So Help Me Todd – Season 1 Episode 14 “Against All Todds” Recap and Review

Against All Todds

Margaret is representing Dixie, the successful founder of Solafide, in a divorce case against her husband Dominic as episode 14 of So Help Me Todd. Beverly Crest, one of the named partners of the firm, interrupts the mediation session and reprimands Margaret. She feels Wright does not have a killer instinct to win the case for Dixie. If she cannot find a swift solution for her, Margaret will be taken off the case and her chances of becoming a named partner will also suffer. A panicky Margaret goes to Todd and asks for his help to dig up dirt on the couple. Todd interestingly finds Veronica Caron, his arch-nemesis and former lover, in the office.

She was released in episode 10 for helping Todd with the Luke Anton case. We were wondering when she will make an appearance and now, she has. She asks for Todd’s help to retrieve money that she hid in the air duct of their old office. Miller brothers, noted organized criminals, are after her and watching the place. Todd accepts after seeing they have given Veronica a black eye. He finds a woman at the office, Cindy, but she escapes. Surprisingly, she does not seem to have the money either.

Todd discovers it is all a trap when she leads him into an illegal gambling game and Todd is arrested. Margaret is furious to learn about it and loses trust in Todd. She even bumps into Susan and said she made the right decision leaving Todd, who is “good for nothing”. Margaret goes anyway to Deanna, the DA, to request her to show leniency with Todd. Deanna does not accept her request and it seems Todd is in big trouble. This could mean that he never gets his private investigator license back, ever.

At the Solafide office, Todd learns that Dixie keeps two phones. It is implied that the other is for her “discreet meetings”. Todd sends the message to Margaret, who unwittingly plays it in the room with Dixie present and is taken off the case by Beverly after Dixie threatens to walk away from the firm. Todd is lured into a fake bakery shop by Cindy and caught on camera handling illegal money from the Miller brothers. He has a big fight with Margaret about his predicament. She is angry with him for making the same mistake again and acting immaturely. It is unclear if she will be helping Todd, although it is unlikely that she won’t.

Margaret also pesters Todd about the nominal debt he owes her. Todd will be facing felony charges, which is only a misdemeanour charge right now for his involvement with the illegal money. Veronica has come back for revenge. Todd catches Cindy in the fake bakery, which is completely empty again. Cindy confirms his fears of all of this being a setup by Veronica. She is herself paying back a debt by helping Veronica. Todd’s misery is further compounded when he learns Veronica is working “with” the Millers and that the NDA he signed once at their old office makes him complicit in the crimes.

Todd thinks of trapping Veronica in a poker game that night. He takes Margaret and Lyle with him. Since only ladies are allowed, she will go at his behest. She wears earrings with cameras to record evidence. But it turns out, Veronica is a step ahead. Veronica is actually targeting Margaret because she is the one who sent her to jail. She hands over the NDA nonchalantly, making Todd suspicious of why she had the papers on hand. She says that since Todd is a mama’s boy, he got attracted to Veronica because she and Margaret have the same traits. And, the police show up to arrest the participants in the illegal poker game.

Margaret is arrested but released on bail. We see she has great camaraderie with the officers at the station, who are surprised to find her there. Susan is seen longingly looking at a photo of Todd and herself together. She zooms in on her smiling face, something she does not do anymore. Francine finds Margaret working late in the office too. Margaret asks her if she is a terrible mother and shares her predicament. She mentions the debt and Francine deduces that the reason Margaret wants him to pay the debt back is to never lose control over him. She wants to keep Todd tethered to herself. Margaret runs into Dixie in the canteen and frankly suggests she tell Dominic the truth about her affairs.

While advising her, Margaret realizes how she can get Todd out of trouble with Veronica. The next morning, she goes with Todd to get him to confess about his crimes and hopes for the judge’s leniency. Veronica is there and announces she will be testifying against Todd. She senses that Margaret is trying to get a confession out of her when they are talking. But when Veronica confesses to everything sure that Todd and Margaret cannot record them, she gets a surprise in the form of the police officers we saw when Margaret was arrested. They helped her get the confession on tape. In fact, even the judge was a friend of Margaret and retired. It was a total setup.

“A full confession is truly the only way to release the power anyone has over you” was how Margaret and Todd trapped Veronica. She is then arrested with DA Deanna in her presence. Margaret listens to Francine and lets go of the debt but says to Todd that he must live on his own accord. We see Beverly is impressed with Margaret and that her advice worked with Dixie. Margaret is now the lead counsel on Dixie’s remaining case. She still might have a chance to make a named partner.

Todd realizes he is forever free from veronica now. He is shockingly kissed by Susan in his office, indicating she has feelings for him. At Veronica’s trial, we see another shock as Veronica watches Cindy go to jail for her. Veronica is still out and will come for Todd and Margaret once again.

The Episode Review

Frosty, revenge, betrayal, and redemption are the thematic keywords for episode 14 of So Help Me Todd. The show dropped a new episode unexpectedly after a long hiatus and it turned out to be a thrilling affair. Veronica, whom we thought would come back to bite Todd immediately in the back after episode 10, came a little late. But she sure brought the house down with her – well, almost.

This episode was significant in turning the direction of some character arches. The biggest takeaway was Susan kissing Todd. We did get a sense of these residual feelings before as well. Now Susan has acted on them and it will be interesting to see what happens with Peter. Veronica is still out. She is a dangerous customer and a tricky one to deal with. Will she make another comeback this season?

Margaret’s letting go of Todd’s debt was important too. Her dynamic with Todd has been strong until now but she was controlling and manipulative, like Veronica said. Maybe now they can start afresh? We’ll see. One of the best episodes of season one for sure!