Damages: Season 4 Premiere

Glenn Close playing a lead role in anything is practically a guarantee that your show will last not only because she’s a brilliant actress, but also become she doesn’t usually attach herself to bad projects. Luckily, even without Close, Damages is one of those shows that, through its great writing, characterization, and conflict, it’s apparent why Close chose to be involved.  Now entering its fourth season, the tried and true “regulars” (Glenn Close and Rose Byrne) are back and supported by a new roster of talented big names willing to help lead audiences down the intriguing paths that have become so characteristic of the show.

For those unfamiliar with the series, Damages focuses on the relationship between Patty Hewes (Glenn Close) and Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne) in the law firm Hewes & Associates (which, of course, Close’s character owns).  The show’s concept analyzes the idea of two women in powerful positions in a New York City law firm as they both cooperate and struggle for identity.  The primary focus revolves around the mentor/protégée relationship between Patty Hewes and Ellen Parsons.  Set against the backdrop of one major case per season, each season sets the stage perfectly for not only their characters to grow and develop, but also for the show to explore serious issues and current events within today’s society – much in a style similar to any “ripped from the headlines” show like “Law and Order,” but way more developed and less cliché.  (Yes, I’m looking at you Dick Wolf.) 

This season focuses on the much-embattled subject of private contractors for the military in the Middle East—namely, Afghanistan.  John Goodman plays Howard Erickson (the said contractor), who finds himself in a pending wrongful death lawsuit against his company (High Star).  The last mission to Afghanistan for his company was a secret one—and highly illegal (for reasons we’re not too sure on yet).  Front and center is the mission’s sole survivor, Chris Sanchez (played by Chris Messina). Byrne’s character, Ellen, is a high school friend of Sanchez’s who takes a much deeper interest in the case given her personal connection to him, and decides to take it upon herself to go after High Star—even if on her own—as a matter of principle.  She also subtly views the case as an opportunity to define herself and her abilities within the legal arena.

I know it’s a little difficult to examine a show taken out of context—as many people just can’t watch every show on television all of the time—but Damages is really one of those shows that if you want to write great drama, this show should be on your list.  Focusing solely on the fourth season premiere, we can immediately identify the backbone of any good television narrative—character.  Before even taking a look at some of the more minor characters, Damages has created two starkly different main characters—that of Patty Hewes and Ellen Parsons.  The show has consistently placed them into a position where they are constantly not just butting heads, but also, relying on each other to achieve their goals in a Jedi/padawan sort of way (but with, like, no zen, and neither has a weird mini-braid hanging over one shoulder).  Their differences make them perfect foils, allowing each to highlight each other’s strengths and weaknesses via their vast differences in personality.

For example, the battles they choose to fight, and how they fight them, are determined partially through who they are as people and the experiences that have molded them thus far.  Even if you’re coming in for the very first time, Patty Hewes is instantly recognizable as the more experienced and knowledgeable of the two—and she pursues every issue, from the legal to even ones within her personal life, in much the same shrewd and strategic way.  Our introduction to her in the beginning of the episode finds Hewes engaged in an interview with a young woman where she grills the girl for a position of high responsibility that sounds like life and death are every day considerations—and yet, the position turns out to be for the nanny of Hewes’s young granddaughter.  Parsons, on the other hand, even though years out of law school at this point, is still an idealistic fighter who chooses to take on private military contractor High Star, even though all signs indicate that they are almost impossible to beat.

The supporting cast is particularly well written too, and supports the idea of why Damages has managed to last to this point.  John Goodman’s character Howard Erickson, the CEO of High Star, is worthy for an actor of Goodman’s stature.  He is an easy-going, yet duplicitous figure who is at once fatherly and genial, but is simultaneously well aware of his company’s illegal activities and seems willing to continue at all costs, as long as the money is good.  Chris Messina plays Chris Sanchez—an inwardly embattled marine and high school buddy of Ellen Parsons.  The script shoots back and forth between flashbacks and reality, giving Messina a character background that allows him to fully grow and form the mentality of a man conflicted between what he knows to be right, and his own personal desire to find sanity.  And the chemistry between Messina and Byrne creates a mystery about where their two characters might cross—perhaps even inappropriately—in future episodes.

Another thing that Damages does well that television and feature writers both should observe is a creation and maintenance of conflict throughout.  As much as I still hold that character will always, always, always the basic foundation of any successful show, it is important not to downplay the importance of conflict.  The great thing about well-formed characters is that conflict is often created almost effortlessly through character interactions.  Even a moderately decent concept or situation to place them in is enough for good characters to thrive and create a compelling story. 

Damages, however, creates a beautiful marriage of these two elements through its successful and clever writing.  While I wouldn’t suggest it often—as messing with timelines and perspectives is usually a technique often best employed by experienced writers—sometimes it can be useful, and Damages uses it well to create and preserve conflict.  A signature tool of Damages is its employment of a nonlinear narrative.  And season four is no exception in how they’ve chosen to structure their plot.  The episode crosses into three different points of time within the story, which only heightens the intrigue and keeps the audience hooked.  We find ourselves becoming increasingly attached to the characters through these various events and points of time within their lives, and it ends up leaving the audience with an end-of-episode cliffhanger.  And this, of course, will make them come back, myself included.