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The Best Episodes of Nip/Tuck

Every episode of Nip/Tuck ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Nip/Tuck!

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Hotshot plastic surgeons Dr. Sean McNamara and Dr. Christian Troy experience full-blown midlife crises as they confront career, family and romance problems.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    Nip/Tuck Season 2 Episode 16 - Joan Rivers
    8.9/10(613 votes)

    #1 - Joan Rivers

    S2:E16

    Joan Rivers consults with Sean and Christian to have all of her plastic surgeries undone, because she wants her grandson Cooper to learn that you don't have to be perfect. When she ultimately learns what she will turn out like after the work has been finished, she decides to give up on her original plan and asks the doctors to schedule her for a facelift the next morning. Matt is concerned about Ava, who seems obviously depressed. He suggests they go away to Paris and start a new life together, which she reluctantly accepts after some convincing. Matt goes to McNamara-Troy to steal drugs for her to take with them. Christian finds him, and gets upset when he learns Matt is going to Paris. Christian goes to have a talk with Ava, and when trying to make a point using sex, he learns that Ava is really a transsexual. Julia, Sean, and Christian spend the night researching, and trace their way to Maryland and a Gender Reassignment center.

    Director:Ryan Murphy
    Writer:Ryan Murphy

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  2. Nip/Tuck Season 1 Episode 13 - Escobar Gallardo
    8.8/10(614 votes)

    #2 - Escobar Gallardo

    S1:E13

    Christian learns that Kimber and Merril are engaged. Escobar continues to have the surgeons do things for him. Liz is sent to Bermuda after being shot in the leg by one of Escobar's people. Sean goes to kill Escobar. Escobar makes a deal with Sean; a new face for their freedom. Christian learns, in the delivery room, that he is not the father of Gina's baby. Julia returns to get the paternity test she had done a while ago. The doctors do surgery on Escobar, and give him the face of a criminal even higher than Gallardo on the Most Wanted List - Armand Ortiz. Ortiz is arrested at the airport for bank robbing and killing a federal agent.

    Director:Ryan Murphy
    Writer:Ryan Murphy

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  3. Nip/Tuck Season 2 Episode 9 - Rose & Raven Rosenberg
    8.7/10(535 votes)

    #3 - Rose & Raven Rosenberg

    S2:E9

    Sean and Christian face the challenge of separating conjoined twins. The challenge is more complicated when Sean has difficulties working with Christian after learning the truth about Matt. Their constant bickering has been causing them to lose clients.

    Director:Elodie Keene
    Writers:Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy

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  4. Nip/Tuck Season 1 Episode 10 - Adelle Coffin
    8.5/10(570 votes)

    #4 - Adelle Coffin

    S1:E10

    Sean and Christian learn that they have to take a test in order to continue practicing. Sean and Megan visit a doctor to learn that there is nothing they can do for her. Mrs. Grubman returns to get an operation on her and her fiancé. Christian passes his test, but Sean walks out. Megan commits suicide. Julia finds out about Sean's affair with Megan.

    Director:Michael M. Robin
    Writers:Ryan Murphy, Dell Chandler

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  5. Nip/Tuck Season 2 Episode 7 - Naomi Gaines
    8.5/10(469 votes)

    #5 - Naomi Gaines

    S2:E7

    When local model Naomi Gaines is raped & disfigured by an attacker named "The Carver", Sean decides to repair her injuries on a pro-bono basis, thrusting McNamara/Troy into the local media spotlight, trying to overcome the slander caused by Bobbie Broderick. After getting caught sneaking into the house late at night, Matt lies by telling his parents he was studying with Ava's son Adrian. Adrian is forced to play along with the subject when Julia invites them all to dinner. Adrian reveals Matt & Ava's relationship, causing Julia to lash out at Ava & Matt. When Matt becomes uncomfortable with his increasingly demanding relationship with Ava, she reveals to him the secret that his mother is keeping from him.

    Director:Craig Zisk
    Writer:Sean Jablonski

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  6. Nip/Tuck Season 1 Episode 1 - Pilot
    8.4/10(920 votes)

    #6 - Pilot

    S1:E1

    Old friends Sean (the family man) and Christian (the playboy) are partners in a plastic surgery office. Their relationship is under fire after Christian operates on a Colombian drug lord who pays him in drug money. Sean's family life is also in upheaval, and he is headed for a mid-life crisis.

