So Help Me Todd – Season 2 Episode 7 “Faux-Bituary” Recap & Review

Faux-Bituary

Episode 7 of So Help Me Todd Season 2 begins with Margaret galloping to reach her office through a crowd of clamouring employees. The firm is in big trouble. Vendors are increasing prices, customers are cancelling their retainers, and there seems to be no way out. She is crumbling under the pressure of completing an impossible task.

Todd is in a similar boat. His PI business is yet to take off and the prospects dwindle with every passing day. In the midst of this crisis, the duo runs into an interesting opportunity. They find a man, Leo Hart, in the building’s lift, who claims to have been declared legally dead.

The State is seizing all his assets in a probate hearing today… unless Margaret intervenes. At the hearing, Margaret gets a week to prove Hart isn’t dead. Todd goes to the hospital where Allison helps him track down the person who reported Hart dead, Dr Munipke. However, when the duo approaches his office, they find out that it is a janitorial closet. Hart’s death was indeed staged for personal gain! Hart cannot think of any enemies. He was an alcoholic and didn’t socialise much.

Lyle, who is struggling with a bad toothache, finds out that Kirkland Quimby reported the death in the papers. But Hart doesn’t know him. Margaret and Todd go to Quimby’s funeral house to investigate. The owner explains that the account used to send the email to the paper belongs to his late father. He didn’t send it. Todd convinces a drugged Lyle (from the dentist) to open Merrit Folding’s computer to look for a hacker. He’s a name partner at the firm.

Susan is trying to land a new client, Rory Macintosh, to get her coveted promotion. However, before she can encounter Rory at the office, he wanders into Folding’s cabin, thinking that Todd is the legal legend. In an ironic twist, Folding is also present at the office for the big meeting. The confusion continues as Susan thinks Hart is Rory and takes him to the conference room. Margaret also finds a completely random vendor in the kitchen, thinking he is Rory. Susan runs into Rory and Todd outside, learning about the CEO’s identity.

When Rory learns Lyle is trying to look for the hacker on the dark web, he takes over the task. It turns out to be a woman named Piper Harlow, who is currently in jail. However, when Todd visits her in jail, he suspects she isn’t the real Piper! Somehow, the hacker has paid a replacement to serve her sentence in prison.

At the family dinner, Allison and Margaret finally talk after almost a week. The conversation is a little tense as the former vents her frustration at her mother’s disappointment. Margaret calmly explains to Allison that instead of interfering with her life, she will allow her daughter to have a meltdown to rid of her feelings completely. However, as Allison is honestly confiding in the duo about her personal crisis, Margaret and Todd get a new angle on the case.

The next day, they visit Piper’s house and find out she is hiding in her house. When the duo threaten her with the police, Piper tells them that she was hired to do the job by Ethan Zillow. Hart reveals that Sofie Zillow is her ex and it might be her son who is behind the plan.

When Ethan and Sofie are requisitioned, Ethan admits to planning all of this. The reason is that Hart abandoned them and it has caused them hardships. However, Sofie confesses she lied to Ethan about Hart’s lack of involvement. He had no idea he had a son. Ethan agrees to cooperate and the case is closed.

All the goodness aside, the episode ends on an ominous note as Todd confides in Margaret about Veronica. Piper told them how she was able to get away from serving time due to a corrupt corrections officer at the penitentiary. Veronica was processed at the same place by the same officer…does that mean a comeback?

The Episode Review

The emotional baits in all of Season 2’s episodes are such curveballs. They mark a necessary change from the previous season where the writers were still hoping to find the right balance. Thet continue to hit the nail on its head to make admirable progress. Episode 7 is an entertaining mixture of all the genres that the show aspires to make a mix of.

Skylar Astin has been a little ineffective in this season but he is on his game in this one. Susan’s character still eludes the impact from the previous season. I still don’t get what the makers are planning to do with her. All the base work for her character has been undone. On the other hand, Margaret has emerged as the most mature and well-settled character on the roster. It is fair to say that she might not have been the same without certain sacrifices but emotionally, she has grown leaps for her kids.