Damages

Arthur Frobisher:
Man, ballet. I can never get into it. Even the dancers, which is kind of odd. You know, you'd think, what could go wrong with a pretty girl in a leotard? [to Walter Kendrick, in the theater lobby]

Ray Fiske:
I'm worried the sun don't shine on the same dog's tail all week.

Arthur Frobisher:
[after a pause] I have no idea what that means.

Ray Fiske:
It means we got *lucky*.

[first lines]

Hollis Nye:
Ellen, please. Help me to help you. I mean, tell me what happened. You can do that, can't you?

Ellen Parsons:
Someone tried to kill me.

Hollis Nye:
Who?

Title Card:
4 months earlier

Karen Gonzales:
Could we please not smoke?

Larry Popler:
We're not smoking. *I'm* smoking.

Karen Gonzales:
If you're smoking, I'm smoking.

Dr. Bernard Herschenfeld:
[to Phil and Patty, in Dr. Herschenfeld's office] Well, having spoken to Michael, I have to say, as a therapist and educator, my immediate concern is a recent dream of his, regarding his mortality.

Michael Hewes:
And my paralyzing fear of death.

[first lines]

Detective Dan Williams:
[to Ellen] That lawyer you asked for will be here shortly.

Ellen Parsons:
Who would want to do this to you?

Patty Hewes:
How much time do you have?

Patty Hewes:
Ever since I was little I always thought I would die violently.

Patty Hewes:
Taking power away from a man is a dangerous thing. Someone always pays.

Patty Hewes:
Michael, I don't understand why you would want to feel stupid.

Michael Hewes:
Because I'm scared.

Patty Hewes:
Of what?

Michael Hewes:
Of being smarter than you. I afraid you're gonna realize it.

[last lines]

Ellen Parsons:
I didn't kill David. Someone tried to kill me.

[first lines]

Ellen Parsons:
[answering the door] You still didn't make new keys.

David Connor:
Oh, there's no time. Your sister was going to bring over the extra set, but she didn't.

Ellen Parsons:
I'm sorry, babe.

David Connor:
[noticing dining room] Whoa, what is this?

Ellen Parsons:
The cake lady sent them over for the wedding.

David Connor:
We have to choose?

Ellen Parsons:
Mm hmm. But I gotta go, so whatever you like is great with me, just nothing too lemony.

David Connor:
Wait. No, no! I'm not deciding.

Ellen Parsons:
Why not?

David Connor:
Because I'm the guy. I don't give a sh*t.

Ellen Parsons:
Okay, fine, fair enough. [tasting] Oh, this one. It's great!

George Moore:
[walking onto land parcel] Wow, this looks like a whole lot of nothing.

Arthur Frobisher:
You know who built up this part of the state?

George Moore:
Wasps.

Arthur Frobisher:
Beavers.

George Moore:
You lost me.

Arthur Frobisher:
No, I'm not kidding. Place was flush with them. Indians used to trap them and then trade them for everything: blankets, hatchets, iron kettles. Then when they got hooked on the white man's goods, they started trading the only other thing they had left.

George Moore:
Otters?

Arthur Frobisher:
No, you idiot. Land. I'm going to develop this.

Patty Hewes:
[standing in Popler's kitchen] I'm going to wait and watch until you buy a house, or Mildred buys a car, or Chloe here buys a toothbrush. You need to understand this, Larry, no Popler for the next hundred years will be able to spend a nickel of that money without being humiliated, disgraced and locked up. You all have a nice night...

[last lines]

David Connor:
[on the phone] Hey, it's me. I'm so sorry. Just please call me back, okay? [knock at the door]

Daniel Purcell:
Burn it. Shred it. I don't care. [to Patty, regarding the box of information on Aracite in Patty's office]

Katie Connor:
You tell me one lie, and I'll cut your dick off!

[first lines]

Ellen Parsons:
Please don't do this.

David Connor:
I don't want this life.

Ellen Parsons:
David...

David Connor:
We're done.

Patty Hewes:
[cut to Hewes office] He called off the engagement?

Ellen Parsons:
Maybe we went too far. Do you regret what we did?

Nancy:
You're going to have to look comfortable answering Patty's questions about corporate malfeasance, about accounting irregularities, and about why you stole the life savings of 5,000 people.

Arthur Frobisher:
That might be easier than singing.

Party Guest:
How is it that a woman who's argued cases before the supreme court hates to give a speech in public?

