Nip/Tuck/Thoughts: Death Wish

Well, that wasn’t exactly a shocker.

(And, no, I am NOT talking about the fact that I once again fell behind on my “Nip/Tuck”-watching. I considered blending the last two episodes into one column, but then I remembered that one of my favorite guilty pleasures only has a handful of episodes left. Each episode deserves its own recap, damnit!)

What I am talking about is that I’m not exactly surprised that, with the finish line in sight, “Nip/Tuck” bumped off one of its original cast members.

It’s also not exactly shocking that Kimber (pictured, left) was the one to go.

Ever since we met her in the pilot episode (and Christian broke her down by marking her body’s imperfections with Christian) she’s been on a slow, seven-season descent into total depression and brutal emotional abuse, mostly from the only man she really loved. I was sad to see her jump feet first into the Pacific off the back of Mike Hamoui’s boat, but I wasn’t really surprised.

At least Kelly Carlson went out on a high note. For the past season or so, Carlson has been as good as anybody else in the cast, making Kimber’s tragic end all the more heartbreaking. Obviously, Kimber wasn’t perfect, but with Christian being an asshole so much of the time, and Sean being a class-A moron so much of the time, it could be argued that Kimber was the heart of the show.

That’s saying something for someone who, when this episode started, was still in the midst of having an affair with her husband’s best friend. Christian finally got hip to how disinterested Kimber was acting and decided to try to spice up their sex life with some auto-erotic asphyxiation tips he picked up from a freaky-deaky patient.

Except that Christian removed the “auto” part and decided it’d be a good idea to choke Kimber while they were having sex, resulting in one of the show’s more disturbing sex scenes. (And that’s saying A LOT!) Nice work here by Julian McMahon and Carlson. When Kimber refused to return the favor and Christian later caught her faking an orgasm, Christian decided to insert the “auto” part back in and nearly died after hanging himself from his shower. (Did we learn nothing from David Carradine, people?!)

Kimber came home and saved him, but Christian had experienced a moment of clarity – he could never love Kimber. She sought solace with Sean, who was still acting angry and pissy and misguidedly lashed out at Kimber, who just needed a shoulder to cry on. (If you want to go to Africa with Curtis and do good work, that’s fine – just be a man and tell Christian to his face! Too often, Sean acts like a completely malleable chump. I see where Matt gets it from.)

Anyway, Kimber’s last ditch effort to find companionship took her to Mike, who apparently only welcomed her back so he could humiliate her (and because he needed a barmaid). That lead to Kimber’s fatal jump from the back of Mike’s boat. I get that we’re supposed to believe Kimber didn’t have anything left to live for, but what about her daughter Jenna?! If you needed even more proof that kids (Jenna, Wilbur and Conor McNamara) are a COMPLETE non-factor on this show, this is it!

The way the jump was filmed was very effective and kinda beautiful, thanks to actor Tate Donovan (“Damages”), who directed this episode. He’d filmed Patient of the Week Joel Seabrook’s jump from the Golden Gate Bridge in a similar way, creating a nice bookend to the episode. (Seabrook’s jump and newfound zeal for life was what had inspired Sean.)

So what’d you think of this episode? What’s your all-time favorite Kimber moment? (Kimber doll!) Finally, if you were going to hang yourself for pleasure, would you use a belt or a scarf? (Hypothetically speaking, of course.)