Damages has lived up to the hype. After a jaw-dropping debut season that garnered Glenn Close an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her turn as Patty Hewes, the FX legal drama roared back in January amid speculation regarding whether or not the unique storytelling techniques used in season one could be re-created again. The result? Eight episodes into the new season and Damages is as thrilling as ever.
However, after learning that Patty is indeed the person being held at gunpoint in last week's final moments, it proved one thing - Patty isn't the only one in the hot seat. The creative team behind Damages should be sweating too.
As season two chugs along, I could complain endlessly about the conveniences worked into this season's plot. Developments such as William Hurt's Daniel Purcell being unveiled as Patty's son Michael's biological father or the fact that Ted Danson's Arthur Frobisher just happened to be a majority stock holder in Ultima National Resources are somewhat easier to swallow when you consider that a.) loose necessities like these are often required to progress a plot, and b.) this is still edge-of-your-seat television.
They're even easier to swallow if you consider the season as a whole. Thus far, the arc of season two has far surpassed the tension of season one and the cat-and-mouse game between Ellen and Patty is the driving force. Lesser plots such as Christine Purcell's murder or Uncle Pete's offing have helped to shore up the season, but the ultimate confrontation between Patty and Ellen is still the core. After last week's revelation and questions swirling around how good Ellen's aim is, you can't help but consider the final result of this season.
No, Patty Hewes isn't going to die - she may have a shoulder wound though. However, it's a safe bet that Patty will probably lose any higher ground she has left with Ellen. By the end of this season, Ellen will surely know the truth about what Patty and Pete tried to do to her. The file delivered by Pete's wife Stefania assuredly guarantees this.
But what does this mean for the future? For season three? Even if Patty weren't to succeed in her case against UNR and even if Ellen isn't able to tie Frobisher and Det. Messer to David's murder, the driving conflict in this show is still the fact that Ellen's boss tried to kill her. When that's out in the open, what's next? It certainly gives Ellen more clout in Hewes & Associates and while the safe assumption is that her and Patty will work more as equals than as adversaries in season three, a key component of the show still disappears with that knowledge in the open.
With season three already greenlit, this brings me back to my original statement. Damages has lived up to the hype, but with the dynamic of the show on pace to drastically change, FX, and executive producers Glenn Kessler, Todd A. Kessler, and Daniel Zelman have a lot of work to do to ensure that it does it again.
Damages airs Wednesday nights at 10PM ET on FX. Five episodes remain this season.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-04-2009 @ 9:53PM
Rob Stevens said...
If it were me, I know where I'd take the show for Season 3. Now that it's known Patty tried to have Ellen murdered, Ellen works with the prosecutor to put Patty away.
Either that, or you could try to have Ellen angle for partnership, and once she has that, put Patty away for attempted murder so that Ellen gets to run the company. That feels like a stretch to me, though, since Ellen doesn't have trial law experience thus far.
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3-04-2009 @ 9:53PM
Tim said...
Really? Really?
You think this season has been even more tension-filled than last season?
We must be watching two very different shows then. While I absolutely loved last season for the most part, I've been having difficulty in really caring what happens to them. But now that Ellen's big confrontation with Patty is coming due (after the last episode), hopefully things will get better for the final stretch.
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3-04-2009 @ 9:53PM
JennieO said...
Tim, I agree. I'm having a hard time caring about these people this season.
Glenn Close, of course, can act her way around anyone, and I enjoy every second she's on the screen. My problem is Ellen.
Yes, the poor girl has been through the wringer, and there is danger around every corner. But her constant frown and oh-so-serious demeanor just don't ring true. Every now and then something funny happens, and even such a morose being will crack a smile or laugh out loud, almost against her will. Otherwise, put her in lockdown for depression and get her off my screen. This season is simply proving that she's not in the same league as Close, Hurt, and Danson, and the amount of screen time she is getting is ruining the show for me.
3-04-2009 @ 9:55PM
khamel said...
same here, first season was amazing and while this is still a great season, its nowhere close to the first.
i'm kind of bored of some of the story lines. its just hard to car as much.
3-04-2009 @ 11:35PM
Jimmy said...
I'm with Tim. This season doesn't come close to the brilliance of the first season. The past two episodes have been pretty good, and there are two reasons why: 1. they wholly returned to the plot of Season 1; and 2. no William Hurt!
This year's plot has fallen flat, and Hurt's minimalist acting has not helped.
3-04-2009 @ 9:53PM
mailgurl said...
When we learned that Patty was the one that Ellen was pointing the gun at, I also had the exact same thought...what on earth can they do next season? You are very right in the driving force of the past 2 seasons is David's murder and Ellen's attack. Once everything is out in the open where do they go from here? I mean we all know that Patty(Glenn Close) isn't going to die or be taken in by the FBI and go to jail. I trust in the creators though. They have done a great job thus far, and I doubt they would have gotten green lighted for next season if they didn't inform FX of their intention for this season and the third. They are probably like the Lost producers, who already know where the story is going and how things are going to end up, it's just actually getting there that is the tough part.
