Man, it’s good to have So Help Me Todd back.
The CBS dramedy was a hit in its freshmen run, with viewers enthralled with the ongoing mischief between a mother and son who worked incredibly well together despite their constant bickering.
And I’m happy to report that lovable bickering was back in spades during So Help Me Todd Season 2 Episode 1, which saw Margaret and Todd working a case Margaret was desperate to score.
The So Help Me Todd Season 1 finale ended with quite the bang when Harry showed up after his Icelandic sabbatical, and with only a few days passing from that reveal to the events here, it was clear Margaret chose not to deal with any of it.
Instead, she was shacking up with Gus Easton, and I can’t say I blame her.
The will-they/won’t-they dynamic between Margaret and Gus was a highlight of the first season, especially as Margaret fought hard to reclaim her life and discover herself as a single woman.
Gus may not have been someone she saw herself with at first, but they developed a very kind dynamic over time, which saw them working together and always teetering on the edge of something more.
Seeing them together to start the hour was nice because that’s what Margaret deserves. She deserves something nice and uncomplicated, and you couldn’t blame her for just wanting to unplug and roll around in the sheets for a few days.
There’s nothing wrong with taking time to take care of yourself after all.
But perhaps Margaret could have clued SOMEONE into what was happening back at her apartment since she had to know Harry’s sudden reappearance would be met with various emotions.
But before we get into another Wright family dinner gone awry, there was a case to be solved, and it was pretty essential for Margaret to get it right after she learned the firm wasn’t doing so well.
You’ve got to love Beverly just giving it to Margaret straight about the dire straits of the firm seventeen seconds after she was named partner.
And giving Margaret the task of firing people? Yeah, that was never happening.
Margaret may be many things, but one thing she’s really not is someone who won’t go down with a fight.
As soon as I saw Todd’s name on the list, I knew Margaret’s brain was already running rampant with different ways she could save the firm and ultimately save Todd’s job.
Little did she know Todd was already scheming up his next business venture.
Skylar Astin was truly born to play this role. Todd is a constant swarm of nervous energy, and Skylar fits into his shoes so perfectly, bringing warmth, charm, and humanity at every turn.
There are countless laugh-out-loud moments during any hour of the series, but Margaret’s first foray into his little closet office had some legitimate belly laughs.
When the series began, Todd was an absolute lost soul, and he spent a tremendous amount of time trying to get his life together and figure out what was next.
He knew he couldn’t live with Allison forever, and he knew he wanted to get his license, and seeing him start this season with his own place AND his license truly felt like a full circle moment for him.
Todd’s blasé attitude can sometimes mask his competence, but he’s a masterful investigator, and getting a chance to get back to his life is overall a good thing for him. However, it does put him at odds with Margaret.
The heart and soul of the series has always been Todd and Margaret, and it always will be. The series is blessed to have a well-rounded supporting cast that can handle its fair share of entertaining storylines.
But Margaret and Todd’s dynamic is the bread and butter.
The case of the week involving a morning news station murder is the kind of case we’ve come to expect. It can be hard to balance murder and laughs, but the series always does a solid job of ensuring the stakes are high, but there’s still room for fun.
Lisa Rinna was almost unrecognizable as morning show anchor Jennifer, accused of killing philandering James, who may or may not have had relations with a lot of people working within close proximity to one another.
So Help Me Todd loves a twist, and while the killer was never going to be poor Roy, it was also never going to be the two other anchors who never got a chance to interact much with Margaret or Todd.
The first rule of a procedural is that the killer will always have at least a few speaking lines!
Todd’s ability to navigate and integrate himself into any situation is only one of the reasons he’s such a credible PI.
He had to think quickly on his feet when he found himself stuck in the live studio, a place he had absolutely no business being, even if he was the smartly dressed intern to the lead weatherman.
Watching Todd make a fool of himself all for the sake of solving a case will simply never get old. And he had to do some serious theatrics on live television for Margaret to understand what he was trying to put down.
Considering I’m pretty sure we never even learned the lighting technician’s name, he wasn’t very high on the suspect list, but his reasoning seemed to be that of a few people in James’s life: a scorned lover sick of being ignored.
A nice, neatly wrapped case was just about the only thing that was concluded neatly as we revisited that dinner, which saw Allison’s hair on full display and Harry’s presence grossly unwanted.
Poor Allison saw her marriage implode and found herself sleeping on Todd’s couch, yet the only thing anyone wanted to confront her about was her new locs! The hair looked very fresh, if I do say so myself, and considering the fact she was currently dealing with identity theft, it was wholly justified.
It’s fascinating seeing this role reversal between Allison and Todd, with her needing his help this time and being genuinely excited about her brother finding his purpose again and having a plan.
Allison had been struggling for a long while before her marriage bit the dust, and now she has the chance to take a step back and figure out what she wants and who she is in this next phase of her life.
And she may not want to admit it, but it’s not too far off what her mother just went through.
Speaking of Margaret, her decision to not tell anyone about Harry came back to bite when Todd almost committed homicide, and Gus basically broke up with her.
As a proud Margaret and Gus shipper, I’m starting to get a bit frustrated with the start-and-stop nature of their relationship, even if I understand this time why Gus wasn’t too excited to hear Harry was back.
I don’t know if Gus is supposed to be Margaret’s next big love, but he’s certainly someone who makes her smile. And we keep getting teased with their relationship, only for it to fall apart.
Harry isn’t a threat to Gus, as shown in Margaret’s passionate speech when she kicked him to the curb, but Margaret could have been upfront with Gus about what drove her to Gus’s in the first place.
I thought you were running to me. I didn’t quite realize it was away from him.
Gus [to Margaret]
Perhaps he would have told her right then and there that he wasn’t interested, or maybe he would have understood and welcomed her with open arms. Unfortunately, she’ll never know because she never gave him that choice.
Margaret deserved that moment to look Harry in his eyes and tell him exactly what she thought of him and what she thought of herself. It was a long time coming, but Harry’s reluctance to accept her words makes me think he won’t disappear again.
But with a fledging firm and forever family drama, he may be the least of Margaret’s worries.
So Help Me More Notes!
- Todd breaking the wine glass and going after Harry was literally the funniest thing I’ve seen on any show in a long time. It was unexpected and the perfect way to have Todd and Harry reunite.
- An in-love Lyle is one I want to see more of! Let the man sing and be in love! Life is short!
- Susan seemed happy about her marriage, yet it felt like something was off whenever she talked about it. Of course, there are some residual Todd feelings, but it also felt like we were missing something.
- If they’re setting up Susan versus Margaret with Beverly’s clear intention of bringing Susan on as a partner to get her to do her bidding, I am 100% here for it, even if not a single part of me thinks Susan would turn on Margaret.
- Can we find Todd a genuine love interest this season? The second they made Peter not be the absolute worst, the Todd/Susan ship got a lot less appealing.
- Lawrence and Chet adding to their family was the best news of the night.
So Help Me Todd came back with a solid premiere, setting the stage for a new Todd, an empowered Margaret, and plenty of laughs to go around.
Let me know in the comments what you thought about the hour and where you hope to see things go this season!
Whitney Evans is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on X.