Nip/Tuck Wiki
Nip/Tuck Wiki
L.A.'s newest implants.
818
pages
in: Episodes, Season 5 Episodes

"Roxy St. James"

Sign in to edit

"Roxy St. James" is the seventeenth episode in the fifth season of the FX medical drama Nip/Tuck. It originally aired on January 27 in 2009.

Synopsis[]

Sean tries to get to grips with his feelings for Julia, as he prepares to operate on Olivia, Liz and Christian analyse their relationship after having an intimate encounter, and Christian meets someone who is familiar with his emotions as he attends a breast cancer support group.

Plot[]

Christian and Sean are in a consult with a familiar face - Candy Richards. Sporting a more urban look, she refers to herself as "Coco", and claims to be African American after taking a DNA test. To help her look the part, she wants butt implants. Sean initially rejects the operation out of racial insensitivity, but sets her up for Thursday.

During lunch, Sean hands Christian a pamphlet for a breast cancer support group. Christian rejects the offer. Liz enters the break room, and tensions rise. Angrily, she admits to Christian that her orgasm was real and the identity crisis resulting from it. Indifferent, Christian suggests they sleep together again. Liz suggests that Christian's callousness will cause him to die alone.

Meanwhile, Sean is consulting Olivia on a facelift with Julia. Concerned the stress of the past few months has aged her, Olivia wants to look the way she did when she and Julia first met - much to Julia's disapproval. Eventually, Olivia reveals that she, Julia, and the kids will be moving back to New York in three weeks. Enraged, Sean storms to the lobby to interrogate Julia. He admits he still loves her, and a flustered Julia storms off. Returning to the lobby, Olivia asks Sean if he can still schedule the surgery.

Elsewhere, Christian attends the support group. He is met with contempt after suggesting the other patients take control of their lives by getting reconstructive surgery. It is there he meets Roxy St. James, a seductive, chain-smoking woman who was attending the group to better understand her mother's cancer diagnosis. Intrigued by Christian's spiel, the two relocate and have sex. Afterward, Roxy reveals her intent to have a double mastectomy, to reduce her risk of cancer. She asks Christian to perform the operation.

The following day, Christian begins operating on Coco. Interspersed through the surgery is the music video for "Yo Stank", a track from Coco's demo tape. Sean meets with Olivia to prepare for the operation, where he announces his plans to visit the kids in New York on weekends. Olivia realizes Sean's true intentions, and begs for him to let Julia go. He refuses, and Olivia expresses concern over his ability to perform the facelift. He coldly reassures her that his personal and work lives never interfere. Shortly after, Olivia looks at her marked-up face in the mirror, disturbed by a vision of her dead self.

Christian and Liz begin to operate on Roxy, and Liz questions his motives for the surgery - arguing that he believes operating on Roxy will reduce fears about his own diagnosis. Lying in recovery, Roxy finds her breasts are still there. Christian explains his reluctance, citing that Roxy is choosing the surgery out of fear. Distressed, she begins to cry. Later on, Christian begins to smoke a bong of medical marijuana in the break room - soon Liz joins in. She reveals she's going on a date with a man - Steven Roxbury, a fellow anesthesiologist.

The next day, Sean begins his work on Olivia with Liz. While operating, Sean is tormented by a phantom Olivia. She goads him about Julia, and the opportunity to kill her - although he lacks the willpower. Eventually, Sean snaps back to reality after Olivia enters cardiac arrest. Later, Christian comforts an anxious Liz while Sean and Julia are at the hospital. Meanwhile, Roxy enters the waiting room and begins preparations for her revenge - removing her breasts with a buzz saw in front of the waiting room. Hearing the chaos outside, Liz and Christian rush to the lobby.

At the hospital, Julia accosts Sean for his carelessness with Olivia. The doctor returns, only to announce that Olivia has died. Overcome by emotion, Julia lashes out at Sean, stating she will never forgive him. Later on, Liz and Christian begin to remove Roxy's other breast. Sean interrupts the surgery to deliver the bad news. Afterward, Christian assures Sean that Olivia's death was not his fault. Sean muses that his destiny is to be alone, although Christian says that is his fate. Liz returns with the results of Olivia's toxicology report: her cardiac arrest was caused by mixing anesthetic with anti-depressants - a prescription she neglected to disclose.

Sean later tells Julia, in disbelief over the news. Despite Olivia's death, Julia still intends to move back to New York with her partner's ashes. A disgruntled Eden crashes the meeting, and states she is taking her mother back with her. After accusing Sean of killing Olivia, Eden is told about the true cause of her mom's death. Eden reveals she already knew of the prescription, and claims Julia's presence forced Olivia to seek treatment. She then claims that it was Olivia who shot Julia after mixing medication and alcohol. Eden continues to gaslight Julia, asserting she left for Europe after finding out about the incident. Feigning tears, Eden decides to let Julia have the ashes, since she was able to "forgive" Olivia after what "she" had done. Throwing the ashes onto Sean and Julia, Eden storms out.

At the same time, Liz is babysitting Wilber. After putting him to bed, Liz expresses to Christian concern over her increased presence in the house is inappropriate, given that she isn't Christian's significant other. Christian remarks that he considers her to be something like that, and Liz confesses she had to fake her orgasm with Steven. She doesn't like men, but she likes Christian. Despite his arrogance, Liz understands Christian at his core. Christian reveals that he feels the same way, and he considers Liz the only woman he trusts. The two hold hands and go to Christian's bedroom.

Cast[]

Starring[]

Guest Starring[]

Co-Starring[]

Music[]

  • Save A Prayer by Duran Duran
  • Yo Stank performed by Jennifer Coolidge
  • Piece of My Heart by The Move
  • One by The Tao of Groove

Trivia[]

  • This episode had the production code 3T6417.
  • The episode had 2.68 million U.S. viewers upon release.

Gallery[]

Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.