Damages (season 2)

The second season of the FX legal drama series Damages premiered on January 7, 2009 and concluded on April 1, 2009. It consisted of thirteen episodes, bringing the series total to 26. Damages was created by brothers Todd and Glenn Kessler along with Daniel Zelman, each of whom served as executive producers and contributed seven scripts for the season, including the premiere and the finale.

Damages
Season 2
Region 1 DVD artwork
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes13
Release
Original networkFX
Original releaseJanuary 7 (2009-01-07) –
April 1, 2009 (2009-04-01)
Season chronology

The second season, like the first, follows two different timelines. The primary timeline follows Patty, Ellen, and Tom as the firm goes up against an energy company who have engaged in unethical practices. A former lover of Patty's, Daniel Purcell (William Hurt), brings the matter to her attention, but then inexplicably backs out, leaving Patty up against UNR CEO Walter Kendrick (John Doman) and his fierce lawyer Claire Maddox (Marcia Gay Harden). Meanwhile, Ellen works with the FBI to bring down Patty, while also seeking revenge on Arthur Frobisher for his presumed role in her fiance's death. Ellen is unaware that Patty is suspicious of her, and that Frobisher's criminal connections appear to extend to her new friend Wes (Timothy Olyphant).

A second timeline takes place six months later, when Ellen meets with an unknown person in a hotel room, and subsequently appears to shoot them.

Cast and characters
See also: List of Damages characters

Main cast

Recurring cast

Episodes
See also: List of Damages episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUS viewers
(millions)
141"I Lied, Too"Todd A. KesslerTodd A. Kessler & Glenn Kessler & Daniel ZelmanJanuary 7, 2009 (2009-01-07)1.72[1]

Patty is putting efforts into her new charitable foundation when she is approached by Daniel Purcell, a man from her past, who requests her to represent him. Working for two FBI agents (Mario Van Peebles and Glenn Kessler) now, Ellen encounters Wes Krulik at a group therapy meeting. She also visits Frobisher, who survived the attack on his life and is recovering under strong security. Patty tells Ellen about her still-born daughter Julia. Patty is called to Purcell's home when his wife (Paige Turco) is found dead.

In the future timeline, Ellen is shown shooting at an unknown character.
152"Burn It, Shred It, I Don't Care"Jean de SegonzacTodd A. Kessler & Glenn Kessler & Daniel ZelmanJanuary 14, 2009 (2009-01-14)1.14[2]

Patty takes Purcell's case. He tells her about a toxicity study of a chemical compound he conducted which yielded very negative results, which were suppressed by his firm. Patty initially transfers the infant-mortality case to Tom but then asks him to reject the case to help her in the Purcell case. Ellen tells Wes about her visit to Frobisher, upon which he advises her to stay clear of Frobisher. Wes is revealed to be following the Frobisher case very closely, including David's murder. Patty deliberately leaks information from her office to find out that Ultima National Resources is behind creation of toxic compound.

In the future timeline, Ellen has a liaison with Wes Krulick, following which she meets Tom who gives her a handgun.
163"I Knew Your Pig"Constantine MakrisTodd A. Kessler & Glenn Kessler & Daniel ZelmanJanuary 21, 2009 (2009-01-21)0.76[3]
FBI detectives ask Ellen to back off her investigation but she nonetheless decides to find how Purcell and Patty are related in the past. She uncovers that Purcell served as expert witness in two past trials of Patty, the first one seventeen years ago. Patty tells Ellen she had a liaison with Purcell on their first meeting. Ellen correctly deduces that Purcell is father of Patty's son Michael. Patty asks Purcell to undergo a polygraph test after his wife's murder investigation reveals a case of domestic violence. She has Purcell arrested in order to force him to retain her as his lawyer. Ellen gets a call from Katie who would like to meet her and her new boyfriend. In the meantime, two men working for Kendrick raid a reporter in West Virginia (Matthew Davis) who is investigating water toxicity for Purcell and take away his camera and cell phone. A man is shown pawning the ruby ring that belonged to Purcell's wife.
174"Hey! Mr. Pibb!"Mario Van PeeblesAaron ZelmanJanuary 28, 2009 (2009-01-28)1.03[4]
While Patty works to clear Daniel Purcell of his wife's murder, Ellen and Tom head to West Virginia to gather information in the case against Ultima National Resources. Ellen and Tom locate a reporter that Daniel Purcell was in contact with, and the reporter gives them a sample of the water taken from Ultima's plant. Patty gives the sample to Daniel, who promises to test it and also testify against UNR. At a preliminary hearing, Daniel surprisingly changes his testimony when Patty puts him on the witness stand. Daniel is later revealed to have poured the sample water into the lake after accepting a bribe from Ultima.
185"I Agree, It Wasn't Funny"Tate DonovanMark FishFebruary 4, 2009 (2009-02-04)0.85[5]

