So Help Me Todd had its first Valentine’s day episode this week, but it wasn’t all warm and fuzzy. There was a lot of love present in different forms, but with an internal war happening at Margaret’s law firm, there wasn’t a lot of time for romance. War might be a slight exaggeration, but Margaret and Todd did find themselves on opposite sides of a case, which led the firm to have to take some drastic measures to protect its integrity.
Susan’s fiance, Peter (Desmond Chiam), who has thus far been known by name only, finally made his long-anticipated appearance and he is exactly what viewers expected him to be: Professional, charming and well-put together right down to his shoes, that he apparently made himself in Africa. He is everything Todd is not, and the differences were obvious right from their initial meeting, where Todd is taken aback by his encounter with Peter and is a bumbling mess of words. Todd finds out that Susan has actually referred Todd to Peter. Peter needs Todd's help to find one of his employees, an assistant named June, who has gone missing. Todd is honoured that Susan thought so highly of his investigating skills to recommend him for the job, and jumps on the opportunity.
Meanwhile, Margaret runs into Gus at the courthouse and questions why he didn’t return her text message. This is a bold step for Margaret, who normally would have ignored the brush off and pushed her feelings aside. Margaret has come so far since her husband left her in the pilot, and it has been great to witness her growth. Gus is a disorganized mess of excuses about the ignored text, and instead fills Margaret in on a case he is working on. Two construction workers were killed during an explosion at a condo development. The developer was now suing the city of Portland for approving the construction, even though the soil was bad. Gus asks Margaret to assist him with the case since he is new to the city and she has a strong history there.
Gus, Margaret, Todd, Peter and Susan have a chance meeting in the office elevator, where it is discovered that Peter’s company is one of the condo developers that are suing the city. Since Margaret is working with Gus to defend the city, Todd working for Peter creates a conflict of interest. Leave it to Lyle to take charge of the situation, and enact a firewall to maintain confidentiality. Lyle’s bossy and controlling nature is part of what makes his dynamic with disorganized, easy-going Todd so interesting and their banter was in full form throughout. The office was divided into zones and Margaret and Todd were forbidden to even speak to one another, making things awkward in the office but also in their personal lives. Valentine’s Day just happens to be Allison’s birthday, and Todd was forced to spend her birthday dinner sitting on the patio alone. Although the whole firewall thing seemed far from reality, it did allow for a lot of comedic gold moments and let’s face it, the show is so likeable that even a hardcore fact checker would have given the writers a pass on this one.
As Todd and Margaret’s cases heat up, so do their own independent storylines. Margaret heads to meet Gus at his place, but he has neglected to tell her that he lives in a houseboat. She loses her balance walking on the uneven dock in her heels, and falls into the lake. This leads to a cute scene where Margaret, wearing Gus’s clothing and attempting to dry off, and Gus get to know a little bit more about one another. Gus opens up about his divorce and Margaret shares the details of her previous relationship. As different as the two seem on paper, in reality they are a lot alike and it was cute to see them work through their case and anticipate each other’s next move without even thinking about it. Margaret is the level-headed person Gus needs to help keep his life organized and Gus is the perfect person to bring some much needed chill into Margaret’s life.
Todd, meanwhile, thinks he has a lead on June when he finds out that Peter wrote June a cheque for $20,000 with the memo on the cheque reading, “kisses.’ You could see the pain on Todd’s face as he realized how much this would hurt Susan, but this is Todd after all, and he runs to confront Peter without thinking about the implications first. When Peter is easily able to explain the cheque away, Todd comes across dejected, perhaps because he was back to square one in the case or maybe he was disappointed that he couldn’t throw shade on Peter’s perfect image. It also didn’t help that Susan and Peter were in the middle of a romantic Valentine’s dinner when Todd walked in to confront Peter.
When June’s body is discovered, the case turns into a murder investigation and Todd and Margaret are back on the same side again. Now that they have spent so much time apart, they wonder how they ever managed without one another. The evolution of Todd and Margaret’s relationship so far this season was truly evident in this episode. The first scenes showcased just how in sync the two are as a team, and what a truly dynamic duo they have become. Throughout the episode, the duo learned just how much they rely on one another for support and how much they need each other’s talents and expertise. They are better together, and together they manage to solve the case, identifying June’s boss Audrey, as her murderer.
Gus realizes that he and Margaret make a strong team and asks her out on a date. Margaret isn’t about to give in that easily, and turns him down with the intent of making him work for it. The woman has made so much progress. She knows her value now and it was nice to see her let loose and play a little hard to get. The episode ended on a somewhat somber note, as Todd tells Susan that he is truly happy for her and Peter, and wishes her nothing but happiness. His gesture is so heartfelt and genuine, that it tugged at the heartstrings knowing how much it must have hurt for him personally as he watched Susan walk away with Peter. It is unclear where the relationship between Susan and Todd is headed after this. It is clear that the two have feelings for one another, but it definitely felt like Todd was finally letting Susan go. It was difficult to watch poor Todd standing alone, but thankfully Margaret witnessed her son's heartache and showed him love by holding up a piece of paper emblazoned with a pink heart through the glass window of her office.
Poor Allison just can’t catch a break. Not only did her brother spend her birthday dinner segregated on the patio, but both her mother and Todd left before they could cut the cake to follow leads for their respective cases. Hopefully she can catch a break soon, she certainly deserves it! Over to you, Todd fans! Was this the end of a potential relationship between Todd and Susan? Will Gus and Margaret finally have their date? Share your thoughts below and follow me on Twitter @MiddleofCanada.
