(S01E06) "Maybe a chapter on my dyslexia?" - Frobisher
Up until this episode, I've had a hard time deciding who I ultimately wanted to root for. Patty and Arthur are both horrible examples of good human beings, but I still found reasons to like both of them. Not any more. After this episode, I'm finding it incredibly hard to sympathize with Frobisher. Not because he's a bad guy. He's an idiot and doesn't even realize it!
It was pathetic really. He honestly believes that people give a damn about anything in his life other than the current scandal. No one cares about his speech impediment, how he played varsity sports, or his time in the Boy Scouts. All along we've known Arthur did it, but up until this point I at least though he had a brain. The man is delusional. He truly had no idea how that book deal was going to play out. Maybe he does actually think he's innocent.
I'm glad we're finally starting to see the toll the case is taking on Ray. He knows Arthur is dim and was against the book deal. But all the stress of his client's foolish strategy is killing him. How's he going to react when he finds out that Art smashed his ghost-writer in the face with an old Pinewood Derby car? Ray isn't sleeping, he's having horrible nightmares, and spends most of the day worrying about his client and chugging espresso. In one of his dreams, he told a therapist that his teeth were falling out. She said that could mean he has a secret. You bet he does. Ray is finally coming to terms with the truth -- he knows he can't win this case.
Alright, let's move on. Next up? Patty and Ellen. If I can be a nerd, it's like watching Palpatine and Annakin here. Patty is molding her young student and this was the first episode where we really saw Ellen cross over. She's leaving the life she had and becoming more and more like her mentor. The casualty? David. We know how he ends up... just don't know who did it yet. I loved how Patty kept planting her seed with Ellen though. She kept giving her all the reasons David was a bad choice for a husband. I think the only thing that bugs me is how Ellen doesn't see how fake Patty is.
Regardless, we got some clues about David's life after he split with Ellen. Apparently, he had been seeing that Lyla girl. What's her deal though? She went from being attractive temptress to full on creep show. She lied about her grandfather's death, kept David's keys, and then snuck into their apartment to listen while David and Ellen took a bath. Freak! Actually... let me back up. Maybe they weren't seeing each other? That's just what Lyla told the cops after they questioned her. It could be bogus. She's nut's though. I'm anxious to see if her involvement runs deeper. It seems like no one is this show gets introduced unless they have an Arthur Frobisher/Patty Hewes connection.
Speaking of which, what's Gregory's? What the hell did he see in Florida that Katie didn't? What does he know? Apparently the broker isn't the only big puzzle piece. It's got Frobisher spooked because he sent some blonde bombshell to off Mr. Molina. I guess Art isn't too shy about taking a life anymore. Good thing Patty hired some muscle to protect Gregory. Still... what does he know? It better be good. That's all I can say. This had better turn into one huge, massively manipulated scheme by Frobisher. That's what I want. But after this episode, I'm not so sure he's smart enough to have pulled something like that off.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
9-05-2007 @ 10:13AM
Chip said...
Good call. I bet David and stalker chick never did date. Notice how she was brandishing the pilfered keys as proof of their relationship? Maybe they did have sex though. Boiled rabbit anyone?
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9-05-2007 @ 10:13AM
Dave said...
Amazing show. I hope they just follow this story out without any thought of next season. This season could stand on it's own as one of the best shows in recent memory.
I think it's pretty obvious that Lyla is working for someone.
Who is the guy who shot the woman and why did he call Patty after and warn her that Greg was in trouble? Did he mean to shoot Greg at all?
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9-05-2007 @ 10:13AM
Michelle said...
I love this show! I must confess, I just started watching over Labor Day when they had the marathon. It isn't at all what I expected and it is a pleasant suprise!
I think the Molina connection is through Ray, did you see that "hand touching" they had going on? At first I thought it was going to turn out he was someone's son, but after that, maybe they are having a romantic relationship? Who knows. With every episode this show brings me in deeper. I can't wait until next week!
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9-05-2007 @ 10:13AM
Jim said...
Dyslexia is not a speech impediment.
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9-05-2007 @ 10:14AM
Jim said...
Toomey, was the scene between Ray and Greg not blatant enough for you? Ray's secret runs deeper than the Frobisher case.
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9-05-2007 @ 10:14AM
BobbyBuz said...
Random thoughts re: Frobisher:
He's really a scumbag
A CEO billionaire that acting like an a$$hole
Can't hire a ghostwriter to do it the way he wants (?)
Allows the publishing company to dictate the book terms (?)
A chapter on dyslexia (wtf)
Travels around as if he has no notoriety
I totally enjoy Danson's portrayal, but the character (Frobisher) is really becoming a joke.
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9-05-2007 @ 10:51AM
khamel said...
The secret that Ray is hold back is sadly the TV cliche: hes gay. The hand thing, the fact that Gregory said the only thing hes good at is getting people to like him, and the still unexplained fact of how Gregory had and then sold stock in the Frobisher company. Ray is much more closely involved than a regular lawyer and is worried hes going to be taken down as well. I was on the fence but this episode (and i hope the next one) are keeping me watching.
