So Help Me Todd Season 2 Episode 4 Review: Dial Margaret for Murder

Todd is rushed to the hospital in the opening scenes of So Help Me Todd Season 2 Episode 4, “Dial Margaret for Murder.” They might be the tamest parts of the entire hour.

In a plot straight out of Rear Window, he wakes in a haze after the emergency removal of his appendix to hear someone who definitely isn’t a doctor hovering over a patient’s bed. Neither Margaret nor Allison (who performed his surgery) thinks it’s more than a drug-induced hallucination.

Then the coincidences start to pile up. Before long, everyone on the show is in on the investigation, including two crabby old ladies who could throw the firm a lifeline if they agree to be Margaret’s clients. Good think they’re up for a stakeout.

From a cat show that’s actually an FBI sting to a setup using Todd’s PI idol as bait for a man who poisoned his brother, what follows is every bit as out of control as you’d expect. Yet against all odds, our gang manages to catch a killer in the act.

Even with the stakes at hand, most of the drama in this main plot comes from people not trusting each other and the resentment that stems from that. Regardless of whether there’s logic behind the mistrust (there is), it’s nice to see people talk about it.

Still, that drama is just on the back burner. Much more time is devoted to wacky antics, aided in no small part by having Dean Winters appear as PI Dick Franks. Todd deeply admires his mindset and skills for reasons I only partially understand.

He does manage to come through in a crisis. All our players do, even with a few embarrassingly messy missteps along the way. You have to give them credit just for being able to keep track of the increasingly wild details of the case.

The ladies playing the elderly twin sisters Margaret must win over to her firm also add to the hilarity. They like to make an obnoxious scene, but they love a good scandal more. Once things ramp up, they even manage to be charming. I hope we’ll see more of them.

Though the lion’s share of the episode is dedicated to frenzied detective work, there are a few softer moments at the start and finish, though many of the early ones do involve Todd bickering with people while being in excruciating pain.

While it’s hidden in a variety of banter and snipes, we get to see the Wright family come together in an emergency situation. And no matter what they say, none of them are dragged into what follows Todd’s accusations. They all want to be there.

Most importantly, Margaret finally admits just how dire the firm’s situation is to Todd. It’s not enough, especially with Susan still wondering about being denied a promotion, but it’s a start. Their new clients will help, if only for a while.

I am troubled by how much Todd buys into Dick’s insistence that he needs to act as a “lone wolf”, but I can’t imagine it really sticking. As Margaret eventually tells the sisters, this is a family business. Now there’s no doubt that it’s the heart of this show.

 

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So Help Me Todd airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on CBS.

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