Patty Hewes:
There are nine people on the Supreme Court, and only six are awake on any given day.

Arthur Frobisher:
I'm here because I'm willing to negotiate.

Patty Hewes:
There's nothing to negotiate. This isn't about money.

Arthur Frobisher:
Oh, no, no, no, of course not. I know you don't give a sh*t about justice, Patty. So what do you want?

Patty Hewes:
I want you disgraced. I want history to erase your every achievement. I want you to feel the disgust in your children's eyes when they look on you in shame.

Arthur Frobisher:
This has been lovely... [walks away]

Patty Hewes:
It's rude to abandon a girl on the dance floor.

Arthur Frobisher:
The song's over, Patty.

Patty Hewes:
Almost as bad as abandoning a girl in a burning car.

Arthur Frobisher:
All right. Let's get this over with, shall we? $300 million.

Patty Hewes:
Must have been horrible, her face smashed clear through the windshield.

Arthur Frobisher:
$450 million.

Patty Hewes:
Blood everywhere, gasoline, searing heat. I'm told that you never forget the smell of burning flesh.

Arthur Frobisher:
$850 million, that's my final offer.

Patty Hewes:
Did she shout out your name when she died? Arthur! Arthur? Arthur!

[last lines]

Tom Shayes:
[finding residence empty] Patty? Patty?

Tom Shayes:
[leaving phone message] Patty, it's me again. Where the hell are you?

[last lines]

Susan Marsden:
Ellen. You'd better start talking.

Ellen Parsons:
Get me a lawyer.

Martin Cutler:
If you were a *man* I'd kick the living dog-sh*t out of you.

Patty Hewes:
If *you* were a man I'd be worried.

[first lines]

Detective Dan Williams:
Bloody, half naked, wandering the streets at 7:00 A.M.

Susan Marsden:
Just your type. You get a name?

Beat Cop:
She's not responsive. All we found on her was this.

Detective Dan Williams:
[reading bloody business card] "Hollis M. Nye, attorney-at-law." The rest is a mess.

Beat Cop:
I guess we know her lawyer.

Detective Dan Williams:
Or her John.

Susan Marsden:
Or both. You want to get her some clothes?

Susan Marsden:
[thinking out loud] Who the hell are you, sweetheart?

Patty Hewes:
Do you see a husband in your future?

Ellen Parsons:
Yeah, I guess. I hope so.

Patty Hewes:
You know what they say. "Hope is the thing with feathers."

Ellen Parsons:
Emily Dickinson. That b*tch will say anything.

Ellen Parsons:
I know how hard you worked to get your shot with me, but you turned it down to be with your family. That's an interesting choice. [walks away]

Patty Hewes:
Ms. Hewes? Is there any way I could still interview?

Ellen Parsons:
I think it would be a waste of time, Ellen. You're hired.

Felicia Marquand:
From 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM, Frobisher's at the spa getting a full body treatment.

Ellen Parsons:
For three hours? What was he getting waxed?

Patty Hewes:
Kids are like clients. They want all of you, all the time. I mean don't get me wrong, I love my son.

Ellen Parsons:
Well, that's the main thing.

Patty Hewes:
No. Love's nothing, love's easy. They come out of you, you love them. What you do after that is the hard part.

Tom Shayes:
Hey! Mr. Pibb. [to Ellen, upon seeing a 'Mr. Pibb' vending machine]

Dave:
[to Walter Kendrick] "I agree, it wasn't funny" [regarding the jokes told at Walter's club initiation roast]

Ellen Parsons:
I'm so sick of your bullshit.

Patty Hewes:
[to opposing counsel] I'm not looking to destroy you. We attorneys survive: it's the clients that come and go.

Josh Reston:
We haven't met, but I knew your pig. [to Sadie Entwistle, at her farm in West Virginia]

Ellen Parsons:
I lied, too. [to unknown off-screen character, as 'Just For A Thrill' plays in the final scene]

Bearded Man:
Well, there's always a solution.

Arthur Frobisher:
What kind of solution?

Bearded Man:
A permanent one.

Arthur Frobisher:
[shocked] What? Oh, God, no. What, you think that I...?

Bearded Man:
It wouldn't get back to you.

Arthur Frobisher:
We're... we're talking about a human life here. She's an innocent girl. She didn't do anything. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Bearded Man:
Sometimes, that's enough.

Arthur Frobisher:
You're serious, aren't you? You're actually suggesting...

