(S01E10) "I'm so sick of your bullsh*t." - Ellen
And there it was. The moment that we weren't necessarily waiting for, but definitely were expecting. Ellen strikes back. She went from being timid to bold enough to tell off Patty -- the woman who made her that way. However, despite that and some other stellar moments in this episode, I'm officially frustrated with Damages. It really is one of the best things on TV right now, but it has also knocked off Lost as the biggest culprit in terms of the questions to answers ratio. The one silver lining is that it's a cable show and rather than wait a full 22, we'll hopefully get some results in the final three episodes over the course of October.
I'm not saying lay it all out. I still want a good finale... but give me something. It's no fun when a show of this caliber spends a whole hour doing nothing but confirming assumptions that we've had for weeks now.
So Ellen finally spoke her mind after she went out on her own and uncovered a lead that Patty never even knew existed. And what did she get? Fired. It was to be expected as was Patty's end of episode phone call to Ellen, expressing her satisfaction with Ellen's findings. Will she "un-fire" Ellen as she did with Tom? I would assume so, but I'm sure Ellen will have conditions. Especially being put back on the Frobisher case. Initially, Tom commented that Ellen isn't Patty's kind of lawyer. After all, her hiring was only a set-up to get to certain parties. Maybe she is more like Patty though. David certainly won't be happy if that's what happens.
At the end of all this, what do we know that's new? Well... nothing really. In the present tense, flash-forward type scenes, we heard all sort of things that most people have already discussed. Ellen thinks Patty tried to kill her and Tom seems to be jumping on board. What's the deal with Tom though? Why has Ellen scrapped Hollis Nye and gone with Tom instead? Is he trustworthy?
Regardless, Tom found some trace amounts of blood in the apartment. So maybe he is in the dark too. The clean-up crew wasn't 100% thorough. Now even though Patty was implicated with that one shot that showed some blood droplets on her shoe, that was a bit vague. Didn't Tom find signs of a struggle at Patty's beach house? Broken glass and picture frames; a scotch stain on the wall? Patty could have been attacked too, no? However, my gut still says Patty is behind the hit on Ellen and that David's murder is an unrelated incident. Why else throw in the story about obsessive lil' Lyla if it isn't going to go anywhere?
Now as I said earlier, there were some stellar scenes in this episode. I loved the deposition, seeing Frobisher and Patty square off. Danson and Close are both fantastic and those scenes really showcased it. The only question we had was how Patty would get Frobisher to explode on camera. He saved himself by going public with the events of 1983, so the divorce (and Patty's inside knowledge of it) provided an easy (and story wise, convenient) out for Patty to get under Art's skin. It did become a bit much when she used about every marriage related metaphor though. In the end, what did we learn from the deposition? Nothing we didn't know already. Arthur played stupid about Gregory Malina though. I thought he might try and act as if he knew him and come "clean" the same way he did about Virgina.
So after all that, what new questions can we add to the list?
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Who was taking photos when Ellen met with Moore? My initial thought? Katie. She watched the confession tape and now she's helping Ellen by tracking her without anyone's knowledge.
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Will Moore's old S.E.C. colleague testify that Moore wasn't the probing investigator that everyone thought he was?
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What happens when Frobisher finds out that Ray, the one person he still trusts, is lying to him?
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Does Patty's creepy doorman have any connection to the attempted murder?
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Is Tom just playing dumb? Or does he know more about Patty's whereabouts and intentions?
I think, at this point, that one of the few things that will justify so many questions like this will be to find out that Patty somehow has a deeper involvement with Frobisher. I honestly don't think that will happen, but it would tie it together... you know? As of right now, it feels like whatever is going on with Ellen and Patty in the present tense is an unrelated matter and the Frobisher case was simply what brought them together. Short of being involved with the man that she's fighting so hard to bring down, what could Patty possibly be hiding that would cause her to kill the people around her and flee the state?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-03-2007 @ 9:58AM
WillC said...
This show tires me out. There isn't a single likable character as everyone is constantly double- and triple-crossing each other.
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10-03-2007 @ 9:58AM
Bash said...
Honestly I don't care anymore. This show jumped the shark with this episode. I mean they had flashbacks for 10 episodes now not explaining anything. This whole show could've easily be done in a 100 minute feature movie, which is why I liked it so much during the first two episodes.
Mad Men shows us how it's done. Character development in every episode. WillC has it right: the only thing they are doing in "Damages" is double-crossing each other to the point where you have nobody to root for anymore.
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10-03-2007 @ 10:26AM
Mueller02 said...
I concur. None of the characters are nice, except maybe the dog. Didn't you feel a little bad that he'd been left outside for so long?
