(S01E12) "Ellen... I can trust you?" - Patty
I think the best word to describe this episode was safe. Was it bad? No. However, it wasn't outstanding either. Then again, there is something respectable about giving your viewers exactly what they've been expecting all along.
Of course, the inherent problem with a show set-up like Damages is that when you finally reach the pivotal episode when past and present collide, you're forced to re-watch all the scenes from past episodes. Seeing them in order is an added bonus, but Damages is like The Wire. Neither show treats viewers as being stupid and I think most people who watch this show had already pieced together the puzzle and were just waiting for those few remaining holes to be filled.
So what was so safe about this episode? Not throwing any curve balls. The entire season, Frobisher has been the bad guy and this episode didn't change any of that. Be honest -- wasn't it satisfying when we found out that it was Frobisher's goons all along who killed David and attacked Ellen? For me, it justified the show up until this point. Would my jaw have dropped if it turned out Tom was the one beating David senseless? Of course! But at the same time, I would have been confused as hell because nothing to this point had implicated Tom. It feels good to get the answers you want rather than some poorly thought out surprise. After speaking with both Tate Donovan and Glenn Close, it sounds like the show's writers have had a pretty clear plan (even if scripts change during production) the whole time.
There were little things throughout the episode that kept me into it though. I think the writers realized that it was a lot of repetition and tried to make up for it. Finding out that Lila's true purpose in the show was to sneak in unannounced, leaving the door unlocked for anyone to wander in was awesome. So in effect, she really did get David killed when she had that duplicate set of keys made. If she wasn't around, David certainly wouldn't have answered the door for Art's cronies and I'd like to think that David would have gotten out before they found another way in.
It seems that Patty's visit to the beach house was just that -- time for her to reflect and relax. Ray's suicide really shook her up. Whose grave was she visiting at the cemetery though? I know at one point she said she was visiting family... what don't we know about her past?
Other thoughts... because my mind is all over the place now...
-
I loved the moment when Ellen finally walked out of Riker's Island and -- snap -- real time. The tinted color of the past changed too, just as I had hoped.
-
Patty's well-dressed real estate dude seems to have just been a diversion all season. It appears that he really is just very attentive to his clients and his involvement with Ellen and David's apartment was meant to throw us off.
-
How were the goons able to get up to Patty's place so easily? All season long, the process of having to check in with that doorman has been drilled into our minds. Was he paid off? Has he been working with Frobisher all along?
-
Seeing Arthur at his worst, with Ray gone, was exactly what I wanted to see. Hookers, tons of coke... further proof that this guy is a world class a-hole.
-
I liked the confirmation that Art's goons had never stopped trailing Katie. Little things... I know. But its nice to see how it all tied in.
-
It was obvious from the first time they showed that safe (where Ellen placed Ray's file) that it wasn't her and David's secret hiding place. Can you imagine how unexciting the finale would have been if Frobisher had gotten the tape?
-
What's the deal with Patty's son? Where does his involvement go? "I wasn't here." Huh?
The last few minutes when Ellen and Patty met up were definitely the best. Hearing Ellen finally lay it all out on the table for Patty was outstanding -- she knows why she was hired, that Tom is just a lap-dog, etc. Getting Patty to defend her was smart too because it'll reveal her true allegiances. Will she get Ellen off the hook for David's murder or send some of her own goons to just get the tape and be done with Ellen for good?
Obviously Ellen realizes this. Accusing Patty was smart though. It got Patty back in NYC and her bail paid. Hollis Nye was probably the real shock to most though. I think the majority of people probably thought he was working with Frobisher when he sent those two guys after Ellen. My initial thought? Ellen told Hollis everything, as she has all season, and he hired some protection to tail her should anyone else come after her. Of course, I could be wrong there but I just don't see Hollis as being bad. Then again, no one in this show is really "good" either.
Mike Henry and Daryl Hall on a Cleveland Show Thanksgiving
The TV Squad Podcast: The Prisoner, '80s TV, soap news and more
Let's talk about spoilers ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
10-17-2007 @ 10:23AM
Jim said...
"Fizzled" is the first word that came to my mind, but I can go along with "safe." I'm hoping this was the calm before the storm -- I expect a jaw-dropper next week.
Ellen is clearly setting Patty up for something. To give her the tape in return for defending her? Come on -- Ellen's case is a slam dunk. She could defend herself.
