Damages You Got Your Prom Date Pregnant
Original Air Date: March 4, 2008
Tom R. - Sr. Staff Writer
tom@thetwocents.com
The song “Danny Boy” is an irony in itself. If you listen casually, you notice the beauty and gentleness of the melody. However, digging into the lyrics, you find an amazing amount of tragedy below the surface. So it’s not coincidental that Damages would use it in the course of an episode this close to St. Patrick’s Day. Sam Arsenault breaks into a rendition of the tune at a party during the episode. His singing is heard in the background as Patty starts a conversation with Powell about Arsenault’s true nature, “He’ll tell you what you want to hear, then stab you in the back.”
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[photo: FX]
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The song “Danny Boy” is an irony in itself. If you listen casually, you notice the beauty and gentleness of the melody. However, digging into the lyrics, you find an amazing amount of tragedy below the surface. So it’s not coincidental that Damages would use it in the course of an episode this close to St. Patrick’s Day. Sam Arsenault breaks into a rendition of the tune at a party during the episode. His singing is heard in the background as Patty starts a conversation with Powell about Arsenault’s true nature, “He’ll tell you what you want to hear, then stab you in the back.”
ReplyDeleteQuestions surround FBI agents Harrison and Werner as well. When Patty gathers Ellen and Tom for a discussion about the investigation, Tom starts to worry about job security. He contacts his sister to do some inside digging. She reports back that the FBI has no file on Patty Hewes. Ellen confronts Harrison and Werner about this, and for a while, it’s not even clear whether they are FBI. (Their “Men in Black” joke doesn’t help, either.) Once they come to their supervisor, there’s a bit of clarity…but by the end of the episode, that’s shattered too. He claims the file was pulled to avoid Patty’s snooping, but after Patty visits him, declaring war, he’s on the phone asking how to proceed.
At the same time, the questions around Powell keep growing. He meets with Kendrick to discuss the appointment of a new Secretary of Energy, and it appears he’s part of the decision making process. He meets with Garrity to discuss manipulation of the energy market, then meets with Patty’s husband Phil for advice on potential appointees. Phil recommends Arsenault, but after Patty’s conversation, he starts to lean more toward Phil…or was he heading there all along?
Messer has been such an enigma, we didn’t know his name until the season one finale. Here, he continues to manipulate Wes, driving him more toward Katie. He brushes off Ellen as their grief counselor urges the two of them not to start a relationship. On their date, Katie notices that he’s not that into her, and he and Ellen end up in each other’s arms. Katie, however, lets it slip that Patty and Ellen know about Messer’s security firm and their actions. The episode ends with Messer telling Wes to get rid of Ellen.
Jumping to the future, we see that Tom has been barred from the office and threatens to sue Patty for wrongful termination. He leaves, and we see a replay of the scene where he gives Ellen the gun she uses in the season’s opening scene. We also see Patty remind Ellen that murder is “not in her nature”.
So to recap the future so far, pieces are falling together…Wes stayed with Ellen, Messer came to kill her, Patty was held at gunpoint and shown Uncle Pete’s file on Ellen, and Ellen left with a mysterious briefcase. We didn’t see Messer, Wes or Patty leave the apartment. So…Is Patty right, or has everyone underestimated what Ellen is capable of?
We’re getting closer and closer to the answers. Last season may have had more punch, due to its sheer innovation, but this season is building steadily, using a less linear approach to the gaps it’s filling.
So there’s my TwoCents... I’d love to hear where your thoughts. Drop in your comments or send me a note at: tom@thetwocents.com.
I've been watching this one on "On Demand" ~ thankfully I can go back and rewatch episodes since SO much happens every week!
ReplyDeleteEllen needs to be happy there was no FBI file, she would have been discovered & killed before she could blink at the rate Patty works!