View source for There's Only One Way to Try a Case

{{Infobox television episode
| image        =
| caption      =
| series       = [[Damages (TV series)|Damages]]
| season       = 4
| episode      = 1
| guests       = [[Michael Nouri]]<br />[[Chris Messina]]<br />[[Bailey Chase]]<br />[[Tom Noonan]]
| airdate      = {{Start date|2011|7|13}}
| length       = 57 minutes
| writer       = Todd A Kessler<br />[[Glenn Kessler (screenwriter)|Glenn Kessler]]<br />[[Daniel Zelman]]
| director     = [[Todd A. Kessler]]
| prev         = The Next One's Gonna Go In Your Throat
| next         = I've Done Way Too Much for This Girl
| episode_list =List of Damages episodes
}}
"'''There's Only One Way to Try a Case'''" is the first episode of the fourth season of the [[DirecTV]] [[legal drama]] series ''[[Damages (TV series)|Damages]]'' and the show's fortieth episode overall. It was written by creators and executive producers [[Todd A. Kessler]], [[Glenn Kessler (screenwriter)|Glenn Kessler]] and [[Daniel Zelman]] and directed by Todd A. Kessler. It originally premiered in the United States on DirecTV's [[Audience Network]] on July 13, 2011, and was the first episode of the series to air on DirecTV after the series moved from the [[FX (TV channel)|FX network]].
== Synopsis ==
It has been two and a half years since the death of Tom Shayes ([[Tate Donovan]]) and Ellen Parsons ([[Rose Byrne]]) is working at the prestigious law firm Nye, Everett & Polk and has been seeing one of the partners, Sean Everett ([[Bailey Chase]]). When Christopher Sanchez ([[Chris Messina]]), an [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|Afghanistan War]] veteran and old high school boyfriend of Ellen's, gets in touch with her, Ellen begins to suspect that High Star, a billion dollar private security firm, is covering up the deaths of three of Sanchez's soldiers. She starts working on building a wrongful death suit against High Star and its founder and CEO, Howard T. Erickson ([[John Goodman]]).
Meanwhile, Patty Hewes ([[Glenn Close]]), now the sole leader of Hewes & Associates, has taken a case against a French pharmaceutical manufacturing company whose clinical drug trials have caused the deaths of dozens of people while also trying to raise her granddaughter Catherine. She and Ellen occasionally meet to exchange legal strategy and Patty warns Ellen against trying a case against High Star, saying that it is a dangerous company to make an enemy of. Patty struggles to find a suitable nanny to help raise her granddaughter and, after firing the latest appointee, is urged by her ex-husband Phil ([[Michael Nouri]]) to track down her son and Catherine's father Michael, who disappeared almost three years earlier. Patty hires Detective Victor Huntley ([[Tom Noonan]]) to investigate Michael's whereabouts.
The Senate refuses to renew High Star's contract with the U.S. Government and Erickson turns to his shadowy associate Jerry Boorman ([[Dylan Baker]]) in order to secure the contracts. Boorman has been keeping an eye on the increasingly unstable Sanchez and, after discovering that he has been talking to Ellen, has Ellen's phones tapped in order to keep tabs on what she and Sanchez discuss. Sanchez's old army friend Anthony Carter, who still works for High Star and routinely reports to Erickson about Sanchez's condition, recommends a psychiatrist for Sanchez to help with his [[posttraumatic stress disorder]]. Sanchez begins to open up to this doctor about the illegal mission High Star sent his unit on, which resulted in his men's deaths, but that night the doctor's office is blown up, an event seemingly orchestrated by Boorman.
A future timeline jumps three months ahead, where a young Afghan boy brings a prisoner bound to a chair with a hood over his head a sandwich. The unknown prisoner, wearing a medallion identical to the one Sanchez previously wore, is then approached by two masked men who threaten him with a machete. Later, Ellen stumbles upon the blood-soaked scene and breaks down in tears.
== Production ==
"There's Only One Way to Try a Case" was the eighteenth script of ''Damages'' for each of the three creators, Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler and Daniel Zelman. The episode was directed by Todd A. Kessler, his sixth such credit for the series and his third season premiere.
== Title reference ==
This episode's title is taken from a line Patty delivers to Ellen when she warns her former protégée about the dangers of filing suit against High Star, "There's only one way to try a case, Ellen: the one that lets you win."
== Reception ==
=== Critical reviews ===
The episode was met with a strong positive reaction from television critics. Matt Roush of ''[[TV Guide]]'' proclaimed the series was "still sleekly suspenseful and lethally cynical... ''Damages'' is worth it. And for those without access to DirecTV, worth the wait."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/News/Rescue-Me-Damages-1035224.aspx|title=Roush Review: ''Rescue Me'' and ''Damages''|work=TV Guide|last=Roush|first=Matt|date=July 13, 2011|accessdate=July 15, 2011}}</ref> ''[[Entertainment Weekly|Entertainment Weekly's]]'' Ken Tucker awarded the episode a B+, saying "...I still will not be able to resist watching every episode I possibly can."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ew.com/ew/tv/tonights_best_tv/0,,3,00.html|title=Tonight's Best TV|work=Entertainment Weekly|last=Tucker|first=Ken|date=July 13, 2011|accessdate=July 15, 2011}}</ref> "... The acting by Close and Byrne has beautifully captured this burning schizophrenia," writes David Hinkcley of ''[[The New York Daily News]]''. He concludes by saying, "Best of all, Patty returns to the unanswered question that Ellen asked her last season: 'Is it worth it?' For viewers, yes, it is."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2011/07/12/2011-07-12_damages_review_glenn_close_and_rose_byrne_play_dueling_yet_dependent_attorneys_o.html|title='Damages' review: Glenn Close and Rose Byrne play dueling yet dependent attorneys on DirecTV show|work=The New York Daily News|last=Hinkcley|first=David|date=July 12, 2011|accessdate=July 13, 2011}}</ref> Mark Perigard from ''[[The Boston Herald]]'' offered praise for the relationship between Patty and Ellen, saying "Though the season's conspiracy might not have the emotional power of last season’s ... the dynamic between Patty and Ellen becomes even more deliciously twisted." He praised the series overall by calling it "TV's most cunning series."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/television/reviews/view/2011_0713damages_upheld_legal_thriller_makes_an_open_and_shut_case_on_directv/|title='Damages' upheld|work=The Boston Herald|last=Perigard|first=Mark A.|date=July 13, 2011|accessdate=July 15, 2011}}</ref>
=== Ratings ===
[[DirecTV]] has reported that the season four premiere of ''[[Damages (TV series)|Damages]]'' was watched by 1 million viewers across its initial four airings. This is comparable to the 900,000 viewers that [[DirecTV]] reported for the season premiere of the final season of ''[[Friday Night Lights (TV series)|Friday Night Lights]]''. For additional comparison, the season three finale of ''Damages'' on [[FX (TV channel)|FX]] was viewed by a reported 975,000 viewers and the overall average of 956,000 viewers for its second season and 928,000 viewers for its third on FX.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/08/04/variety-directv-subscribers-hardly-interested-in-damages/99670/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110817144422/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/08/04/variety-directv-subscribers-hardly-interested-in-damages/99670/|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 17, 2011|title=Variety: DirecTV Subscribers Hardly Interested in 'Damages'|work=TV by the Numbers|last=Seidman|first=Robert|date=August 4, 2011|accessdate=August 8, 2011}}</ref>
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
*{{Official website|http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/content/damages/get_the_full_story}}
*{{IMDb episode|1698097}}
{{Damages (TV series)}}
[[Category:2011 American television episodes]]
[[Category:Damages (TV series)]]