S01E12: Psilo-Sibling

[The Crazed Spruce]

Quote

Lawrence and the governor seek Margaret's help with a personal legal matter related to the governor's sister.

 

[chitowngirl]

Best episode yet! I hope someone checks on Allison soon…she’s going to blow

[Driad]

That was hilarious!

Leatherman tools are from Portland.

[AnimeMania]

Lossen Chambers (Governor Jones)

Matthew Wilkas (Lawrence Wright)
Nancy Kerr (Judge Olivia Cleary)
Nefetari Spencer (Debby Jones)
Donavon Stinson (Ben Cooper)
Christian Sloan (Joe Graham)

Julie Lynn Mortensen (Sarah Graham)
Cynthia Loewen (Joyce)
Monique Helbig (D.A. Sanchez)

James R. Baylis (Psychic Steve)
Michasha Armstrong (Derek Kemp)
Paige Gibbs (Cora Cox)

[South]

I love this show!  Did this episode remind anyone of every episode of ScoobyDoo?

[shapeshifter]

Wouldn’t a practicing ER doctor be assigned to do their Community Service by working in a free clinic rather than picking up trash? 
And if her behavior was that far out of the norm, could a judge or a medical licensing board have required a psych evaluation before she goes back to performing surgery etc.?

I’m very glad this show was renewed, but this was not my favorite episode because too many barely funny jokes went on too long, and there were too many nonsensical plot points.

• Like the argument about what aliens would look like just got boring.  
• Capturing the drone by luring it? Weren’t the neighbors operating it and not their golden retriever?
• And the blissful neighbor being a cold blooded killer? A stretch.
• The squatter “friend” with PTSD is going to stay because he gave testimony that shouldn’t have been necessary with all the gathered evidence.

Hopefully this episode’s weakness was just an aberration. Maybe shrooms were involved in the writers’ room meetings?

Edited February 3, 2023 by shapeshifter

[Gregg247]

The Governor really didn't come across very well, did she?

1. She wants to "call in the favor" she did Margaret several episodes ago for a personal issue.  Does this mean Mararet is working for free?  Also, the "favor" led to dreeing 2 adult children from the clutches of murderous parents, so wouldn't the Governor be able to make use of that detail to help her in her re-election campaign?  Seems like the "favor" was good for everyone-including the Governor.

2. Margaret threw a very expensive, catered meal for the Governor, who spent the entire time 'working" and ignoring the entire family before walking out for an "emergency" and no explanation.  What kind of emergency popped up on a weekday evening with perfectly fine weather outside? It was very rude.  Also, did Lawrence return the next day to pick up the printer that the Governor had had installed in Margaret's bathroom?

3. The Governor decided to cut all ties with her sister, even though Margaret and Todd had just proven that not only was her sister not using drugs (or crazy), but that some nefarious person/persons was/were trying to steal the family farm for some reason.

Normally, characters like this, especially if they're a politician, are written as a villain.  For some reason, that didn't happen here.  Even so, I think the Governor is a jerk.

Lawrence definitely has some mommy-issues.  What did Margaret do to her poor kids?!? lol  Lawrence's unswerving devotion to the Governor made me think he either had some weird, misplaced fixation on her or he mistakenly believes he can one day assassinate her and seize control of the Governor's Oregon throne, for some reason.

Lawrence's husband is a newspaper reporter.  I wonder if he recuses himself from covering stories about the Governor or if he would actually write something "unfavorable" about her.  Could be an interesting plot.

Todd's sister (who I still don't like) has some serious issues.  Too bad NOBODY seems to notice!  When this gets resolved at some point, I hope it means her husband, Chuck, actually gets some lines.  (Have we seen the lower half of Chuck in this show yet?  He always seems to just be sitting at the dinner table, eating.)

Glad the show got renewed for next season!

[iMonrey]

Quote

I love this show!  Did this episode remind anyone of every episode of ScoobyDoo?

Yep. I mean, the villains were literally unmasked at the end.

I didn't get how magic mushrooms accidentally wound up in Lawrence's tea. They were in Debby's house, right? Did she have some on hand, even though she was supposed to be drug-free?

One little nitpick I have, at the dinner party neither Allison nor Lawrence should have been seated next to their spouses. They should have been seated across from each other. Margaret strikes me as the type of person who would be a stickler for that kind of etiquette, especially at such an important dinner.

[eel21788]

6 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Wouldn’t a practicing ER doctor be assigned to do their Community Service by working in a free clinic rather than picking up trash? 

You actually don't get assigned to do community service anywhere.

When you get sentenced to do community service, you call any organization that uses volunteers and ask them if they will accept you as a volunteer for community service hours. Some places will let you sign up just like any other volunteer. Others want you to have an intake interview first. Some won't accept you if you have a low number of hours required. They want you to make a bigger commitment than come in for just an afternoon or two. You can get fired from a community service job if whoever is supervising you doesn't think you're putting in the adequate effort.

