Groucho

This was actually suggested last week, and I thought this question (which has been discussed over several threads since last season) was a good one to have in it's own thread/poll.

My odds on the suspects (updated after the 12/14 episode):

Merril (2:1) -- My personal pick. When we last saw Dr. Bobolit, he'd gone off the deep-end and was removing his own face. He could very well have done it. Strongest evidence against him being the Carver is that he hasn't appeared at all this season.


Ava (3:1) -- Another strong candidate. She is somewhat unhinged, and doesn't have an alibi for the attacks. Also, she had a brief walk-on appearence early in the season...perhaps to keep her fresh in the minds of audience members?


Sean (3.5:1) -- I didn't used to suspect him, but after looking closer at the evidence, I've decided Sean is a good candidate. Except for the attack on himself (which could have been imagined/faked), he doesn't have an alibi for any other attacks. If he is the Carver, it'll probably be a "split personality" thing, so I really hope the show doesn't go this direction. (odds changed from 2.5:1 after 12/14 episode)


Other (5:1) -- I think there's a fairly good chance that the Carver could be somebody not on my list.


Julia (6:1) -- Cleaver makes a good case for Julia below, so I've added her here even though she's not on the poll. (odds changed from 4:1 after 12/14 episode)


Quentin (8:1) -- My original top pick, until I realized the show seems to be pushing him as a suspect, leading most (including myself) to agree that he's probably a red herring. Besides, he already has taken the villain role in a different way, so making him the Carver would be redundant. No alibi for the attacks. (odds changed from 10:1 after 12/14 episode)


Matt (12:1) -- Pretty unlikely. Matt has his own story going on that wouldn't be enhanced by making him the Carver. Still, he doesn't have an alibi so he's on the list. (odds changed from 15:1 after 12/14 episode)


More than one person (20:1) -- Doesn't seem likely to me at all. The Carver is likely a solo offender. I added it to the list because I know some are thinking this way.


Kimber (50:1) -- Some have been proposing a "Fight Club" scenario with her. I think it's bunk, but here she is for those people.


Liz (100:1) -- She simply isn't the right body type. But I know some people think she's the one so I put her on the list. Also, I thought she was at the wedding an had an alibi, but apparently she wasn't?


Christian (500:1) -- I included him only because I figured there'd be somebody out there who would vote for him. If Christian is involved, he must have an accomplice, since there are two Carver incidents (Kit and Kimber) where he couldn't have been physically involved. Not to mention that he himself is a victim, and the possibility of him being the Carver has already been discussed on the show.


Not listed: Gina and Kit. All have alibis (two were at the wedding) and/or were victims of the Carver. Also, I think very few people would seriously regard them as candidates. A couple people have suggested the Alec Baldwin character, but there's no way he'd fit into that costume, folks. I've left Erica (Vanessa Redgrave) off too, just seems way too unlikely (and yes, she's still alive).

I was going to add "New Character" but Ryan Murphy has already stated that the Carver is "somebody we know."

Jimmy James

Thanks for laying this out. Here are my comments:

Here are the problems I have with Bobolit as The Carver:

He should either be in an institution, prison, or a grave based on what happened the last time we saw him. I cannot imagine that we're supposed to believe that Christian would just let him get away and forget about him after he tried to cut off Christian's face. Beyond that, I don't see any compelling reason why he would decide that beauty is a curse on the world only after that incident -- it seems to me that he would have figured that out well before that point. I also think he's too obvious because we haven't seen him since this storyline came up.

Beyond all of this, the body type problem definitely exists here. The actor playing The Carver doesn't look like Bobolit would need to look like.

He could have faked his attack, but I don't think he could have imagined it. I think it would have been quite difficult for him to abduct Kimber at the wedding, so I don't think it is this likely that he's the guy. I do think it is likely that he believes that beauty is a curse on the world.

I think she's a good candidate but for the penis issue. It's hard for me to imagine that nobody figured out the member in question was a fake.

I don't think the show is pushing him as a suspect at all. I know there are people who will groan if it works out this way, but I maintain this is the most likely outcome because I don't think this is supposed to be some sort of shock value storyline -- it's supposed to be about seeing into the eyes of evil. I think that is the only logical reason why this storyline has taken over the entire third season rather than being either resolved last year or part of the way through this year.

I think there are several dark horse candidates that need to be considered:

Nico Scamarel -- this guy got Kimber into porn and was engaged to her before Christian stepped in. We know he was seriously unhinged -- he was the one vandalizing Christian's things.

Jude -- we know he has at least some medical training.

Mr. Alderman -- I think Ariel's dad is supposed to be considered a possibility, but I think he is in fact a red herring.

ETA: Was Gina in fact *at* the wedding? I know she showed up before the wedding, but did we see her in the audience?

Groucho

I think Jude is a reasonable suspect...didn't he make a brief appearence at the top of the season?

Nico? I can't even remember that guy. Hasn't appeared at all this season.

Mr. Alderman -- introduced too recently to be considered.

riley_dude

The first post should say Liz was NOT at the wedding.
If you read the Carver's blog on myspace.com it says it is a female. Of course that could be there to throw us off.
I'm leaning towards Liz but hope it's not because I like her sarcasm.

Chew

My vote goes to Liz.

Given the fact they specifically got another person to play the part of the Carver and not a member of the cast, I'm not going to take any details of the "body type" from that.

kitkat

I agree that Quentin's too obvious.

I think it's either a former patient or other minor character who we've only seen once or twice, or that it's Matt. The latter nay be wishful thinking on my part since I hate Matt, but the boy's clearly pretty twisted and has got issues. I went with Matt in the poll. It would be a surprise, it would leave our main three in place for next season and set them up with some pretty juicy storylines, and it would be a good way of dealing with a widely disliked character. It would also avoid the copout of having it be someone we really haven't seen much of.

