What does this plot element mean in Damages Season 1?

March 20, 2010 8:33 AM

Plot question about the first season of Damages. (Beware spoilers.)

Finished season 1 of Damages. I thought all the plot twists and turns and subtle hints throughout the season all tied up really well. Except one that is bothering me. What is the importance of Michael Hewes returning home unexpectedly to retrieve his laptop on the night Ellen is staying at Patty's when the guy tries to kill her? I kept waiting for this to be explained...even in season 2 which I just finished, but I don't get it. What am I missing?

posted by meerkatty to Media & Arts (3 answers total)

My thought was that it was to throw the viewer and make the viewer think that Michael heads had something to do with Ellen's attack. As in, maybe Patty got her son to do her dirty work.

That said it's been a while since I've seen the show so maybe my recollection is off.
posted by dfriedman at 9:27 AM on March 20, 2010

That's excatly what I thought, too, when I watched Season 1. It was to cast doubt on Michael (who had previously always had a close relationship with Ellen).
posted by ericb at 9:39 AM on March 20, 2010

Response by poster: I considered this, but when everything else is tied up so nicely plot-wise, it just seems like such an oddity. (For example, we even find out exactly who tried to kill Ellen in Season 2 when Patrick is revealed to still be alive.) That episode made such a big deal of Michael returning to the apartment, even Patty confronting him about it later - that I thought there must be something else here than just casting doubt.
posted by meerkatty at 10:51 AM on March 20, 2010