Damages Season 3, Episode 3

Before we get into what’s happening this week with Patty and Crew, let’s talk a little bit about the show itself.

It’s the ratings. They aren’t good.

At this point, I’m not sure if anything can be done about that, and more to the point, I’m not sure that FX is going to try. If you look around, you’ll see that while Season 1 of Damages is on Hulu, season 2 isn’t. The DVD set of season 2 came out a mere week before the new series hit, which probably wasn’t enough time for the curious to catch up and follow along.

And then there’s a slight feeling of, “We have to let people on the bus!” with this season.

One of the things I really loved about season 2 was its sense of scope. It had a big story going on, yes, but it also carried the story of season 1 with it, along with all the shading and surprises and things that still needed to be revealed.

The only problem was, it wasn’t a good on-ramp for people who didn’t already know the show.

And so the ratings slipped, and I’m guessing someone, somewhere, said, “We need to right this ship!”

Which leads us to season 3. A season that mostly just forgets about everything that came before. Yeah, we’ve got the divorce story as a carryover from last season, but it doesn’t really require any prior knowledge to understand what happened. Phil cheated, and now they’re in court.

There’s still quite a bit of season left to go, so things might yet change… but I kind of doubt it. So for better or worse, we’ve got Ellen and Patty in different offices, and maybe a little something with Tom.

I’m not saying I’m not liking it. I am. But I miss all that could have been. Especially the Wes angle. Something really interesting could have happened there…

(Please, leave a comment if you’ve got thoughts of your own. I’d love to hear ‘em.)

Episode 3

Season 3, Episode Three on The Onion AV Club

We pick right up from last week, with Joe hitting Danielle. He goes to call 911, only a driver shows up to take Danielle to the airport. International flight. Joe explains that the flight was “for him” and that someone was supposed to cancel it.

The driver leaves, Joe opts NOT to call 911, and takes the body into the house.

Credits!

Patty and Tom talk about trying to find Danielle before she leaves the country.

Ellen tells a coworker that she’s having dinner with her parents, her sister, and her new niece. But not her sister’s husband.

Winstone goes on a date with Tobin’s wife’s hairdresser. First, he’s concerned that the flight getting Danielle out of the country has been delayed. Then he gets a call from Joe.

Ellen and Patty bump into each other outside of Ellen’s work. Patty thanks Ellen for the name. Ellen says she has to get to her dinner.

Tom calls his wife and says he’s sorry he’s running late for dinner/telling his in-laws they lost all their money. He’s trying to track down Danielle.

At Danielle’s house, Danielle wakes up. She’s not dead. She asks what time it is. Joe asks if she has someplace to be. Winstone shows up, and he and Joe decide to send Danielle out of the country.

Patty talks to Ellen’s boss, and gives him Danielle’s name. He says he can’t detain her without cause.

At Ellen’s dinner, Ellen holds her niece. Ellen’s sister asks about Wes. They broke up “a few months back.”

Turns out Ellen’s sister’s husband isn’t there because he’s “bowling.”

Tom and Patty talk about the fact that they still haven’t found Danielle.

Danielle, Winstone and Joe talk about the whole “leaving the country” thing. She says she needs a doctor. If he says she’s all right, she’ll leave.

Joe goes out to his car and has some booze. So he gets to see Tom come up to Danielle’s door, knock, and then go hunting around the outside of the house looking for her. Tom spots a broken taillight on Joe’s car, and goes to write down the license plate number.

An elderly neighbor asks if Tom needs help, and confirms that Danielle lives in the house.

Tom calls Patty and leaves a message that he can’t find Danielle, and he heads to his dinner.

And then here comes the elderly neighbor. Turns out he’s the doctor who is going to check out Danielle.

The doctor says she probably has a concussion, and possibly a broken rib. The doctor says she can fly, unless she slurs her speech or gets more nauseous.

Patty brings in her bald-headed dude.

Patty calls Winstone and says she knows about Danielle. Patty threatens to release information about Danielle to the press.

Elsewhere in the house, Danielle calls “someone” on the phone and leaves a message.

At the DA’s office, the guy who interviewed Danielle about the Tobin case now has a voice mail.

At Ellen’s dinner, her sister is crying and mom is comforting while Ellen dries the dishes.

Joe and Danielle talk. She was actually seeing Joe at one point. A year before Joe went to rehab, Danielle started an affair with Tobin. There’s more talk, but it’s deliberately vague.

Winstone goes to see Patty. She hands him a press release. He says he doesn’t know who Danielle is. They verbally spar.

Joe calls the doctor. Her nose is bleeding and she’s slurring her words. The doctor tells Joe that if Danielle gets on a plane, she’ll die.

Danielle’s phone rings. It’s Chris, from the DA’s office. Joe hangs up.

Ellen’s boss is not pleased.

Danielle asks what the doctor said, and Joe says it’s nothing to worry about.

Tom finally gets to dinner with his in-laws and wife. He looks at the water glasses, and goes to make a call. He remembers he saw a water glass, and realizes that Danielle and Company were still in the house.

Ellen asks her sister what’s going on with her husband. He left her, three weeks earlier, and she’s getting money from mom and dad. And also, she’s moving back in with mom and dad. Dad doesn’t know yet.

Ellen’s sister asks Ellen to stay, so they can tell dad together.

Joe drives Danielle to the airport. She’s having some serious mental slips.

Tom tells his in-laws what happened to all their money.

At Ellen’s parent’s house, Ellen’s sister gets chewed out by dad for being a slob. Ellen decides to stay the night.

Joe calls Winstone and says he’s ten minutes from the airport.

Patty calls Ellen’s boss and says they have cause to arrest Joe and Danielle. He’s driving with a broken taillight.

A cop pulls Joe over. Joe said he was going to the hospital. The cop calls for an ambulance.

Patty goes to the airport and talks to Winstone. Winstone says he doesn’t know who Danielle is. Patty says that she now knows for sure that Winstone is helping Tobin hide something.

Ellen heads upstairs to locate something to sleep in, and discovers a crack pipe. And crack. She goes back downstairs, where everyone is watching home movies.

Ellen calls Patty and asks if Patty found her witness.

Hey! No flashbacks or flash-forwards! Interesting.