In a comedic mystery drama such as this, you need a really strong writing team that will keep the creativity flowing and that will continuously come up with fresh and engaging ideas to build suspense every week. In just five episodes, the dynamic writing team on this show have demonstrated that they are capable of writing stories that not only keep viewers on their toes, but have them in stitches at the same time. The writing team also appears to understand the importance of character growth, which is a huge component of good storytelling. Viewers need to be able to identify with the characters, empathize and root for them. Kudos to the writers as every week I find myself caring more and more about the characters and about the show overall.
Todd and Margaret have had a difficult relationship for most of Todd’s life, but working together has changed that. Margaret is now starting to trust Todd, and his less than ideal tactics are starting to prove useful to her, as the two begin to work as a team to help her win cases. This episode had Margaret looking to join an exclusive philanthropy women’s club, that restores old houses and has them designated as heritage sites. While there for her membership interview, Margaret runs into an old friend named Felicity who is friendly and keen on Margaret’s membership getting accepted. Suddenly, the police show up at the club and Margaret and Felicity witness a young waitress, named Judy, being arrested. Margaret immediately decides to help. She heads to the police station and has Todd meet her there. Margaret takes a page out of Todd’s book by having him sign in under an assumed name, so that she can gain access to speak to Judy. Todd relishes the opportunity to get on his mother’s case for doing the exact thing she chastises him for, but she deflects by saying she did not lie, it was a facade and that her intentions are good. They speak to Judy and learn that the club has been paying her to drive to Canada on the weekends, to pick up fancy soaps. The dynamic duo immediately realize that Judy is being used to smuggle drugs for the club, and they get to work trying to find out who is behind it. Margaret and Todd are definitely becoming more of a team and yes, there is still bickering between them, but there is also a closeness building. One that has been missing between this mother and son for a long time.
Todd’s antics to solve this case are on full display this episode, including going undercover at the club where the events manager, Victor, mistakes him for a waiter named Colin. Todd’s comedic one-liners once again steal the show. His mother and Susan are at the club for tea attempting to get intel. When they see him masquerading as waiter Colin, Susan asks him if he’s learned anything and he retorts “in life or as Colin because the staff here hates their job, Victor’s a grouch and the whole place reeks of mold.” Todd shares another scene with Victor later that night, when he breaks into the club and discovers that Victor has been living there without anyone knowing. Victor shares that prior to Judy, a woman named Davina used to do the drives to Canada, but she overdosed on drugs and is now in a coma. Todd heads to the hospital where he attempts to charm his sister into giving him Davina’s room number. When she refuses, he once again goes incognito by pretending to be a doctor, and tricks a resident into reading Davina’s chart to him by telling the resident it is a pop quiz. Todd finds out that Davina was not a habitual drug user, and that someone has been bringing fresh flowers to her bedside every 3 days. Meanwhile, Margaret meets with Joan, a brash woman from the club who had been chastising Judy before she was arrested. While they talk, Todd walks in and notices the wallpaper on Joan’s cellphone is a photo of her and a waitress that Todd spoke to at the club. He Googles the waitress and finds out that she is Joan’s daughter, and she was kicked out of college for selling Heroin. Joan and her daughter become prime suspects.
Cut to another Wright family dinner, where Todd and Margaret talk shop and come up with a plan to send an email to the club staff, making them believe that Davina is awake and home, in a ploy to see if someone will try to come and get rid of her. Allison notices how in sync Todd and Margaret have become and comments that they’ve been spending way too much time together. Todd and Margaret stake out Davina’s house, and are surprised when Joan shows up with flowers. She tells them that she was in love with Davina and they realize that she is the one that has been delivering flowers to Davina in the hospital. Joan has a bag with her that Davina left at her place before the overdose. Todd rifles through it, and finds a Ziploc bag containing a piece of plastic with a green stripe. He recognizes the plastic from dry cleaning bags in a closet that he saw at the club. They realize that Felicity and her husband own the dry cleaning business next door to the soap shop and in court, they prove that Felicity and her husband are behind the smuggled drugs, and Judy is acquitted.
Margaret is beginning to trust Todd, and this has paved the way for the mother and son duo to share some touching moments, including Margaret confiding in Todd that she wanted to join the club because she is lonely. It took a lot for a well put together woman like Margaret to admit loneliness, but this admission helped the viewers to see a different side of Margaret, and begin to empathize with her. Todd is helping to make Margaret softer, and she is understanding that her son is not a disappointment after all. He is there for her when she needs him and they are on the same page when it comes to helping people.
The supporting characters are also slowly being developed as the season continues. Lyle has become more willing to work with Todd, although begrudgingly so. Lyle is starting to see that Todd has a lot of skills that could prove useful, although he would never admit that to Todd. While Todd is more tech savvy, Lyle has more knowledge of the legal system and how to access information and documents needed to solve cases. The two balance each other out well, and their competitiveness makes their scenes entertaining and fun to watch.
It would be great to see Susan’s character develop soon. We know she works at the firm, used to date Todd and is engaged, but there is a great opportunity here to make her a strong supporting character and I hope we learn more about who she is outside of the superficial. It is clear that Todd and Susan have lingering feelings between them. More scenes between them where a slow burn can be developed, would give the viewers a reason to root for Todd and Susan, if they are meant to be a couple down the line.
Allison did not have much in terms of character development this episode, although she did provide a comedic moment, by attempting to shoot down Todd’s crazy idea that a coma patient could just miraculously recover. There was also mention of their brother, Lawrence, again during Margaret’s interview with the club. However, we have yet to see Lawrence in the flesh. I hope that we can see these two characters develop more over the course of the season, and become stronger supporting characters. They are a huge part of Todd and Margaret’s life, after all.
Did you enjoy the episode? Do you think we'll ever meet the elusive Lawrence? Are you shipping Todd and Susan? Share your comments below or engage with me on Twitter @ms_c_almeida.
