When you don't know what to do with a character - kill him

Poor Uncle Pete - he's dead. We knew it would happen to you, not because you deserved it (most of the characters in Damages deserve an evil fate) but because even the highly skilled writers of this very entertaining series just plain didn't know what to do with you. We've come to learn now that you did all of Patti's dirty work, that you were somehow involved in the attack on Ellen and its cover-up. But who are you and why would you do these things and how come you're a genius at covering up a crime scene but you push around the dry-cleaning racks at a law firm? Now, no need to explain, you're gone, poor guy. That still leaves plenty of characters to root against! We see the bearded detective, whom Marge thinks is too cute for the part but I disagree - he's even more frightening in his cold-bloodedness because he looks like a history grad student - was totally working for Frobisher, was obviously involved in killing Ellen's fiance, has shot another dirty cop in the back, and now is threatening Frobisher. Well, there could yet be another twist there - but he's got his hands pretty damn dirty. Kendrick becomes ever more loathsome, and now we have a new element, illegal stock trading with a cokehead commodities trader with a weakness for escort-service hookers. We're nearly halfway through the 2nd season and nothing's looking like it's wrapping up, everything just gets more complex. Will be interesting to see how Ellen manages to deal with Frobisher as a client - Patti tells her she brought Frobisher in as a client to learn more about him, for Ellen, but Patti will tell Ellen anything. Still unclear whether the FBI guys are on the up and up as well. Wes, Ellen's apparent love interest from her therapy group, continues to meet with the killer-detective, but we have no idea of his motive in getting to Ellen.