S01.E19: 86'd

[The Crazed Spruce]

Quote

Margaret represents Lauren, Susan's good friend, in a hostile work environment lawsuit after she quits her job at a Michelin-starred restaurant; when Todd gets sick, Margaret must go under cover as a dishwasher in a fancy restaurant.

 

[AnimeMania]

The acting choices were rather weird, Lauren was not very convincing when she ran in with blood covered hands. Beverly Crest, why was her delivery so deadpan, she seemed very different from the other times she appeared on the show, I definitely didn't like it. Margaret  don't provoke a killer into confessing when you don't have any backup, she was so lucky that the police arrived in the nick of time. I thought hitting the guy on the head with a bottle after the police showed up, was excessive and should have probably gotten Margaret into trouble/arrested if it had happened in real-life.

[incandescent]

Beverly's deadpan-ness was well worth it for, "Did you throw up in my purse?"

[iMonrey]

I'm not sure where they're going with Margaret trying to make partner at this firm. I'm hoping to see it wrapped up by season's end one way or another. So far her chances don't look good. Her boss seems to be pretty frosty towards her and is wining and dining other candidates. I speculated last week that Margaret might start up her own firm and I'm still on that train. If she's bringing in 32% of the revenue for that firm she should have no trouble bringing in new clients on her own.

I loved the bickering between Todd and Allison while Todd was trying to get her to tell Margaret about the substances over the phone. It was such a realistic brother/sister vibe while Margaret stood impatiently on the other end of the line.

[shapeshifter]

13 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

Margaret  don't provoke a killer into confessing when you don't have any backup, she was so lucky that the police arrived in the nick of time

Margaret must be a fan of Murder She Wrote.
Or, rather, the writers are.

[Silver-hyren]

14 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

Margaret  don't provoke a killer into confessing when you don't have any backup, she was so lucky that the police arrived in the nick of time. 

That bugged me so much.  She didn’t have to say anything!  It was purely the writers needing to spell it out for the audience.  I had him pegged as the murderer from the start, so thought he went to her apartment because he was afraid she was going to figure out he’d done it and was going to cover his tracks.  Nope, he really did just want to cook her dinner/flirt/whatever.  At least until Margaret turned into clunky exposition fairy.  Questionable writing choices aside, I did think that whole scene was well acted, though.

[Daff]

6 minutes ago, Silver-hyren said:

That bugged me so much.  She didn’t have to say anything!  It was purely the writers needing to spell it out for the audience.  I had him pegged as the murderer from the start, so thought he went to her apartment because he was afraid she was going to figure out he’d done it and was going to cover his tracks.  Nope, he really did just want to cook her dinner/flirt/whatever.  At least until Margaret turned into clunky exposition fairy.  Questionable writing choices aside, I did think that whole scene was well acted, though.

I honestly thought his purpose for being there was twofold. Yes, he enjoyed her appreciation and knowledge of fine wines and food, but he also wanted to keep tabs on her progress with the case. If they were getting close, I think he might have chosen to skip town, rather than commit another murder. He probably had the means. (I pictured him killing the obnoxious chef in an angry, vengeful rage, and not necessarily wanting to repeat that.)

[Trey]

Corn smut is not poisonous so Todd should not have gotten sick from it.  Of course he shouldn't go around eating unknown things at stranger's homes either.

Apparently Todd is still dating Amy.

 

[Gregg247]

I really don't like the boss at the law firm.  Margaret brings in 32% of all revenue to the firm and the boss is instead openly interviewing outsiders for the position of "named partner".  I'd consider that a slap in the face.  Margaret could move to any firm in the city and take her book-of-business with her with no problem at all. 

Having said that, I hope she doesn't leave.  Those offices are beautiful!  

[Maverick]

 Given how Margaret's boos has been portrayed so far, I assume it will eventually be revealed all of her actions (giving Margaret the brush off, drafting Todd into an investigation, interviewing outside partners, involving Margaret's romantic interest) were just a test to determine her resolve/commitment/interest/whatever. 

[Daff]

21 hours ago, Trey said:

Corn smut is not poisonous so Todd should not have gotten sick from it.  Of course he shouldn't go around eating unknown things at stranger's homes either.

Once seen, it cannot be unseen. When husking, one pull and sight of it sends the whole ear well beyond the compost pile.  No one in their right mind would ever put it anywhere near mouth or nose (but then, it’s Todd). In over 50 years of shucking corn, I’ve only seen it once, and that was enough. It’s unexpected, shocking, and ugly. 

[Trey]

1 hour ago, Daff said:

It’s unexpected, shocking, and ugly. 

Oh, yes, it certainly is.  We used to grow corn to sell at a roadside stand and every once in awhile we would get a smut.

However, it is a delicacy, particularly in Mexico, where it is called huitlacoche (weet  la  cochay).  It is really a fungus and is like truffles or mushrooms.  There are now people who grow corn especially for the smut.  I am not one of them.

[Daff]

1 hour ago, Trey said:

Oh, yes, it certainly is.  We used to grow corn to sell at a roadside stand and every once in awhile we would get a smut.

However, it is a delicacy, particularly in Mexico, where it is called huitlacoche (weet  la  cochay).  It is really a fungus and is like truffles or mushrooms.  There are now people who grow corn especially for the smut.  I am not one of them.

