The worst episodes of Damages
Ranked by viewer rating, lows first. Lit marks on the season rail place this list across the run. Vote on a placement to back it or contest it.
- 01
After Katie is prepped to testify in the case against Frobisher, Patty suspects she's withholding key information that could undermine her credibility on the witness stand.
- 02
Don't Forget to Thank Mr. Zedeck
The judge in the Tobin case puts pressure on Patty to start producing results in recovering the funds from the Ponzi scheme or face being replaced. She seeks information from who an expert resource who has a particular quid pro quo in mind. Patty's solution involves the ambitious Alex Benjamin, who is ever more desperate to join the firm. For Tom Shayes, the impact of his own financial losses are heavy. The post-mortem on Danielle Marchetti reveals heart failure but Ellen has her doubts. The DA puts in charge of investigating Marchetti's death. Tobin finally meets the mysterious Mr. Zedeck, his father's partner who may have access to the hidden cash. In a flashforward 4 months into the future, the police have evidence that it could have been Tom Shayes driving the car that struck Patty's car in the intersection. They also find something interesting in the trunk of his car.
- 03
Patty and Tom focus on getting in touch with Carol Tobin to see if they can learn from her what may have happened on that fateful Thanksgiving day when her father Louis confessed to them that his financial empire was a Ponzi scheme. Her brother Joe and family lawyer Leonard Winstone have her tucked away in an apartment and have convinced her not to leave. A visit to her psychiatrist however gives them the opening to contact her. Her information reveals someone is lying. Ellen meanwhile has to deal with a family crisis when she learns that her sister Carrie has been arrested and charged with a serious drug offence. Her boss makes it quite clear that she is to remain clear of the case and avoid any hint of favoritism. In a flash forward two months into the future, Tom Shayes gives Patty his resignation.
- 04
With Patty's help, Ellen hires her investigator, Malcolm, to look into her sister's drug case. She also asks him to look into her own background and particularly her one time babysitter, Ann. Patty meanwhile is under threat of removal from the Tobin case when a group petitions the judge in the case to remove her. She explains the lead with Tessa Marchetti but he gives her one week to come up with something concrete or she's out. Tom wants to lean on Tessa but Patty flatly refuses. Under ever increasing financial pressure, Tom ignores Patty's orders and approaches Tessa pushing the young woman into the arms of the DA. Marilyn Tobin meanwhile is outraged that the charity she has supported for many years will not allow her to make the annual trip to Africa. She suggests to Ray Winstone that he get Stuart Zedeck to help her out.
- 05
There's a Whole Slew of Ladies with Bad Things to Say About the Taliban
Afghan men hired by one of Erickson's men transport Sanchez in the trunk of a vehicle without AC's knowledge. Jerry Boorman meets with Patty to explain his history with with Erickson and the company. Patty and Ellen don't believe him and they decide they need to speak with the boy Jerry is holding captive.
- 06
Hot-shot, high-stakes, New York City attorney Patty Hewes hires a new associate, the bright, ambitious, but somewhat naive Ellen Parsons, to help her as she tries to ruin billionaire Arthur Frobisher. Hewes represents a group of employees who are suing Frobisher in a class-action suit after he sold his company, leaving the employees financially devastated. Ellen is unaware that her best friend, Katie Connor, and the younger sister of her fiancé David, is working for Frobisher who is financing her new restaurant opening. Flashing forward eight weeks in the future: a man is found murdered, and Ellen, wandering the streets covered in blood, becomes the prime suspect.
- 07
Tom Shayes travels to Antigua and follows up on his lead as to how Louis Tobin may have been smuggling money out of the country. Zedeck is on to him quickly however and Tom's source of information at the local bank soon dries up. Patty continues to play mind games with Ellen who decides to show her old boss that she too has learned a trick or two. Ellen finds out that Joe Tobin's sister Carol visited Danielle Marchetti the day she died. Not satisfied with her boss' single-minded pursuit of a conviction at the expense of those who were defrauded, she goes elsewhere with the information. In a flashforward 3 months into the future, the detectives confront Ellen about the expensive handbag they've found at the scene of the crime.
- 08
Ellen meets Nasim Marwat, the son of Chris' Afghan contact. Erickson decides to torture Chris for information about the possibility of an intelligence breach. Patty discovers important information that High Star extracts terror suspects for the CIA and recruits her mentor Bill Herndon (Judd Hirsch) to investigate the company.
- 09
A blizzard strands Patty and Ellen; McClaren uncovers a major player in the trading scandal.
- 10
I've Done Way Too Much for This Girl
Ellen presents the High Star case to senior partners at Nye, Everett and Polk. After the gas explosion, Chris's paranoia heightens as he believes he's being targeted. Patty counsels Ellen on her case. Erickson and Boorman scheme to make the lawsuit go away.
- 11
Ellen files the High Star case. She also discovers the motive behind Chris' missions after taking his deposition. Meanwhile, Erickson offers Patty a settlement. And Patty searches for Michael in Boston with the help of Detective Victor Huntley.
- 12
We'll Just Have to Find Another Way to Cut the Balls Off of This Thing
Patty and Ellen prepare Marwat for his deposition while a flu-ridden Boorman sets out to keep it from happening; Erickson works his contacts to ensure that his CIA contracts remain secret. Meanwhile, Catherine Hewes is extremely ill.
- 13
Patty uses her drug company case to gain information on High Star. A journalist tries to embed with High Star mercenaries in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Michael demands to see his daughter.