I volunteered in a soup kitchen for 12 years. I couldn't even count the number of community service volunteers I saw come and go. Their rules were you had to make a 3 month commitment. Most of them would talk about how much they were enjoying the experience, and they were going to continue volunteering after they had finished their required hours. That never actually happened even once. 

The harshest sentence I ever saw was a guy who had 9 months to complete 800 hours of community service. You should have seen the grin on his face the day he hit 800 hours. We never saw him again after that day despite him having been one of the people who swore he was going to continue once his hours were finished.

[shapeshifter]

2 minutes ago, eel21788 said:

You actually don't get assigned to do community service anywhere.

When you get sentenced to do community service, you call any organization that uses volunteers and ask them if they will accept you as a volunteer for community service hours. Some places will let you sign up just like any other volunteer. Others want you to have an intake interview first. Some won't accept you if you have a low number of hours required. They want you to make a bigger commitment than come in for just an afternoon or two. You can get fired from a community service job if whoever is supervising you doesn't think you're putting in the adequate effort.

I volunteered in a soup kitchen for 12 years. I couldn't even count the number of community service volunteers I saw come and go. Their rules were you had to make a 3 month commitment. Most of them would talk about how much they were enjoying the experience, and they were going to continue volunteering after they had finished their required hours. That never actually happened even once. 

The harshest sentence I ever saw was a guy who had 9 months to complete 800 hours of community service. You should have seen the grin on his face the day he hit 800 hours. We never saw him again after that day despite him having been one of the people who swore he was going to continue once his hours were finished.

Interesting! 
Now I *really* want a throwaway line explaining why Todd's sister is doing her community service picking up trash instead of elsewhere.
I can imagine her not wanting word to get out among her medical community that she's had such a run-in with the law, which working at a free clinic might tend to make known. 
Maybe picking up trash is just the most anonymous thing to do?
But probably the writers didn't even consider other options.

[Sarah 103]

8 hours ago, South said:

I love this show!  Did this episode remind anyone of every episode of ScoobyDoo?

Absolutely! I figured it out about halfway through the episode when they couple mentioned the screams were having a negative impact on thier guided trip sessions. I remember thinking to myself at the end of the episode, "All those years of watching Scooby-Doo have paid off." 

I'm glad we are getting to see more of Lawerence and that he isn't going to be like Tino, Marris, or other frequently mentioned but never seen characters. I want to see more of him, because I want to find out what he meant when he said he wanted Todd to like him. It seemed like a strange thing to say, and I hope it gets explored.

At some point in this series, I want a bottle episode where the three siblings are trapped in a space. 

I think the family dynamic is facinating. My guess is that Todd, very early in life, decided he was going to get attention by making people laugh, or because he wasn't the student his siblings were, would get attention by acting out or acting up.  

I'm enjoying the show. It's silly fun that doesn't take itself too seriously. 

[christie]

11 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I didn't get how magic mushrooms accidentally wound up in Lawrence's tea. They were in Debby's house, right? Did she have some on hand, even though she was supposed to be drug-free?

I thought that that satchel with the magic  mushrooms that Todd picked up at the farmers' market somehow got mixed up with Debbie's teas.

[iMonrey]

Quote

I thought that that satchel with the magic  mushrooms that Todd picked up at the farmers' market somehow got mixed up with Debbie's teas.

I don't think he bought it though, unless he just ran off without paying.

[chediavolo]

I love this show and the family aspect of it. It was totally ridiculous that the two mushroom dealers were coldhearted killers. That was just cartoonish. I also agree that the governor came across as incredibly unlikable. So much so that I thought she may be revealed as the person that was harassing her sister to the point of she might kill her.

[christie]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

I don't think he bought it though, unless he just ran off without paying.

He didn't buy it, he also didn't put the satchel back (at least not that we saw).

[AnimeMania]

Ratings: ‘Ghosts’ and ‘So Help Me Todd’ Propel CBS to Largest Thursday Audience This Season

“Young Sheldon,” which aired at 8 p.m., drew an average 7.15 million viewers to clinch the title of No. 1 show of the night. 

“Ghosts” averaging 6.82 million viewers at 8:30 p.m. and becoming Thursday’s No. 2 program.

At 9 p.m., “So Help Me Todd” also posted its best fast nationals audience ever, with 5.09 million viewers, up 6% from its last original episode, which aired Jan. 12.

[shapeshifter]

About Lawrence accidentally drinking psilocybin tea:

• 21:02
  there's a shot of Lawrence in the apron from behind; in the foreground is a blurry view of a rectangular woven basket of [presumably] tea.
• 22:14
  After Lawrence starts making trippy remarks and his mother asks "What is wrong with you?"
  Todd jumps up, runs to the kitchen, and comes back to the table holding a mug and the rectangular woven basket and asks:
  "Did you make tea from this box?!
  "This is the psilocybin tea that the weird couple makes.
  "Lawrence is tripping."

And that's it. 