Ellen returns to Patty's apartment for a party to celebrate Tom's tenth anniversary at the firm. Patty and her son Michael argue over the fact that Michael writes about his father, Daniel Purcell, in his college application essay. Ultima announces a proposed merger—Patty tries to get an environmental officer to delay the merger (by showing him Daniel Purcell's original report). Patty's husband Phil is revealed to be having an affair. Phil assists Patty by looking through Ultima's proposed merger and realizes that Ultima is actually over-paying for this acquisition, thus leading Patty to suspect that Ultima is after something else. The FBI and Ellen hatch a plan to make Patty trust Ellen even more.

In the future timeline, Ellen is shown meeting with Wes, who before ordered someone to follow Ellen and having connections with Ellen's late fiancé's killer.
196"A Pretty Girl in a Leotard"Greg YaitanesAdam SteinFebruary 11, 2009 (2009-02-11)0.94[6]
Patty wages a media war against Walter Kendrick, whom she believes to be responsible for Christine Purcell's murder. Kendrick wages war with his lawyer, Claire Maddox, and his sternest advisor Dave (Clarke Peters). Meanwhile, Ellen gets a step closer to tying Frobisher to David's murder.
207"New York Sucks"Matthew PennJeremy DonerFebruary 18, 2009 (2009-02-18)0.86[7]
Furious at Patty for the new alliance with Arthur Frobisher, Ellen gives the FBI a new lead that could bring Patty down. In the process, however, loyal Uncle Pete (Tom Aldredge) ends up taking the fall.
218"They Had to Tweeze That Out of My Kidney"Michael PressmanAaron ZelmanFebruary 25, 2009 (2009-02-25)0.89[8]
As she copes with Uncle Pete's overdose, Patty begins to unravel Walter Kendrick's energy scheme. Ellen finally deals with her grief over David. And Arthur Frobisher's past comes back to haunt him.
229"You Got Your Prom Date Pregnant"Ed BianchiMark FishMarch 4, 2009 (2009-03-04)0.97[9]
Patty goes on the offensive against the FBI, while Ellen receives troubling news about the investigation. Meanwhile, Patty's husband gets an intriguing offer.
2310"Uh Oh, Out Come the Skeletons"Tate DonovanTodd A. Kessler & Glenn Kessler & Daniel ZelmanMarch 11, 2009 (2009-03-11)0.70[10]
As Patty ramps up the pressure on UNR, her foes start to crack. Meanwhile, Wes and Ellen's relationship takes a new turn, and the FBI investigation of Patty takes a shocking twist.
2411"London. Of Course"Andy WolkTodd A. Kessler & Daniel ZelmanMarch 18, 2009 (2009-03-18)0.63[11]
While Claire Maddox risks everything to oust Kendrick, Ellen discovers a dark secret about Patty's personal life.
2512"Look What He Dug Up This Time"Matthew PennDaniel Zelman & Glenn KesslerMarch 25, 2009 (2009-03-25)0.89[12]
Ellen convinces the FBI to radically change their approach in the investigation. Meanwhile, Daniel Purcell reenters Patty's life and becomes critical to her case against UNR.
2613"Trust Me"Todd A. KesslerGlenn Kessler & Todd A. KesslerApril 1, 2009 (2009-04-01)1.05[13]
Patty goes to extremes to win her case against UNR, as Ellen's season long quest for revenge builds to an explosive conclusion. Patty discovers that Ellen has been working with the FBI to build a case against her—and she decides to frame Ellen for bribing a judge. The recurring images of Ellen shooting Patty are finally clarified.