I hope they finally start explaining the pieces and stop being so coy. Its getting too much like lost (in a bad way although i love lost).
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9-05-2007 @ 10:54AM
Jonathan Toomey said...
khamel--
I agree with you. It seems like they're going with the "Ray is gay" story. That's what that scene with him and Gregory seemed to imply anyway. Here's what has me stumped though. Was Greg's being in Florida just a mere coincidence then? I doubt it. I guess my point is that even if he and Ray had something going on, I think it will take a backseat to what Gregory's true involvement is.
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9-05-2007 @ 1:02PM
Tim said...
I think Ray's secret is simple: he's the one who hired Gregory to move between Frobisher and his broker somehow, and is stressed out over getting caught for it. Hence why Gregory showed up at Ray's house.
I think Frobisher is probably very much smarter than he's been showing himself to be lately. You don't become a billionaire through stupidity. I think he and Patty still have a connection that spawned their rivalry - and I believe it centers on Patty's son, somehow.
Lila lied. I think they may be introducing her as a possible suspect for David's killer. She lied about her grandfather's death, I suspect that we'll see her stalking David- and Ellen's voice mail may be a response to that.
What if, after Ellen moved out, Lila got more aggressive with David? Could he have refused her, and she killed him - sort of like "if I can't have you, no one can!"?
This show is doing a great job of tiding me over until Dexter comes back, too!
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9-05-2007 @ 1:47PM
Lisdog said...
There is no proof that David had an affair nor that Ellen ever moved out. That's just what others are misleading us to think. I don't think Lyla is a stalker. I think she was hired by Patty to undermine her relationship with David.
I also think there is someone higher up on the food chain than Frobisher and that may be Rays secret.
I hope, like the rest of you, that they pull all of the stories togther in one season. How many shows are left?
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9-05-2007 @ 1:47PM
Donna said...
Yes, I agree that the implied secret that Fisk is terrified people will fiind out is that he's had/having a relationship with Gregory--what was all that "you can't be here" while his wife is asking who it is...and all that prolonged hand touching...?
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9-05-2007 @ 1:48PM
BC said...
David was a real tool in this episode and I feel a lot less sorry that he gets offed. Nice though, how for a few moments when he finds the apartment unlocked we're not sure whether we're in the story's primary past timeline, or whether we're seeing the time of his murder.
Interesting, all the Statue of Liberty symbolism invloving multiple characters.
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9-05-2007 @ 1:59PM
Gowan said...
I think it's pretty clear that Lila's relationship with David is all in her head. She's been pursuing him the entire time and he tells Ellen and she leaves the threatening voicemail. I'm a little disappointed by this storyline, though. It seems kind of shoehorned in. We need ANOTHER twist?
You can clearly see Ellen going over to "the dark side" (to keep the analogy going). She's started dressing a little differently, her makeup is different. She's becoming more severe already. She lied to Gregory about being able to protect him, vacillated on it and asked Patty, but then when Patty said there wasn't anything they could do, she told him she could anyway.
I *AM* glad, though, that they finally specifically said that the building Ellen escaped from at the very beginning was Patty's building. I thought I was going nuts after seeing the security guard and the exterior of the building in the first show and David's murder being in THEIR building. It was a little confusing.
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9-05-2007 @ 2:45PM
Dave said...
Anyone?
Who is the guy who shot the woman and why did he call Patty after and warn her that Greg was in trouble? Did he mean to shoot Greg at all?
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9-05-2007 @ 2:45PM
publius said...
patty hired the guy with gun to keep an eye out for greg and make sure frobisher (and/or whoever else) don't take him out, which he cleary needed, as the "girl from the bar" was about to off him...that's why he called her after the incident.
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9-05-2007 @ 3:49PM
Dave said...
Publius,
Maybe watching all of them on Labor Day made me delirious. I thought the girl from the bar was just a girl from the bar.
Did I miss something?
Thanks
Dave
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9-05-2007 @ 3:48PM
publius said...
it sounds like you missed the gun that was in her hand after greg ran away and the mystery guy went over to check out her body...
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9-05-2007 @ 3:48PM
bcarter3 said...
"Who is the guy who shot the woman and why did he call Patty after and warn her that Greg was in trouble? Did he mean to shoot Greg at all?"
Did you ever see "The Sting"? Remember Salino?
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9-05-2007 @ 4:12PM
Laura said...
Did anyone else think the voice mail on Lyla's phone sounded like Patty's voice, not Ellen's?
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9-06-2007 @ 10:42PM
JPL said...
Regarding Ellen's voice on Lila's cell phone: I have a hunch that those words -- "Stay away from my fiance..." -- were directed at someone else, but sent as a recording to Lila's phone. My initial thought was that this could be Ellen giving Patty hell for meddling, though I don't know if there is enough time in the season for the sort of character development that has Ellen actually standing up to Patty. Hmm... maybe Tom? Anyway, there was just something about that voice mail message that seemed off.
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