S02.E03: The Queen Of Courts

[DanaK]

Quote

Margaret and Todd defend the "Queen of Hearts" (Sandra Bernhard), a notoriously unscrupulous lawyer accused of orchestrating a fraudulent accident that resulted in the death of a "fake victim," on the CBS Original drama SO HELP ME TODD, Thursday, Feb. 29 (9:01-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+

 

[AnimeMania]

Sandra Bernhard as Attorney Belinda “Queen of Hearts” Tuttle
Heather Morris as Gift Shop Clerk Judy Maxon
Brad Kelly as Maintenance Man
Miles Merry as Cory Hill

Next New Episode: March 14, 2024    

That was about as perfect an episode as I have seen them make. I didn't like that Allison was trying her best to ruin Todd's investigation of the doctor. I also wish that they hadn't already told us that Alex was shady and was playing Lyle, especially since he is falling hard. 

P.S. that coffee Todd bought seemed almost empty, I wouldn't have paid for that, and it should have had a lid.

Edited March 1 by AnimeMania

[iMonrey]

It was driving me nuts where I knew Judy the barista from. Of course, Heather Morris from Glee. Looks so different than Brittany (her character on Glee). Heh, Todd is supposed to be a detective but was so blind to how obviously she was into him. I assume we'll be seeing more of her.

Don't know what Alex is up to. Also, I hate to say it but I'm not sure I buy Lyle as straight. He just doesn't read that way to me.

They had trouble working Allison into this one I'm afraid.

Pretty solid episode though. 

[luna1122again]

10 hours ago, iMonrey said:

It was driving me nuts where I knew Judy the barista from. Of course, Heather Morris from Glee. Looks so different than Brittany (her character on Glee). Heh, Todd is supposed to be a detective but was so blind to how obviously she was into him. I assume we'll be seeing more of her.

I wasn't always the hugest Brittany fan, but I thought she was really delightful here. I hope we see more of her. Wasn't Skylar on at least one or two episodes of Glee? and how can we organically get them to sing together here? 

10 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Don't know what Alex is up to. Also, I hate to say it but I'm not sure I buy Lyle as straight. He just doesn't read that way to me.

 

Yeah, he doesn't really. 

[DanaK]

10 hours ago, iMonrey said:

It was driving me nuts where I knew Judy the barista from. Of course, Heather Morris from Glee. Looks so different than Brittany (her character on Glee). Heh, Todd is supposed to be a detective but was so blind to how obviously she was into him. I assume we'll be seeing more of her.

Don't know what Alex is up to. Also, I hate to say it but I'm not sure I buy Lyle as straight. He just doesn't read that way to me.

They had trouble working Allison into this one I'm afraid.

Pretty solid episode though. 

It certainly seemed in early episodes that Lyle was gay or the show was suggesting he was. Then last season I think he fell for the lady he’s currently with

 

Just now, luna1122again said:

I wasn't always the hugest Brittany fan, but I thought she was really delightful here. I hope we see more of her.

She’s recurring https://deadline.com/2024/02/so-help-me-todd-heather-morris-season-2-1235817300/

[shapeshifter]

11 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Don't know what Alex is up to. Also, I hate to say it but I'm not sure I buy Lyle as straight. He just doesn't read that way to me.

18 minutes ago, DanaK said:

It certainly seemed in early episodes that Lyle was gay or the show was suggesting he was. Then last season I think he fell for the lady he’s currently with

꧁--❊ 𝔹𝕚𝕘 𝕊𝕚-𝕚-𝕚𝕘𝕙…----꧂
I would love it if Lyle was secretly hip to Alex and was counter-spying her hacking shenanigans, but apparently that Love Boat 🛥️ has sailed. ☹️

I was not previously familiar with the guest star, but after skimming Sandra Bernhard's Wikipedia page, I have extra kudos for the writers and casting for this episode.
I appreciated how the writing deftly navigated the moral complexity of the case — while also managing to sprinkle in a parade of classic pratt falls, which are the perfect comedic element to pair with a Slip & Fall scam.

And I got all this while watching from my bed and almost falling asleep at every commercial. 
I might want to rewatch, although Bernhard scares me a bit.

