Damages – Back to the flashforwards

For an episode that started out a little slow, there was certainly a lot that happened by the time tonight’s Damages was over. The show returned to the flashforwards and we got some shocking insight into the events of “five months later.” Five months in the past there were some similarly tense moments between Joe and his father, and we’re learning more and more about what Lenny is willing, ready, and able to do for his high profile client.

It was nice to get back to the heart of the case in this episode, whereas last week’s seemed to be heavy on the character development. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy last week’s episode, I just think there needs to be a balance on the show.

The biggest revelation in this episode came in the flashforward. Things are not always as they appear in these flashes, and I’ve been fooled before, but it certainly seemed to me that Patty had put a hit out on Tom, similar to what she did to Ellen in season one. It looks like Patty tried to call off the hit, but it was too late, or whoever was responsible just didn’t listen. I guess it’s hard to find reliable assassins with Uncle Pete out of the picture. It’s going to be really interesting seeing how the falling out between Tom and Patty occurs. Does Patty get upset over Tom’s affair with Ellen? Does Tom somehow jeopardize the Tobin case because of his personal involvement in it? I’m excited to find out.

All the action was not relegated to the future, however. There were some tense moments as Leonard and Louis were prepared to take action against Joe’s renewed drinking problem. I’m not sure exactly what that action was going to be. To me, it certainly looked like the man following Joe was ready to pull a gun on him. Would he really kill him right there in the middle of the street? That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but he was definitely going for something inside his jacket. A taser maybe? A camera?

In any case, I really loved the climax, as the camera shifted from Joe and his follower to Louis, who was in the midst of killing himself, and to Lenny, who was staring at himself in several televisions in an electronic store. It was a great moment, as if he were looking at himself in the mirror, wondering what kind of man he was, but magnified by at least three or four times. Very clever. It certainly seems like Lenny is willing to do just about anything for his clients. He stood by and allowed Louis to kill himself and was ready to take action against Joe.

The last interesting piece of information from tonight’s episode came at the end with the mysterious envelope that Louis left, marked “deliver to Patty Hewes.” With Joe picking it up, I have a feeling that it’s not going to find its way to Patty … not for a while, at least. It seemed like Tobin was looking for a little repentance, so I’m assuming that information on the hidden money was contained in the envelope, and I don’t think Joe is ready to give that up.

What did you think of tonight’s episode?

Clacked by Bob Degon
on Feb 15, 2010 @ 23:00 EST5EDT