Damages Season 1, Episodes 4, 5, and 6

Before we get started, a little housekeeping.

Much to my surprise, Television Without Pity only covered the first two episodes of the first season of Damages. I’ll start linking their write-ups when I get to season 2.

To that end, if anyone wants a little more detail in these write-ups, let me know and I’ll fill them in a little bit more for future episodes.

Secondly, I’ve been linking up the episodes on Hulu on an episode-by-episode basis. Does anyone want me to link upcoming episodes as well? A kind of “Next time, on the Damages blogs?” Or is the format good for now?

Again, let me know.

Episode 4

Damages Episode Four on Hulu

And we’re off. We’ve got loud drums, Katie dressed to kill, and a burn-in: Palm Beach, Florida, 2002.

She drinks, she does some coke, she meets Greg. There are gunshots. She and Gregory get ready to run.

The More Recent Past! Katie says she had three drinks, and no drugs, and that she doesn’t know Gregory’s last name.

Florida! Katie and Gregory see Arthur in the parking lot, but can’t identify who else got into Arthur’s car.

The More Recent Past! Patty shows up and asks if they’re still stuck in the parking lot… and tells them maybe they should try hypnosis.

The Present! Katie sees her dead brother at the morgue, and freaks right out.

The next day, Patty calls her son – he doesn’t have phone privileges yet, even though it’s been a week. Patty says this is fine, then throws a bunch of stuff off her desk.

Arthur cleans his pool.

Ray gets hassled by the other people at his firm over the fact that Arthur’s ex-workers haven’t settled yet.

At a hotel, Katie and Gregory talk about the case. Katie is trying to keep Gregory a secret from them, but she’s worried she’ll slip and she wants him to come in and testify. Only one problem: Gregory is still married – something that was implied before, but not stated until now.

In the middle of nowhere, Tom hands Patty a dossier on Katie. Tom also tries to get Patty to put in a good word at a private school he wants to get his daughter into. She says no, since she “fired” him.

Ellen and David go on a jog. Ellen gets called away.

Tom runs into Martin, who runs another law firm and wants to bring Tom in. Tom says he’s “soul-searching,” and Martin lets Tom know that Martin is the president-elect of the school Tom wants his daughter to get into.

David heads back to work at the hospital, and the granddaughter of a guy he’s treating engages him in conversation. Stuff like, “I love comedies. They’re just so funny.”

Then she slaps some headphones on David and tells him that her grandfather got her into old radio shows – this one is Jack Benny.

Later, at a movie, by herself, Ellen calls Katie, making her the most evil person on the show. (I kid.) Katie, talks to her, hangs up, and finds Gregory on her doorstep – he says he knows who was in the limo with Arthur.

The dude’s name is Luke Richards – one of Arthur’s broker’s assistants.

Katie is angry that Gregory didn’t tell her this before. He tells her he’s not letting a court case ruin his life. And he tells her to get out while she can.

At the movies, Ellen and David fall asleep.

The next day, Katie goes through the photos of the people linked to Arthur. She sees Luke Richards… and flashes back to all the people who warned her that bad things would happen if she got involved. She says to keep going.

Then she changes her mind, and goes back to Luke. They ask her if she’s sure. She insists that she is, playing dumb about what Gregory told her.

Katie and Ellen call David to tell him that they’re moving forward with the case. David, meanwhile, is checking a chart and finds a note from “Lila,” which says, “I’m willing to try anything.” This distracts David a bit.

Patty calls Tom and tells him to check into Luke.

Tom calls Martin and asks Martin to make him an offer.

Ray gets the news that Katie is a new witness.

Patty brings in a grilling expert to grill Katie the way Ray is going to grill Katie. He asks questions about her time in rehab, and her drug use in Florida. And about her terminated pregnancy. Katie tells Patty she thought they had a deal.

The griller nails Katie hard, and Katie cracks.

Patty tells Katie that Katie was warned. Katie says she wants to try again.

The Present! Katie wants to talk to Ellen – and she wants to know if Ellen killed her brother. Katie didn’t know Ellen and David broke off their engagement. They had a falling out and hadn’t spoken in months.

The Past! Katie and Ellen talk about the drugs and the pregnancy.