Maybe there's more on the tape than we've seen?
Reply
10-17-2007 @ 10:24AM
Guy said...
I thought is was a good episode. I like how everything tied together. I don't know what to think about Hollis Nye though. I was thinking he is sending someone to follow Ellen, but on the other hand that was already done this season with Patty protecting Gregory. Will the same thing happen?
I don't think Pattys son has anything to do with it, he didn't want Ellen telling his parents since he was probably up to no good, getting high or drunk or whatever. I think he might be a witness seeing someone come or go, and has to make the decision to tell his parents what he was up to and be honest and help Ellen.
I don't think Patty will send goons after Ellen to get the tape, for a mean as she is, she isn't evil. Frobisher is evil, she has no scruples. She feels horrible about causing Ray Fisks death (although he did bring it upon himself, she was the breaking point) she wouldn't let Ellen go to prision to win a case. If anything getting Ellen off would only help her cause.
I can't wait to see next week, I was sort of hoping for a 2-hour extended finale, or atlease like the first one with no commercials. I do hope there is a second season, not sure how that could come about, but it I love this show.
Reply
10-17-2007 @ 10:24AM
Porchland said...
Ellen's bargain with Patty -- representation in exchange for the tape -- seemed a little out of place. Wouldn't the tape support the evidence in Ellen's criminal trial that someone ransacked the house looking for something? Doesn't it show Frobisher's motive to come to the apartment in the first place?
I'm sure there will be a shocker next week. Tom or the older guy at Patty's firm could have been a mole for Frobisher, but neither did anything obvious to help Frobisher so that would be sort of a so-what. Patty could have had an arrangement with Frobisher, but that doesn't make sense because it's Frobisher's money they're fighting over. Ellen could have cut a deal with Frobisher, but that doesn't Frobisher looking for the tape in her apartment and killing David. And that's just about everybody.
And the son -- what?
Reply
10-17-2007 @ 10:24AM
Michelle said...
I liked this episode a lot. I felt it got a lot of questions answered, and set us up for a finale that can leave us hanging for the 2nd season. The scene when Ellen walked out of the prison and the two time periods met up was awesome. I almost cheered! Can't wait to see what happens next week, but I think we are in for some suprises.
Also, the kid has to be up to something. He was so eager to "drop his plans" and stay home when he and his father offered. Why else would they even tell us if it wasn't important?
Reply
10-17-2007 @ 10:25AM
phrith said...
No-one else imagined that Lila was part of Frobisher's side too? For awhile, I thought she could be playing either side. True, she did seem genuinely a bit of a nut job. But Frobisher's muscle arrived suspiciously close to when she left.
Reply
10-17-2007 @ 10:33AM
Phil said...
I've been thinking for quite some time now that Hollis is way more involved in the Frobisher case than anybody suspects.
I also really want to know what the old guy from Patty's office role is. He seems very tuned in to things but at the same time in the office plays the role of the office gopher.
Reply
10-17-2007 @ 12:04PM
MacGuffin said...
It's interesting that you picked up on the Hollis Nye thing. I've suspected him all along.
It's been a great series. Can't wait for the finale.
Reply
10-19-2007 @ 3:47AM
Cindy said...
I LOVE THIS SHOW! I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE FINAL EPISODE AND I REALLY HOPE THERE IS A SEASON TWO!!! THE CHARACTERS ARE GREAT, THE STORYLINE IS GREAT...IT'S MY FAVORITE SHOW ON TV THIS YEAR, ACTUALLY, IT'S THE ONLY SHOW ON TV THAT I CONSISTENTLY WATCH!!!
Reply
10-17-2007 @ 12:10PM
BobbyBuz said...
I can't reconcile this. Ellen gets released because Patty posts bail. Yet we see Patty driving in her car back to NYC, then Hollis Nye is at the prison to pick up Ellen in a limo. What's the connection here? It doesn't seem right that a guy in the background for the entire series, now becomes a prime player.
And who was Patty visiting at the cemetary. Previous husband, perhaps?
This series has more twists than a pretzel.
Reply
10-17-2007 @ 1:39PM
Karen said...