Groucho

I thought Liz was at the wedding, but I corrected my original post.

But I wouldn't consider her as a serious suspect even if the Carver had her body type and frizzy hair.

Jimmy James

How did I forget about Alec Baldwin's character, Dr. Barett Moore? He has the surgical skills and likely the feeling that beauty is a curse on the world. There is the body type problem there, but it's also pretty easy to pair him up with Ava for the only convincing pair I can think of. He could also be going at it solo, I suppose.

sailor_moon

Even if she was in the audience, wasn't she the last person to speak to Kimber?

Jimmy James

I agree that it's a complication, but the Carver has done some pretty darn amazing things like walking into a Church and abducting the bride unnoticed and breaking into any number of places. If Shawn is indeed the Carver, I would expect that he slipped out and back in during shift changes, when he noticed the cop staking him out nodding off, or something like that.

cleaver

Not the right body type = no penis?

I'm convinced it's her. Give her an ace bandage and a girdle and she'd look the same in the costume as Bobolit. I keep going back to the woman who faked the attack and thinking the Carver had to be in the room when they operated on her.

Jimmy James

If Liz wanted to keep tabs on people like that victim and on who the guys were working on, why on Earth would she leave their practice? I think that cuts against it being Liz, at least a little bit.

Groucho

I will admit that for dramatic purposes, Liz makes a lot of sense since her character hasn't really played a big role this season.

But ultimately, all issues aside, what about her personality and character leads people to think she is the Carver?

cleaver

She still stops by from time to time and many of McNamara/Troy's patients go to the spa. Also, since she left got some free time which Julia, Sean, Christian, Quentin, and Matt don't. Seriously, how would any of the main characters have the time to maintain a hostage?

Bottom line: she's one of the few unattractive characters (Beauty is a curse on the world) and perhaps she blames Christian for not having a child.

dadaluholla

From Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Carver

The following are known facts about The Carver:

The Carver's modus operandi involves (1) injecting the victim with a paralyzing agent ("a rarefied form of metachurine chloride"), (2) giving a short speech to the victim, which always involves the quote Beauty is a curse on the world, (3) slicing the mouth/face of the victim with a knife in a "smile" pattern, and (4) raping the victim.

The Carver has raped all of his/her known victims except Sean McNamara (and possibly Kimber Henry).

The Carver uses a condom when s/he rapes his/her victims.

The Carver has some form of access to medical supplies, and his/her MO suggest he/she possesses some medical knowledge.

The Carver apparently knows an exact dosage to use that will incapacitate (but not overdose) a victim (something a layperson is unlikely to know).

The Carver has used only "precise" cuts, a fact mentioned when Christian is repairing Rhea Reynold's faked Carver attack. Furthermore, when The Carver attacked both Sean and Christian, he/she was able to cut their throats without severing the jugular.

The Carver has raped members of both sexes.
In addition to numerous female victims, The Carver has anally raped at least two men: a male model and Christian Troy.

The Carver added homicide to his/her profile with the murder of Rhea Reynolds.

The Carver has a grudge against Sean, as Sean has "repaired" many of the Carver's victims, against the Carver's warnings.

Christian was apparently framed for the Carver's attacks (via the planting of a condom containing Christian's DNA at the murder scene of Rhea Reynolds), by a person or persons unknown.

Kimber was kidnapped and attacked by The Carver moments before she was to wed Christian, leading him to believe she left him at the altar.

The Carver forced Kimber to write Christian a Dear John letter.

The Carver is proud, deliberate, and occasionally prone to rash action when prompted to anger.

The Carver refers to his/her victims as "masterpieces."
Before murdering Rhea Reynolds, The Carver told her she had "ruined everything."

The Carver's careful MO indicates that he/she is intelligent and exacting.

The Carver's rapid response to Rhea Reynold's fraud and to Christian Troy receiving "credit" for his/her work, show that The Carver will do things on the fly if he/she feels slighted.

Series creator Ryan Murphy has said that The Carver will be "somebody we know," and added that "It's always a horrible cheat when it's someone like a neighbor who you met once, and they're the killer [1]."

Series creator Ryan Murphy has said that The Carver could be a male or female [2].

Groucho

I actually forgot about this side-mystery: Who framed Christian?

B.A.

Dr. McNamara

Jimmy James

I think the leading suspect there is obviously Kit. I think it's possible she did it just to get revenge on Christian whether he was the guy or not, but it is equally possible that she did it thinking it was him or thinking that it would piss off the Carver.

dadaluholla

Does anyone have a full body pic of Liz so we can compare to see if she's actually capable of squeezing into a little black outfit like the Carver wears?

Groucho thanks for putting this together by the way!

Groucho

Cusm

I thought it was one of Christian's girls that vandalized all of his stuff. Could it be her?

raven56706

i think the carver is twikoff...

dadaluholla

Ahhh hell with it. I'm going with Merrill Bobolit.

Liz's boobs are too big and strabbing them things down would limit her mobility. She does know about drugs though. And shes likely got a strap on. I just don't see her motivation to do it.

riley_dude

The thing is they are using a standin for the Carver so it's not really who you think it might be based on body type because it really isnt the person in the suit that is doing the killing. Make sense?

cleaver

Are we sure that's her current chest? It's possible she had breast reduction surgery for something and has been stuffing.

Julia is starting to emerge as my #2. We don't know if the Carver was dressed as the Carver for the wedding, she was the last one to see Kimber and could have stashed the body, her motivation is obvious: she blames the business of plastic surgery for stalling her life, Christian for dissolving her marriage, and she went easier on Sean than any other victim.