Katie gets grilled again – this time by Ray. She’s cool about the drug use and the naughty time with Greg.

Then things break down – Luke was photographed by an ATM machine at 1:30 in the morning in Atlantic City, the day he was “also” in the car with Arthur.

Katie starts to crack again. Patty points out that this picture wasn’t made available before, but otherwise keeps her head. Katie cracks and leaves the room, and Ray implies that Arthur’s offer is coming off the table.

Somewhere in the city, someone-or-other, almost certainly connected to Arthur’s case, talks to Gregory. Gregory says he wants them out of his life. He also says something about “her” not remembering “him,” which probably means he was the fellow with Arthur.

The Florida Past! Greg and Katie talk. Gregory gives Kate some kind of drug to help her sleep, since she’s totally wired. Gregory hits the shower. Katie takes two pills.

In The More Recent Past! Tom and Patty talk – Gregory sold his stock in Arthur’s company in 2002. He is, in fact, a missing link in the case.

Patty shreds the photo of Luke in Atlantic City – she knew about it all along. She had Katie give the bad testimony to mess with Ray.

Katie goes to Gregory and asks why Gregory lied to him. At his softball game, it appears. Katie says she’s going to call his wife. His nearby friend says, “Dude, you’re married now?”

Katie blames Ellen for what happened – accusing her of only wanting to impress Patty. David yells at Ellen that from day one he didn’t want Katie involved.

Ellen goes to Patty to say sorry, and Patty comforts her. Patty isn’t revealing her game plan to Ellen. And she reminds Patty to, “Trust no one.”

And we get a musical montage over a male-sung, piano-strained version of “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.”

Tom meets with Martin. Katie, passed out on the couch, “sees” the man Gregory met with earlier. David tells Lila he’s engaged, and she says they can play it any way he wants it. Ellen wanders the streets, and looks in on Katie’s never-to-be eatery.

And we close in The Present! With Katie looking in on Ellen, who is still in grilling mode.

Episode 5

Damages Episode Five on Hulu

We open up on Nye asking Ellen, “Help me, to help you.”

And then we get a flashback of sorts – Ellen fights off the attacker in her apartment. Ellen says, “Someone tried to kill me.”

4 Months Earlier: Tom and some dude ride through the park on bikes, and Tom tells his friend that he’s sick of Patty.

Credits. Then back to the park. Tom tries to lay out the pros and cons to taking the new job. There are several pros, and no cons.

Tom decides to take the job – he’s going to tell Patty tonight.

Patty, meanwhile, is working out with a trainer.

At Ellen and David are… not fighting, exactly. But David is taking off to see Katie for a couple of days. He tells Ellen she can come, and she says she’s too busy with work. As he heads out, she hands him a CD. He has to pick a wedding band.

Katie sits on a porch somewhere, and avoids taking a call from Gregory.

Ray and Arthur talk about the fact that Arthur wants to pull his offer. Arthur says that he doesn’t want to settle because he wants to clear his name. Settling would be admitting guilt. Ray thinks they got lucky, and that they might not be so lucky in court.

Tom goes to Patty and says, yes, Gregory and Arthur dumped their stock on the same day.

And also, he’s taking the job Martin offered him. Patty says she would fight to keep him, only she doesn’t think it’s in his best interest.

As Tom leaves, she says, “Walking out of your own last supper?”

Arthur meets with Larry, to talk about the fact that he’s pulling his settlement. Arthur tells Larry that Larry will be taken care of, no matter what. And offers to double Larry’s arrangement, though Larry may have to do more things for him.

Larry goes to his group, and tells them Patty is useless, and they should fire her. More discussion prepares to ensue.

Ellen has dinner with her mom, and talks about how the wedding planning is going. Ellen breaks down crying.

Larry and Company fire Patty. And try to hire Tom. Who says that he may stay independent for this trial, to avoid any compromising problems.

Arthur and Ray talk about the fact that Tom is taking the case – Arthur thinks that the trial is going to be a cakewalk now. Ray wants to settle for 75 million – it’s a win for Tom, and a win for them, he thinks.

Ray meets with Tom. Ray asks for a number. Tom says he wants to go to trial, and have Ray explain that Arthur is not a crook to a jury.

