"Gala Gallardo" is the fifteenth and final episode in the fourth season of the FX medical drama Nip/Tuck. It originally aired on December 12, in 2006.
Synopsis[]
Sean considers selling his shares of the practice to Christian and Michelle, although Michelle's past starts to threaten her future with Christian. Meanwhile, Escobar's wife needs cosmetic surgery.
Plot[]
As Sean and Christian finish packing up Sean’s house, the new occupants are burning sage throughout the property, in order to cleanse the air of bad vibes. Christian tells Sean it’s ridiculous that they are packing up the house when Sean doesn’t know where he’s going. Sean tells Christian he’s moving to Los Angeles. Christian gives Sean a check from him and Michelle, officially buying Sean out of the business. The couple who have bought the house leave, saying they’ll be back in an hour as the ‘handyman’ said they were disturbing him in the master bedroom. Sean and Christian go to see who is there: it’s Escobar. He needs them.
Sean and Christian remove blindfolds to find themselves at Escobar’s house. He has asked them to come ‘for a consult’. A beautiful woman at the table introduces herself as Gala Gallardo, Escobar’s wife. Her breasts have been horribly mutilated in a revenge attack against Escobar and Escobar wants Sean and Christian to repair the damage, offering them two hundred and fifty thousand dollars to do the surgery, which cannot be done in Colombia due to the fact they are hated there. When Sean refuses to get involved again, Escobar grabs him by the throat, but Gala tells him to take Christian and Sean back home.
As Michelle heads to her car, she sees one of Escobar’s men waiting for her. In the car, she and Escobar talk. He gives her the orders for that night’s kidney harvesting, but she refuses to do it. He grabs her violently by the hair and reminds her that he is less polite than James was and there are no second chances with him. Michelle says he’ll have to kill her instead, as she won’t do that any more. He lets her go and reminds her of their deal of him putting her through medical school for four years of service afterwards. He then mentions Gala and her mutilated breasts and asks Michelle to convince Christian to do the surgery. If he does it, Escobar will consider them to be even. Michelle says she won’t need to involve Christian: she has a better idea.
As Sean prepares for his final surgery, Michelle joins him in the operating room, telling him that she wants to watch and soak up his expertise. As he does the surgery- a breast reconstruction- Michelle takes notes and asks a lot of questions. Sean gets suspicious and calls her on it. Michelle tells him that she’s planning on going back to medical school and train to be a plastic surgeon.
After the surgery, Sean tries to take the coffee machine but Christian stops him. The two of them bicker over the machine and Sean tells Christian about Michelle’s plans to return to medical school. This seems to be news to Christian, and Sean suggests that they may be other things she hasn’t told him. Christian flies off the handle and suggests that Sean has just misinterpreted things.
At home, Christian confronts Michelle about going back to medical school. She tells him it was only something she was considering and that it wasn’t definite. Christian asks if there is anything else she’s keeping from him and she tells him there isn’t anything. He says they have to be able to trust one another. Michelle’s cell-phone starts to ring. The look on Christian’s face suggests he think she’s escorting again. She answers the phone, then tells Christian that she has to go and inspect a factory that has had the alarms go off. She asks if he wants to go with her to check she’s telling the truth but he says no. She leaves.
At McNamara/Troy, Michelle goes in to surgery to find Gala prepped and waiting for her breast reconstruction. Gala asks Michelle how many she’s done and Michelle bluffs an answer. The girl acting as anesthesiologist puts Gala under and Michelle prepares to do the surgery, but the girl notices Michelle’s hand shaking. As she is about to make the first incision, Christian comes into the room and asks her ‘what the hell are you doing?’
