Recap: Ellen is stunned to hear that Frobisher is the plaintiff against URN but Patty explains to Ellen that using him could help strengthen their case and shed light on David's murder.As Katie frets over the murder of rogue policeman Eliot Tolken, two men are arrested after being spotted paying off Uncle Pete to gain his cooperation. Uncle Pete's criminal record and long association with Patty makes him the perfect focus for the FBI's investigation.
As Wes Krulik gives firearms training to Ellen, a mysterious visitor warns Frobisher against pursuing the case against URN and then tells Wes that he should turn his attention to Katie if he can't get the information he needs from Ellen. Finally, Uncle Pete agrees to give agents Harrison and Werner information which could incriminate Patty but in an act of loyalty, Uncle Pete commits suicide rather than reveal anything.
My thoughts: I really don't have too much to say about last Sunday's Damages, "New York Sucks". It’s all washing over me really -- despite plenty of reviews claiming this episode marked a turning-point for the storyline. I still enjoy watching the show, but I'm just not as engaged as I was last season. However, I really liked this episode's subplot with Uncle Pete (Tom Aldredge) being caught by the FBI for a relatively minor criminal activities, but threatened with a jail sentence that would take him away from his terminally-ill wife, unless he backstabs his old friend Patty (Glenn Close)...
-- The ending was particularly surprising, with Pete opting to kill himself with an overdose of pills rather than help the Feds. But, then again, I had expected Pete to euthanize his wife before accepting the jail time, so my imagined ending would have been even harsher!
-- It's kind of nice to have Frobisher (Ted Danson) back, too. I enjoyed his speech to the press at Patty's side, who he's helping by testifying against UNR in exchange for her rebuilding his public image. Frobisher appears to have found spirituality, but will he revert to his old ways in the name of self-preservation? His hitman Detective Messer (David Costabile) warns him against going too public, and probably isn't above murdering Frobisher to maintain his cover, so that's an added complication.
-- However, I think season 2 is suffering from not having clear victims. UNR boss Mr. Kendricks is a nasty piece of work, but it's hard to get worked up about his big energy company damaging the environment. Last year we had a human face in the staff of Frobisher's business that had lost their pensions, but there's no equivalent of them this season. Maybe we should start seeing a few human casualties of UNR's practices?
-- Tom (Tate Donovan) makes a breakthrough in the UNR case, when he notices Claire (Marcia Gay Harden) defending a hooker on a cocaine charge. Why would she bother with that case? Oh, it's because she was with Finn Garrety (Kevin Corrigan) when they got busted, and he's the man who's reading those sat-nav codes -- although Kendricks lets Claire believe he was the one caught with the hooker. I have no idea what's going on here, do you? But Finn's identity is clearly worth protecting by Kendricks.
-- Oh, and Ellen's (Rose Byrne) very upset that Patty is colluding with Frobisher, but calms down when she's given a solid lead to try and pin her fiancé's murder on Frobisher as a result of this partnership.
The season is kind of coming together now, but I don't think we'll truly get a handle on everything until the last few episodes, which is a problem. I love a good mystery, but not one that keeps you in semi-darkness before snapping on the lights at the eleventh hour. Maybe I'd be happier if I was digesting five episodes a week as a box-set..? Maybe I'm just less interested in season 2's UNR case..? Maybe there are too many TV distractions around, so I've lost focus..? Maybe, maybe, maybe. I still think it's a very polished show with some good acting, but I just can't summon the enthusiasm for it now.
Anyone else having the same problem?
In this week's exclusive podcast interview, Glenn Close tells us what it's like working on TV as opposed to film, and Rose Byrne tells us how Ellen is dealing with her grief. Non-iTunes link here, and the iTunes link is here.
29 March 2009
BBC1, 10.20pm
Writer: Jeremy Doner
Director: Matthew Penn