Bearded Man:
Look, Mr. Frobisher, you're insulated. You have resources. This kind of thing is simpler than you'd think.

Arthur Frobisher:
[trying to make a joke of it] So, how's that work? You know a guy, you make a call?

Bearded Man:
It's simpler than you think.

Arthur Frobisher:
[serious again] Yeah. Of course it is. Become powerful enough, eventually every option gets presented to you, doesn't it?

Bearded Man:
Yes, sir.

Arthur Frobisher:
One day, you're living your life, the next thing you know, some man shows up on your doorstep and offers you the ultimate decision.

Bearded Man:
And that's all it is, Mr. Frobisher... just another decision.

Arthur Frobisher:
No. You go down that road and then... you know... who are you? I mean, there's no going back. No, no, no.

Bearded Man:
Think about your family, Mr. Frobisher.

Arthur Frobisher:
Don't you tell me what - !

Bearded Man:
[interrupting] This case is going to end with someone's life being destroyed. Why should it be yours? [Frobisher stares at him in shock, then backs slowly away and walks off]

Ray Fiske:
Jesus, Mary, and Joe Cocker, what a fine surprise. [as Katie barges into his office]

Ellen Parsons:
What happened with Katie? I spoke to her, Ms. Hewes. I don't believe she's lying.

Patty Hewes:
Really? Why is that?

Ellen Parsons:
Because she has no reason to.

Patty Hewes:
Don't be stupid, Ellen. Everyone's hiding something.

Ellen Parsons:
Really? So what are you hiding?

Hollis Nye:
My advice to you, Ellen, is stop trying to figure Patty out. You'll never change her, but she'll change you.

Ellen Parsons:
How?

Hollis Nye:
By giving you access to how she thinks. You signed up for this, now keep your head down and do the work. That's why you're there, isn't it?

Ellen Parsons:
Yes.

Hollis Nye:
Then don't be shortsighted. Start using her. Learn everything you can, then get the hell out before it's too late.

Ellen Parsons:
How exactly will I know when that is?

Hollis Nye:
That's for another walk.

[last lines]

Detective Rosario Ortiz:
I want to help you, Ellen, 'cause I know you didn't do it.

Patty Hewes:
London. Of course. [to Malcolm, regarding where Phil's mistress works]

Patty Hewes:
Why are you dating a child?

Jill Burnham:
Michael is not a child.

Patty Hewes:
Are you mentally ill?

Jill Burnham:
Feel free to look around, if you see anything you want to buy I'll give you the family discount.

Patty Hewes:
You will break his heart, and when you do, I'll rip your face off

Erica Purcell:
Look what he dug up this time. [to Daniel Purcell, regarding the object their dog found]

Allison Kendrick:
New York sucks. [to Walter Kendrick, at the sea lion pool]

[first lines]

Ellen Parsons:
Did you identify the body?

Detective Dan Williams:
There was no body.

Detective Rosario Ortiz:
That's right.

Ellen Parsons:
Well, that's impossible.

Ellen Parsons:
[cut to conversation with Hollis] There are things that I, I can't talk about.

Hollis Nye:
Why not?

Ellen Parsons:
It's about the case.

Hollis Nye:
The Frobisher case?

Arthur Frobisher:
Are you kidding me? Look what you're doing here. I mean, you're living on you're sleeping on a futon. Come on. You know, of course you're writing about my life. You don't have one, you know? And you're screwing the immigrant because what

George Berber:
Excuse me?

Arthur Frobisher:
...you appreciate their culture?

George Berber:
Excuse me?

Arthur Frobisher:
Is that what you say to yourself? The truth is you're just trying to feel superior. Try running a $40 billion industry.

Patty Hewes:
It's biology, Ellen. A man should want to be in charge. Now the trick is making him feel like he actually is.

[first lines]

Ellen Parsons:
[grinding and moaning on top of him] David!

Patty Hewes:
[is suddenly on top instead] David! What's the matter, David?

David Connor:
Where's Ellen?

Patty Hewes:
I'm right here. [slowly starting in again]

David Connor:
[whistling tea pot wakes him out of his sleep]

Patty Hewes:
[planning the deposition] I'll give you home-court advantage.

Ray Fiske:
Not interested. But since we're on the topic, how many sessions?

Patty Hewes:
Seven.

Ray Fiske:
Two.

Patty Hewes:
Five. I have a lot of questions.

Ray Fiske:
That's what wikipedia is for.

