julia volunteer to help with the triage of the victims of the crash. Julia's mother was meant to fly out of Miami and the plane that went down was her flight. Julia is taken to a burned and mutilated corpse which has been identified as her mother. Julia had a fight with her mother at the beginning of the episode, and told her to "get the hell out of my life." Julia tries to reconcile her differences with her mother's corpse. After Julia forgives her unloving mothers sins, the corpse, which was not actually dead, begins to wake up. Julia makes the decision to smother the badly charred woman. At the end of the episode Julia returns home to find her mother alive and waiting in her apartment. Julia has murdered the wrong woman.

Malpractice

# Episode Name Information
1.03 Nanette Babcock Mrs. Grubman threatens to sue Sean McNamara for malpractice after leaving a surgical tool inside her. She decides not to sue in exchange for a lifetime of free surgery.
2.06 Bobbi Broderick An older woman who has liposuction, and then experiences dimpling and bruising begins to stalk Sean and Christian, as well as badmouthing them in front of prospective patients, and attempting to get a local journalist, Andrea Hall, to do a sweeps story about them. Bobbie later reveals that the dimpling was self inflicted, due to her putting on weight soon after the surgery.
2.13 Oona Wentworth Merrill Bobolit creates his own form of Botox that causes a skin infection once it is injected. Merrill then kills one of his patients while giving her liposuction and attempts to dismember her body and put it in a suitcase.
3.04 Rhea Reynolds Christian and Quentin perform surgery on the title character under inadequate anesthesia, leaving her in a state of anesthesia awareness. She is unable to move, but is still conscious and able to feel pain. She retains a lawyer and threatens to sue MacNamara/Troy for malpractice.

Paternity

# Episode Name Information
1.13 Escobar Gallardo Christian delivers Wilber and sees that the baby is biracial, meaning that Christian is not his biological father.
2.08 Agatha Ripp Sean learns that Christian is Matt's biological father, throwing their lives into chaos.

Airplane accidents

# Episode Name Information
3.12 Sal Perri A commercial airliner crashes shortly after take off, leaving many dead. Sean, Christian, Julia, and Liz volunteer their services, providing emergency care to injured survivors as Julia searches for her mother, whom she believes to have been on the plane. Julia proves herself to have great potential as a doctor, after performing a skin graft on a horribly burned patient.

Murder

# Episode Name Information
4.10 Merrill Bobolit After receiving his facial reconstruction surgery, Escobar Gallardo kills five policemen and Alejandro, Silvio Perez's brother, leaving the bodies at both McNamara/Troy, as well as Sean's home.

Organ harvesting

# Episode Name Information
An organ theft ring is a major component of Season 4. It has been shown that Michelle Landau is a part of this ring, as well as her boss James, and Escobar Gallardo.

[edit] Sexual issues

[edit] Illegal behavior

Pedophilia

# Episode Name Information
1.01 Pilot Silvio Perez wants plastic surgery after he raped the boss's daughter, who was 6 years old.
1.08 Cara Fitzgerald A priest, Father Michael Shannon, receives plastic surgery to remove incriminating evidence after being accused of molesting ten boys. He deceives the doctors by telling them he wants the birthmark removed in time for his honeymoon.
Dr. Christian Troy has mentioned on several occasions, most notably in episodes 1.08 ("Cara Fitzgerald"), 2.14 ("Trudy Nye"), 3.05 ("Granville Trapp"), and 5.04 ("Dawn Budge II") that he was molested by his foster father as a boy.

Incest

# Episode Name Information
2.13 Oona Wentworth Ava sleeps with her adoptive son, Adrian.
3.06 Frankenlaura Silas Prine has sex with his dead sister.
3.15 Quentin Costa It is revealed that Quentin's 5-alpha-reductase deficiency, is the result of his parents being related.
3.15 Quentin Costa It is revealed that Quentin and Detective Kit McGraw are brother and sister. In episode 3.03, Derek, Alex, and Gary, Christian, Quentin, Kimber, and Detective Kit McGraw participate in a four-way. Quentin and Kit had sexual contact as they were paired off.
4.01 Cindy Plumb Dr. Troy is having sex with a woman and her daughter, also the daughter confesses to have slept with her stepfather.
4.05 Dawn Budge The title patient finds her daughter and husband in bed together, although the husband is not the daughter's biological father.
5.13 August Walden Matt sleeps with a girl, Emmy, who ends up being his own half-sister.

