Damages Season 2: Episodes 1 and 2

The theme song of “Damages” features the repeated line “When I am through with you, there won’t be anything left…” and in many ways, that’s really the call to arms for this show. By the time you get through the first season, everyone’s hands are dirty, with the exception of David.

Who is dead.

It’s a pick-your-poison kind of deal: End up dead, or end up having every one of your illusions and safe havens ripped away.

(Though I suppose you could argue that Nye is a good man. But we haven’t started the second season, so that remains to be seen, really.)

Episode 1

Damages S 2 Ep 1 on Television Without Pity

As we open, Ellen is drinking, and talking to someone off-camera. Telling them they should be scared, and that they should tell the truth. She produces a gun and talks about “the truth setting you free.”

Six Months Earlier: Regis and Kelly have Patty on their show. Patty says she’s going to use some of the money to help take care of the hungry in New York. She brings up a guy named Sam, and they show a picture. We’ll be seeing this guy again.

Ellen is standing in the wings. They all wave her out.

Ellen goes to talk to the FBI. The FBI is putting together a case they want Patty to take. Ellen has to sell Patty on the idea.

Still in the field, Arthur drags his bleeding, pained self to some kind of house. He’s almost attacked by a dog, but the dog is on a chain and can’t reach him. Someone steps out of the house: It’s Ellen.

Ellen’s in group therapy. They talk about revenge fantasies.

Uncle Pete talks to Patty about Ellen. Patty tells Pete to go ahead and keep on watching Ellen.

Pete leaves, Tom comes in. He thinks she needs to get back to work. He offers to bring in a few cases and have her choose one.

At an office building, elsewhere, a bunch of suits talk about something that’s probably bad. A man comes down the hallway: Purcell. He steps into the office and says, “This isn’t my work.” He keeps talking and being generally angry, then leaves.

Patty talks to Ellen. The new endeavor is almost set up with the IRS. And Ellen and Patty talk about whether Patty is creating the non-profit as a way to make up for how they won the case – with Ray’s suicide.

They talk about Arthur. He lived.

Arthur is in the hospital. He’s had four surgeries, including getting a kidney. He’s had a total press blackout so that no one can find him.

Ellen locates Patty. Her friend Sam is backing out of the foundation.

Patty goes to visit Sam. The Republican party is going to back him for governor, so he’s backing out – the Republicans don’t like her. He explains to Patty that he’s just a hippy throwback who wants to see what he can get away with. His daughter, Lily, shows up and the meeting is over.

Patty goes back to the office, and Uncle Pete brings her a box that was hand-delivered. Pete opens it, and as he does, Patty gets a call from Purcell. They haven’t talked in ten years. Purcell says to hold onto the package, because Patty is the only one he can trust.

The FBI hands a case to Ellen. They want Patty to take it. Infant mortality.

Ellen and Tom pitch the case to Patty. Short version: HMOs refuse to pay for cesarean births for low-income moms, so their kids are dying in childbirth. Patty says she’ll look at it.

Ellen goes to group therapy, and listens to one of her cohorts talks about a revenge dream he had. The person running the group asks if Patty has had any dreams. Ellen says she can’t sleep.

In her apartment, Patty has a nightmare about Pete calling and saying “It’s done.” Michael wakes her up.

At Purcell’s house, his daughter says she heard someone downstairs. It’s late at night. Purcell goes to check it out, and tells his family to call the police. He grabs a fire poker. Outside the door is a man dressed in black. The guy runs.

Purcell goes to check out his office, which has been ransacked.

Sam calls Patty – his daughter got busted for cocaine. He wants Patty’s help. She says she won’t blackmail Sam to get back on the foundation over this.

Pete goes to visit Ellen, and tells Ellen where Arthur is.

Arthur talks to his nurse, and freaks out over the fact that he’s crippled and can’t eat solid food. He makes plans to be even more pathetic if and when his ex-wife comes to visit.

Purcell and his wife talk. The alarm people will install a new system tomorrow. His wife wants to know when and if Purcell is going to do something about “those people.” Presumably she’s talking about the suits from earlier. She says, “If that company is making people sick you have to stop them.”

Ellen goes to therapy, says that the only thing that’s going to make her feel better is seeing David again, and she walks out.

Patty goes to walk her dog. Purcell runs into her, and says his family isn’t safe. He also says if he goes public with what he knows, it could bring down an industry.

Patty refuses to help him. Purcell says Patty owes him.

Ellen goes to a bar and drinks a whole lot of whisky. The guy with the revenge fantasy shows up at the bar. He returns her phone. His girlfriend was killed by a drunk driver. He tells Rose people like them have two options: Forgiveness or Revenge.

Patty has a nightmare involving Ray. Or a really freaky hallucination. Ray tells Patty to tell the truth. Patty wants Ellen to meet with her Friday night.

Ellen goes to the FBI and tells them she wants to wear a wire.

Purcell talks to someone in the middle of nowhere.

Patty tells Pete to take Purcell’s paperwork and get them examined by an expert.

Ellen pretends to be Arthur’s wife, and gets into his room to go see him. The nurse leaves. Ellen locks the door. Arthur is unconscious.

Ellen leaves. The nurse wakes up Arthur.

Sam and Patty talk. Sam thinks his daughter was set up. The DA wouldn’t cut a deal.

Sam says he wants back into the foundation. She says okay, but the naming rights have been given away. Sam doubles the amount he was going to endow, and his name is back on the foundation.

At the founding party, Michael tells Patty that he told her Lily was a coke-head. Should have seen that one coming.

Ellen and Tom congratulate Patty on her foundation. Patty decides to take the infant mortality case.

Purcell is also at the party. He apologizes for his behavior, and says he can handle it himself. He hands Patty something, and Patty says she’ll send the paperwork back to him.