Production

FX renewed the series for a second season that began airing in January 2009.[14] It was originally scheduled to begin airing during summer 2008, but due to the Writer's Guild Strike, it was pushed back,[15] resulting with the production for season 2 starting exactly 11 months after the series premiered on FX.

Reception

Awards and nominations

For its second season, Damages was nominated for seven Primetime Emmy nominations at the 2009 Primetime Emmy Awards, with Glenn Close receiving her second Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Ted Danson also received another nomination, for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. Rose Byrne earned her first Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series and William Hurt was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. The series again was nominated for direction and the show itself was nominated again for Outstanding Drama Series. On September 20, 2009, the show won its fourth Emmy Award when Glenn Close won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.[16]

The series earned three nominations at the 67th Golden Globe Awards, including Close for Best Actress, and Byrne and Hurt for their supporting roles.[17]

Critical reviews

The second season of Damages was met with mostly high praise, and it earned 81 out of 100 based on 18 reviews on the aggregate review website Metacritic, which qualifies as "universal acclaim".[18]

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References
  1. Seidman, Robert (January 13, 2009). "Monk, WWE RAW, Secret Life and iCarly lead weekly cable viewing". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  2. Seidman, Robert (January 21, 2009). "Updated:WWE RAW, Cinderella, iCarly and Monk lead weekly cable viewing". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  3. Seidman, Robert (January 27, 2009). "Updated:Obama inauguration, WWE RAW and Burn Notice lead weekly cable viewing". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  4. Seidman, Robert (February 3, 2009). "The Closer, Monk and Burn Notice lead weekly cable viewing". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  5. Seidman, Robert (February 10, 2009). "Monk , WWE RAW , The Closer and Burn Notice lead cable viewing". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  6. Seidman, Robert (February 18, 2009). "Updated: NBA All-Star festivities, The Closer, WWE RAW, and Monk lead week, Damages to return despite ratings". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  7. Seidman, Robert (February 24, 2009). "WWE RAW, The Closer and Monk lead weekly cable viewing". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  8. Seidman, Robert (March 3, 2009). "WWE RAW, The Closer and President Obama lead cable viewing". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  9. Seidman, Robert (March 10, 2009). "iCarly, Burn Notice and WWE RAW top cable charts". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  10. Seidman, Robert (March 17, 2009). "WWE RAW, Cars, Hannah Montana and SpongeBob Lead Weekly Cable Viewing". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  11. Seidman, Robert (March 24, 2009). "WWE RAW, Hannah Montana and Northern Lights lead cable show rankings". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  12. Seidman, Robert (March 31, 2009). "Kids' Choice Awards, Penguins of Madagascar and WWE RAW lead cable". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  13. Seidman, Robert (April 7, 2009). "Damages season finale draws few, WWE RAW, NCIS lead cable viewing". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  14. "FX Sets Return Dates for Nip/Tuck and Damages" (Press release). FX. November 12, 2008. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
  15. Hale, Mike (January 5, 2009). "Better Than the Fall? A Host of TV Series, New and Not". The New York Times. Retrieved March 25, 2009.
  16. "Damages". Emmys.com. Retrieved June 3, 2012.
  17. "HFPA - Nominations and Winners". Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Archived from the original on December 15, 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
  18. "Damages: Season 2". Metacritic. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
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