Damages ended its season — the series? — with some many plot resolutions it had to expand to 90 minutes and still felt stuffed like Read the full post.
Apr 20
2010
10:46 AM ET
'Damages' season finale review: 'The next one's gonna go in your throat'
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Season finale was pretty awful, I thought. Just waiting for that great twist that somehow Ellen has arranged a bunch of this because she’s finally getting back at Patty, but no, it was all predictable and not very interesting. If the show is going to continue to use this flashback thing they really need to have a reason. If it comes back, I want to see Patty get her comeuppance. But if this is where it’s going, I’m not sure I feel like watching another season.
No complaints about 50 minutes of commercials and only 40 minutes of show???
Two Questions – why was ellen’s finace killed and what is the bums connection to everyone
Good question. I thought I knew the answer, but then when I went to type it, I realized it didn’t make any sense.
My thought was that Ellen’s fiance was killed by Frobisher’s cop to discredit or frame her and get her off his case. But why? The sister, Katie, was the one with the info. Now that I’m thinking about it, I always thought that somehow Patty had something to do with it and I figured that would be revealed this season. So now I’m not sure what to think. It doesn’t quite tie up the way they’ve spun it.
As for the bum, Tom met him early in the season when they found the Tobin honcho’s boots in the dumpster. (The dumpster Winstone liked to use to dispose of evidence is right next to the bum’s house.) Tom gave him money and so he became kind of Tom’s buddy.
As to David’s death, if I remember correctly, Ellen had placed the a recording that would incriminate Frobisher in that Statute of Liberty bookend. Frobisher’s goon somehow knew that Ellen had the recording and went to her apartment that she shared with David to look for it. Unfortunately, David was there when he was looking for the recording so the goon killed him, ironically with the Statute of Liberty bookend.
This was my first season watching Damages. Following the plot actions requires some suspension of belief, but to me that was never the point of watching the show. The performances of Glenn Close, Rose Byrne and Tate Donovan were consistently excellent. Patty wins the award for TV line of the year with her “consider this the carrot. Believe me, you don’t want the stick” comment to Jill. But who knew that Martin Short and Lilly Tomlin could play so well against type? And Ted Danson as the “white haired prince of darkness” Arthur Frobisher shows he is a better villain than comedic performer (no offense to Sam Malone intended.) Hopefully FX will keep Damages. Along with Breaking Bad, Dexter and The Tudors, it’s what TV can and should be.
I neglected to mention the job that Campbell Scott did as Joe. Great stuff. Did anyone else notice a couple of times in the Tom Shayes murder scene how much he looks like and occasionally sounds like his Dad?
I’ve loved every season of Damages, but this one has been especially “spine-tingling.” In that respect, the finale did not disappoint. My reaction kept alternating from total surprise (whoa, I didn’t see THAT coming!) to horror (the climactic moment we’ve been dreading since the first episode: the death of Tom) to a sense of closure and resolution. Throughout, I was on the emotional edge of my seat and my spine was tingling. I don’t mind that some questions were left unanswered — I like complexity and I like to be challenged by intelligent writing and superb acting rather than spoon-fed TV pablum. However, I’ve also enjoyed reading all the posts about the finale in which people share their thoughts about some of the remaining mysteries. So, here’s a question I would like to ask. After the violent scene involving Tom, Zedeck’s henchman, and Lenny… after Tom leaves, the apartment is left with a seriously wounded Lenny and presumably dead henchman (sorry, I don’t remember his name). The homeless guy is asked by Tom to “take care” of something for him. Next, we see the homeless guy taking care of Lenny. However, presumably, the dead henchman’s body is still there. Do we know what happened to it?
So, is the show over?
The acting is superb on this show. But similar to Brothers & Sisters (another stellar acting ensemble), the cast is ill served by the writing team. The storyline started off strong, but the finale wrapped things up in much too swift a manner. I can suspend disbelief, but I can’t keep it afloat indefinitely! Here’s to a season 4, with a much tighter plotting and character exploration.
Didnt the season kick off with what we thought was Ellen shooting PAtty and PAtty was in the elevator with Blood on her. Did that thread get dropped.
It is obvious that the writer kicked it into overdrive when the season finale become the series finale.
When you kill off a key character by showing a dot fall into a river – you are rushing things.
<> That was last year. This year started with Patty’s car crash and the discovery of Tom’s body in the dumpster.
Am I the only one who remembers that Ellen shot Patty in the Season 2 finale? They didn’t mention it at all in Season 3. Did I remember it wrong – was it a dream sequence? Why was it never mentioned? Anyone want to comment?
Ellen didn’t shoot Patty in the Season 2 finale, she shot the listening equipment the FBI was using to record Patty’s confession (she was supposed to confess to killing Ellen). Patty actually got stabbed in the elevator up to Ellen’s hotel room by the Wall Street guy involved in the scheme that season (Can’t remember the name of the main villain in Season 2).
Loved the series, and hope (really hope) that it returns. But remained unfulfilled because it seemed to end abruptly. I wish that Tom’s killing was only in Patty’s mind. Hard to see the series continuing without him. some of the plots were confusing: the timing of Michael and Patty’s crash, the meeting between Joe and Tom seem to come out of thin air, and how did Lenny survive the garroting.
This is the first Monday after the season finale and I really miss Damages. It has the whole package. I think I will watch a marathon of all the seasons again.Isn’t that a great idea for FX? Perhaps ratings will go sky high since more people will watch it.
What’s the story about Ellen and Tom starting a law firm supposedly? Was it just an excuse that Ellen gave to the police ?
Also in one of the flasforwards we see Ellen going to Deb asking who else knew about her and Tom…but then this scene does not appear again in the final puzzle. Why would Ellen do that? I don;t think Deb knew about their deal with Winstone, The last she heard about was Tom’s resignation from the firm,
Please tell me if and when the finale will be aired again, hopefully this summer. I missed it and I am dying to see it for myself.The review was great. Thanks.
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