Damages: Because I Know Patty

SEASON 1 FINALE, TUESDAY @ 10PM ON FX

I'm speechless! Well, not quite; but I'm damn close. I haven't seen such incredible work since the early days of "The West Wing." In my opinion, the season finale of "Damages" ranks up there with some of the best episodes of television in history. Now, I know those are some pretty big words I'm throwing around but I wouldn't do so lightly. I understand the place a lot of the shows I like inhabit in the television world and I'm not naive to think that just because I happen to enjoy a show that it's automatically the best on television. But the truth is that tonight's episode (and for that matter, the entire season) is an example to the rest of Hollywood of what quality writing and acting should look like. No one could have predicted the twists and turns this show took. Further, the acting was superb and never once let us down. The most important quality this writing had, as opposed to other shows, is that the answers to all our questions weren't ridiculous, predictable, or generic. In fact, they were the complete opposite and surprisingly unique at every turn.

We went in to tonight with a lot of questions unanswered. I won't go into each question because at this point it doesn't matter; we know what happened! Finally too, I've been dying to know what was going on for so long. The main thing we learned tonight was that Patty tried to have Ellen killed!!! After everything we saw last week with Frobisher sending his men after the tape and Rick (the one with the beard) saying he went to Patty's apartment to look I had no doubt in my mind that it was Frobisher's man who attacked Ellen. But just as we were all wrong so many times this season, I was wrong about this. Apparently, Ellen's remark about regretting what they did a few weeks ago triggered Patty's desire to have her taken out. At the time, Patty did not regret it (and who knows if she truly does now or it's all still a charade) and felt that if she allowed Ellen to remain alive she would be a liability that could possibly get her thrown in jail someday. I just knew that Patty had this in her. She had Katies cat killed, blackmailed another lawyer, used Ellen over and over again, etc. etc. etc. She's NOT a good person even if she represents them. In the end, she's no better than Frobisher.

Surprisingly and not so surprisingly, Patty has a past we didn't know about until tonight. About 35 years ago she gave birth to a still born daughter. Clearly she's still distraught about it and maybe that's even what caused her to be so cold and hard resulting in the person we see today. Either way, it seems she finally came to feel like Ellen was sort of a daughter to her. This would explain why she went to the grave after she put the attack on Ellen into motion and also why she told Ellen that she regretted everything and wanted a second chance with her. It's an interesting twist and at the end of the episode we find out it's a fortuitous one for Ellen.

So Ellen knew all along that Patty tried to have her killed. Personally I thought she used that as an excuse to get her to defend her but man was I wrong. The big news is that this knowledge is useful as Ellen has been recruited by the F.B.I. to take Patty down. Apparently, they've been investigating Patty for years on the suspicion that she uses illegal, unethical, and criminal tactics to win her cases. No surprise there. I'm glad Mr. Nye turned out to be working with them and not for one of the bad guys or Frobisher. As it stands at the end of the season finale, Ellen agreed to work with the F.B.I. because Patty tried to have her killed, Mr. Nye is in on the investigation as well and knew about it before Ellen even accepted the job, Patty wants a second chance to be a good person to Ellen and now she's going back to work for Patty to keep an eye on her, and Frobisher was left for dead in the middle of a field.

It appears that we will be seeing Patty, Ellen, Tom, Pete, Patty's husband and son next season. The question marks are Frobisher (did he die?), Katie, and Lila. I have to believe Lila's storyline isn't over. She went to all that trouble to stalk David and sneak in and out of the apartment, so how could him throwing her out be the end? Granted David was killed but she may go after Ellen, who knows. I just don't think that could be the end to that storyline.

How ironic that the videotape incriminating Frobisher and the one he had his men kill David for was actually hidden in the murder weapon. Extremely ironic and a testament to the genius of this show. Exactly how things will play out from here who knows. I have a feeling this year's case will be over next year and Frobisher may actually be dead. In that case, the District Attorney will have no leverage against him and may help land Patty in jail instead. My one disappointment in the whole episode was the twist about Rick being a detective in the NYPD and removing the flashlight from the crime scene before Ellen could find it. That went a bit too far in my opinion and the writers were trying to get too flashy and creative.

The two best scenes of the season were in tonight's episode. First, was the scene with Ted Dansen and Glenn Close in his New York apartment when she came to show him the videotape that Gregory left behind. As Patty was leaving Frobisher asked her in a quiet, desperate voice "Why do you hate me so much?" Patty turned, looked at him with almost a sly sort of smile and walked out. Second, was Ellen's attendance at David's funeral. After everyone left she broke down and knelt beside his coffin as if she were sitting next to him on a bed. She gently pushed her hand against the wood and sat there crying. These two scenes were incredible and really hit home with the emotional undertones the writers were trying to convey.

If you haven't watched this season or only saw a few episodes you must rent, buy or netflix the season as soon as it comes out. I've thoroughly enjoyed every moment and I can't wait for the second season. Hopefully we won't have to wait until next July. Until next season, keep leaving comments and let me know if you find out any spoilers I may be interested in.