Damages - Season 2 (DVD)

Damages – Season 2 is not a series to come into cold. If you didn’t watch Season 1 you’ll be absolutely flummoxed by the first episode, which is largely about the fallout from the dramatic end of the series’ first outing. In fact even if you’re already au fait with all thing Damages it’s worth keeping a pen and pencil handy, as there’s a vast amount of different people and factions that emerge in Season 2, all double, triple and quadruple bluffing each other, and ready to stab each other in the back to meet their own ends.

However if you do want to watch Season 2 without watching Season 1, disc 1 of this set offers a two-part Season 1 recap in the special features department, which covers most of what happened. To be honest if it’s a while since you saw the previous instalment, it’s worth watching this just to refresh your memory, as quite a few things pop up during Season 2 that refer to much earlier events, which you might well have forgotten about.

While in season 1 the fragmented narrative kept flashing forward so we were trying to discover how thing got to the point where newbie lawyer Ellen’s (Rose Byrne) fiancé was killed, this time we keep jumping forward to see Ellen facing the ruthless attorney Patty Hewes (Glenn Close) and then taking out a gun and firing it. But how does Ellen get into that situation? Is it a result of her working with the FBI to try and bring Patty down? Does it have something to do with Daniel Purcell (William Hurt), who’s a suspect in his wife’s killing? Is it connected with Patty’s case against an energy company that’s been fixing prices and poisoning people? Has her season 1 nemesis, Arthur Frobisher, done something to force her hand? Does it involve Ellen’s new friend Wes (Timothy Olyphant), who seems to be working for every side? Or is it one of a hundred other plot strands, macguffins and red herrings that are thrown up along the way.

To be honest it’s all a little too complicated for its own good, and lacks the unsettling undercurrent of the first series, partly because the moral conflict is less interesting. By necessity the show has already revealed a lot of its hand, so that rather than having a moderately complex plot with the drama driven by never knowing quite how far each character will go to achieve their ends, this time around the drama is largely driven by an ever growing cast of conspirators who it’s difficult to keep track of, as well as lots of flashforwards and flashbacks where you’re only ever given bits of the truth at a time.

However while the drama isn’t quite as well done as in Season 1, it’s still a pretty good show and Glenn Close is still on top form as Patty Hewes. She won a Golden Globe and Emmy for Season 1, and here she gets to expand her character, revealing Patty as both more human and more manipulative than we’ve seen before. New cast additions including William Hurt, Timothy Olyphant and Marcia Gay Harden also bring a lot of class to the already strong acting ensemble.

Other than the Season 1 recap, the only other feature is a ‘Season 2: Post Mortem’ Featurette, where the creators give a brief, passably interesting rundown of their aims for these 13-episodes.

With Season 2, Damages may have become way too complicated for its own good, but it’s still a very watchable show that drags you in and keeps you watching.

Overall Verdict: There are way too many plot strands, but with the wonderful Patty Hewes at its heart, Damages – Season 2 is still good drama.

Special Features:
Two-part Season 1 Recap
‘Season 2: Post Mortem’ Featurette

Reviewer: Tim Isaac