Rape

# Episode Name Information
2.02 Christian Troy Matt's friend Henry rapes Cara Fitzgerald, who both Matt and Henry hit with a car resulting in her disfigurement.
3.05 Granville Trapp Christian's mother reveals that Christian was the product of an intruder rape at the age of 14.
The Carver, a masked serial rapist, was a prominent character in seasons two and three. Rape has therefore been featured in a number of episodes.

Domestic Violence

# Episode Name Information
2.14 Trudy Nye The title patient's husband Stan is released from prison after killing their 5-year-old son. Stan also broke Trudy's nose several times before going to prison, and after leaving prison he breaks it again.
3.03 Derek, Alex, and Gary Sean punches Matt in the face. In episode 3.04, Rhea Reynolds, Matt takes out and ultimately rescinds a restraining order on his father.
3.05 Granville Trapp When Christian meets his mother, he mentions that he was "beaten and molested" by his foster father, implying that his abuse was not only sexual but also physical.

Necrophilia

# Episode Name Information
3.06 Frankenlaura Silas Prine has been preserving body parts from people at the morgue and combining the parts to create a whole corpse. He had also been having sex with his dead sister.

Prison rape

# Episode Name Information
4.10 Merrill Bobolit Merrill Bobolit gets plastic surgery to repair his anus which was torn during his incarceration in prison.

Statutory rape

# Episode Name Information
2.13 Oona Wentworth Ava sleeps with her son Adrian, who was 17 at the time. In episode 2.14, Adrian accuses Ava of sleeping with him for the first time when he was 12.

Zoophilia

# Episode Name Information
4.04 Shari Noble The title patient is found to have had sexual relations with her dog, Rojo.

[edit] Sexual acts

Anal sex

# Episode Name Information
2.16 Joan Rivers Christian was sexually assaulted by The Carver. He initially tells only Sean, but then tells Kit after he is accused of being The Carver in episode 3.05.
3.11 Abby Mays Sean discovers Quentin having anal sex with a patient, a soldier with facial shrapnel wounds. Sean gives the patient two options: claim Quentin forced the act upon him (which would result in Quentin's medical license being revoked), or admit to being a homosexual and be discharged from the army. Quentin beats him to the punch, calling the soldier's superior and informing him of the act.

Oral sex

# Episode Name Information
1.01 Pilot Christian receives oral sex from Kimber.
2.15 Sean McNamara Kimber directs a pornography scene in which "Fantasia" pretends to give a male character oral sex.
3.03 Derek, Alex, and Gary Sean receives, and Quentin pretends to receive, oral sex from college students whom they met at a fraternity party.
3.07 Ben White Christian receives oral sex from Kimber.
4.13 Reefer Sean receives oral sex from one of the elves at the mall where he is playing Santa.
5.04 Dawn Budge II Annie is expelled from her school for performing oral sex on a classmate

Sadism and masochism

# Episode Name Information
1.09 Sophia Lopez, Part II Christian gives his girlfriend Kimber to Merrill in exchange for a Lamborghini. Kimber finds out, ties Christian to his bed, cuts him with a knife, threatens to kill him, and leaves him for his maid to find him a few days later.
3.11 Abby Mays Christian goes to various lengths to humiliate a patient who comes to him for liposuction. He invites her to his apartment and offers to have sex with her only if she'll wear a brown paper bag over her face. She later reveals she enjoyed it, and that she has figured out she's a masochist and that Christian is a sadist.

