The Damages Season 3 premiere got off to a slow start before finally leaving viewers breathless. The slow start was understandable. The writers needed to bring viewers up to date on the leading characters after the dramatic season 2 finale. But, what happened in the end, left viewers overwhelmingly shocked.
Season 3 began in the typical and mysterious flashback / flashforward style, Damages established in its freshman season. In seasons 1 and 2, we began with Ellen as the subject of our mystery. Season 3 wastes know time in putting Patty Hewes (Glenn Close) at the forefront of this new saga. As Patty drives through the streets, while listening to two radio announcers berate her, Patty’s car is struck by another vehicle. Miraculously, Patty survives, only to discover that there was no one in the car that hit her. The police discover that the car is registered to Tom Shayes (Tate Donovan) and our seasonal mystery begins. Coincidentally, six months prior, Patty finally decided to put Tom’s name on the wall. Thus Hewes & Shayes Associates was born. It seems that getting pseudo-fired towards the end of Seasons 1 and 2 helped Tom’s career.
Patty Hewes and Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne) may have parted ways peacefully, but their relationship tarries on. Patty has not allowed Ellen’s office to be cleared out in the ten months since Ellen left the firm. Ellen now works in the realms of narcotics litigation, but she still remains under the shadow of Patty. Several of her coworkers constantly make remarks regarding her allegiances. It doesn’t help Ellen reputation when an expensive three thousand dollar pocketbook arrives as a gift from Ms. Hewes. Nor, does it help Ellen’s image when a low-level street dealer magically decides to turn on his supplier after being threatened.
This seasons’ focal Damages case is a play off of Bernie Madoff’s recent billion-dollar Ponzi scam on Wall Street. Instead of Madoff, we find the Tobin family on the verge of ruin because their patriarch, Louis Tobin (Len Cariou), defrauded several investors. Louis’ wife Marilyn (Lily Tomlin) and their son, Joe (Scott Campbell), are left to fend for themselves against the jeering public when Louis is sent to jail. Maartin Short plays Leonard Winstone, the family’s trusted attorney who has a sarcastic tongue that you can’t help but say, “wow” at.
The moderately paced premiere took off during the premiere’s final minutes when a body was discovered. Tom Shayes is dead. I wouldn’t believe it if I didn’t see it. They actually showed the body, which makes me wonder what was going through Tate Donovan’s mind when he first read the script. Damages is not 24, where a dead body need not be a dead body. So, I can only presume that this is Tom’s final season on Damages, which is sad to say the least. It’s one thing to wave goodbye to a character at the end of a season, but waving goodbye at the beginning of the season just leaves you feeling empty inside.
In Damages Season 3 Episode 2, “The Dog is Happier Without Her,” Patty Hewes digs deeper in the secrets of the Tobin family. Meanwhile, Ellen Parsons provides valuable assistance to Tom Shayes.
- No Comments
