What I’m Watching: Damages

Damages: Season 3, Episode 11 “All That Crap About Your Family” (B)

I have some trouble believing the dynamic between Ellen and Patty sometimes, especially in the way that it affects Patty’s work decisions. It’s hard to tell if Patty actually does have it backwards or whether Ellen really was trying to embarrass her the whole time. Patty’s firing of Alex, however, seems like an unwise decision done merely to spite Ellen even though she won’t care the least bit. Ellen’s journey to find her former babysitter yielded some surprising results, but it’s unclear how it’s relevant to everything else. Ellen did manage to hold her own when she was being chewed out by Gates, and that coupled with Patty’s bitter reaction to Tom’s deception explains how Ellen and Tom end up deciding to start their own law firm. Given the timetable of the season and its impending end in only two episodes, they’re going to have to get started on that soon. Frobisher’s spiral downward to enable his portrayer to get inside his psyche is interesting, but it’s also not too germane to the events of this season. Leonard’s face says so much when Joe is talking about how Tessa isn’t family, and the reveal that Marilyn is only concerned with protecting her family, even disobeying Leonard’s reactions, was pretty shocking. Even more surprising was the fact that Tessa wasn’t actually Louis’ son but Joe’s. That final execution was powerful and indicative of just how serious things are getting, as the Tobins are willing to commit murder to protect the secret of their hidden family fortune.