 

[iMonrey]

1 hour ago, luna1122again said:

Wasn't Skylar on at least one or two episodes of Glee?

Yes, one, according to imdb.com. I don't remember him but I quit that show after the first two seasons. First thing I ever saw Skylar on was when he took over the role of Greg in the last season of Crazy Ex Girlfriend. We definitely need a musical episode at some point.

[Daff]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

Yes, one, according to imdb.com. I don't remember him but I quit that show after the first two seasons. First thing I ever saw Skylar on was when he took over the role of Greg in the last season of Crazy Ex Girlfriend. We definitely need a musical episode at some point.

I could see that, but dance, too. Would it be comedic to see MGH trying to keep up? Or would it be better to see her kill all the moves? I’d like it either way.

[DanaK]

I really enjoy the chemistry between Skylar and Marcia and enjoy the differences with him as hyper and nuts and her as a prim buttoned-down lawyer getting involved in his antics

[Bookworm13]

I’m so happy this show is back. I skipped the first episode because of Lisa Rinna(can’t stand her), but eps 2/3 have been good. It doesn’t seem like the writers lost their mojo as much as it appears other shows have. 
 

But, 3 episodes in, I have to ask, what the hell is going on with MGH’s hair? It’s too dark/harsh for her and in some scenes looks like a bad wig. New hair/makeup people? Her wardrobe is still on point, though. Speaking of wardrobe, I’m seriously coveting Susan’s lavender coat/hat/scarf combo at the beginning and need to find myself a more budget-friendly and non-wool version for next year. 
 

I’m not totally loving the coffee shop girl yet, though I don’t know if my nitpicks are with the actress’ acting choices or the way the character was written, so I’ll hold off judgement for a few more episodes. Loved Sandra Bernhard and think she could be fun to have pop in occasionally in the future. Much more enjoyable than Margaret’s nemesis last season. 
 

I wish the writers had sent Alison away with occasional facetime pop-ins and kept Chuck. I’m over her sad, mopey demeanor(I get enough of it IRL) and I thought the relationship with Chuck/Todd was fun and could have lead to crazy shenanigans. I hope the writers have a plan for where to go with Alison, though, and we start to see something new soon or I’ll just end up ff’ing all her scenes. 
 

I like the Alex character and hope that we aren’t seeing the full picture here. I don’t see her/Lyle as a viable couple, but I’m not writing her off yet. 

Edited March 1 by Bookworm13

[Sarah 103]

1 hour ago, DanaK said:

I really enjoy the chemistry between Skylar and Marcia and enjoy the differences with him as hyper and nuts and her as a prim buttoned-down lawyer getting involved in his antics

Same here. It's like chaos Muppets and order Muppets. When you put a chaos Muppet and an order Muppet in a scene together, comedy is often the result. 

46 minutes ago, Bookworm13 said:

Loved Sandra Bernhard and think she could be fun to have pop in occasionally in the future. Much more enjoyable than Margaret’s nemesis last season. 

I wouldn't mind seeing more of Belinda Tuttle. I am not sure I would not want her to appear as a regular character, but I could see her being the kind of character that's fun to see once or twice a season. L.A Law brought in a similar character (Susan Bloom) when the firm was having financial trouble. If I remember the deal/storyline correctly, she rented out space from the firm and she was allowed to use firm's resources. The firm took a percentage of what she made.

46 minutes ago, Bookworm13 said:

I like the Alex character and hope that we aren’t seeing the full picture here. I don’t see her/Lyle as a viable couple, but I’m not writing her off yet. 

I want to know what exactly is she doing, why is she doing it, and who is working for. 

[Jackie14]

Allison reminds me of Helga from Hey Arnold with her new haircut and color. Just needs to add the pink bow and it's a match!

[iMonrey]

22 hours ago, Bookworm13 said:

I skipped the first episode because of Lisa Rinna(can’t stand her)

You should go back and watch it. It's a really good episode, and Lisa Rinna isn't in it all that much. 

[desertflower]

I’m mixed on Allison. She is really mopey but I love her banter with Todd. Hopefully they can find a good balance with her. 