A furious Christian asks Michelle to tell him the truth about the situation. She explains that Escobar came to her and told her that, if they didn’t do Gala’s operation, he would make them pay. She explains that James worked for Escobar and tells Christian about the organ-trafficking ring (neglecting to mention her part in the illegal surgeries) and admits that the stealing of Liz’s kidney was ‘a punishment’ from James for Michelle not helping her. She says that she never lied about loving him then asks what Escobar has on him. Christian knocks the question aside, telling her that he doesn’t ask how anyone who wants a procedure is going to pay for it. As he leaves, Michelle begs him to help her.
Christian and Sean scrub up for the operation. Christian thanks Sean for helping with the operation, but Sean tells Christian he doesn’t agree with him being with Michelle. Christian says that this surgery will make everything right and put the past behind them, but Sean is still concerned that Michelle will keep lying. As Liz enters, Christian makes a usual disparaging remark to her but she makes it clear that she is only at the surgery because Gala has been brutalized worse than she was. When Christian suggests he can get another anesthesiologist, Liz tells him it might not be such a bad idea, as she won’t be working with them much longer if this is how things will continue. Sean asks how they’re going to get this past the authorities and Christian tells him that Michelle has already got rid of the FBI agents and the cameras. So with no protection against the psychotic killer in their office, they head in to perform the surgery.
In the operating room, Gala is lying on the table with Escobar and his henchmen close by. Escobar makes a comment to Liz about where her stolen kidney ended up. Liz gets ready to walk out until Gala tells Escobar to apologise to Liz or he won’t get to touch her once the surgery is done. Escobar duly apologises and the surgery proceeds. At one point, Sean looks up to see Michelle, scrubbed up, watching them work. He decides to walk out and is stopped by Escobar, but he tells them that ‘Dr Troy’s new partner’ will finish off. Sean watches for a moment as Michelle joins them in the theatre then leaves
Sean goes to visit Matt. Whilst Kimber is getting dressed, father and son have a little chat and Sean gives Matt a check to help set up a nest-egg for his new family. Sean asks Matt how married life is and receives a half-hearted reply. Sean tells him that he doesn’t have to stay with Kimber, and Matt admits that he thinks Christian was right: that Kimber was still in love with him and married Matt to try and get back at him. Matt gets very upset and Sean hugs him, telling him that sometimes it’s better for parents to be apart, acknowledging that he and Julia put Matt and Annie through so much with their constant arguing. Sean gets ready to leave and Matt asks him if he’ll be back for the birth. When Kimber comes through, Matt goes to change, and Sean tells Kimber to try a little harder to love his son.
At McNamara/Troy, Gala is recovering from her surgery and Liz is attending to her. Gala thanks Liz for not killing her because she knows that Liz wants to get back at Escobar for everything he’s done to her. Liz agrees with that and then asks Gala why she married Escobar in the first place. Gala tells Liz that Escobar was quiet and soft-spoken but that he is also weak and, with the money and the drugs, he soon became a monster. When Liz points out that by being married to him and running his business could make her Mrs. Monster, Gala says that she is a practical woman and wants to keep her children safe. Before Liz leaves, she thanks Gala for making her feel blessed that she can be free, whilst Gala will still be stuck in a living hell.
Michelle and Christian are in bed together, having sex. During it, Christian asks Michelle if she had anything to do with stealing people’s kidneys and she says no. She asks him why Escobar came to McNamara/Troy to have his face fixed. Christian tells her he’d already told her the truth. As they lie side by side after, Michelle says that she’ll be staying home to look after Wilbur the next day.
