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(S01E07) "Is this a hydrangea?" - Patty
This episode concerns me. Remember the promo for last week? It touted this as being the episode that reveals it all, clues you in, and suddenly adds clarity to the otherwise confusing plot we've been accustomed to so far. Did we get that? Sort of... but not really. Nothing Earth shattering was revealed and the stuff that was let out of the bag ended up creating only more questions. A lot of commenters have noted that this show is starting to feel like Lost for that exact reason. I love Lost. I'm thoroughly enjoying Damages too, but there comes a point when viewers need to be rewarded for their interest. This is a cable show. We've only got six episodes left, meaning that we've eclipsed the half-way point of the season. I'm just as confused as I was after the pilot.
Structurally, this episode felt different. I had a hard time more than once, trying to determine where we were in "time." Some of the flashbacks lacked that bronze "antique" look and it caused confusion. Was it the actual flashback or was it something from Ellen's recollection to Hollis Nye? Normally there's three sets of time periods in the show. Obviously, the present -- Ellen sitting in an interrogation room. Then on top of that, there are two levels of flashbacks. There's the bulk of the episode, which covers everything that happened. But there's also that set of flashbacks that only encompass David's murder, Ellen's attack, the cops and their investigation, and Ellen's arrest. The two sets of flashbacks seemed to blur a little in this episode and that's where my confusion stemmed from... OK, moving on.
So what did we find out? Most of it was obvious or at least alluded to in a previous episode. Gregory Malina is the lynch pin to this case. OK, we knew that. While many speculated (myself included) that his cover-up was related to some kind of sexual involvement with Ray Fiske, we got no confirmation of that. Granted, Ray seemed emotionally torn up that Gregory's life has been destroyed but that could be his Southern charm kicking in. Here's to hoping that Ray turns out to be the "wealthy patron" who paid for Greg's trip down to Florida. Would the restaurant owner that Greg worked for recognize Ray?
Beyond that, the big puzzle pieces (if you can call them that) came out in the present tense as Ellen and Hollis spoke. We now know that the attacker was an unknown. Ellen didn't recognize him. Patty was out of town, Ellen had fought with David, and she spent the night at Patty's place. So, who was the attacker intending to kill? Was he there for Patty? Or had Patty hired him to kill Ellen? That might be a stretch but I do think he was there for Ellen. He beat Ellen's location out of David first, then went looking for his actual target. It'd actually be interesting to find out that David's murder and Ellen's attack were unrelated... although, even as I type that, it sounds like an easy out. Maybe not.
The biggest surprise of the episode? Ellen and Tom aren't as buddy-buddy as we thought. Patty played them against each other and it seems like it worked. No matter what, Tom can't help but be loyal to Patty. If that means lying to Ellen and betraying Ellen's trust, oh well. I loved the end of the episode, present tense. Ellen isn't stupid. She knows that Tom is "full of shit." He knows something. With Patty out of town, wherever she is, it wouldn't surprise me if Tom was the one who orchestrated the clean-up at Patty's place. The whole season, we've had an idea about Tom's true nature. Now we've seen it in action. He's the ultimate "yes man."
| Yes | |
|---|---|
| No | |
| I think the attacker was looking for Patty |
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