Damages – Patty Hewes is one cold bitch

(Season 2, Episode 1 – “I Lied, Too” – Season Premiere)

The psychological crime-drama-legal-thriller returns for season two with a bang. Or maybe more like a twisty-turny setup that will have us guessing for the entire season, just like we did in season one.

So, if you can remember back to the end of season one, Ellen had decided to work both sides of the fence. She returned to her job with Patty Hewes, but she’s also working for the FBI, trying to figure out who killed David and maybe even seek revenge for it. That was a big plot point in this episode — whether it’s better to seek revenge or offer forgiveness, like the guy in Ellen’s group therapy mentioned. At this point, it seems like she’s out for revenge, but she’s just not sure who she’s seeking revenge on!

I recently watched the entire season one on DVD and was gripped with each episode, wanting to prop my eyes open so I didn’t have to take time off in-between episodes. Damages fits right into the eye-propping category, along with The Sopranos, Weeds and Six Feet Under, among others.

As we had in season one, we’ve got flash-forwards this season. Namely, a scene six months later with Ellen talking to someone and then shooting that person after telling them, “It seems like you’re not gonna tell me the truth after all. Well, that’s OK. I lied, too.” They make it seem like it must be Patty, so for that reason, I’m going with someone else. Not sure who yet. Maybe someone in the FBI.

Let’s take a look at this episode:

Ellen tells the FBI that six months ago, Patty tried to kill her, but now she’s acting like they’re best friends, as evidenced when she gushed about her on Regis & Kelly. Patty seems to be coming unhinged every time she thinks of her henchman calling her at the beach and telling her “it’s done.” And then right after that, she went to visit her daughter at the cemetery. I’m still not sure why Patty tried to kill Ellen in the first place. Because Ellen knows about Fiske committing suicide in Patty’s office? And it almost seems like Patty called Ellen specifically so she would be there to see what had happened. So she’d be a witness. But why? Any thoughts on that?

Daniel Purcell contacting Patty about the mystery thing he’s involved in. He’s got thugs breaking into his home at night and going through his office, so they must be after the package he sent to Patty. “If I go public with what I know, I could bring down an industry,” he tells Patty in the car that night. And then his wife gets murdered at the end (and I’m sorry we won’t be seeing more of Paige Turco). Does anyone think Daniel is the father of Patty’s daughter who died? And how fun to see Glenn Close and William Hurt on screen together. Makes me want to watch The Big Chill again.

Patty playing Sam to get him involved in the foundation … by getting his daughter, Lily, arrested for cocaine so he wouldn’t be able to pursue politics. That’s where my headline comes in — Patty is one cold bitch! Because you KNOW she set that whole thing up, after her son told her that Lily liked to do coke. Geesh! And why is Patty so hell-bent on this foundation anyway? There’s some ulterior motive there, because she doesn’t do stuff like this JUST to be a good Samaritan. And THEN, she even manages to get double the endowment out of Sam, in order to get his name back on the foundation: The Arsenault-Hewes Children’s Hunger Initiative. That’s cold. And this, after she assured him she would never “hold him hostage” and force him to give the endowment to the foundation. Right….

Ellen in therapy. The guy who’s stalking her, giving her the phone number of a guy who deals in unlicensed guns … I’m pretty sure Patty is somehow behind this guy, too. Maybe she’s trying to turn Ellen into a killing machine, either to do her dirty work (OK, that’s pressing it) or get her sent to prison for murder and get her out of the way…? Maybe Patty wanted Ellen back working for her so she could keep an eye on her.

Ellen wearing the FBI wire for Patty’s meeting after the gala. Patty tells her that Fiske’s death “had a profound effect on me. It pushed me to a place I’d never been to before. I became too emotional, afraid of being exposed, of losing the case.” Then she goes on to say she had to leave the city, but welcomed Ellen to stay at her place and feels horribly guilty that Ellen was attacked instead of Patty — because they clearly were looking for Patty (or so Patty says). “I wish to God it had been me,” said Patty.

Here’s my theory on this: Patty engineered the killing of David, got the heck out of Dodge, had Ellen stay at her place, then arranged to have Ellen killed. I’m just not sure why at this point. And did anyone notice at the end of season one that one of the FBI guys who showed up at David’s crime scene was one of the thugs who killed him? Where do you think they will go with that little tidbit? So maybe the FBI is involved somehow in this killing spree. Because the FBI guys in the car with Ellen in this episode don’t seem too excited about getting things solved any time soon.

Ellen visiting Frobisher in the hospital. And, really? She could just waltz in there masquerading as his wife without anyone noticing? Anyway, Ellen apparently either 1) still has a heart and hasn’t become as cold-hearted as Patty yet, because she didn’t kill Frobisher when she had the chance; or 2) thinks there’s a possibility that he wasn’t behind David’s killing. And Frobisher is also becoming unhinged. Really, just about everyone in this episode was unhinged in one way or another.

Your thoughts on this episode? I can’t wait for the next one!

Clacked by Jane Boursaw
on Jan 08, 2009 @ 19:30 EST5EDT