It’s official: Patty is now at odds with everybody, including the FBI, Ellen Parsons, her trusted companion Tom Shayes, and probably even her own husband.

But for the most part, we already knew about all that—or at least expected it. The major events that transpired on this week’s episode were things that had been revealed in the alternate timelines from earlier installments. Ellen's sleeping with Wes, Wes is being ordered to murder Ellen, Tom's becoming angry with Patty—no news here, really. That said, it would appear as though Tom will be fired by Patty two months from now as well—but who can know for sure? He did fake his own wrongful dismissal way back in Season One…

If anything, this episode bridges a major gap in connecting the current timeline with the looming future timeline, which until this week has seemed eternally distant from what was going on from day-to-day. We’re getting there—even if it remains to be seen just how exactly Patty will find herself alone in a room opposite Ellen and her handgun. (As we saw this week, Ms. Parsons is improving her aim…)

Catch up with full episodes of Damages at the Showcase Video centre. See you next time.