So Help Me Todd – The Queen of Courts

By: Sammi Turano

The episode opens with a young man (Jesse Miller) walking through a store, dropping a carton of eggs on purpose. He walks away and goes back, purposely slipping on it. An employee (Miles Merry) asks if he is okay, but the guy is crushed to death.

Todd (Skylar Astin) and Susan (Inga Schlingmann) walk together, talking about work and life. They pass a bus ad for a woman named Belinda Tuttle (Sandra Bernhard), with whom Todd has a history. Belinda herself spots him and talks to him, much to his chagrin. Susan takes this as her cue to leave.

Belinda wants him to talk Margaret into helping her, but he refuses. However, she reminds him that he owes her, making him reconsider.

Margaret (Marcia Gay Harden) has to let a woman named Lisa (Sabrina Miniaci) go, but promises her a recommendation. Lisa says that won’t pay her rent as she leaves. Margaret looks at her list of people to let go and gets stressed. She also looks at past due bills, causing even more stress.

Francey (Rosa Arredondo) asks her why Lisa was let go and if they need a new office manager. Margaret tells her they have temporary financial issues, but with some cutbacks, they can make it work. Francey reminds her of her meeting with Susan about her promotion.

Susan (Inga Schlingmann) is excited about the meeting and promotion possibility, but Margaret tries to put her off. Luckily, she is interrupted by Todd, who says Belinda is on her way. Susan leaves, saying she will reschedule the meeting. Todd tries to explain why Belinda is there and that she needs representation.

Margaret is very unhappy about this and refuses, but Belinda is already there causing a ruckus and offering unsolicited advice. She finally meets Margaret, who reluctantly agrees to see her.

Belinda explains her situation and how she is being falsely accused of running a slip and fall scam. Margaret is still reluctant until Belinda offers to double her salary in cash upfront. Margaret agrees, leaving Todd upset.

Todd and Margaret argue over taking on Belinda as a client, all the while putting Lyle (Tristen J Winger) in the middle. However, all three of them agree to take on the case, with the help of Alex (Vinissa Antoine), much to Lyle’s excitement.

Susan and Todd are upset over the lack of pastries, good coffee and Margaret’s decisions about Belinda and Susan’s promotion. Francey reminds them that Margaret has a lot going on and to deal with it.

Todd goes to the shop downtown and talks to the cashier (Heather Morris), who has six masters degrees and flirts with Todd….all the while being philosophical and snarky. She squeals as he leaves.

Margaret and Belinda walk into court, where Belinda is reunited with her janitor friend. Things take a turn when the plaintiff comes in with her lawyer, upset over the fact that her brother is dead.

Back in the office, Lyle awkwardly asks Alex for an overnight date. Todd interrupts with news about Belinda. She has a lot of enemies and there is a history of slip and fall scams….all connected to the same bank and have the same witness at different locations.

Todd goes to spy on Corey the witness when Margaret joins him, complaining about the car. She brings him dinner in exchange for information. Todd says Corey was just getting stoned and eating cheese puffs. Margaret wants more answers and quickly, but Todd tells her that they need to move to plan B, which is staging their own fall.

The two of them head to the grocery store where Corey works and purposely cause milk to spill so Todd can fall. The plan is for Corey to witness it and see if he offers any information. After trying to stab some milk cartons, Todd stages his slip and gets the name of the doctor from Corey, who (although not expecting Todd) was prepared for the scam.

Margaret and Belinda continue to prepare for the case, with Belinda offering more unsolicited advice. The two of them debate on how to handle the case, with Margaret wanting to follow the rules and Belinda wanting to go rouge.

Todd hides from Belinda at the newsstand/coffeeshop, where the same cashier is there, making fun of him for hiding from someone offering him a job. He tries to defend himself, only to run into Allison, who is confused and there to meet Margaret for lunch. He explains the situation, making Allison even more confused.

The cashier continues to make fun of him and snarks that he didn’t say goodbye after he and Allison leave….but not before Todd buys Allision chips.

A former employee of Belinda’s named Debbie (Teegan Vincze) is questioned and puts her in a bad light, making the case even harder for them.

Allison and Todd are at the doctor’s office, where the doctor (Chris Cope) gives him random symptoms and injuries. Allison is still confused and makes fun of the whole situation, sarcastically asking the doctor out. The doctor himself says he works with Belinda, only he never met her.

Back in the office, Todd fills Belinda and Lyle in on everything. They call the number on the card from the doctor and discover someone is impersonating Belinda.

Back in court, Margaret requests a two week continuance, but the judge refuses since he thinks this a part of Belinda’s game.

Margaret goes back to the office, with Francey telling her that she got extensions from the vendors. She also says Beverly is concerned about them representing Belinda. This sends Margaret into work mode and she tells the team they need to work quickly. Todd thinks they never should have take on this case since it caused a lot of problems, so Margaret kicks him out.

Susan comes up with more cases Belinda worked on and how she threw a case that would have exposed a client’s fraud. She then asks about a promotion, only to be told to wait. This frustrates her as she leaves.

The cashier (who we learn is named Judy) sees Todd and tells him that maybe he sees Belinda as the enemy because he allows himself to see the worst.

Belinda explains that she thew her case because she knew the client was a fraud and she couldn’t allow the defendant to lose their family business. Margaret wants to put her on the stand, but thinks it might not work. However, Belinda is willing to do it, even if it means losing her job. She would rather be disbarred than go to prison.

Lyle gives Alex a map of places to park if she stays over. She tells him she can’t stay over and she isn’t sure she is on the same page as him in terms of their relationship. Before he can respond, both Todd and Margaret come in with stuff they discovered. Todd realizes that Debbie, Belinda’s old employee is broke and was using her name to run the scam. They decide to beat her at her own game.

Back in court, Margaret tells Belinda what she found out while Todd and Lyle set up a trap for Debbie. Belinda is discouraged, but Margaret has a plan to make things work by stalling the trial until Lyle and Todd get their evidence against Debbie.

Margaret and Belinda cause a ruckus in the courtroom in hopes that Lyle and Todd get what they need quickly. They catch Debbie posing as Belinda (even cauding her to fall)just in the nick of time and get the evidence they need to clear Belinda.

That night, Lyle and Alex decide to go forward with their relationship with her spending the night. He goes to finish something in the office while she sneaks into Beverly’s to hack into her computer.

Margaret confirms Debbie is in custody and Belinda is cleared. Todd comes in and they all hug. As Belinda leaves, she offers Allison her services.

Todd and Allison think they are going to dinner with Margaret, but she is too busy. Allison tells Todd he is buying her dinner that isn’t clam chowder. As they leave, Margaret changes the due date on a bill the way Belinda taught her while giving her unsolicited advice….as the episode comes to an end.