[last lines]

Tom Shayes:
Patty is a lot of things, but she's not a murderer.

Ellen Parsons:
I know things, Tom. Things that could destroy her.

Tom Shayes:
You think Patty tried to kill you to protect herself?

Ellen Parsons:
Well, the only way that I'm going to find out is if I talk to her. Face-to-face. So call her. Tell her I know she wants me dead.

Patty Hewes:
It tastes like a Ho-Ho. [to Ellen, Katie, & Felicia]

Patty Hewes:
Mmm, what is this called?

Ellen Parsons:
A ding-dong.

Patty Hewes:
A what?

Ellen Parsons:
A ding-dong.

Patty Hewes:
Its delicious, it tastes like a Ho-ho.

Ray Fiske:
[having trashed Katie's deopsition] You hear that, Patty? That's the sound of the zeroes dropping off of Mr. Frobisher's revised offer.

Ellen Parsons:
David sent me a wedding gift, it was sent to our old apartment.

Counselor:
What was the gift?

Ellen Parsons:
I don't know, I haven't opened it. I can't.

Counselor:
Why not?

Ellen Parsons:
Maybe I'm... protecting myself.

Counselor:
How so?

Ellen Parsons:
I don't want to be reminded of the past. I'm trying to move on.

Wes Krulik:
I don't think so.

Counselor:
Wes...

Ellen Parsons:
No, It's okay. What were you going to say?

Wes Krulik:
That gift, whatever it is. It's your last piece of David, once you open it it's over. You won't have anything left. But if you don't you always have one more moment with him to look forward to. Isn't that the opposite of moving on?

Arthur Frobisher:
This is the bullet that he shot me with. I mean, they had to tweeze that out of my kidney. [referring to the bullet in his hand]

Patty Hewes:
She'll be back. Trust me. [to Tom, referring to Ellen, in the closing scene at Patty's house]

Michael Hewes:
Uh-oh! Out come the skeletons. [to Patty and Phil, referring to Phils' vetting to become Energy Secretary]

[first lines]

Ellen Parsons:
Someone's covering it up.

Hollis Nye:
Who? The police searched Patty's apartment, and there was no one there and no signs of a struggle.

Ellen Parsons:
But I'm telling you the truth.

Hollis Nye:
Okay, then let's start with what you know.

Ellen Parsons:
David and I had a...

Hollis Nye:
Ellen, talk to me. Take your time.

Ellen Parsons:
David and I had a fight. So I stayed at Patty's apartment. That's when the man attacked me. She told me she was going away for the weekend. [fighting off a man with a kitchen knife] I'd never seen him before. I don't know who he was. I couldn't trust anyone. I didn't know what I was doing. I knew. I knew I had to find David.

Ellen Parsons:
If you want to help me, you've got to find Patty Hewes.

Greta Van Susteren:
[in makeup room] Try a little bronzer, Ray.

Patty Hewes:
I want you to come home.

Michael Hewes:
I think that would be a mistake.

Patty Hewes:
Why?

Michael Hewes:
Because I like it here. Life is simple, no distractions.

Patty Hewes:
Michael, this isn't you.

Michael Hewes:
Well, that was the point, wasn't it? To change me?

Patty Hewes:
Your behavior, not you. I didn't send you here to become someone else.

Michael Hewes:
You sent me here to prove a point. That you're in control, that you dominate, that, no matter what, you'll always win. And you're right, mom, you will. I've finally realized that.

Patty Hewes:
I don't want to win anything.

Michael Hewes:
Sure you do, and I'm okay with that now. Getting away from you was the best thing that could've happened to me. It gave me clarity.

Patty Hewes:
Did it?

Michael Hewes:
You wanted to completely control of my life. so you took away my free will. Some pretty terrific parenting, real mother-of-the-year type stuff. And I'm glad you did it, because I like it here.

Patty Hewes:
No, you don't. You're coming home.

Michael Hewes:
I'm not going anywhere.

[last lines]

Tom Shayes:
[on his cellphone] I just saw Ellen. You better not come back here, Patty.

Ellen Parsons:
[on the prison telephone] Mr. Nye, Tom just left. He's full of sh*t. Stay on him. He'll lead you to Patty.

Cynthia:
What's up? Last time I saw that face, you were 18 and thought you got your prom date pregnant. [to her brother Tom Shayes]

Patty Hewes:
Consider this the carrot, you don't want the stick.

Patty Hewes:
When I look at you all I see is guilt.