‘Damages’: No one likes the other woman
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
If you haven’t watched this week’s “Damages,” I suggest you stop reading now, watch it, then return here. I’m going to be focusing on a major plot point from the episode.
This week, we learned much more about Danielle Marchetti’s role in the Tobin Family, but not much about what she may know. Regardless, she won’t be the one to tell us, because she’s now dead. I was shocked the series disposed of her so quickly, aren’t you?
To recap, Danielle was Louis Tobin’s mistress. Formerly, she was romantically involved with his son, Joe, which obviously complicates that relationship. When the Tobin Ponzi scheme came to light, Louis hid Danielle in one of their houses. When Joe found out, he tracked her down, hit her with his car (while basically drunk), held her hostage and almost killed her by forcing her to board a plane out of the country when he knew she would die from her injuries on the flight.
Luckily for Danielle, Patty and Tom tracked Joe down before he made it to the airport. Since then she has been lying in a hospital while the vultures circle above her.
In this episode, Danielle is finally well enough to talk. The D.A. and Patty make a deal to depose her together. When Patty arrives at Danielle’s room by herself, though, she learns the D.A. got a court order banning her from the room. That was definitely a result of Patty withholding from the D.A. the call Danielle made on Thanksgiving (and I venture to assume a tip from Ellen).
In the meantime, Joe threatens Danielle that if she doesn’t stick with the family’s version of the story in her deposition, she will be cut off. We also learn that she carried and delivered Joe or Louis’ baby. I’m not quite sure. The show points to it being Joe’s, but you never know in “Damages.”
Patty has other plans. She convinces Danielle to plead the 5th in exchange for Patty taking care of her financially once she has recovered the Ponzi money. It was a well-played move on Patty’s part, because Danielle was already of the mind she shouldn’t say a thing and it keeps whatever information she holds away from the D.A. and available to Patty later. That is, until Tom discovers her dead in her apartment.
Several questions remain. The first is how much did Danielle know? After Joe and Leonard meet up with the man in the alley, it’s clear Danielle knows whom to contact in regards to finding the hidden money. In fact, they consider her a liability. Did the information she sought to hide include more than that?
Then, I wonder, who killed Danielle? The show points to a few possibilities. On is Joe’s sister, Carol, who is just nutty from all the transgressions she has recently learned her father was involved in and who didn’t have a very friendly meeting with Danielle about her relationship to Louis. Then, there’s the shady character from Joe and Leonard’s evening meeting. His boss considered Danielle dangerous. We see him sitting in his car outside Danielle’s building. Finally, could Marilyn Tobin have done it? The lioness protecting her cubs and who we see in the final moments of the show in front of Danielle’s building in time to meet Danielle’s daughter, Marilyn’s granddaughter (possibly her half son?)
Why do you think it was time for Danielle to go? What did she know?
Next Monday: Check back here for our talk with Lily Tomlin (who plays Marilyn Tobin) and the show’s producers!
– Jethro Nededog (Follow me on Twitter @TheRealJethro)
RELATED:
‘Damages’ EP Todd Kessler: Louis Tobin lives on
All ‘Damages’ coverage on Show Tracker