Written by Ryan Murphy And Jon Robin Baitz And Joe Baken
Directed by Bradley Buecker
Tristan (re plastic surgery clients): "I see we have a lot of new faces this year."
It was twenty one years ago on the cable channel FX where Ryan Murphy's first big TV hit funnily enough was a show about plastic surgeons. Yes, that show was called Nip/Tuck and even to this day, it's influence has resonated in many of Murphy's shows.
Cut to 2024, now we have this show celebrating Plastic Surgery Week by featuring an antagonist for Avery, a surprise inspiration for Max and Tristan's mum. Yeah, it's a real diverse crowd here but each of these plot hit better than expected.
Let's start off with Max, shall we? If you were worried the show had forgotten his COVID backstory, the arrival of Human Ken Doll (Justin Jedlica) was a good reminder of said plot. It turned out that Max was something of a fan of Ken and even spent some time with the guy before the latter quickly died of sepsis.
Yes, the first death on The Odyssey and it hit Max pretty hard. It turned out that Ken's reality show had been something of a lifeline to Max when he was in recovery and the last scene where he talked to Ken's friend about the impact they had on him was rather sweet. Max being a fan of trashy reality TV was the kind of character but I needed.
Then there's Max and Avery. Yes, they hooked up and yes, Tristan caught them but the end result was far different to the opening episode and all the better for it. I was hoping this show would nix this triangle sooner than later and perhaps I got my wish. The way it's nixed even felt organic enough.
Having Tristan's mother, Caroline (Constance Marie) on the ship and seeing the number she's done on him (albeit, not maliciously) certainly gave context to the way Tristan has viewed women and in particular, a certain crush of his. I liked that he realised that he wasn't in love with Avery and also that he wasn't going to pose an obstacle for Max and Avery either. As for the Huntington's plot with his mother, I don't doubt we'll get more on that later in the season.
As for Avery, she had spent most of the episode incurring the wrath of the ship's owner's wife, Lenore (Gina Gershon). The latter was also hosting this week's theme and came close to firing Avery. Then Avery managed to save Lenore's assistant and suddenly Lenore liked Avery. Lenore had a campy potential as well as an insatiable desire for Robert. The character didn't wow me but there's hope for her yet as a recurring presence.
- The cases outside of Tristan's mother and Ken included Lenore's assistant botched boob job and a British woman's botched rhinoplasty. A guy literally pulled stuff out of his own nose in front of Max.
- Tristan's clearly from a money background and seems to be an only child. The episode gave no details on his father.
- Max seemed annoyed with the fact that the flower shop was used as a place to hide deceased passengers until they got to shore.
- Chronology: It's definitely 2024 given that one exchange between Tristan and Max near the end of the episode.
I think this show in the space of three episodes has definitely gotten closer to finding it's feet. Plastic Surgery Week gave Max, Tristan and Avery all good material to work with and I'm happy that triangle has been quickly resolved.
Rating: 7 out of 10
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