Pornography

# Episode Name Information
2.10 Kimber Henry Kimber reveals that she is performing in pornographic movies and aspires to be a director.
4.14 Willy Ward Matt tries to spruce up his sex life with Kimber by getting her old friends from the pornography business to film them having sex. The porn tape then gets leaked out through Kimber's friend's website.
5.05 Chaz Darling Matt and Kimber almost do porn to get money for their meth habit

Hypersexuality and swinging

# Episode Name Information
1.05 Kurt Dempsey Christian attends a "Sexaholics Anonymous" meeting for people with a hypersexuality problem.
1.07 Cliff Mantegna Christian and Kimber attend 'The Scene', a sex/swingers party. Here, to make Christian happy, Kimber engages in sexual contact with another girl, as Christian watches on.
5.05 Chaz Darling Sean and Kate attend a party where married couple have black men sleep with their wives, which Kate reveals is one of her fantasies.

Ménage à trois and orgies

# Episode Name Information
1.06 Megan O'Hara Matt has a three way with his ex-girlfriend and her lesbian lover.
2.09 Rose and Raven Rosenberg Christian and Sean have a three way with a woman named Renee who looks very much like Julia.
3.01 Momma Boone Kimber walks in on Kit and Christian having sex, and then joins in, starting a three-way relationship which continues for some time.
3.03 Derek, Alex, and Gary Christian, Quentin, Kimber, and Detective Kit McGraw participate in a four-way.
4.01 Cindy Plumb Christian has sex simultaneously with a mother and daughter.
5.12 Lulu Grandiron Ram Peters has sex with both Kimber and Eden.

Masturbation

# Episode Name Information
2.03 Manya Mabika Sean catches Julia masturbating soon after they have had sex.
2.06 Bobbi Broderick Matt is caught by the police masturbating in public to Ava as she undressed in front of an open window.

[edit] Other

Adultery

# Episode Name Information
1.06 Megan O'Hara Sean begins having an adulterous affair with Megan after Julia miscarries her baby.
4.03 Monica Wilder Sean sleeps with the young woman he was interviewing to be the night nurse for his son.
4.09 Liz Cruz Julia sleeps with Marlowe.
4.12 Diana Lubey The title character is a deceased man's former mistress, who stole his ashes from his wife to implant them in her breasts.

Puberty and menstruating

# Episode Name Information
2.04 Mrs. Grubman Sean and Julia have to deal with Annie getting her first period.

Lesbianism

# Episode Name Information
Liz Cruz, a regular character on the show, is an open lesbian.
Season 5 Julia reveals she is involved in a lesbian relationship with Olivia.

Bisexuality

# Episode Name Information
1.07 Cliff Mantegna Kimber engages in sexual contact with another girl at a swingers party.
3.01 Momma Boone Kimber and Kit engage in sexual contact as Christian watches on.
3.03 Derek, Alex, and Gary Quentin is revealed to be bisexual.
4.11 Conor McNamara, 2026 In the future, Annie begins dating an African-American bisexual.

Transsexualism

# Episode Name Information
1.04 Sophia Lopez The title character wants to become a woman.
During season 2, Matt dates and sleeps with Ava, who is (unbeknownst to Matt) a transsexual woman.
During season 3, Matt meets a transsexual woman, Cherry Peck, who he beats up, and later befriends.

Intersexuality

# Episode Name Information
3.15 Quentin Costa It is revealed that Quentin has a condition known as 5-alpha-reductase deficiency, the result of his parents being related. This effectively means he has no penis.

Gay for pay

# Episode Name Information
4.02 Blu Mondae A patient of McNamara/Troy tells Christian he claims to be a homosexual only for money he is given in return.
5.05 Chaz Darling Matt almost does gay porn to get money for Kimber's meth habit

[edit] Personal issues

[edit] Illegal behavior

Drug smuggling

# Episode Name Information
1.01 Pilot Christian gives a Colombian drug lord's right hand man a new face.

Drug use

# Episode Name Information
1.01 Pilot Christian snorts cocaine off Kimber's back
1.12 Antonia Ramos Kimber is a cocaine addict while living with Merrill Bobolit.
2.04 Mrs Grubman It is revealed that Kimber is still a cocaine addict, and Christian repairs the hole in her septum.
2.12 Oona Wentworth Merrill Bobolit is addicted to anesthesia and is performing surgery while high.
3.09 Hannah Tedesco Quentin performs a facial transplant while high on cocaine.
Season 5 Matt and Kimber develop a meth habit

