Patty Hewes, the Machiavellian lawyer played by Glenn Close on FX's addictive "Damages" (10 p.m. Mondays) loves to go after the rich and powerful.
In season one, she spearheaded a class-action suit against a billionaire accused of insider trading and lying to employees about his company's financial health. The next season, Patty sued an energy corporation that was contaminating the environment and murdering to cover it up.
Now, the take-no-prisoners New York litigator is representing victims of Louis Tobin (Len Cariou), a Bernard Madoff-like financier whose investment fraud bankrupted most of his clients. She's convinced that Tobin hid millions of dollars in offshore accounts, and nothing -- not even his suicide midway through the season -- will stop her from finding the money.
Patty makes Alex, the homicidal spurned lover Ms. Close played in "Fatal Attraction," look like a pussycat. She'll lie, manipulate and double-cross to get what she wants, all in the name of winning. Her employees are expected to dedicate every waking moment to their cases and, regardless of performance, are regarded as chattel. Even Tom Shayes (Tate Donovan), recently named a partner in her law firm after years of servitude, is still treated like a high-priced errand boy.
When she flashes her thin-lipped smile and high-beam stare, you had better pay attention.
Patty's current mission is to track down Tobin's hidden stash, which he refused to reveal to authorities before poisoning himself on the eve of his sentencing. Tobin left behind an envelope for Patty containing some answers, but it was intercepted by his guilt-ridden son Joe (Campbell Scott), who is willing to accept his dad's ill-gotten gains to support his family.
Each episode switches back and forth between the present and future, with the time gap narrowing as the season progresses. This clever, if sometimes confusing, technique employed by "Damages" co-creators Glenn Kessler, Todd Kessler and Daniel Zelman forces us to guess about motives and events that have yet to play out.
We already know that Tom is going to be found dead in a dumpster, shortly after a vehicle registered to him collides with Patty's car. We also see Patty being grilled by detectives about her relationship with Tom, who never told her he was one of Tobin's victims.
Was Tom trying to kill Patty? Had Patty tried to kill Tom? Where is Columbo when we need him?
Among the new characters this season are Leonard Winstone (Martin Short), Louis Tobin's taciturn attorney; Tobin's aggrieved wife, Marilyn (Lily Tomlin); and Tobin's mistress, Danielle Marchetti (Madchen Amick), a former health-club hostess whose daughter -- fathered by Tobin -- may hold the key to finding his hidden fortune. Mr. Short and Ms. Tomlin are so convincingly somber that it's easy to forget they're both brilliant comedians.
Patty's onetime protege, Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne), has left the firm and is now working in the district attorney's office, which is also investigating Tobin. Ellen doesn't trust Patty and would like to stay as far away from her as possible. But, like Michael Corleone in "The Godfather: Part III," every time she thinks she's out, Patty pulls her back in.
Ms. Byrne is the weakest link in an exceptional cast. She doesn't project the steeliness needed to stand up to Patty Hewes. It would take someone like Michael Corleone to do that.
First Published: March 9, 2010, 5:00 a.m.
