So Help Me Todd Season 1 Episode 20 Review: More Fang for Your Chuck
It’s the penultimate episode of season one, and we might not expect it to focus on a character about to be cast from the Wright family. Yet Chuck takes center stage (or ice) on So Help Me Todd Season 1 Episode 20, “More Fang for Your Chuck.”
We may be on Allison’s side in this separation, but Chuck is enough of a big dumb puppy that it’s hard not to feel sorry for him. That’s especially true when he finds himself in the middle of a fraud investigation and inadvertently implicates himself as the FBI’s main suspect.
Chuck has a fairly important role for the fictional hockey team the Portland Widows. Part of that involves him in a multi-million cash giveaway for fans. When federal level investigators suspect a kickback scheme, that becomes a lot less fun for all involved.
With Natalie, Margaret’s nemesis from the cryptocurrency case, at the helm of the prosecution, everyone is on board. Whether or not Allison loves Chuck now, neither she nor her mother are going to let a setup send him to prison.
It’s one of the more loaded cases we’ve faced, with the prospect of a lengthy sentence that could ruin both Chuck and Allison’s reputation. Then there are the moments like Margaret and Todd’s disastrous attempt at being “strangers” in a debt support group.
The frenzied pursuit of justice comes to a head once Chuck’s boss is targeted as the true culprit and the mother-son team takes him down in a way that ends with her wrestling with a giant check, him in a spider costume, and them both sprawling on the ice. At least it works.
At the heart of all this, or at least at the end of it, is something we’ve been anticipating for a good chunk of the season. Once the case is over, and despite some hopes Margaret expresses early on, Allison asks Susan to represent her in her divorce.
It’s clear while the decision itself isn’t exactly difficult, expressing the truth of it is a huge weight for her. Her mother’s final few attempts to salvage a last hope are a relatively small thing. She’s felt this doubt for her entire marriage, from being pushed into it in the first place.
What really matters, then, is Margaret’s reaction, and the elder Wright finally gets it right. Her support of Chuck may come from love for her daughter, but now that love itself is all Allison needs, Margaret offers it in a touching closing scene.
Is there more to offer in the romance department besides the collapse of a marriage? Yes—and one aspect comes from an unexpected source. Lyle meets a visiting accountant named Alex, and immediately becomes the opposite of the cool, collected man we’ve always known.
Intelligent, sassy, and slightly nerdy, she’s such a good match that she seems too good to be true. And she may be. I have no idea what to make of her sneaking his pen away after agreeing to a date, but the prospects are concerning in several ways.
We again finish up with Susan and Todd. Despite seeming very happy with Peter the entire episode, when Allison meets Susan, she asks when the other woman knew she was unhappy. We know she doubts whether Todd is wrong for her, but this is the first time she’s been unsure Peter is right.
I’ll say what I said before: if the show’s biggest ship can set sail again, it must deal with current relationships as more than complications. Peter is as good a guy as Chuck; probably more so. I don’t want hope for rekindled love to come at his expense.
Either way, more hard decisions are coming down the line, and the season finale will undoubtedly throw enough drama at us to leave plenty unresolved at season’s end. With an indefinite wait until season two, those questions could have us on edge for a long time.
Other Notes
- This family has got to stop airing their grudges against each other in public, especially in the middle of a very bad attempt at going undercover.
- Todd must have some deep spider-related childhood trauma, right? I have arachnophobia, too, but a giant, fuzzy spider mascot should really be another matter.
- Seriously, what is with all these random hoops in the way of Margaret making partner, and why is Beverly Crest, who has had her back before, throwing so many of them?
What did you think of this episode of So Help Me Todd? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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So Help Me Todd airs 9/8c at 9/8 on CBS.
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Caitlin Wyneken
Caitlin is an elder millennial with an only slightly unhealthy dedication to a random selection of TV shows, from PBS Masterpiece dramas to some of the less popular series on popular networks. Outside of screen time, she's dedicated to the public sector and worthy nonprofits, working to make a difference in the world outside of media.