Quest for the Carver.

Like everyone else out there, I am anxiously awaiting tomorrow night’s reveal of the Carver on Nip/Tuck. And for the last several weeks, I have carefully avoided any media that threatened to reveal his identity for fear of not being able to enjoy the inevitable excitement that will come at the conclusion to this really spooky story. But in the last few days, due mostly to the Carver web site promos that broadcast at the end of each Nip/Tuck episode, my resolve has weakened. Not so much that I visited spoiler sites, but I did check out the Carver’s site on myspace to see if my Carver theory would fit the bill.

And, I think it does. Based on my extensive, somewhat obsessive Nip/Tuck viewing over the last three seasons, as well as information gleaned from the web site of the Carver himself, I am ready to reveal my prediction for the Carver’s true identity.

Merril Bobolit.

Okay, so it’s not all that shocking. And I know that there are others out there who share the same opinion as I do. But since I’m not them, and this my forum here, allow me to share with you, after doing the appropriate research, why I believe Merril and the Carver are one in the same.

His favorite music. According to his myspace bio, the Carver favors 80s pop. On episodes where Merril is present, we hear lots and lots of this music. Particularly on the episode entitled “Oona Wentworth,” where we discover Merril is now completely down and out, injecting homemade botox (or “Bobotox,” as he has branded it) into women too poor to otherwise afford such procedures. Featured 80s hits during that episode, in particular, include Back to Life by Soul II Soul and Touch Me (I Want Your Body) by Samantha Fox.

His blog entry dated Saturday, December 17. The Carver notes here that his mask is “a gift to the world.” Um, yeah, because if the Carver is Merril, we all remember what happened at the end of episode #26 – he cut his face off in an attempt to swap it with that of our hero, the dashing Dr. Troy. In that same blog entry, the Carver also vents his frustration with people seeking to replicate the look of certain celebrities, one of whom, he mentions, is Jennifer Lopez. Who, quite coincidentally, was the actress whom one of Merril's Bobotox victims was striving to replicate. Hmmm….

His favorite book. The Confessions of St. Augustine, to boil it down, is a story of conversion, both from a religious and from a philosophical perspective. In the book, St. Augustine struggles to attain spiritual fulfillment while faced with life’s immoral, often evil, challenges. The Carver, again on his very own myspace web site, claims to read a passage from this tale every night. And, ironically, you can see how our Merril could also relate to this story, as he struggles to overcome just about everything. His practice falling apart, losing Kimber, patients dying – Merril, like St. Augustine, just can’t catch a break when faced with cold, hard realities of life. Take a pause to consider this connection…it’s a deep one.

His orientation. The Carver claims to be unsure of his sexual preference. Um, yeah, as was Merril. And both have pursued, in their own ways, Sean, Kimber and Christian. You may draw your own conclusions here.

I’ll leave you with this last, parting thought – when we last saw Merril, he was sucking in the anesthesia while Christian lay tied to a table, the music of Supertramp playing in the background. You heard the lyrics, “feel no sorrow, feel no shame – come tomorrow, feel no pain.” Carver prophesy for season three?