So the producers had some kind of insight. They and the foodies are welcome to it. I do love mushrooms, but that’s beyond the pale.

[Bulldog]

Nice Pollock reference they managed to sneak in there. 

[Moxie Cat]

The ice-cream basement woman was named Beezus. LOL, that is no coincidence!

Previously, we've had a reference to Klickitat Street, and the camera lingered on "Beezus's" mailbox with the address in this episode too - which I thought might be another Beverly Cleary reference. 

My only question now is: when are we getting a Ramona?! Someone on the staff is clearly a Cleary fan and relishing the Portland in-joke opportunity!

Nice to see David Cubitt! Obviously he was the killer though...per the "the familiar guest star did it" law.

[Tachi Rocinante]

Who did Marcia Gay Harden piss off in the costume department?  Jeebus cripes those outfits were hideous.

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, Tachi Rocinante said:

Who did Marcia Gay Harden piss off in the costume department?  Jeebus cripes those outfits were hideous.

Hah! I wish I'd nominated Margaret for Straight Off The Runway: Character With Best Wardrobe in the recent PrimeTimer Awards. 
Making a note to do so next time...
But, yes, you are correct. In this episode her outfits went from bad to worse up until and through the moment when Todd took the top half of her garish-yellow suit (utterly mismatched with that conservative burgundy/cerise, black, and white print blouse)  to use as a disguise:

  

But after that scene, her outfits gradually went back to beautiful, including this lovely watercolor-print silk blouse that does color-coordinate nicely with her skirt (unlike the outfits in the first half of the episode) :

Edited June 28, 2023 by shapeshifter

[Tachi Rocinante]

3 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Hah! I wish I'd nominated Margaret for Straight Off The Runway: Character With Best Wardrobe in the recent PrimeTimer Awards. Making a note to do so next time...
But, yes, you are correct. In this episode her outfits went from bad to worse up until and through the moment when Todd took the top half of her garish-yellow suit (utterly mismatched with that conservative burgundy/cerise, black, and white print blouse)  to use as a disguise:

But after that scene, her outfits gradually went back to beautiful, including this lovely watercolor-print silk blouse that does color-coordinate nicely with her skirt (unlike the outfits in the first half of the episode)

 

What about the yellow blouse abomination at the end of the episode? 

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, Tachi Rocinante said:

What about the yellow blouse abomination at the end of the episode? 

This?

It was mismatched with the black suit, but not terrible with a matching skirt or pants?
I suppose it was a callback to the terrible yellow pants suit, in case we'd missed it.

[Tachi Rocinante]

31 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

This?

It was mismatched with the black suit, but not terrible with a matching skirt or pants?
I suppose it was a callback to the terrible yellow pants suit, in case we'd missed it.

It looked like someone hit her with a pie.

[South]

On 5/6/2023 at 3:19 PM, Daff said:

Once seen, it cannot be unseen. When husking, one pull and sight of it sends the whole ear well beyond the compost pile.  No one in their right mind would ever put it anywhere near mouth or nose (but then, it’s Todd). In over 50 years of shucking corn, I’ve only seen it once, and that was enough. It’s unexpected, shocking, and ugly. 

But then again, folks swoon over huitlacoche.

On 5/6/2023 at 4:27 PM, Trey said:

Oh, yes, it certainly is.  We used to grow corn to sell at a roadside stand and every once in awhile we would get a smut.

However, it is a delicacy, particularly in Mexico, where it is called huitlacoche (weet  la  cochay).  It is really a fungus and is like truffles or mushrooms.  There are now people who grow corn especially for the smut.  I am not one of them.

Oh!  I told Partner South that smut must be like huitlacoche.  He looked it up (or so I thought) and said that it wasn’t the same thing.

[South]

13 hours ago, Tachi Rocinante said:

What about the yellow blouse abomination at the end of the episode? 

As my mom would say, “it did make an entrance”.

[shapeshifter]

On 6/28/2023 at 8:35 AM, Tachi Rocinante said:

Who did Marcia Gay Harden piss off in the costume department?  Jeebus cripes those outfits were hideous.

Actually, I think this👆 may be closer to the truth.
And/Or they decided to use the yellow suit for the scenes when Todd puts on her blazer and she didn't have time to change blouses?
🤷🏻‍♀️
I have another theory that involves stomach flu too.🤮

But this was probably the original outfit, right?
Note: I photoshopped the yellow print, fluffy blouse onto the yellow suit; she didn't wear that in the episode...

...whereas the pink and black print blouse she was wearing with the yellow suit was supposed to go with the black suit, right?

Edited June 29, 2023 by shapeshifter

[Trey]

You fixed it, @shapeshifter!

Both blouses look wonderful with the correct suits.

[South]

12 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Actually, I think this👆 may be closer to the truth.
And/Or they decided to use the yellow suit for the scenes when Todd puts on her blazer and she didn't have time to change blouses?
🤷🏻‍♀️
I have another theory that involves stomach flu too.🤮

But this was probably the original outfit, right?
Note: I photoshopped the yellow print, fluffy blouse onto the yellow suit; she didn't wear that in the episode...

...whereas the pink and black print blouse she was wearing with the yellow suit was supposed to go with the black suit, right?

You did it!!