“So Help Me Todd” might not always feature the most outrageous and complex criminal cases, however it excels in delivering highly entertaining content and has become a beloved feel-good show that many people relay on for their weekly serotonin boost.
What made last Thursday’s episode of “So Help Me Todd” particularly delightful were the many slapstick elements that were brilliantly executed by the show’s stars, Skylar Astin and Marcia Gay Harden.
Todd and Lyle, the two in-house investigators at Crest, Folding, and Wright, launch into an epic prank war after Lyle learns about Todd's suspicions about his loyalty to the firm. To teach Todd a lesson Lyle leads his fellow investigator to believe he is indeed collaborating with other lawyers to undermine Crest, Folding, and Wright. When Todd realizes Lyle has deliberately mislead him, he goes to extreme lengths, including staging his own death, to seek revenge for Lyle's prank. Their battle escalates as they continue setting booby traps for each other throughout the office.
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| "P.I.'s Wide Shut " - SO HELP ME TODD, Pictured: Skylar Astin. CBS ©2024 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
However, when Todd encounters Lyle's beloved girlfriend, Alex, at a restaurant and becomes suspicious of her identity, the feuding investigators are forced to work together to uncover the truth about the woman. They discover that Alex has been illicitly accessing the firm's computers, prompting the two men to set up a trap for her: They lure her into the office and confront her just as she is about to access the computer system. To their astonishment, Alex is not a criminal at all—she's actually an undercover FBI agent.
In the meantime, Margaret and Susan work together to defend a tennis coach accused of doping one of his female star students. Initially skeptical of his innocence, they delve deeper into the case and discover he has no connection to the performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) found in the young girl's system. While Todd is preoccupied playing prankster, Margaret takes the lead in investigating. She inadvertently involves Gus in breaking into the physician's office at the tennis center to obtain the young tennis player’s medical file. With the help of Allison's medical expertise, Margaret uncovers the truth and confirms the coach's innocence: The young girl's mother was actually the one who secretly had been administering PEDs to her daughter for years.
At the outset of the episode, quite some tension lingers between Margaret and Susan as the younger lawyer feels undervalued by her boss. Despite being aware of the firm's financial problems, Susan is frustrated that she hasn't been promoted to senior associate yet, fearing it could stall the progression of her career. However, once Susan decides to work alongside Margaret rather than against her, they make significant strides in the case and secure another victory for Crest, Folding, and Wright.
A scene that particularily stands out is when Magaret and Gus attempt to break into the doctor's office at the tennis center. This moment is chaotic, delightfully exaggerated, and simply highly entertaining. Both lawyers are perfectly aware that legally they are in the wrong, which not only turns them into nervous wrecks but also causes them to be hilariously clumsy.
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| "P.I.'s Wide Shut " - SO HELP ME TODD, Pictured: Marcia Gay Harden. Michael Courtney/CBS ©2024 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
Despite its popularity, CBS recently announced that they will not be renewing "So Help Me Todd," leaving it to conclude after season 2 without a proper resolution. Fans of the series have swiftly launched a petition to try and save the show. If you too are eager to see more of Todd and Margaret, consider adding your name to the petition.
Let us know what you think about the episode! Did you enjoy the slapstick elements? Also, any theories on why the FBI is snooping around the firm?
