Patty Hewes is back. After winning her last two cases, she’s taking on another huge case. Financier Louis Tobin’s Ponzi scheme.
Hewes and Associates has been appointed by the government to recover the billions of dollars Tobin stole from investors. Tom Shayes is helping with the case. This season, Ellen is working at the district attorney’s office, having she believes, left Patty behind for good.
Season 3 begins 10 months after season 2 ended.
When we first see Patty, she’s dining out and being hit on by a ‘sort of architect’, played by Keith Carradine (last seen dead on Dexter). I can’t wait to find out exactly what he’s up to. He’s pouring on the charm with Patty, but having watched the series for two years, I’m sure there’s more than meets the eye with this fellow.
When we see her next, it’s six months later and her car’s been hit while she’s driving down the street.
And so season three of Damages begins.
Seems Patty’s been keeping Ellen’s old office for her…assuming she’ll be back, or keeping it as a shrine to the one who got away?
Ellen’s working a big drug case and trying to get a dealer to flip on his supplier. She eventually succeeds, but is it because the boss caught on, or did Ellen…or Patty…give him a little push?
First surprise of the season is Patty finally making Tom partner in the firm. Finally.
We begin meeting the Tobin family, Louis Tobin (Len Cariou), his wife Marilyn (Lily Tomlin, who looks great), their son Joe (Campbell Scott) and the family lawyer Lenny Winstone (Martin Short, being very unMartin Short-like). Patty, naturally, doesn’t believe the rest of the family’s claims of innocence.
She receives a gift from Patty…a Gucci bag…which turns up later on.
We start learning about the Tobin family and of course, all may not be as they claim. Joe Tobin wants to do the right thing, but is he willing to walk away from his family to do it? Patty pays off one of the investors to see just how far Joe Tobin will go. He insists Louis hid no money to save for the family, but Patty suspects he did.
Joe meets with his mother who gives him the phone number that Louis called the night he admitted the fraud to his family. Joe gives the number to Patty. Oh, the plot thickens…
The police begin investigating Patty’s accident. First on the list of discoveries is that the car that hit her is registered to Tom Shayes. And the plot thickens again…
Louis admits to Joe that he’s hidden money to look after the family when he goes to prison.
Patty calls the number…the phone is answered by a homeless man…the police suspect Patty is lying about the car accident and confront her…they find Ellen’s purse in his grocery cart. The new sign goes up at Hewes Shayes and Associates… a body is discovered in the dumpster.
Tom Shayes’ body.
Coming off her second Emmy win for the role of Patty Hewes, Glenn Close is at the top of her game, she looks fantastic, she plays this role like she was born to it, and she’s made Patty Hewes one of the most memorable characters to come across my TV screen in years. I love to love and hate Patty. She is always interesting and fascinating and intriguing. Though Patty says ‘what you see is what you get’, it’s just so not that, I’m kept guessing at every turn, and I love it.
Rose Byrne is proving to be a revelation as Ellen Parsons. Still waiting to find out if Ellen is as ethical as she appears to be, or if she’s as dirty and rotten inside as Patty keeps her just as interesting.
Tate Donovan’s portrayal of Tom Shayes is so well done, you want to feel for him, but sometimes he’s such a schmuck that you want to slap him until it hurts. Is he as dumb as he seems, is he Patty’s lap dog, or does he have a deeper, dirtier side that we haven’t really seen yet. This season, which looks like Tom’s last, will give Donovan a chance to really strut his stuff. I have a feeling it will be formidable.
The new cast members…the brilliant Campbell Scott (I’ve been a fan for years) is, I think, going to be a stellar addition to the cast. He’s already giving the character layers, already making him difficult to read, so I think it’s going to be enjoyable to watch him twist and turn with and against Patty and company.
Lily Tomlin and Martin Short are going to be fun to watch, Tomlin because she is always enjoyable, and Short because it’s such an unusual role for him. It will be fun to see the serious (or perhaps not) side of him.
The addition of Reiko Aylesworth as Joe’s wife leads me to believe that she’ll play a larger part as the season progresses.
All in all, a great season premiere. It left me wanting more.
Related posts:
I live in western Canada.
My favourite shows are Damages and Dexter.
I believe John Hodgman may be the funniest person alive.
http://twesternweezy.blogspot.com/