[DMG] I Lied, Too

TV Programme: Damages
Season: 2
Episode: 1
Date I watched this episode: 08/01/2009
Time since I last watched this programme: 8 months, 13 days.

I was seriously excited about this episode. Damages was the best new programme I've seen since Lost, and that was quite a while ago now. When I was watching the first season, it was like a book which I couldn't put down; I was absolutely hooked.

Did this episode have the same effect on me? Not quite. But then, I have to give the show a bit of leeway, especially since it is the first episode of a new season. Season premieres in general are a bit of a strange beast, as they generally serve to set up season-wide storylines. Sometimes these premieres just grab you and work really effectively, such as [LST] "Man of Science, Man of Faith", whilst others leave you a bit confused and take time to grow on you ([SMV] "Crusade" and [OTH] "Like You Like An Arsonist" come to mind).

This premiere is particularly important because they are, at least to some extent, re-inventing the programme as a whole (and I can't get used to Patty's new hairstyle, but that's for another day). There's an entirely new setup, which we knew would be the case after season 1's awesome finale, and there's a new case, and new characters.

The last of these is particularly interesting for me, I always wonder when watching a new season premiere who the main characters will turn out to be. Will that creepy guy from the therapy session be back, I wonder? I would think not, whereas the philanthropist and the guy with the research papers (I haven't really learned everyones names yet) are bound to make reappearances.

It's not surprising that I can't really see where Damages is going this season. But this show has a bit of a habit of revealing things slowly and in a very clever way. One thing which strikes me initially as odd though, is there seem to be 2 separate "case"-like storylines, the infant mortality one and the chemical research papers "making people sick" one. Perhaps these are more intertwined than meets the eye, in fact I'd probably bet on that, given the nature of the show. But from a story perspective, it seems like it would be hard for the writers to create a smoothly flowing story.

I think this episode was a bit too cliche in a number of places. You knew that Ellen was going to refuse the gun (and probably take one out again at a later date), that Patty wasn't going to confess to anything specifically, and that Patty was playing fairly standard games with the philanthropist (she is a lawyer after all). There were also some cliche scenes. Ellen's line of "a month ago she tried to kill me and now she's trying to be my best friend" made me cringe a bit. It lacks the subtlety that I'm used to.

I don't think it would have been impossible for the writers to give this episode a bit more of a dramatic feel. Some incredibly complex season premieres, introducing lots of new characters and storylines and unable to spend more than a few minutes on each one (e.g. [24H]'s first season premiere) can still have the dramatic quality. In particular, here there was one important twist, namely when you found out that Ellen was visiting Frobisher in place of his wife. They could have done more with this though, I think.

What did I like about this episode, then? It did have some redeeming features. I always enjoy the way characters are developed in Damages, and Patty Hewes in particular was central to this episode. Her struggle with her own guilt, and also the way that the loss of Julia was portrayed as a ("Sliding Doors"-style) turning point, gave some interesting new character traits, without compromising existing ones (which can be a big danger in change of direction, e.g. in The West Wing Season 5). Also, Ellen was clearly starting on the journey which is going to lead her character to the final scene.

While the episode didn't have quite the "what the **** is going on" feel of some season 1 episodes, it did leave some unanswered questions. One in particular is the question of how Patty knows that guy. Obviously they have some sort of history, but it seemed like a deliberate omission not to go into more detail, so I'll look forward to hearing more.

Much more obvious is the question of who Ellen is speaking to in the final(/first) scene. It could be Patty, it could be Arthur, or it could be someone completely different who we may not have even met yet (although I expect we have met them). My guess...would be Arthur. I would predict that Ellen will realise her revenge for David's death is even greater than her revenge against her own attempted murder, and that Patty does have something to offer. But it could equally well be some random person like the philanthropist, who may well have done something we don't know about yet.

In summary, this was an interesting episode, but didn't quite satisfy my hunger. The season didn't start with a bang, but it did start with a focus.