This week, Damages was all about family.

We meet Claire Maddox’ dad, who just wishes his sharky lawyer daughter had found some time to have him a grandkid. We meet the cradle-robbing girlfriend of Patty Hewes’ son, who Patty threatens with face-ripping should she break her precious boy’s heart. We even meet Ellen Parsons’ mom, who claims that she knows something is up with her daughter, because moms just know these things. (Moms!)

Family ties continue to reveal themselves as Ellen and her would-be sister-in-law Katie go to a bar where Ellen demonstrates her feeble courting skills and engages in drunken sex talk with a complete stranger. In her diminished state, she very nearly tells Katie everything about the sting against Patty, before ambling over to Wes’ place for some late-night confessions. Bad idea, Parsons—mark my words, you’ll be taking a vow of abstinence by Season 3.

But “family,” or the false appearance thereof, is also what broke this episode wide open. Turns out one of Ellen’s federal agents, Rick, has been bought by UNR. And just like that, we learn that Rick’s constant phone calls from his "wife" are actually phone calls from Dave, cuddly confidante to Walter Kendricks. And no sooner does Agent Randall discover that his partner is corrupt, than he winds up dead at the hands of UNR’s goons. It makes sense that UNR would have the feds in their pocket—they, too, want to see Patty’s wrongs exposed. Ellen, it seems, has some unusual allies.

With all those targets on her, it would take a miracle for Patty to make it out of this season alive. But even when confronted with those images of her stumbling out of that apartment covered in blood, whether or not it’s her own remains to be seen…

Catch this week’s episode at the Showcase Video centre. See you next time.