Out on the street the Dead Girlfriend Guy offers Ellen a phone number. He says to ask for Frank. Frank sells guns. Ellen hands the number back, stating that that she thinks she’s more of a forgiveness girl than a revenge girl.

Patty goes to the FBI people, and they give her a special cell phone to record the conversation. They record her consent to record. And they tell her not to talk too much.

At the eatery, Patty talks. She tells Ellen she had a baby years ago, and she never told anyone. The baby died. Patty sometimes thinks if the baby had lived, she (Patty) would be another person.

She also tells Ellen that she wished she (Patty) had been the one who was attacked in Patty’s apartment. And that if Patty’s daughter had lived, Patty would have wanted her to be just like Ellen.

Ellen tells the FBI she didn’t get anything.

Patty gets a call, and goes to Purcell’s house. They were attacked again – his wife is dead on the floor. Purcell asks if Patty will help him now.

The FBI people tell Ellen it could be two or three years to get Patty. They ask if she can handle it.

Now! Ellen tells the other person that it’s just the two of them, face-to-face. Then she shoots whoever it is. Twice.

Episode 2

Damages S 2 Ep 2 on Television Without Pity

We start where we ended – Now! With Ellen shooting the gun twice.

Six Months Ago: Ellen is talking to the FBI. Patty calls her. She’s at Purcell’s place. Patty wants Ellen to meet her at the office.

At Purcell’s house, the police examine Purcell’s wife’s body. The police question Purcell and Patty. Purcell is really, really, really freaked out. The man who attacked his wife was in the house when he got there. Purcell tried to chase him, but had no luck.

Purcell tells the police he doesn’t know who is after him, which Patty knows isn’t true. Patty makes Purcell drink some juice (she says he’s diabetic) and says she’s representing Purcell now, and he’s not answering any questions.

Patty says she’s going to handle Purcell, and that Tom can take the infant mortality case.

Patty talks to Purcell. She wants to know why he lied. And who attacked him. He says he can’t talk any more. They take him to his hotel.

The next day, Ellen asks if Patty thinks that Purcell killed his wife. She offers to help.

Ellen tries to get Patty to take the infant mortality case again, with no luck. She tells the FBI. The FBI decides to go ahead with Tom taking the case, figuring they can get him to rat out Patty later.

At her office, Patty gets a newspaper and a note from Pete. Arthur is out of the hospital.

Ellen goes to talk to Wes, the guy with the dead girlfriend, outside of their old group. She tells him that she had the chance to kill Arthur, but didn’t take it, and she had to tell someone.

Six Months Later: Ellen and Wes are in a hotel room, doing hotel room stuff. Ellen’s phone rings, and she has to go.

Then! At Patty’s office, Purcell and Patty talk about the box of stuff. Purcell was checking toxicity of a compound. They doctored his results. Whoever they were doing testing for wants the danger buried.

And was willing to kill Purcell’s wife to do so.

Purcell isn’t going to talk to the cops now – he has a daughter to protect.

Patty walks Purcell out as her son walks in, and she introduces them. Tom and Ellen talk to the client – the face of the class action lawsuit. The client asks for a moment alone with Tom. She asks for some money up front – something to help pay the bills. Tom says he can’t give her any money, it’s illegal. She says that other lawyers said they could do something for her.

Ellen and the FBI listen to the recording later – Tom says he’ll get her some money.

Patty talks to Purcell. He and his daughter plant a tree. And there’s no proof that anyone else was in his house. Purcell is the only suspect.

That’s bad.

Patty starts digging into Purcell’s personal life. She knows he has a temper. She says she can’t really help him unless he gives her information on who was actually behind the attack.

Purcell says there’s no way to know.

Patty brings in a guy from the EPA. His name is Earl. She wants to know who, and what, the compound was for.

Earl goes to talk to the dude threatening Purcell - Wayne. Earl tells Wayne that there’s a leak. Wayne makes a phone call.

Patty and Tom meet with Ellen. They tell her someone is keeping a secret. They give her a photo – it’s a sonogram. Tom is pregnant.

She talks to the FBI guys. One of them gets a phone call. His wife is leaving him.

Wayne goes to meet with Claire. He tells her they have a leak. And that Patty has the documents.

Wes and Ellen have lunch. Wes has figured out that Arthur is the guy who killed David. Wes tells Ellen to stay away from Arthur.

Then Wes goes home, cuts out a news story about Arthur, and adds it to all the other clippings he has about the murder. Which are many. And also, he’s putting them into a closet full of guns.

Now! Tom and Ellen meet up, and Tom gives her the gun she shoots… “someone” with.

Then! Ellen meets with Tom. Tom tells Ellen to assist him with the infant mortality case. Then they talk about justice. In general.

Patty talks to the guy who failed to take care of Gregory. She bugged the office. She hears a tape of Tom telling the client that he’ll get her some money. Patty debates what to do.

Tom goes to meet the client in a public park. He seems ready to give her some money, but first he tells her to never tell anyone about it. His phone rings. Tom closes his briefcase and walks away.

Patty tells Tom not to take the case.

Claire goes to a judge and gets an order to get her company’s paperwork back. The judge signs it.

The cops go to Patty’s office and asks for the documents.

Ellen talks to Tom. Tom isn’t taking the infant mortality case. Tom tells Ellen that the client asked for money.

Patty goes to talk to Purcell. Purcell is mad, because Patty handed over the documents. Patty explains that she did it to get the court order – which gave her the name of the people who commissioned the report.

Ellen goes to talk to Patty, and tells her that Tom turned down the infant mortality job.

In his car, Purcell meets with Claire. She asks if Purcell told anyone about “us.”

As the episode ends, Purcell burns something.