I’ll be the first to admit that I was probably drinking (heavily) when I first reviewed Damages. There’s no other way to explain why I didn’t fawn. After a long summer/fall run, it ended up being one of the most well-crafted shows on TV these past few months. It was certainly the most suspenseful. Last night’s season (series?!) finale gave us a whole lot of answers, but the super-twist in the last three minutes made me hope this wasn’t the last we’ll hear of Hewes and Associates.
What we do know (spoiler alert!) is that if they come back, it will be an entirely different program. The Frobisher case is settled, and most of its key players didn’t even live to see last night’s credits. Whether we wanted to believe it or not, James Brown helped confirm that bipolar Patty Hewes was apparently behind it all from the beginning (we should have known when she killed that puppy in the pilot). So what’s on newly free Ellen Parson’s mind is revenge. And the best way to get that revenge? Heading back into the belly of the beast as a government spy to bring Patty down. Damages will be almost completely void of the elements that didn’t float with me now that there’s no room for romantic storylines or disturbing appearances by Ted Danson. After all of that tension, the first season of Damages really just serves as a prologue for an even more complex and satisfying story.
We’re now left with an entirely different kind of gut-twisting anticipation. Michael Ausiello claimed that Damages has been guaranteed an additional 13 episodes, but FX hasn’t let out so much as a peep regarding the fate of the show. If it really is coming back for a second run, it’s probably because the cable net is keen to keep an actress of Glenn Close’s caliber in their pocket. The ratings are abysmal but, then again, so were Dirt‘s, and we haven’t heard the last of that stinker. Fingers crossed that they make the right decision. Patty Hewes is too deliciously evil and confusing of a character to throw away so casually.
Side note: Little poll I’m taking… did any of you actually watch this show?
Couple of things:
1. The first episode was weak. I had the same experience of going from “this is okay” to “this is one of the best shows on tv.”
2. NO WAY is Frobisher dead. Do you think? I think he’s alive! I mean, provided the show is alive.
That is all.
I didn’t watch it until a friend strong-armed me into catching the whole season last Sat. The beginning was weak, but after about 4 or 5 eps I really got into it. The ending did work for me… mostly. Felt a little anti-climatic, but it did leave me wanting more with another season. I don’t know how they could drag Froibisher out for another season. That horse is dead and beaten.
Best. Baddie. Ever. Close rocked it.
See… I really just don’t see any point in Frobisher continuing on the show. I feel like the only reason they didn’t actually show him die was because it’s more fun to imagine him laying there are miserable and bleedy.
I loved it up until they murdered the puppy. That’s when I checked out.