Arthur smokes by the pool. I swear, they did all the Arthur-by-the-pool shots in one day.

Tom and his wife meet with his friend and the friend’s girlfriend. They party, and do a lot of drinking. It’s a musical montage.

At a bar, Gregory drinks alone, and some blonde girl hits on him. Gregory asks what she’s drinking.

Tom and crew are still drinking. Tom goes to the bathroom, and talks to Patty. Or doesn’t. Could be a hallucination.

Gregory gets mugged. Only it’s actually a beating, rendered by thugs hired by Gregory’s contact. The contact wants to know if they can count on his “cooperation.”

David talks to Katie – she’s staying at their mom and dad’s house. Katie decides to tell David everything.

Ellen meets with Tom. Tom tries to poach Ellen. Ellen thinks he’s trying to do it in order to get back at Patty.

Now! Nye talks to Ellen, and Ellen fights the dude with the knife.

Then! Tom’s daughter got into the school, and Martin wants Tom to not go out on his own. Tom has until the end of the day to decide whether or not he’s taking Martin’s offer.

Later that day, Patty goes to Tom’s house to talk to him. Patty tells Tom that the case is all about Gregory now, and that Tom needs to figure out who is giving him orders. Patty tells Tom that Tom’s talent is to be a number 2, not a number 1. And that Tom needs to take them to a new firm.

Tom goes to talk to his friend. Tom’s friend tells him that fortune favors the bold. Then the friend lays it out – Tom wants to work for Patty.

Tom lays awake all night thinking about it. He goes to visit Patty first thing in the morning. She asks for his negotiating points. He says there’s no room to negotiate. She takes some papers from him, and a pen. Tom tells Patty that the clients are willing to come back to Patty.

Patty says no to Tom having his name on the door. Tom says, “See you at nine.”

Ellen is asleep – until David wakes her up. He says he should be apologizing to Ellen. Katie told David the truth, and now he passes on that info on to Katie. Including Gregory’s full name.

Katie tells this information to Patty, and sees that Tom has returned.

Now! Nye tells the cops that someone tried to kill Ellen – in Patty’s apartment. Nye gives them the address. The cops go. There’s no dead guy.

Episode 6

Damages Episode Six on Hulu

David’s dead in the apartment. Ellen has the bookend. And Ellen is talking about how someone tried to kill her in Patty’s apartment.

The cops go, there’s no body. They come back, and go, “There’s no body.”

Ellen is confused. For obvious reasons.

Ellen says there are things she can’t talk about – because they’re about the case.

3 ½ Months Earlier: Ellen talks to Gregory – but doesn’t tell Gregory who she is. At first. Ellen asks who’s pulling Gregory’s strings.

Ellen asks for a name. She says all she wants is a bigger fish. Gregory gives her a name. Barney Rubble.

Ellen tells Gregory he has 24 hours – then he’s getting a subpoena.

Credits!

Patty asks if Gregory believed Ellen. Ellen says she’s not sure. They give him 24 hours to come forward.

What’s-his-name talks to Gregory, and tells him to go in and leave out a few details. Gregory says, “I just want to talk to him.” He also says he just wants his life back.

Arthur talks to Ray. Ray says he hasn’t been sleeping well. Arthur gives Ray the name of a therapist. Arthur also wants to write a memoir, to get his story out into the world, so that people will think he’s a nice guy. Because some lady spat at him during his son’s basketball game.

Ray thinks they should wait until the trial is over. Arthur says no.

At the apartment, David hunts for Ellen. She left the TV on by accident. He calls her and verifies that she’s okay.

She tells him they’re having dinner with Patty tomorrow night. David says he doesn’t want to go, but agrees to do so anyway.

The next day, David is sitting on a park bench when Lila comes by. Her grandfather died. David asks if there’s anything he can do. Lila wants someone to come to her apartment and see what medical equipment they have at the house so they can sell it.

David says yes.

Now! Lila called David a half-dozen times the night before he was killed.

Arthur and Ray meet up, and Arthur thanks Ray for 16 years of service. Then Ray freaks out, and pulls a tooth out of his head. Dream sequence!

Ray wakes up in his office.

Then he goes to actually talk to Arthur. The publisher wants Arthur to talk about the collapse of his company. Ray tells Arthur he should back out. But Arthur really wants to do this biography/autobiography.

