photo: fx

Original Air Date: Nov 25, 2009

Tom R. – Sr. Staff Writer
tom@thetwocents.com

Two potential patients look for the same surgery as Alexis (Alex) Stone returns from the previous episode. According to IMDB, Alex is played by Candis Cayne, and it’s a little unclear there whether Candis is a creation of a female impersonator or actually a transgender. Either way, it’s a fascinating thing to see someone playing both sexes convincingly. The show has had transgender characters before, but they were always women at the time.

Alex/Alexis returns to McNamara/Troy with an odd request…After becoming a gay man, he finds that he is only attracted to straight men, or at least closeted gay men. He asks for breast implants so that he can dress as a woman to attract the type of man he is looking for. Christian berates him for being indecisive, but ultimately agrees to the surgery.

Visiting Matt in prison, Christian is greeted by Matt’s new cellmate, Kessler. The two are now an item behind bars, but Kessler feels there’s something missing. He wants Christian to give implants to Matt, and makes it clear that Matt’s safety is on the line. After a failed attempt to bribe the Warden for a new cell, Matt is beaten by Kessler and asks Christian to do the surgery. Instead, he gives Matt pills that will chemically castrate Kessler. When the pills are found, Kessler is upset, but Matt manages to use the element of surprise to strangle the bigger man.

The scariest thing in the prison storyline is not Kessler (although the performance is chilling). It’s not the proposed surgery, or the prison violence. It’s the shot of the guard walking down the hall, turning his back on the cell as Kessler beats the hell out of Matt. We don’t see the punches, we don’t see the blood. We see the indifference.

Meanwhile, Sean and Julia end up in bed together for the first time in a couple of seasons. Sean announces his plan to frame Roderigo for possession of cocaine. He feels this will derail Erica’s custody case. He is disturbed by Roderigo’s hobby of photographing Annie in various outfits, but Erica is more disturbed when she finds him with Annie’s underwear. She throws him out and drops the case, preparing to leave the country. Customs, however, arrests her at the airport after finding cocaine in the bag that Julia packed for her.

While Julia’s move to the dark side is unexpected, it’s more of a logical step that when she became a lesbian. That move cam e out of the blue as that season started. This move is a culmination of the running history between these two characters. It’s also driven by Julia’s need to have the custody issue put to rest for good. Let’s hope this isn’t based on their real life relationship.

So…Where does all this leave Matt? Does he become the go-to guy behind bars? Will there be retaliation? Post your comments below, or drop me a line at: tom@thetwocents.com.