Catching up with Damages: 4.04 - 4.06

[selenak]

The one advantage falling behind with a tv show offers: watching several episodes in a row, which heightens the rush. Will be on to episode 7 soon.

Another reason why I'm glad I watched these in a row is that ep.4 felt a bit like treading water. But the rest definitely didn't. And let me declare straight away that Foreman the multilingual evil henchman has now justified his existence to me by a) turning out not to be an evil henchman but Howard's CIA contact (which explains the way they interact, because Foreman definitely doesn't behave like an employe), and b) getting the flu. Also a mistress in whom he confides a wisp of scruples, but it's the golden idea of the flu that sold me on the character because that makes him go from cliché to human - and really, how come the bad guys never get sick? - without making him less dangerous, as we could see that the flu did not stop him from coming upwith and successfully executing yet another dastardly scheme. (Nice bluff with the hair identification, btw. I should have figured out something was up because killing Ellen via exploding a bus would have been such an over the top and clumsy thing to do; whereas what he actually did means he can keep his self image as Jack Bauer (hm, I wonder whether that was the inspiration? Foreman as Jack Bauer as written by a critical leftist scriptwriter?) intact, and villains who believe in their own righteousness are almost always more interesting.

Howard also gained villainous effectivenss. The whole subplot with Malley and his grandson was a good way of showing the corruptness and megalomania that runs along with the father-Christian-patriot self idea; and it shows how the man got this far in his lethal business to begin with, more so than him licensing Chris' "interrogation" did, because the former is just plain everyday abuse of power in a perfectly legal way. All these improvements in the villain department are excellent they give our protagonists something to work with.

I was wondering why the has-Katherine-leukemia?-subplot had been there until Michael showed up in Patty's office, at which point it became clear: to demonstrate to the audience that Patty did come to care very deeply about her granddaughter, just so we know what's at stake. It brought out a new interesting tidbit of Patty's past, too, what she says about her mother, which you can read as influencing not only Patty's own personality (in an "anything but this" kind of way) but also her interaction with Ellen, past and present (going from reading Ellen as someone like her mother to reading Ellen as someone like herself, among other things). The scene where Patty puts her hand on Ellen's shoulder after having heard the news about the lack of leukemia, just that, is the Patty-version of a relieved hug and all the more effective in its spareness, and it says something about how their relationship has changed that she does need to touch Ellen, ever so briefly, at that moment.

The show is a bit flirting with faking the audience out about whether or not Patty will doublecross Ellen and take over the case, and that so far she hasn't makes me wonder whether this is in store during the finale (i.e. the boy who cried wolf effect - when we won't believe she'll do it anymore, etc.), but in the meantime, I am enjoying my team of awesome. Loved them bamboozling Det. Crosetti Rosetti together, and prank-calling the CIA turning Foreman's bugging of Ellen's phone against him.

Speaking of fake-outs: given the show brought up David again and the few flash forwards we get, which carefully avoid showing a face, I suppose we're meant to believe Ellen is confronted with Chris' body in that scene, but it will turn out to be someone else's. Since it's someone whos death affects her more than with general horror, I'm going with the boyfriend, though how or why he'll end up there I have no idea. Incidentally, the restaurant scene with Ellen commenting on the manipulativeness of a public proposal and the fact the woman has no choice but to appear happy is something that, again, underllines the change between naive Ellen at the start of the show (who'd have taken the romance of the scene at surface value) and Ellen now.

Lastly: poor Masawi. I do hope Foreman keeps his word at least and Masawi doesn't end up as another corpse (he'd have been my other guess for the flash forward corpse if it's not Chris). The Iranian descent guard was a good incidental character, quickly sketched but you can extrapolate a lot from what we were shown.

Comments

[chaila]

I like all your thoughts! Especially about the improvements in the villain area this season. This show is so much better as a whole when its villains are compelling. I admit I still do not care about Foreman, but at least his existence has some kind of justification. Except I don't really see the point of the sustained illness, which is now just kind of gross.

I agree that I hope the body isn't Chris' and think that's too obvious to be the case, but if they want me to care if it's the boyfriend, he's going to have to be around more. I forget he exists for entire weeks at a time.

I am enjoying Patty and Ellen being a team and prank-calling the CIA so much! Even if it probably can't last. :)

[selenak]

"prank-calling the CIA" should be a new tag. Also an interest, and a like. :) Anyway, Patty and Ellen are great at it.

If it's not the boyfriend, though, and Nasim is deported, who does that leave - Bill? I don't think Ellen would react that strongly to finding him, and that David mention smells like foreshadowing to me because otherwise it's random and purposeless (Ellen having dealt with her immediate David trauma in season 2).

If Patty was the person finding the body, I wouldn't bet on Michael's survival chances this season, but it's Ellen, and Ellen has no strong feelings about Michael one way or the other, except that he's Patty's son.

[chaila]

All true. Hmm I suppose, thinking about it, I think I still haven't discounted the possibility that it IS Chris but didn't happen in the way that seems most obvious at this point? That is, perhaps Patty is somehow responsible for the body (and/or Ellen, somewhat unintentionally)? Then again, it would just be retreading ground if it's Chris and Patty is responsible. It's really hard to make predictions with this show!