By Brandon Nolta
On the previous episode of DAMAGES, Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne) managed to get fired by Patty Hewes (Glenn Close), which seemed like it would be a life-saver for Ellen. Of course, thanks to the dual timelines, we know that’s not the end of it for either of them. As this week’s installment opens, we see Ellen hitting up Hollis Nye (Phillip Bosco) for a job, while in the present timeline, Patty stops at a gas station long enough to clean a spot of blood off her shoes. At this point, the timelines are little more than a week apart, so things are coming to a head quickly.
But, that’s not the meat of the plot. Things are heating up now, as Patty decides to use the information Ellen dug up on George Moore (Peter Riegert), the former SEC investigator and current badass running around putting pressure on everybody, to force Arthur Frobisher (Ted Danson) to settle the massive stock fraud suit against him. Meanwhile, Ray Fiske (Zeljko Ivanek) is accelerating his emotional breakdown with reminiscences of Gregory Malina (Peter Facinelli), the deceased witness with whom Fiske had some kind of relationship in calmer days. Just so the fiancé isn’t left out, David (Noah Bean) discovers creepy invaders in his apartment, and doesn’t discover the creepy stalker chick who’s gotten a lot more surreptitious about following the good doctor.
Up to now, the game has mostly been about threats and menace, subtle maneuvers and backroom deals. But, it’s end game, so the players are stepping up, and what better way to do so than to start whacking the pieces? That’s the conclusion Ellen reaches when she goes to meet Mr. Moore and finds he’s been the recipient of some high-velocity lead poisoning. What does she do? Rifles his pockets and wipes down the car, that’s what. I’ll have to ask my wife what year of law school that procedure is taught. Anyway, the pressure’s mounting all around, and to say that things look really bad for all involved would be practicing one’s understatement skills. To steal the title from an upcoming Daniel Day-Lewis film, there will be blood, and soon.
As usual, it’s damn good acting from every corner, but this episode really belongs to Ivanek above all else. In many ways, Fiske is the crux of this episode: a late revelation puts the ball in his court with the case, and the outlining of his relationship with Malina shows a man terribly conflicted. Ivanek plays all these notes like a concert pianist in full swing, and he’s a wonder to watch, from his guarded expressions to the subtle tremor in his hands, which makes his abrupt departure from the show all the more poignant. Close is also knocking them out of the park; she manages to believably show terror and complete panic without losing her steely indomitability, best displayed in a scene by a pond that lets her use that classical profile to its best effect. I bet Ms. Close almost drooled in anticipation when she read the first scripts for this show.
What more can I say? DAMAGES remains one of the most convoluted, intense hours on basic cable, bar none, and the stakes are rising steeply. I predict hearts racing and stomachs churning for the last couple of episodes. Better go buy some Tums.