Damages is back in January – CliqueClack preview

Last season, Damages quickly became one of my “don’t miss” shows. It was full of plot twists, deep character development and enough conspiracy to make you stop missing X-Files (although conspiracy of a different beast, to be sure).

So you can imagine how forward I was looking to Damages‘ return. Well, it comes back to FX on Wednesday, January 7, and I’ve already seen the first two episodes (insert smug smile here).

Are you curious to know if the start of season two holds up to last’s season’s masterpiece? Read on, but beware there are some slight spoilers….

The short answer? Yes and no. I felt disappointed with the first episode, and overall, I found them both to be very slow-paced. However, there was some amazing setup going on, and I think we may be in for a real treat this season.

We left off last season with Ellen going to work for the FBI to bring down Patty, and we pretty much pick up right there, through the flashbacks anyway. We’ve got a similar structure to last season, staring with the present and having the bulk of the action take place through flashbacks. So like season one, we’ll know what is happening six months ahead, and we’ll get to see that play out in an interesting way as more and more details are filled in. This just added to the suspense and intrigue last season, so I am glad to see them use the unique story structure once again.

We are treated to some old favorites:

• Patty’s guilt from last season’s, um … attempted murder weighs heavily on Patty, in that she puts her energies into opening a foundation rather than trying cases. It doesn’t keep her from spying, manipulating and being generally morally disgusting, so we’ll still get to have our fun.
• Patty and Uncle Pete are still in it deep; it’s kind of fun to watch these two mistrust, then manipulate everyone at the office.
• Arthur Frobisher is back, and as shallow as ever. He does seem different, though, and it will be interesting to see how changed he is from his ordeal with the shooting, his wife leaving him and him losing his shirt.
• Tom is back as Patty’s bitch, so to speak. Man, that guy is pathetic, and it’s really hard to figure out if he has any kahunas of his own or if he just does Patty’s bidding exclusively.
• Ellen’s character has grown from her ordeal, and she struggles with who she wants to be: forgiving woman or vengeful bitch.

And some new characters are introduced:

• William Hurt plays an old friend of Patty’s, Daniel Purcell, who will be the driving force for one of the big cases and big mysteries of season two. Let’s just say there is corporate conspiracy, government cover-up and murder involved. Really, what more could you ask for?
• Marcia Gay Harden joins the cast as Claire Maddox, someone in deep with William Hurt’s character.
• Timothy Olyphant is someone in Ellen’s therapy group (for people who’ve lost someone to an unexpected death), Wes Krulik, who is much, much more than he first appears. And he first appears to be an attractive love interest for Ellen….

I think a theme with Ellen that we are going to see for this season is revenge — is it worth it? Do I have the stuff to execute it? She’s got a beef with Frobisher (since she believes his men killed her fiance) and she’s not sure how she’s going to deal with that. And we know she wants to see Patty taken down, which is why she’s working for the FBI. Will she remain strong on that point, or get sucked into Patty’s lies? Season two may hold the answers for us.

All in all, I’m pretty excited for season two of Damages. It’s been a long wait!

Clacked by Debbie McDuffee
on Dec 09, 2008 @ 13:00 EST5EDT