I still call it one of the top dramas on TV today. The writing and the acting are just top notch.
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3-05-2009 @ 1:47PM
Clayton said...
What about having Ellen prosecute Patty? Dig into her past, reveal her secrets...
At the same time, obviously, Patty plans her defense.
They could keep the same "secrets revealed" format with something like that.
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3-04-2009 @ 9:53PM
tv junkie said...
i think the producers already said they have a six seasons plan and glenn close is on contract for that long as well, although, it'd be a miracle for it to get pass next season with the current rating.
this season has been really slow, definitely not enjoying it as much as last season...but last episode's reveal finally got my attention again.
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3-04-2009 @ 9:54PM
Anon. said...
Ouch...
TV Squad ignores Damages all season long and then publishes a spoiler-filled recap without marking it as such.
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3-04-2009 @ 9:54PM
bcarter3 said...
Spoilers? I didn't read any spoilers in the article. Could you cite one?
3-04-2009 @ 9:55PM
Anon. said...
Uhhh... did you read the same post as the rest of us?
"William Hurt's Daniel Purcell being unveiled as Patty's son Michael's biological father..."
"Ted Danson's Arthur Frobisher just happened to be a majority stock holder in Ultima National Resources..."
"Uncle Pete's offing..."
"Patty is indeed the person being held at gunpoint..."
3-04-2009 @ 9:57PM
Jonathan Toomey said...
Really Anon.?
First off, TVS doesn't cover Damages on a weekly basis because the traffic doesn't jusitfy it and secondly, the plot points I discussed in this mid-season analysis are hardly spoilers. The episodes have aired - it ain't a spoiler.
3-04-2009 @ 11:36PM
bcarter3 said...
Uhhh... have you been watching the same show as the rest of us?
All the items on your list are from episodes that have already aired. Not a spoiler in the bunch.
3-05-2009 @ 11:30AM
MK said...
@ Jonathan Toomey:
"TVS doesn't cover Damages on a weekly basis because the traffic doesn't jusitfy it..."
Oh, really? TVS reviews some real junk and "Damages" isn't worth it?!
Really disappointed in you, guys!
3-04-2009 @ 9:54PM
aphoward said...
" By the end of this season, Ellen will surely know the truth about what Patty and Pete tried to do to her."
Didn't we see Pete tell the guy who attacked Ellen that "my boss can never know what we did"? I thought it was Pete acting on his own...
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3-05-2009 @ 10:51AM
Tony said...
I don't think season 2 is as brilliant as season 1 (so far) but that's like comparing two great novels. They are both very good but one has to be better than the other of course. FX has greenlit season 3 and despite the lackluster ratings I think they will go forward for the 3rd season. The producers said they have mapped out the six seasons and Although Close is signed on for six seasons it may not last that long.
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3-05-2009 @ 10:51AM
Sean said...
Season one was great but this season is just brilliant. MUCH more fast-paced. can't wait to see how Patty gets out of this.
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3-19-2009 @ 5:07PM
Mark said...
Actually, I'm one that really, really likes this season. Last season, I think, was fantastic, don't get me wrong, and I'm not going to compare the two simply and say "x is better than y".
But I will say that season two has been far more subtle (am I the only TV watcher who likes that kind of thing?), and further I've really enjoyed Rose's performance of Ellen. For me, it is a pitch-perfect response for the circumstances, and not simply just "sad" or "mopey"; she has flashes of anger and ironic detachment, amongst other things, that are acted beautifully. Unlike others, I appreciate the general depression that seems completely logical, and I don't think it's monotone. The hallucination scene, for example, was revelatory. For me, it was last season where I don't think Ellen was a particularly nuanced character and that particularly the early Ellen fell a little flat given the sheer amount of screen time(though she got better towards the end).
As to the narrative, the second season, I think, doesn't go for as many constant thrills as opposed to for the slower burn of constantly developing power/position struggles. They're both present in both seasons, I'd argue, but focus has shifted more to the latter. Given that I really enjoy both, I'm loving the second season at least as much as the first.
I will say, though, that there are an awfully great number of threads that need to get tied up pretty soon. I'm waiting to see what happens, and am actually pretty excited.
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4-27-2009 @ 10:15AM
Steven said...
I liked both seasons. For season 3 it could be that Ellen will be gone, or she'll join the D.A.'s office or another private firm and fight Patty and her team in court, or maybe we'll find her as Frobisher's new legal counsel. Wouldn't that be a twist. I'd like to continue seeing Patty's relationship with her son. He pushes her buttons like no one else.
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5-08-2009 @ 10:30AM
Martha Moreno said...
I think both seasons are amazing! And I am waiting the next season(s)anxiously. On the another hand I think all the people involved on Damages second season deserve an Emmy.
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