Suicide

# Episode Name Information
1.03 Nanette Babcock Nanette kills herself after Sean and Christian choose not to operate on her.
1.10 Adelle Coffin Megan commits suicide by consuming large quantities of pills with a glass of milk.
2.16 Joan Rivers Adrian Moore commits suicide before his mother, Ava Moore, leaves for Paris.
4.14 Willy Ward James commits suicide by shooting herself in the head following an intense confrontation with Michelle Landau.
5.08 Duke Collins Rachel Ben Natan, Matt's burn rehabilitation counselor, is the survivor of a suicide bombing attack in Israel.

Car accidents

# Episode Name Information
1.08 Cara Fitzgerald Matt and his friend Henry hit Cara with Henry's car while driving under the influence of marijuana and then quickly leave the scene of the accident.
2.04 Joel Gideon Sean is involved in a car accident and is hospitalized.
4.06 Faith Wolper, Ph.D Monica Wilder is hit by a bus while arguing with Sean.

Negligent homicide

# Episode Name Information
4.09 Liz Cruz Michelle stands by and watches as her husband Burt dies while he is trying to get to his heart medication.

[edit] Self-image

Aging

# Episode Name Information
1.01 Pilot Christian gives Botox to a series of women.
2.01 Erica Noughton Christian gives Sean Botox for his 40th birthday. The doctors then perform reconstructive surgery on another patient's face, which was disfigured after her friend shot her when they attempted mutual homicide because they were afraid of aging.
3.04 Rhea Reynolds An elderly woman has plastic surgery performed on her face to make her more closely resemble a younger version of herself so that her Alzheimer's-stricken husband will recognize her.

Twins

# Episode Name Information
1.02 Mandi/Randi The title characters are identical twins who want to look different. After their surgery Randi is emotionally scarred because she thinks she is uglier than her sister.

Obesity

# Episode Name Information
1.03 Nanette Babcock Nanette wants Sean and Christian to perform liposuction on her so she can look skinny for her 10 year high school reunion.
3.01 Momma Boone The title character is morbidly obese and has become fused with a couch she has been sitting in for years. Sean and Christian are commissioned to surgically remove her from the couch.

Self-mutilation

# Episode Name Information
1.02 Mandi/Randi Matt attempts to circumcise himself using a guide he found on the Internet. He passes out because of the pain, and Sean has to surgically complete the circumcision.
3.04 Rhea Reynolds The episode ends with Sean cutting his arm with a large kitchen knife, reflecting an episode sub-theme of expressing emotional pain through physical pain.

[edit] Family issues

Divorce and separation

# Episode Name Information
1.01 Pilot Sean leaves Julia during his mid-life crisis, and moves into his own apartment. They later reconcile.
2.08 Agatha Ripp Sean discovers that Christian is Matt's father and he kicks Julia out of the house.
3.03 Derek, Alex, and Gary A conversation between Sean and Christian reveal that Sean and Julia got a divorce in between episodes.
4.11 Conor McNamara 2026 Julia leaves Sean again, taking Annie and Conor with her to New York City.

Abortion and miscarriage

# Episode Name Information
1.05 Kurt Dempsey Julia miscarries her baby after not following the doctor's orders to remain bed-ridden for nine months.
2.08 Agatha Ripp Liz, who was artificially inseminated by Christian, aborts her baby because she thought it would have health issues.
3.13 Joy Kringle Julia discovers she is once again pregnant. She and Sean go to an abortion clinic together, but both change their mind at the last minute.
4.11 Conor McNamara, 2026 In the future, Sean's daughter, Annie, announces over dinner that she recently had an abortion.