    Director:Ryan Murphy
    Writer:Ryan Murphy

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of Nip/Tuck

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  7. Nip/Tuck Season 2 Episode 8 - Agatha Ripp
    8.4/10(503 votes)

    #7 - Agatha Ripp

    S2:E8

    A patient named Agatha Ripp comes in to McNamara/Troy. She reveals to Sean & Christian that she had a stigmata, but she says that it was a lie she said to the church so they would accept her, and that she really cut herself. People of the town turn to Agatha for blessing and renewed faith, despite claiming to be a fraud. When a "stigmata" appears on her legs, the doctors do a blood test to learn that it is not her blood. Meanwhile, Julia is experiencing shingles, which Sean attributes to guilt or pressure, and associates it with the Matt-Ava relationship. She breaks the news to Sean that the reason she is under so much stress - he is not Matt's father. Sean goes insane and aggressively hurts Julia. He rampages into the office where he beats Christian to the ground. He turns to the church, where he meets Agatha. She reveals everything was fake, and that a sister from the church snuck in and punctured her, and left her own blood so the church would not cut her program. Meanwhile, Liz reveals she is pregnant, but shuts Christian out, who wants to care for the baby. She experiences bruising and spotting, causing her to worry about 'the unknown'. Despite being impacted by Agatha, Liz has an abortion without telling Christian, who is upset that she got rid of the baby because she felt it would be handicapped.

    Director:Michael M. Robin
    Writer:Ryan Murphy

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  8. Nip/Tuck Season 3 Episode 5 - Granville Trapp
    8.4/10(455 votes)

    #8 - Granville Trapp

    S3:E5

    Rhea Reynolds is found dead (apparently murdered by the carver). Christian is the prime suspect. A man with a very hollow face (caused by the HIV medication that he's taking) is this episode's patient.

    Director:Jeremy Podeswa
    Writer:Sean Jablonski

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  9. Nip/Tuck Season 3 Episode 15 - Quentin Costa
    8.4/10(540 votes)

    #9 - Quentin Costa

    S3:E15

    The Carver strikes at a sorority house. His identity is revealed. Ariel's dad kidnaps Matt and Cherry. Ariel's dad forces Matt to make a life threatening decision, while the carver tries desperately to get his last minute revenge. Julia discovers that there might be something wrong with her baby.

    Director:Ryan Murphy
    Writer:Ryan Murphy

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  10. Nip/Tuck Season 2 Episode 15 - Sean McNamara
    8.3/10(434 votes)

    #10 - Sean McNamara

    S2:E15

    Beauty is a curse on the world. It keeps us from seeing who the real monsters are. Another victim of the Carver shows up to have his face fixed - this time it is a male, who was both raped and carved. They agree to fix him. A local news station does an interview with Sean about the pro bono work on Carver victims. The Carver finds his way into Sean's home. After Sean gets out of the shower, the Carver drugs him up and has a conversation with him. He slices his right cheek, and tells him that if he fixes another one of his "masterpieces", he is going to kill him. Julia helps him recover, and Sean tries to win her back - but she reminds him that she is happy with Kevin. Meanwhile, Gina tells Christian that she is HIV positive, meaning that Christian may be also. He calls his past lovers, including Manya, Erica, and Grace. He visits Kimber on the set of a porn movie, which she is directing. She tells him that she got tested quite recently because she's in the business, and that she's clean, which slightly relieves Christian. He has one more call to make - James and Wilbur (now known as Gabriel). They both come to visit, and Christian becomes very emotional. Christian's tests come back negative, and he visits Gina in the hospital with the good news. He lies down next to her in her hospital bed after a heartwarming conversation, and they fall asleep together.

    Director:Michael M. Robin
    Writer:Brad Falchuk

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  11. Nip/Tuck Season 3 Episode 14 - Cherry Peck
    8.3/10(413 votes)

    #11 - Cherry Peck

    S3:E14

    Christian finds out that Kimber didn't ditch him at the altar but was abducted by the carver. Quentin is a Carver suspect. Julia has bad dreams about her pregnancy. Sean is threatened into doing pro bono work on the transgender woman who was beat up by Matt.

    Director:Craig Zisk
    Writers:Brad Falchuk, Hank Chilton

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  12. Nip/Tuck Season 1 Episode 8 - Cara Fitzgerald
    8.2/10(544 votes)

    #12 - Cara Fitzgerald

    S1:E8

    Matt accidentally hits Cara with Henry's car, and calls Sean in to help when Cara's mother, for religious reasons, refuses drugs and surgery to treat her injuries. Christian discovers that a patient used plastic surgery to hide a revolting crime and it brings up terrible memories of his own childhood.

