(S03E13) "When I die, I don't want to be buried and put in the ground. I want to be cremated ... I want my ashes scattered here." - Patty to Ellen, as the two of them stand on the dock at Patty's cottage

If this is indeed the end for 'Damages,' it seems like a pretty nice way to go out. Sony is still in talks with DirectTV to work out a deal to save the show, and I can visualize it moving forward. But it would definitely be a re-boot, now that Tom Shayes is out of the picture.
I'll hypothesize that the next season -- should it happen -- would be about the relationship between Ellen and Patty. They're really on equal footing now, and, frankly, they're all each other has in the world.

More about that, the mysterious horse, the bloody purse, and the body plummeting into the East River after the jump.

So we learned what the horse and Patty's flashbacks were all about. Some of you called it a while ago. A young Patty had been pregnant -- as in nine months pregnant -- and wandered out to a horse farm, where she saw none other than ... Julian Decker. He was the one who said, "A baby's a big responsibility." Note that her baby's name was Julia.

But Patty wasn't supposed to be walking, or moving around at all, for that matter. The doctor had told her to stay on bed rest until the baby was born. Patty did the exact opposite, as if she wanted to lose the baby, so -- as she told Ellen -- she'd be "free to start her career." But she continues to mourn for that baby, and always will. Also note that she didn't give Ellen an answer when Ellen asked if everything Patty had sacrificed for her career was worth it. Complete silence from Patty. Would love to hear your theories on the meaning of the look that Patty gave Ellen as Ellen was walking away from her on the dock.

Jill was just fooling herself if she didn't think that crossing Patty would come back to bite her in the butt. Now she's in prison -- for having sex with a minor (that would be Michael) -- and when she has the baby, Michael will have sole custody. No, he's not ready to raise a child alone, but Patty will be there to help him. That had to be like a dagger in Jill's heart, but she made that bed when she took Patty's money and didn't follow through on her promise to go away. Still, that was a lot for Patty to ask, but ... she's Patty, so we'd expect nothing less.

That was a pretty awesome scene when Wes showed up in the back of Frobisher's car, and Frobisher cried like a baby with that gun pointed straight at his head. Ellen didn't want Wes giving himself up to put Frobisher away, but that's exactly what happened. But you had to love it when Wes told Frobisher: "I spoke to Ellen Parsons. She's not looking for justice. I'd like her to have some anyway." Nice shout-out for the new show. And it was pretty cool to see Ray Fiske again, wasn't it? Even if he was a ghost in Frobisher's demented head.

It's not often you hear the actual phrase, "You are dead to me," in a serious setting, but it was just the right one when Joe told Marilyn that she'd never see him, Rachel or her grandchild again. What a messed up family the Tobins are. It makes you wonder if some of the Ponzi schemers are in a similar state of messed-up-ness.

Marilyn also relayed the fact that Louis and Danielle never had an affair. He was only supporting her so that he could support his granddaughter Tessa, Joe's daughter. It was a very poignant scene when Marilyn watched those old home movies, then had the cab driver take her to the East River so she could throw herself off the bridge.

We finally got the big reveal about who was driving the car that smashed into Patty, how the cops ended up with Ellen's bloody purse, who Patty was crying to on the phone ("I told you not to go through with it! I told you to stop!"), who stabbed Tom (over and over), and how Ellen came to have the envelope with Patty's name crossed off and her name written in its place (Lenny called that one right). Did it play out like you thought it would?

After Jill was taken away by the cops, and then Ellen saw Michael in Patty's apartment, I suspected that he might possibly be the driver. The flash-forwards we've been seeing all season made it seem like Tom was the one who either leaped or was thrown off the bridge. Not so. Joe Tobin drowned him in a toilet in his own house.

You really couldn't blink during those last ten minutes of the show, or you'd miss a whole bunch of crucial information. As always, though, things were wrapped up -- although it seems like we still had some of Ellen's family story hanging out there. Still, great ending to another twisty-turny season of 'Damages.'

Overall, how do you feel about this season of 'Damages'? Were there any questions you didn't get answered? And are you hoping it continues on with season four?