Everything is heating up and the conspiracies run vast and deep, much like my love of Lester Freamon. And love on ya’, casting people, for picking up two of the free agents from The Wire, even if their evilness is slightly disconcerting. But let’s go back a bit. After last week’s courtroom showdown, Patty is even more determined to bring down Ultima National Resources. She tries to join forces with an energy regulator, but Ultima’s evil president beats her to the punch (literally, I’m thinking) and the federal energy guy just can’t help Patty. Come on, fed! What are you paid for except to put your personal safety at risk in the face of environmental destruction? Doesn’t the EPA have a SWAT team?

But don’t think it’s all work and no play over at Hewes & Associates. It’s Tom’s ten-year anniversary at the firm, and Patty is hosting a party in his honor at her apartment. She invites Ellen, because what says "party" more than post-traumatic flashbacks from visiting the scene of your near-death? Aw, heck -- they can just cover Ellen in glitter and streamers while she twitches. In fact, Patty may have invited her just to watch her fidget, because Patty is on to her double-crossing ways. After Patty grills her about where exactly she picked up the infant mortality case, Ellen starts to think the gig is up, but she tries to cover, claiming the FBI has pictures of her leaving the office after last season’s suicide. Her blackmail spiel might work, or Patty may try to kill her again. And what Ellen doesn’t know is that somebody followed her to her meeting with the FBI. And that Uncle Pete is a criminal mastermind. A frail, senior-citizen mastermind, like an Uncle Junior who doesn’t look so much like that freaky guy from the Six Flags ads. And it seems that no one knows what he is up to and what he has done and what he will do in the future. Speaking of people who you don’t know what they're up to, let’s look at Wes. He is definitely reporting to someone, and he is definitely well-armed, but who is directing him? Uncle Pete? Patty? Frobisher? Or someone else entirely? And why does he care that Ellen is meeting with the FBI? And why is he so chummy with the homicide detectives? And who is he murdering in the back seat of the town car? And when is he growing his moustache back? So many questions with so few answers.

Purcell has sold his brownstone and turns down Kendrick’s job offer. He is out of the business, despite Kendrick’s promise that he is personally cleaning up West Virginia, one Skoal can at a time. Purcell doesn’t care right now. He is too busy flashing back to his dead wife telling him that if he doesn’t call the EPA about the impending environmental disaster, she will. Purcell is so wrapped up in his thoughts that he doesn’t notice Kendrick’s pants are on fire. He has Lester Freamon strong-arm the environmental regulator to make sure that no one notices he is poisoning the earth. He can’t have that going on while he works on his merger scheme. He also can’t have Patty’s husband poking around into his company’s financials. No one needs to know that the merger makes no financial sense. That’s funny, because no one needs to know that Patty’s husband is sleeping with some smokin’ hotress. Maybe the two can work out some sort of deal?

Discuss this episode in our forums, then see what vlogger Sean Crespo thinks Patty's next move should be in No Prior Knowledge! And check back next week for the full recap!