WRITER: Jeremy Doner[SPOILERS] This was an episode all about family dysfunction: Joe (Campbell Scott) is revealed to be an alcoholic who's fallen off the wagon in the wake of his father's insurance fraud scandal; Patty's (Glenn Close) son Michael (Zachary Booth) is pretending he's employed and has broken up with his older girlfriend Jill, who's actually pregnant with his baby; and Ellen (Rose Byrne) has stopped sending cheques to her sister Carrie (Miriam Shor), fearing she's using the money to fund a drug habit.
DIRECTOR: Matthew Penn
GUEST CAST: Len Cariou, Lily Tomlin, Glenn Fleshler, Zachary Booth, Sarah Wynter, Tom Noonan, Reiko Aylesworth, Ben Shenkman, Miriam Shor, Larry Keith, Wendy Moniz, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick, Darren Goldstein & Curtis L. McClarin
I thought this was a stronger episode than last week's runaround, mainly because the story took a few U-turns I didn't expect -- Louis (Len Cariou) had actually called his mistress Danielle on Thanksgiving evening because he'd left his medication at her house, so the only reason he wanted to get her out of the country was to spare him the embarrassment of having his affair exposed ontop of the fraud. I also didn't expect the series to kill off Louis at this early stage, as he drank poisoned tea provided by his loyal doctor, leaving behind a package addressed to Patty that Joe found...
There was also some decent emotional strings being pulled here, too, what with Joe having actually decided to give up the bottle and go see his dad on his last night of freedom, only to find him dead like that. The preceding scene of Joe being followed around town by his father's surveillance team, to keep an eye on his drinking, was one of the best sequences I've seen on Damages in awhile; very nicely filmed, slightly bizarre (Lenny making faces in a shop window's TV), and a completely visual piece with no spoken dialogue.
The flashforwards gave us a few neat clues and insights into why Tom's been killed, too: his body wasn't bloated enough to have been in the water very long (so who dragged him out and put him in a dumpster?); Patty remembers speaking to an agitated Tom shortly before his death (by whomever he answered the door to in one sequence?) ; and the final sting suggested that Patty who may have ordered a hit on Tom that she reneged on, but it appears to have gone ahead anyway! That always happens in TV-land, once you set the ball in motion... but what will Tom do that makes Patty angry enough to want to kill him?
Overall, there was lots of juicy stuff to enjoy in "Don't Throw That At The Chicken" (great title, too), as more elements came into play and the flashforwards took a few fun, unexpected twists. Damages still isn't quite the gripping delight I adored in season 1, but so far this year's story is a lot more human, credible and comprehensible than season 2.
Asides
-- I'm sorry, but are we expected to really believe Rose Byrne and Miriam Shor are sisters? No offence to Shor (everyone looks bad stood next to the porcelain doll that is Rose Byrne), but it's unconvincing they share a gene pool. It might have been better if Carrie was played by someone who's equally as attractive, or more attractive than Ellen, but has let clearly let themselves go.
-- This season appears to be all about family, doesn't it? Patty says she considered Tom part of her family, her ex-husband's trying to get back with her, Ellen's family are taking on a bigger role, the Tobin dynasty is obvious central to the year's legal case, and there are even some babies in the mix (Ellen's sister's, Patty's unborn grandchild.)
17/18 MARCH 2010: BBC1 / BBC HD, 10PM