I thought this was a great episode, personally. But I wouldn't be so quick to assume that "it was Frobisher's goons all along who killed David and attacked Ellen"--or at least that they were ONLY Frobisher's goons. In the previews for next week, the guy who killed David tells Ellen, "I'm so sorry for your loss," and is standing next to the African-American female detective who had been interrogating Ellen. Is he a cop? Is that why he was able to get into Patty's building to attack Ellen?
I mean, if Frobisher had an SEC guy in his pocket, why shouldn't he have some of NY's Finest, as well?
Reply
10-17-2007 @ 1:36PM
Jonathan Toomey said...
Karen -
I like your thinking, but even if he is a bought cop, he'd *still* be one of Frobisher's goons...
Reply
10-17-2007 @ 1:58PM
Karen said...
Jonathan--thanks! And I did include a slight CYA by saying that they weren't necessarily ONLY AF's goons....
Reply
10-17-2007 @ 2:12PM
1iPete said...
What, no mention of the flashlight left behind in Ellen & David's apartment? And who was Frobisher talking to on the phone at the end of the episode? Hollis perhaps?
Reply
10-17-2007 @ 3:06PM
catie113 said...
Jonathan, I think you're wrong about Patty's "well-dressed real estate dude" -- he's obviously working for Frobisher and bugged their apartment - that's what he and those men were doing when David stumbled on them. How else would Frobisher's men know that Ellen and David had the tape? They heard them talking about it and heard David watching it. That's also how they got into Ellen's apartment.
My question is why wasn't Ellen's apartment a crime scene? When she returns, there are no police on the scene, it hasn't been blocked off, and there are obvious pieces of evidence remaining (i.e. the flashlight). Even if one poster's theory is correct, that bearded man is a cop, wouldnt the police department have cleaned up the scene and removed all the evidence that implicates him?
I was disappointed with this episode. There were obvious flaws that just didn't make sense given the tightly wound other episodes.
Reply
10-17-2007 @ 2:57PM
catie113 said...
Jonathan, I think you're wrong about Patty's "well-dressed real estate dude" -- he's obviously working for Frobisher and bugged their apartment - that's what he and those men were doing when David stumbled on them. How else would Frobisher's men know that Ellen and David had the tape? They heard them talking about it and heard David watching it. That's also how they got into Ellen's apartment.
My question is why wasn't Ellen's apartment a crime scene? When she returns, there are no police on the scene, it hasn't been blocked off, and there are obvious pieces of evidence remaining (i.e. the flashlight). Even if one poster's theory is correct, that bearded man is a cop, wouldnt the police department have cleaned up the scene and removed all the evidence that implicates him?
I was disappointed with this episode. There were obvious flaws that just didn't make sense given the tightly wound other episodes.
Reply
10-17-2007 @ 3:09PM
Jonathan Toomey said...
Catie --
I don't buy it. This is the same guy that Tom went to when he set up Ellen's new apartment on behalf of Patty. Were they snooping? Yeah. Were they bugging the place? It's possible. But the guy isn't working for Frobisher. Art's goons didn't know the tape was there for sure. All they knew was that Katie most-likely had the tape and they made it a point to inform us that she was still being tailed. That's how they knew to at least look at David and Ellen's apartment. There's nothing to support that the apt. was wired and that's how they knew.
Reply
10-17-2007 @ 3:31PM
MK said...
Don't you think that Ellen's and David's apartment was bugged? How else Art and his goons knew so quickly about Gregory's tape? They knew that David watched it and therefore it was in the apartment.
Reply
10-17-2007 @ 4:06PM
MK said...
Jonathan,
they knew immediately about David having the tape and that he watched it. I agree with Catie.
Reply
10-17-2007 @ 4:09PM
Mueller02 said...
Completely agree about no mention of the flashlight. AND that the apartment would still be a crime scene. That part was absolutely ridiculous. And the apartment had to have been bugged, that's how the goon's knew they had the tape. AND I think David knew something was going on because when he called Ellen, he was whispering. Why would he whisper? And going back to the scene with Patty and Ellen on the couch. What does Ellen regret doing?
Reply
10-17-2007 @ 4:09PM
Jonathan Toomey said...
MK --
At what point was it ever said that they "knew" David had the tape? It wasn't. It was all on speculation since they knew Katie (who likely had the tape) had gone to see him for a brief visit. Don't you think that if the apartment was bugged with wire and video surveillance that they would have known precisely where David hid the tape? Think about it. The place isn't bugged.
Reply