At McNamara/Troy, Escobar and his henchmen are in the waiting room. Christian tells Escobar that they’re ready. Escobar tells the henchmen to stay there whilst he goes in to see his wife’s newly reconstructed breasts. In the recovery room, Escobar asks that he be allowed to finish taking the bandages off Gala. As he does so, Liz points a gun at him and is ready to kill him. Whilst Escobar taunts her, Christian, Sean and Gala implore her to put the gun down. In tears, she hands the gun to Gala who promptly shoots Escobar in the head herself. His henchmen run into the room, but Gala tells them to go and get her car. She gets dressed and gets ready to leave, saying that the death of Escobar is payment for her surgery. Sean tells her to take the body with her, but she says it would be too much trouble to get through customs and leaves it there. Gala leaves and Liz and Sean begin arguing about what to do next, with Sean suggesting they need to get rid of the body. Christian says he knows a place. Liz, Sean and Christian are at a supermarket, buying twine and loads of hams. Out in the swamps, they tie the hams to Escobar’s body and leave him for the alligators. Liz asks if this was what they did to Silvio’s body and Christian agrees. After that, they clean the trunk of the car to remove any evidence. Liz tells Christian she’s going to need a raise after this. A big raise.
At the Encino Plastic Surgery Clinic of America in Los Angeles, Sean has his interview. The interviewing surgeon states that the clinic’s clientele is mainly breast enlargements, Botox shots and liposuction, fairly low-pressure stuff that suits Sean just fine. Sean tells the surgeon that, after spending the better part of his life trying to change people and failing, that it is time for him to change. The interviewing surgeon welcomes Sean to California and also to the practice. A musical montage follows, with each of the characters lip-synching to ‘Brighter Discontent’ by the Submarines. This is not the standard use of music in the show; each character is singing lines relevant to their own character. For instance, Sean has moved, so has the opening line ‘got a brand new roof above my head’; Michelle sings the line ‘I think I might know what I really want’ and Matt sings the line about ‘a breaking heart in an empty apartment’. Each line or chorus of the song is attributed to a character to show his or her inner feelings or emotions.
At the Los Angeles clinic, Sean is performing an eye operation with an inexperienced and nervous third-year intern. Christian interrupts the surgery, sending the intern off with his Lamborghini, and assisting Sean. Christian says he’s on vacation with Wilber, but is going to move out to Hollywood. Sean asks if he’s moving out with Michelle but Christian says that she bought him out of the business in Florida and that, whilst he loves her, he can’t trust her. It seems that the only person he can trust absolutely is Sean. Christian is looking for a partner and asks Sean if he’s interested, but it would have to be somewhere more glamorous than Encino. Sean refuses; unless he can pick the carpet and keep his first billing. Christian says that something can be arranged. At the end of the episode, Christian and Sean can be seen standing by the famous Hollywood sign, overlooking the Los Angeles skyline.
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Dylan Walsh as Dr. Sean McNamara
- Julian McMahon as Dr. Christian Troy
- John Hensley as Matt McNamara
- Roma Maffia as Dr. Liz Cruz
- Kelly Carlson as Kimber Henry
- Joely Richardson as Julia McNamara credit only
Guest Starring[]
- Sanaa Lathan as Michelle Landau
- Robert LaSardo as Escobar Gallardo
- Idalis DeLeon as Gala Gallardo
- Jack Yang as Chiyo
- Charles Shen as Hanae
- Scarlett Chorvat as Natalie
- Aaron Lustig as Plastic Surgeon
- Danny Strong as Bart
Co-Starring[]
- John Antonini as Young Husband
- Linda Klein as Nurse Linda
- Stacey Scowley as Blonde Wife
Uncredited[]
- Emily Lape as Store Clerk
Music[]
- The Good Night by The Submarines (Michelle taking notes while Sean performs surgery)
- Modern Inventions by The Submarines (Sean and Christian's surgery on Gala Gallardo's breasts)
- An Ending (Ascent) by Brian Eno (Sean giving money to Matt)
- We Drift Apart by Harts Asleep (Plays shortly during Sean visit to Matt and Kimber)
- I'll Take You There by The Staple Singers
- Brighter Discontent by The Submarines (Sean eating TV dinner in his new place and a montage of all the characters)
- Hollywood Swinging by Kool & The Gang (Sean and Christian near the Hollywood sign at the end montage)
Trivia[]
- This episode had the production code 3T5015.
- The episode had 3.38 million U.S. viewers upon release.
Gallery[]