    Director:Jamie Babbit
    Writer:Ryan Murphy

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  13. Nip/Tuck Season 2 Episode 12 - Julia McNamara
    8.2/10(575 votes)

    #13 - Julia McNamara

    S2:E12

    After Julia's accident in the previous episode, Julia turns to Sean and Christian to fix her face. Sean resists at first, but eventually decides to do it after Christian lies to him and says the woman that was going to fix her face botched several jobs. Sean tells Julia that he keeps trying to forgive her and wants to try to love her again, but that it wouldn't happen right away. Julia has an adverse reaction to the anesthesia and dreams during her surgery. Ava shows up in her dream as a different form of life coach, and guides her through this surreal life. Julia is married to Christian, which seems happy on the outside, but is really falling apart on the inside. They run the Troy/Troy partnership firm. When Christian decides to leave the practice, Julia interviews another doctor - Sean, someone she knew from high school. Trying to catch up on old times, Sean invites Julia and Christian to dinner. They meet his wife, Megan O'Hara, and their son Matt, who is on the nerdy side and has a bug collection. Megan is three months pregnant with a girl they plan on calling Annie, named after his grandmother. Julia is upset after a visit to Liz, an OB/GYN in this world, who has two kids. Julia cannot have kids with Christian, who wanted to have a biological child since he was adopted. Kimber, Julia and Christian's three-way partner becomes pregnant, and Christian refuses to get rid of it. We are revisited by several characters, including Mrs. Grubman, Jude, and Julia's friend Suzanne. When Julia wakes up in recovery, Sean is there waiting for her. She has realized that things would never work out with Christian, and that Sean was always the one she loved.

    Director:Michael M. Robin
    Writers:Ryan Murphy, Hank Chilton

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  14. Nip/Tuck Season 4 Episode 10 - Merrill Bobolit
    8.2/10(385 votes)

    #14 - Merrill Bobolit

    S4:E10

    Dr. Merrill Bobolit, who's out of jail, needs Sean's and Christian's professional services. Escobar Gallardo wants them to perform surgery on his face. And Matt tells his family that he's married and that he and his wife are expecting a baby.

    Director:Charles Haid
    Writers:Brad Falchuk, Sean Jablonski

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  15. Nip/Tuck Season 4 Episode 15 - Gala Gallardo
    8.2/10(421 votes)

    #15 - Gala Gallardo

    S4:E15

    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.

    Director:Ryan Murphy
    Writers:Ryan Murphy, Hank Chilton

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  16. Nip/Tuck Season 1 Episode 12 - Antonia Ramos
    8.1/10(493 votes)

    #16 - Antonia Ramos

    S1:E12

    Sean and Christian are reunited with an old friend, Julia bonds with Sofia Lopez, and Christian and Gina clash over their differences in opinion concerning Gina's pregnancy.

    Director:Elodie Keene
    Writers:Brad Falchuk, Jennifer Salt

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  17. Nip/Tuck Season 2 Episode 13 - Oona Wentworth
    8.1/10(411 votes)

    #17 - Oona Wentworth

    S2:E13

    Maids and servants of a wealthy woman have a party while she is out of town, and they hire a cheap plastic surgeon to give them all Botox -- Merrill Bobolit. The women all have adverse reactions to it, and one of them comes in to have it fixed because bulges have formed on her forehead. Bobolit has now partnered with Madam Rose, who owns a chain of beauty salons. He performs unsanitary plastic surgery for lower prices in her basement, and they proudly promote this new invented "Bobotox". Christian tries to talk some sense into him, and eventually learns that Merrill is hooked on the anesthesia, and is constantly high on it - even during surgery. Christian acts as his sponsor in an AA-type rehabilitation group. Merrill becomes furious with Christian after a girl he wanted flirts with Christian. Meanwhile, Matt gets upset at Adrian for wearing his leather coat to school while soliciting drugs to other students. After Adrian refuses to give him the coat back, they get into a fist fight. Since the coat belongs to Matt, the drugs in the pocket are pinned on him. Christian is called in instead of Sean along with Ava, and Ava comes up with the idea to bribe the principal, Ms. Wentworth, with pro bono plastic surgery. After getting off free because of the surgery, Adrian and Matt decide to be friends. While having a conversation in the bathroom at school, Adrian urinates in one of the soap dispensers, and both Matt and Adrian get called to the principal's office again. Sean comes in this time along with Ava, and he forces the truth out of Adrian and Matt, and snaps at Ava. Sean punishes Matt by sentencing him to spending his afternoons at the office doing handiwork and cleaning. Matt realizes he likes spending time there. Adrian has had the last straw with Ava's harsh treatment, and they share a meaningful moment as mother and son, but it turns weird when they begin to make out.