After Patty's hatefulness, I kind of want Frobisher to win. I want Moore to lose, because he is a total jerk. And none of them are playing by the legal laws. Patty getting fed information by a shady divorce attorney. Ray doing his dealings with Moore and Molina. They all stink. And it doesn't make any sense, the characters are so inconsistent. Ray was telling Frobisher over and over again not to have a man on the inside, don't do this, it could land you in jail, etc. And now he's no better.
I like the show but I'm ready for it to be over, I'm worn out.
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10-03-2007 @ 11:14AM
M-St.M said...
I disagree with the disagreers. This show is taut, compelling and is taking us on a wild ride. I love every minute of it. Can we figure it out yet? No. And that's what makes it terrific.
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10-03-2007 @ 11:14AM
Jim said...
I love the show and have no complaints about last night's episode. My only gripe is that Tuesdays are too far apart!
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10-03-2007 @ 11:20AM
Chip said...
Who says she dumped Hollis Nye? Remember a week or two back she wanted someone to follow Tom to Patty?
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10-03-2007 @ 12:18PM
Base said...
Are you all blind??? Ok, that was a bit harsh. But how come no one has pointed out that the "creepy doorman" was the same hitman who was stalking Katie earlier in the season (the guy walking down the street with the knife, only to have Katie turn and freak on him in public). Seeing as how he is the same guy (and probably the one who attacked Ellen), one can infer that it was Moore who set up the hit...not Patty. Now whether or not Patty had (more convienent) inside knowledge of some hit coming down the pipeline and used this as an opportunity to get rid of Katie, well that's to be seen. But it WOULD make sense plot-wise that Patty knew she had a hit on her, encouraged Ellen to stay at her place after the fight with David, got outta town when the hit was coming and now feels the guilt for being partially responsible (remember...despite all her cunning and coniving, Patty IS still supposed to be on the righteous side here).
But all that kinda gets thrown out with the stupid blood on her shoe thing....lame.
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10-03-2007 @ 12:22PM
Jonathan Toomey said...
Base -
Sorry to bust your confident bubble, but the doorman and the hitman from earlier in the season aren't the same guy. The only thing they both have in common is the moustache. I just looked at the episode where Katie was chased and it's definitely not the same guy. If it was, they would have made something like that much more obvious.
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10-03-2007 @ 2:10PM
Karen said...
Well, I still think this is one of the best shows on TV. I loved last night's episode--I loved Patty's inside info on the divorce and the way she used it at the depo; I loved Ellen uncovering Laura Watkins and getting closer to unmasking George Moore; and I loved the implication (for me, anyway), that Patty was involved in David's murder. I mean, Ellen says that she knows things that could destroy Patty; David is killed by someone who attacks him the moment he opens the door, setting up the possibility that the attack might have been meant for Ellen; Patty has blood on her white loafers as she drives away from her beach house, where she had earlier been huddled up and sobbing--maybe she went to knock off Ellen and got David by accident?
I can't wait for next week. This show has me utterly hooked.
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10-03-2007 @ 8:53PM
GeorgiAnn Bethke said...
I wonder why Ellen told the group she was drinking with it was her mother on the phone......could there be a link there
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10-04-2007 @ 8:34AM
Michael Moncur said...
I agree with those who are getting tired of this show... All questions, no answers, and it lacks the "mind-blowing" quality of Lost's lack of answers.
Also, the writers have been working hard to make each and every character unlikeable. Most of them are evil, and those who aren't (yet) evil, like David, aren't given many pleasant qualities.
I'll stick with the show, because I do still like one of the characters: Frobisher. I know he's scum, but he's been scum from the beginning, and at this point I'm starting to feel sorry for him...
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10-04-2007 @ 8:34AM
Bash said...
I agree with Michael. I'll stick with the show just because of the stars (Ted Danson). Otherwise I would've been gone long ago.
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10-04-2007 @ 10:20PM
Confoundit said...
There is one character to root for: "Future" Ellen. She sees through Tom's bullshit and seems like she knows EXACTLY what to do.
I like how there are no "good guys" and there are no bad guys (with the exception of Moore.) The characters are complex and more human. Patty's a bitch, but you saw her frustration when she wasn't able to talk to her son after she sent him away. And the way she was crying and shaking while at the beach house.
Frobisher's an asshole, but there are times when you still feel sorry for him. The same thing is true for Ray and his relationship with Gregory Molina. And I don't think that anyone will figure out Tom until the last possible moment.
The problem with "Lost" was that since they never knew when it was supposed to end, they couldn't make any real progress. Maybe it'll get better now that they have a definite ending date.
"Damages" has never been burdened like that. With only 3 episodes left, you know that the payoff is coming. What does Ellen know that will DESTROY Patty? I wonder if it has something to do with her son, I can't believe that his storyline is really over.
Ellen told the group that the phone call was from her mother because it would have ruined the mood to mention Patty, especially in front of David.
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