Damages - 206 - A Pretty Girl In A Leotard
In the latest episode of Damages Patty finally gets her Plantif for the Ultima case while Katie accidentally sees someone from the past and as such Ellen gets closer to proving Frobisher had David killed. We learn a little more about William Kendrick and in the present day timeline things look exceptionally bad for Ellen.
Read about credits, buying a new car and a surprising development beyond the link...
Have I lately mentioned how much I love the opening credits for Damages? Even if I have I think it's something worth reiterating before I move onto writing about the latest episode; 'A Pretty Girl In A Leotard'. The opening sequence along with it's seriously funky score is possibly one of the best opening sequences ever used on a TV show.
If you're curious it's called 'When I Am Through With You' and it's by the VLA. Here's the full version on youtube.
Onto the episode.
By all accounts this was a pretty good episode, for the most part Damages is a show which likes to plod along being confusing for a while and then suddenly shout 'BIG TWIST' at it's viewers then cackle as everything becomes even more murky and obfuscated. But it does have stretches where things are brought to head in a more sedate and suited fashion. Last week's episode was one of these and this week, while having a few twisty moments, was very good at puting them forward without leaning on them too hard.
Everything just felt more natural, though I must admit I've pretty much given up trying to understand exactly what's happening, instead I just sat back and enjoyed the ride. As such I doubt I have any real insights into what's happening or why, just a few observations and comments about random things that caught my attention.
I'm now utterly confused as to what exactly Clarke Peter's character has to do with any thing in the show, while it's often impossible to label a character in Damages as a good or bad guy there are normally defined sides. He appears to be floating above this and playing his own game. Which -- if this is the case -- is fine, but the previous episode lead me to believe he was more 'on Patty's side'. But he doesn't have to make that much sense, he's brilliant to watch and sounds like chocolate on silk.
Speaking of sides, I do seriously appreciate the way Frobisher has now been brought firmly into the plot. His role as Patty's plantif is just a superb piece of irony and provides the potential for some great moments later on. Ellen is really going to struggle to stay calm when she finds out about this development. I wouldn't be surprised if Patty has engineered it to try and provoke Ellen, or am I subscribing a little too much devious to her character at this moment? We'll see, and until then we can just wonder what exactly Frobisher plans to get out of this move.
Katie's return to the show is fully cemented in this episode as well, and while Anastasia Griffith's acting is a tad ropey at times I'm actually pleased to see the character back. Especially as it's brought more of David Costabile back as well, his murder of David in the previous season is something which was left hanging. I'd also quickly like to nod my head in appreciation of the way Detective Rick Messer's execution of the second officer involved with Katie and David was handled. In paritcular the realistic manner of the man's reaction, after being shot in the back he pretty much kept to his feet and was able to turn around before being shot again. Contrary to popular media being shot in the torso does not often knock someone off their feet. Admittedly he was propped up by the car. But it was good to see him turn around with that look of disbelief on his face before Rick finished him off with a second shot.
We also get a few snips of him in the current timeline, clearly planning to kill Ellen in her hotel room and as such wrap up the final lose ends tying David's murder to himself (and Frobisher). He's definately one of the more exciting elements in this episode.
Marcia Gay Harden and John Doman feature heavily in this episode and both of them prove to be more than capable of carrying the weight of the episode on their shoulders. Marcia is of course an exceptionally accomplished actress, but John I've only seen previously in the role of Rawls on The Wire, a role which is described as supporting at best. Here he manages to show himself as the talent he really is, holding his own in a great scene with an on fire Ted Danson and also proving to be as much of a presence on screen as Glenn Close, though he doesn't quite get close to her level of 'predator in a suit'.
The first season now seems to have involved little fish in comparison -- if you could call Frobisher small -- but Ultima and Kendrick are bigger and seem to present more risks and danger, especially now we realise that Frobisher isn't out of the picture.
It was a great episode, full of solid performances, good writing and some great moments. All in all it seems that Damages has mostly moved past the set up for this season and is now looking to move towards the conclusion.
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