    Director:Scott Brazil
    Writers:Jennifer Salt, Sean Jablonski

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  18. Nip/Tuck Season 3 Episode 1 - Momma Boone
    8.1/10(528 votes)

    #18 - Momma Boone

    S3:E1

    After Christian's Carver attack, Sean must look for a new partner to keep the practice going. Sean has to surgically separate an obese woman from a couch she has spent the past three years on. Julia realizes that she has to make a decision about the future of her marriage.

    Director:Elodie Keene
    Writer:Ryan Murphy

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  19. Nip/Tuck Season 3 Episode 4 - Rhea Reynolds
    8.1/10(417 votes)

    #19 - Rhea Reynolds

    S3:E4

    A woman wants surgery to make her look like her when she was younger, to jog her Alzheimer-stricken husband's memory. Christian and Sean work on another Carver victim, who does not have the same physical attributes as the other victims.

    Director:Greer Shephard
    Writer:Jennifer Salt

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  20. Nip/Tuck Season 3 Episode 11 - Abby Mays
    8.1/10(433 votes)

    #20 - Abby Mays

    S3:E11

    Sean wants Quentin out of the practice after finding out that he's dating Julia. Christian seems to be ok after Kimber leaving him, but his actions indicate otherwise.

    Director:Michael M. Robin
    Writer:Hank Chilton

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  21. Nip/Tuck Season 3 Episode 12 - Sal Perri
    8.1/10(498 votes)

    #21 - Sal Perri

    S3:E12

    A plane crashes just after take off in Miami. Julia's mother might be one of the passengers. Christian, Sean, Julia and Liz are all trying to save the lives of the people that survived the plane crash.

    Director:David Nutter
    Writers:Richard Levine, Lynnie Greene

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  22. Nip/Tuck Season 4 Episode 8 - Conor McNamara
    8.1/10(399 votes)

    #22 - Conor McNamara

    S4:E8

    Mrs. Grubman is back for more Plastic Surgery this time she wants Christian to preform it after she has passed on. Sean and Julia have conflicts over Conor's Surgery.

    Director:Patrick McKee
    Writers:Jennifer Salt, Hank Chilton

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  23. Nip/Tuck Season 4 Episode 13 - Reefer
    8.1/10(543 votes)

    #23 - Reefer

    S4:E13

    Sean drinks to a great extent as he spends a depressing Christmas without his family; Christian gets an surprising gift when a 3-year old Wilber comes back into his life; and James pressures Michelle to help as she takes forceful measures to fill her holiday kidney quota.

    Director:Lynnie Greene
    Writers:Richard Levine, Lynnie Greene

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  24. Nip/Tuck Season 5 Episode 13 - August Walden
    8.1/10(389 votes)

    #24 - August Walden

    S5:E13

    Sean experiences the ugly side of Hollywood in the form of a television critic. Matt experiences a special bond with one of Christian's patients. The cause of Julia's ailing health is discovered.

    Director:Sean Jablonski
    Writer:Sean Jablonski

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  25. Nip/Tuck Season 2 Episode 1 - Erica Noughton
    8.0/10(587 votes)

    #25 - Erica Noughton

    S2:E1

    During Erica's facelift, Sean panics and can't do it. Christian is having some trouble too - he's slept with Erica, the night of Sean and Julia's wedding. The surgery continues. Later that day, Christian is having problems with Wilbur, so he calls Julia to come help him. She gets upset on how Christian can't handle his own responsibilities, and snaps at him for sleeping with her mother.

    Director:Ryan Murphy
    Writer:Ryan Murphy

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Best Episodes Summary

"Joan Rivers" is the best rated episode of "Nip/Tuck". It scored 8.9/10 based on 613 votes. Directed by Ryan Murphy and written by Ryan Murphy, it aired on 10/5/2004. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "Escobar Gallardo".