So Help Me Todd – Dial Margaret for Murder

By starrymag | March 20, 2024

 

 

The episode opens with Margaret (Marcia Gay Harden) on the phone with someone named Merritt, who tells her that she will be working with the Lee sisters, who are worth millions. They can help save the firm as long as she does her job.

Margaret tells Francey (Rosa Evangelina Arredondo) about the call and how condescending Merritt was on the phone. Francey worries about getting the work done in time to prepare, but Margaret assures them that they will get it done.

Todd (Skylar Astin) comes in and calls Margaret out on the financial issues the firm is having. Margaret denies it, but Todd knows she is covering up for what is really happening….and is upset she won’t be honest since they are like Sherlock and Holmes and Cagney and Lacey.

At dinner, Francey is working while Margaret serves dinner. Todd can’t eat because of a stomachache, so he gives Chet (Thomas Cadrot) his roll. Allison (Madeline Wise) calls him out on not sharing food with her, leading to them bickering. She begins to tell him about a PI at the hospital, but he is still in pain. Allison says it’s his appendix, so she rushes him to the hospital, but not before she grabs some coffee.

Todd tries to get her to go back with his phone, but she refuses and takes him into the ER, where he freaks out while being put under.

When Todd wakes up, Margaret is there to tell him he is going to be fine. Although it is 4:26am, she has to go to work for a presentation. She is overwhelmed but gives Todd a pain drip and decides to keep his EarPods. As she leaves, she notices his roommate and tells the passing doctor that Todd is awake.

Todd drifts in and out of consciousness and hears his roommate talking about murder as the doctor Margaret saw looks over him…..and then pushes Todd’s pain button to put him to sleep.

Back at the firm, Margaret gives her presentation to the sisters, who give her a snarky attitude. One (Jacqueline Robbins) complains about the coffee, while the other (Joyce Robbins) complains about Margaret being like the others.

Todd wakes up to Allison telling him about his cholesterol being alarming, but Todd is more concerned about his roommate. Allison has no clue what he is talking about, no matter how much tries to explain about him, the murder talk and the redhaired doctor he and Margaret saw.

Allison reminds him he is high on pain meds and sends in another doctor as she gets summoned to another part of the hospital. She complains about being called by her married name and says that maybe she will open a sandwich shop as she leaves.

Todd, who is without his phone, uses the hospital phone to call Susan (Inga Schlingmann) and Lyle (Tristen J Winger) after a few false starts. He tries to explain the situation and asks about a Pelican, but they have no idea who that is.

 

Todd asks to talk to Margaret, who takes the call as Francey gives the sisters pastries. She remembers the doctor Todd saw, but not who Pelican is. She gets flustered and says they will talk later.

Allison brings the PI named Dick Franks (Dean Winters) into the room as his new roommate. She tells him not to smoke and leaves as they guys get to know each other. Todd is starstruck, but Dick seems to be out of it. He is finally impressed when Todd says he works for his mom.

 

Dick tells him that he will be a lone wolf as a PI because he needs to remain focused. He talks about his life falling apart and how Todd will rise if he can make it on his own….all while making wolf noises.

Margaret drives the sisters around, who are still being sassy with her. As she drives, she sees the redhaired doctor (Cecilia Deacon) and realizes the Pelican is an auditorium, not a person. She calls Todd to fill him in and wants to follow her, but he tells her not to because it is dangerous. He hangs up when someone in his room tells him to get off the phone.

 

Margaret and the sisters decide to defy Todd and investigate….only to end up at a cat show. The sisters are confused….as Margaret sees a district judge in the room…..and gets taken away, where the FBI is waiting, wondering why she is there.

Margaret is questioned and she tells them about the murder plot Todd told her about. They laugh in her face and take her into the ‘Karen Room,’ aka holding.

Todd and Dick continue to annoy Allison, who tells them to cut it out. Dick asks her to check his heart as a ruse to steal her iPad. As they debate their next move, Margaret calls from the ‘Karen Room’ to fill him in on what she found out. She explains how Judge Ortiz is being bribed, not murdered and they need to investigate. He tells her to call Lyle and focus on the case, not the cats.

Margaret tells Lyle and Susan about the judge when the sisters come in, saying they found the redhaired doctor. They are in to investigate and spring her out. The three of them demand to be let out because they are being held hostage. They scare the security guard into letting them out so they can continue the investigation.

Dick tells Todd codes he found, only to be caught by Allison. She tells them they are breaking the law, but lets it slip that the guy who died, Stefan Dobson, was killed from anaphylaxis and a heart condition. She reluctantly agrees to help and leaves. Dick, not realizing Allison is Todd’s sister, tells him to make a move.

Margaret calls Todd, who fills her in on Stefan. She and the sisters are in the car, where they are being tailed by the doctor. They try to lose her in traffic with Todd’s help and end up tailing her.

 

Lyle calls Margaret to tell her about Judge Ortiz’s cases. She tells them to connect the cases to Stefan or at least see if Ortiz is somehow connected. She hangs up and realizes that the doctor is going to her condo.

Allison tells the guys that Stefan was taken to the hospital and that his brother Tobias said he had no known allergies, but it was discovered that he was allergic to penicillin. As they discuss the case, Allison is called away and the guys debate on their next move.

Margaret and the sisters notice the doctor going to another part of the building, where they discover Tobias lives, thanks to Lyle and Susan. They get another lead and hang up, but not before they are told to fill Todd in. It turns out that Stefan was part of a case with Tobias and was planning on turning on him during the trial.

The ladies head to Tobias’s (Craig Erickson) building, but Margaret is distracted by the décor. They then realize that they are at a memorial service for Stefan and the doctor is Elisha….Tobias’s wife.

Allison fills Todd and Dick in on what another employee Lois found out and that Tobias picked up penicillin for Felicia earlier that week before Stefan died.

Margaret uses Todd’s earbuds to eavesdrops on Felicia and Tobias’s conversation in the bedroom….by sliding her phone under the door. However, she is caught when Todd calls to say Tobias killed Stefan. Unfortunately, Tobias picks up the phone and demands to know his identity.

Tobias heads to the hospital to presumably kill Todd, when he runs into Allison. She tells him what room he is in and sets up an alert. The sisters ask him for help to the water fountain as he heads up to the room, where Dick says he is onto him. Tobias kills him and receives a call from Todd, who is across the hall. Margaret knocks him out as the cops come to arrest him and Dick calls out that he is not dead but okay….and that Todd is going to be a great PI.

Allison and Dick talk about the case as Margaret gives the cops more evidence. They tell they are still straightening things out and will fill her in when they can.

 

The sisters congratulate her and agree to work with her again, despite the commission rate going up.

Merritt tells Margaret that this is great, but will only last them six months. After she hangs up, she brings Todd into her office, where they have a bonding moment. She confesses that the firm is in trouble and it is up to her to fix it. She says she didn’t tell him since she could fix it on her own, but she needs his help. He tells her they are a team like Oprah and Gayle….and she says she is the Oprah as the episode comes to a close.