After such a spectacular ending to Nip/Tuck‘s last episode, this week’s started with such a letdown.  Whatever happened to Kit?  After all, she was only slashed by The Carver, how they could not address that at all?  I guess when you’re racked with debts, other people’s problems fall to the waste side.  Sean and Christian can’t afford to be doing pro bono work on backstabbing detectives.

Still reeling from the publicity backlash, McNamara/Troy is forced to deal with the financial health of their company. Unsure if they will survive past a few more months, Liz offers to help them out by turning in her resignation.  Sean and Christian try to assure her (and themselves) that they will be back up and running very soon.

After initially refusing, Sean finally agrees to take a job from a local mortuary. The morbid case sickens him, but the potentially large payout is hard to deny.  A crematorium operator from the mortuary is accused of hoarding the bodies of four women so that he can steal their body parts.  Unfortunately, the uber-body that he created also contains the head from an unknown corpse.  Hoping to keep this financially destructive situation quiet, the mortuary paid hush money to the families involved and are willing to do the same for McNamara/Troy.  The mortuary’s only request:  that Sean and Christian find the family related to the mystery head.  Only when all the bodies have been located can the women finally rest in peace.

Worried about his future income, Christian tells former flame, Gina, that her funding will be seriously diminished.  Gina lashes out at him and calls him worthless. Didn’t he know that she was going to ask him for a substantial loan? Moving on, she decides to pay Julia a visit.  Loading Julia with compliments and respect, Gina unveils the sales pitch on her new business venture.  She encourages Julia to form an emotional and financial backup plan now that she and Sean are no longer. After initial skepticism, Julia agrees to work with Gina on two conditions:  they split the business 50/50, and that they renovate Gina’s real estate find into a surgical spa.

After formulating their business plan, Julia and Gina present their spa idea to McNamara/Troy. With the exception of Quentin, the ladies are surprised to find they have an unreceptive audience.  Christian insults Gina while Sean doubts his ex-wife’s experience.  Determined to plow on without them, the women walk out.  Silly little men – we know you’re jealous, but don’t make us mad.  We’ll just end up coming back even stronger.

Following Sean’s meeting with the ladies, his emotional status plunges even further downhill.  First he is required to speak the crematorium dissector to ask where the mystery head came from.  After learning that the body came from the suspect’s sister and that the sicko had sex with the corpse, Sean is completely grossed out.  Kicking him while he is down, Julia gives Sean an icy cold shoulder when he comes to apologize for his previous behavior. Not only is he not needed in her life anymore, but all he amounts to from this point forward is a father to their children (well - at least a father to one of their children).

After performing needless plastic surgery on an elderly patient, Sean’s emotions finally come to a head.  He realizes that he just can’t take it anymore and promptly begins his mid-life crisis.  Just when Christian is stunned by the potential loss of his partner, the business is rocked by even more news.  Since resigning from McNamara/Troy, Liz has signed up with the other team:  Gina and Julia’s.

Oh man – now they’ve got three women working against them…