Ellen and David have dinner with Patty and her husband. They talk wine. David has no idea how to do this.

Patty brings up Katie, and asks how she is. David says not good. Patty says to send her best to Katie.

Ellen asks how Patty and her husband met. The husband is about to tell, only Dubai calls.

The biographer goes to talk to Arthur. The biographer sets up his tape recorder, and starts off with questions about how the company crashed and burned. Arthur says he’d rather start with his childhood. And his dyslexia.

At the dinner, Patty pulls Ellen aside to choose a dessert. And David goes to have a cigar with Patty’s husband.

David tells Ellen they need to go. He’s got work.

They go home, and have a fight.

Ellen gets a call – it’s Gregory. He’s on a pay phone. He wants to talk.

Now! The cops go to talk to Lila.

Lila says David and she were dating for almost four months. David was a-cheatin’ on Ellen.

Then! David goes to Lila’s apartment. He tells her what the machine is, and what it’s probably worth. There’s some talk of Grandpa, and some minor flirting.

Ellen meets with Gregory. He tells her that his only talent is getting people to like him. Ellen asks for a name again. Gregory tells her that it’s not about the broker – it’s more.

Nearby, a man appears to be watching Gregory and Ellen.

Arthur meets with the dude who keeps talking to Gregory. Gregory’s tormentor says they need a new strategy. Arthur tells him to come up with one.

Ellen talks to Tom and Patty. Tom is told to draft the subpoena. Ellen brings up the fact that Arthur killed Katie’s dog. Which, of course, he didn’t.

Arthur and his son play a game of HORSE and talk, father-to-son, about Arthur’s book, and about how it kind of stinks to be Arthur’s son right now.

Arthur goes to visit his biographer. Late at night. Drunk. And freaks his biographer right out. He tries to explain how a bunch of old losses at various games when he was a kid explain “who he is.”

The biographer tells Arthur off, and Arthur breaks the dude’s nose with a Pinewood Derby car.

The next day, the cops come to Arthur’s house.

It makes the paper. Ellen asks if Patty thinks that Arthur will go to jail. Patty says probably not.

Then Patty and Ellen talk boys. Patty’s first love put her through law school. Then Patty dumped him because the boyfriend had no ambition. She thinks most men can’t handle ambitious women.

Later that night, David calls Lila – he can’t find his keys. Lila pulls some keys off her key-holding pegboard. And then kisses her grandfather goodnight, because she’s going out.

I gotta admit it. Did. Not. See. That. Coming.

Ray goes to the therapist Arthur recommended. Apparently, teeth falling out in dreams can indicate either anxiety, or a secret that he doesn’t want people to know. He opens his mouth to talk – blood and teeth. Dream sequence!

In a bar, Gregory drinks alone. Elsewhere, a Bald Man loads a gun.

Now Gregory is walking down the street, and here comes The Man with the Gun. Suddenly, the girl from the bar the other day appears and says she wants to give Gregory her number.

Bald Guy pulls a gun and shoots her in the chest. Gregory runs. Bald Guy checks the girl and finds a gun in her hand. He calls Patty and says that Gregory is in danger.

Gregory runs to an apartment and knocks. It’s Ray’s place – he begs for five minutes of Ray’s time.

David goes back to his apartment, and finds it unlocked. He calls to Ellen, who doesn’t answer. He picks up the Statue of Liberty bookend, and walks through the dark apartment while scary music plays.

He finds Ellen in the bathtub. Ellen says she forgot to lock it. Did I mention there are candles and soft music? David asks what the occasion is, and Ellen says she misses him.

Now! Lila says she’s “not proud of it, but this is what David wanted.” Then she plays a voice mail message from Ellen. Ellen says, “Stay away, or I swear I’ll come after you.” They ask Lila why she called David six times yesterday, and she says she was calling about the apartment. They were arranging for her to move in.

Lila pulls out a set of keys and says that David made them for her. They appear to be the keys she sorta-kinda stole from him earlier in the episode.

Then! Lila sneaks into David and Ellen’s apartment, while David and Ellen fool around in the tub. Perhaps she was the one who unlocked his apartment? I have no idea, and I guess we’re not going to find out at this exact minute.