[edit] Other

Christian Science

# Episode Name Information
1.08 Cara Fitzgerald Cara's mother believes that her daughter can be healed by praying. Sean obtains medical custody of Cara and saves her life since praying was not helping her.

Racism and white supremacy

# Episode Name Information
3.10 Madison Berg Matt becomes involved with Ariel, a white supremacist.
3.11 Abby Mays It is suggested that Ariel was involved in a case of vandalization that involved spraypainting a swastika on a Jewish student's locker.

Scientology

# Episode Name Information
4.02 Blu Mondae Matt becomes involved with Scientology after being introduced to it by Kimber. He subsequently quits attending therapy sessions with his psychiatrist.

Extortion

# Episode Name Information
4.05 Dawn Budge James threatens to reveal Christian and Michelle's affair to Burt Landau unless she is paid $100,000 each week by Christian.

Bum Fights

# Episode Name Information
4.13 Reefer The homeless man outside Sean's office reveals he has been injured while being paid to fight.

Alien Abduction

# Episode Name Information
5.07 Dr. Joshua Lee A man claiming to have discover proofs of extra-terrestrial life-forms comes to the McNamara/Troy to have a tracking chip removed. His daughter comes to pick him up but he says his daughter is fat. Thinking he has Alzheimer, the doctors allow her to take him, only for his true fat daughter to later come looking for him making Sean and Christian wonder what just happened.

[edit] Diseases

[edit] Mental disorders

Multiple personality disorder

# Episode Name Information
1.11 Montana / Sassy / Justice The title characters are contained within one person. Sean and Christian must perform surgery to appease certain personalities in order to prevent the more disruptive personalities from appearing.

Apotemnophilia

# Episode Name Information
3.07 Ben White The title character asks Christian and Quentin to perform a cosmetic amputation on his leg. When they eventually turn him down, he shoots himself in the foot so that amputation of the leg will become necessary.

Munchausen syndrome

# Episode Name Information
3.04 Rhea Reynolds The title character comes to McNamara/Troy claiming to be a victim of The Carver. She is later revealed to be a fraud by Christian and admits she was seeking attention. She eventually becomes a genuine Carver victim, as well as his first known murder.

Stockholm syndrome

# Episode Name Information
3.14 Cherry Peck Kimber is found after having been held captive and tortured by The Carver. When she begins to seemingly agree with her attacker's views on beauty (and, by extension, his justification for attacking her), Christian speculates that she's suffering from Stockholm syndrome, which causes hostages to sympathize with their captors.

[edit] Physical disorders

Stigmata

# Episode Name Information
2.08 Agatha Ripp Agatha comes to Sean and Christian with a case of stigmata. She eventually confesses that the stigmata was inflicted by a nun at the church.

Breast cancer

# Episode Name Information
1.06 Megan O'Hara Megan had both of her breasts removed due to cancer. Sean reconstructs them.

HIV and AIDS

# Episode Name Information
2.15 Sean McNamara Gina tells Christian that she is HIV positive. Christian then calls all of the women he had slept with since Gina and tells them to get tested.
3.05 Granville Trapp A patient with AIDS comes in wanting reconstructive surgery on his face so he can start dating again.

Down syndrome

# Episode Name Information
3.08 Tommy Bolton The title character, a boy with Down syndrome, requests a plastic surgery so that he can look more like the other members of his family.

Lithokelyphopedion

# Episode Name Information
3.13 Joy Kringle The doctors find a dead fetus inside of Joy's body cavity while performing lipsuction.

Ectrodactyly

# Episode Name Information
4.01 Cindy Plumb Sean and Julia discover that their unborn child has "lobster claw syndrome" or ectrodactyly.

Lung Cancer

# Episode Name Information
4.08 Conor McNamara Mrs. Grubman dies of lung cancer.

Cleft palate

# Episode Name Information
4.08 Conor McNamara Flashbacks reveal Sean was born with a cleft palate which was corrected at age 8.

[edit] See also

v • d • e
Nip/Tuck
Main characters
Minor characters
Antagonists
Other
List of Nip/Tuck episodes • Issues addressed in Nip/Tuck