- 14
As Ellen (Rose Byrne) moves to settle her lawsuit against High Star in exchange for Chris Sanchez's (Chris Messina) safe return, her plans are upended by Patty's (Glenn Close) surprise legal action against Howard Erickson (John Goodman). And while Ellen wants to put the suit behind her, rogue CIA agent Jerry Boorman (Dylan Baker) redoubles his efforts to destroy Erickson as he fights to hang on to his Afghan son.
- 15
There's Only One Way to Try a Case
Three years have passed since Patty and Ellen last worked together. Ellen reconnects with her high school friend, Chris Sanchez, who has recently returned from a stint at High Star, a private contractor in the Middle East. Unable to get assistance from the corporation or the government, Ellen decides to look into his case. Both her new boss and Patty warn Ellen about building a case against High Star Security Corp.
- 16
Add That Little Hopper to Your Stew
Patty and Ellen scramble to gain access to Nasim, while Boorman scrambles to keep that from happening. Ellen enlists a reporter (Griffin Dunne) to find Chris in Afghanistan. Erickson and another businessman (John Cullum) negotiate a land deal; and Michael Hewes surfaces in New York looking for Catherine.
- 17
Dean, the Times reporter that Ellen has been talking to, meets with a contact in Afghanistan and tells him he's looking for Chris Sanchez. Boorman arrives at the safe house to find his girlfriend. She confronts him about the boy. Patty and Ellen depose Howard Erickson.
- 18
Three months after the Frobisher settlement, Patty is concentrating on establishing a charitable foundation when an old boyfriend, named Daniel Purcell, contacts her and entangles her in a new case involving corporate fraud and greed. Meanwhile, Ellen continues working with the FBI to destroy Patty, but she becomes more rash and impatient as she continues to set up her appearances to hide her rage behind fabricated grief in the wake of David's murder. Elsewhere, Arthur Frobisher is revealed to have survived the assassination attempt and is recovering in seclusion as ..
- 19
The Next One's Gonna Go in Your Throat
Tom and Ellen continue with their plan to get information on the Tobin family's Ponzi scheme from Leonard Winstone even though Patty has inexplicably told them to stop. It all starts to go wrong when Stuart Zedeck learns that someone impersonated him and withdrew money from the charity's account. He sends his henchman to find out what is going on which leads to a confrontation with Tom. Marilyn Tobin meanwhile goes to Patty and agrees to confess to knowing about the Ponzi scheme and to murder if only they will leave her son Joe alone. Patty makes her views on that point quite clear. Patty is surprised when she runs into her son Michael's pregnant girlfriend. She let's Patty know in no uncertain terms that she has no intention of leaving town and that she and Michael are very much enjoying the money Patty gave her. Patty gets her revenge. Ellen's old boyfriend tells her who was responsible for the death of her fiancé David.
- 20
Patty and Ellen seek the source of the Princefield leak, while Patty takes on Ellen through the press.
- 21
They Had to Tweeze That Out of My Kidney
With Uncle Pete in hospital recovering from his suicide attempt, Patty is spending a good deal of time at his bedside. In flashbacks, Patty remembers her family situation and the important role Pete played in protecting her from her hard-drinking and abusive father. The FBI still plan on putting pressure on Pete if and when he comes out of the coma. Pete gets a surprise visit from Patrick, the man he hired to kill Ellen. Arthur Frobisher comes under pressure from the henchman he hired to ransack Ellen and David's apartment. He is concerned that Frobisher's continued cooperation with Patty Hewes will lead him to reveal his role in David's death. In a flash forward to three months in the future, Pete's wife gives Ellen a folder she found with Ellen's name on it.
- 22
Joe Tobin calls lawyer Leonard Winstone after accidentally hitting Danielle Marchetti with his car. Winstone arranges for a doctor to examine her but Joe ignores his advice and takes her to the airport even after she's begins to show symptoms of a possible brain hemorrhage. Patty Hewes' attempts to find her and keep her from leaving the country fall on deaf ears at the DA's office, however, so it's left up to her and Tom Shayes to locate her and find a reason to justify a subpoena. Tom Shayes has dinner with his parents-in-law to tell them about the loss of their investments. Ellen Parsons travels to her parents home in New Jersey for a family dinner and learns that her sister's husband has run off. She also discovers something else about her sister.
- 23
Patty and Tom run into a brick wall when trying to get information from the Antiguan bank. Working with Ellen, they focus on trying to find Carol Tobin, who has mysteriously vanished. Tom turns to Barry the homeless man who lives in the neighborhood where Carol was last seen. Having run into Michael Hewes and his pregnant girlfriend in a department store, Ellen innocently congratulates Patty on her soon becoming a grandmother. Patty is soon after her son's companion. Arthur Frobisher tries to get a well-known movie star to be the front man for his new renewable energy venture. In a flash-forward 3 months into the future, Ellen is interrogated by the police where she reveals her and Tom's personal plans.
- 24
A hacker claims to have pertinent information about the leak at Princefield; Patty's former colleague offers her services to Ellen.
- 25
You Got Your Prom Date Pregnant
With Uncle Pete now dead, Patty finally tells Tom Shayes that she is under investigation by the FBI. However, when Tom asks his sister, who has access to Justice Department files, just what the investigation is about she reports that there is no record or an FBI file to be found. Patty declares war of sorts on the FBI and visits their office to make it clear that she holds them responsible for Uncle Pete's death and will stop at nothing to ensure justice is done. Wes decides to ask Katie Connor out on a date but asks Ellen if she has any objection. Ellen says she doesn't but her response is less than convincing. In a flash forward to two months into the future, we learn where Ellen gets her gun. We also learn that Patty has had a major falling out with someone.
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