Damages: Season 3, Episode 7

Having gotten halfway through the season, I’ve gotta say, I think that the creators of the show walked up to the blackboard at the front of the room, scribbled FAMILY on it, and whenever anyone had any ideas, they pointed at the word.

FAMILY.

That seems to be the theme.

Moreover, it appears that the theme applies to both the family you create and the family you’re born into, and how both can be hideously disappointing.

Consider our plotlines so far:

Ellen: It’s clear that even though Patty, you know, tried to have her killed, that she really really really wants to go back to the “Mom” that gets her, as opposed to her actual flesh-and-blood. Who don’t understand the law, and apparently smoke crack.

Patty: She hires Alex, yes, but it’s clear that she misses Ellen. To the point where she tries to make Ellen jealous by having wine with Alex and inviting Ellen to a fake party.

Winstone: He wants to be a member of the Tobin family, and after tonight, you can see why. His mom died five months ago and when he confronts his dad, his dad threatens blackmail.

Must have made for awkward Thanksgivings.

Tom: Tom spent this whole episode tracking down a member of the Tobin family an in effort to get all the money back for his own family, immediate and in-laws. And it’s telling that, to do so, he tried to help another family.

Did anything else happen in this episode that I missed? Well, there’s the double agent keeping the Tobin funds safe in the Caribbean, I guess. And Ellen finding out that Joe’s sister probably gave the killer potassium to Danielle.

Everything else is, of course, speculation.

One final note: We’ve got six episodes to go, and there’s been no word yet on whether or not Damages will be coming back for a round four. I suppose it’s possible that FX is waiting to see if the back half of the season gets some kind of a bump, but I don’t see that happening.

Well, okay, one more note: How great has Martin Short been this season? Honestly, the man has been brilliant in every scene. Maybe they can spin him off into his own show? Assuming his character isn’t dead at the end of this season?

And what do YOU think?