• It seems like whoever did the final editing for this episode was tripping and left out how the tea got to the kitchen counter into a basket.
  When Todd left the "weird couple's" booth, he didn't have anything visible, and it looked like he put back the one bag of tea he picked up and asked about. 

Conclusion:

• I guess Todd pocketed a bag of the "weird couple's" tea and put it in the basket on the kitchen counter when he got home, and Lawrence happened to make tea using that bag.

[Simba122504]

I still don't understand the crime of the week. Why the mushroom couple did what they did? Something about land? Hell, I don't know. There were no truly funny moments in this episode. Why wasn't therapy apart of Allison's deal? I need Peter to have a face. I'm tired of hearing about him. The series definitely ships Todd & Susan (So do I) but he's competing with an invisible man.  

[eel21788]

26 minutes ago, Simba122504 said:

I still don't understand the crime of the week. Why the mushroom couple did what they did? Something about land?

For unexplained reasons, they couldn't get mushrooms to grow on their own property, so they were violating the property boundaries and growing mushrooms on her land instead. They needed to get rid of her before she figured it out, and so they could continue to expand their operation.

[chitowngirl]

9 hours ago, Simba122504 said:

I need Peter to have a face. I'm tired of hearing about him. The series definitely ships Todd & Susan (So do I) but he's competing with an invisible man.  

I would be amused, though it could be predictable, if Peter is a doppelgänger for Todd.

[JH Lipton]

9 hours ago, Simba122504 said:

I still don't understand the crime of the week. Why the mushroom couple did what they did?

9 hours ago, eel21788 said:

For unexplained reasons, they couldn't get mushrooms to grow on their own property, so they were violating the property boundaries and growing mushrooms on her land instead. They needed to get rid of her before she figured it out, and so they could continue to expand their operation.

Also, plus, they made a deal with a Jamaican land company to build a spa on the land.  I have no idea how that would work with the mushroom growing, but likely neither did the writers.  Eeeeeeeeeeeeeevil developers falls smack into Scooby-Doo territory though!

 

[Sarah 103]

3 hours ago, JH Lipton said:

Also, plus, they made a deal with a Jamaican land company to build a spa on the land.  I have no idea how that would work with the mushroom growing, but likely neither did the writers.  Eeeeeeeeeeeeeevil developers falls smack into Scooby-Doo territory though!

I'm guessing the two properties combined would be large enough for the spa and to grow the mushrooms. In terms of Scooby-Doo, I was thinking of it as the type of villian who wants to own the land/property because there is something valuable there.   

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

I'm guessing the two properties combined would be large enough for the spa and to grow the mushrooms.

Totally coincidental:
The seemingly (but not) pacifist mushroom guy bore a striking resemblance to the main potter of a pottery commune I lived in in the 70s, and the mushroom guy's wife looked quite a bit like that guy's wife too. 
Also, there was a woman who started growing mushrooms (not magic) in the commune, and there was a sauna too. 
But I think the mushroom guy in this episode was supposed to resemble Charles Manson.

Edited February 5, 2023 by shapeshifter

[AncientNewbie]

I can fansplain Allison doing community service on the road as another way to lash out, or lash in, and try to upset her "perfect" life with putting herself in a bad situation. 

Basically, though, I'm glad this isn't in NY, where I actually know the laws relating to practicing medicine (or practicing law) and can just wave away ludicrous things with "oh, well, OR." 

I didn't get the governor at all this week. I hope there's a payoff and not just poor acting/directing choices. It would be interesting to me if her coldness towards Margaret was yet another symptom of Lawrence being another messed up Wright kid, because there could be some opportunity for the two mature women of the cast to react about family. 

This show is watchable fluff for me but it needs some resolution to the messed up kids/Margaret's career focus/adult choices stuff so the characters can grow a little more and try to be adults. 

[JH Lipton]

9 hours ago, AncientNewbie said:

I can fansplain Allison doing community service on the road as another way to lash out, or lash in, and try to upset her "perfect" life with putting herself in a bad situation. 

Basically, though, I'm glad this isn't in NY, where I actually know the laws relating to practicing medicine (or practicing law) and can just wave away ludicrous things with "oh, well, OR." 

She is a white woman from a well-to-do family which would greatly reduce her sentence.

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, JH Lipton said:

She is a white woman from a well-to-do family which would greatly reduce her sentence.

With a successful lawyer mom to defend her.

[South]

On 2/4/2023 at 12:24 PM, chediavolo said:

I love this show and the family aspect of it. It was totally ridiculous that the two mushroom dealers were coldhearted killers. That was just cartoonish. I also agree that the governor came across as incredibly unlikable. So much so that I thought she may be revealed as the person that was harassing her sister to the point of she might kill her.

That would have been a great angle!  Poor Lawrence would have been crestfallen.  

[incandescent]

On 2/3/2023 at 9:14 AM, Gregg247 said:

(Have we seen the lower half of Chuck in this show yet?  He always seems to just be sitting at the dinner table, eating.)

Hey, now, we also once saw him sitting at a sofa.