I really am curious if they will try to work in any singing for Skylar Astin. I fell down a youtube well of videos of him singing and just WOW. Maybe they can do a dream sequence or something. Heck, Psych did an entire musical episode and their actors weren’t even known for singing. I think they could pull off something similar on this show. 

[SunnyBeBe]

My first viewing of this show and I didn’t give it my full attention. I did like it pretty well though.  Can someone tell me what MGH’s character did to that invoice at the end of the episode?  I couldn’t tell.  

[AnimeMania]

1 hour ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Can someone tell me what MGH’s character did to that invoice at the end of the episode?  I couldn’t tell.  

Belinda “Queen of Hearts” Tuttle told her that if she added a 1 to the date (changed from March 4 to March 14), she could claim that she thought she had an extra 10 days before she had to pay the bill. Being a good customer, no company would challenge what was on her copy of the bill.

[chaifan]

On 3/1/2024 at 2:22 PM, Sarah 103 said:

Same here. It's like chaos Muppets and order Muppets. When you put a chaos Muppet and an order Muppet in a scene together, comedy is often the result. 

This is a genius description of how to achieve the perfect level of comedy!  And Todd is such a chaos muppet!

I have been saying since Season 1, Ep 1, that they need to find an opportunity to have Skylar sing.  It would be so easy to do, they could focus a story/case around a band, or a musical production, etc., and Todd does his go undercover bit.  My hopes of him singing at Susan's wedding have been trashed.  But yeah, now that Heather Morris is in the cast, they really need to make this work! 

Susan's husband is insanely rich, right?  That would explain the awesome head to toe lavender coat, gloves, hat, etc.  That outfit did not look cheap!

 

[Sarah 103]

3 hours ago, chaifan said:

This is a genius description of how to achieve the perfect level of comedy!  And Todd is such a chaos muppet!

I have been saying since Season 1, Ep 1, that they need to find an opportunity to have Skylar sing.  It would be so easy to do, they could focus a story/case around a band, or a musical production, etc., and Todd does his go undercover bit.  My hopes of him singing at Susan's wedding have been trashed.  But yeah, now that Heather Morris is in the cast, they really need to make this work! 

I can't remember where I read about chaos muppets and order muppets, but I'm glad you liked the description.

I want to see Skylar sing as well. Maybe the investigation centers on someone who owns/runs the venue (a bar, a club, a theater, someplace where musical performances happen). Todd goes undercover at the venue. Something happens and he has to sing, possibly to keep the show from starting on time or for another reason.  

[shapeshifter]

10 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

I want to see Skylar sing as well. Maybe the investigation centers on someone who owns/runs the venue (a bar, a club, a theater, someplace where musical performances happen). Todd goes undercover at the venue. Something happens and he has to sing, possibly to keep the show from starting on time or for another reason.  

I f'loved all the singing and dancing in Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, but it also serves to prove that Skylar Astin's singing is too professional for his role in this show where it would have to seem he was not a very good singer.

So, better to have an entire musical episode — maybe a coma dream, or an LSD dream, or just a plain dream sequence.

[Brian Cronin]

One of my biggest pet peeves for TV writing is when characters say things that people wouldn't say in real life, but are JUST the thing that will cause interpersonal conflict. 

So so much of Margaret's work conflicts annoy me, as she is far too passive with her other partners, and she then blows off her friend, Susan, in JUST the wrong way. There is no WAY that she wouldn't just tell her loyal co-worker AND FRIEND that "the firm is having some money issues." You don't have to get into the details, but just a general, "We can't afford to give you a raise right now." Susan could then be mad at THAT, too, but at least that would be a NATURAL conflict. Not, "I can't give you a raise for...reasons." It's just so phony. 

It's harder to come up with natural conflicts, but you don't just skip steps because it's hard, you just do a better job of writing. 

[Driad]

Could Margaret have given Susan the promotion now, and promised a raise when the firm's money issues ease? 

At the beginning I knew something was off with the guy because he put a box of eggs into his cart without checking them for cracks.

[Brian Cronin]

On 3/10/2024 at 3:32 PM, Driad said:

Could Margaret have given Susan the promotion now, and promised a raise when the firm's money issues ease? 

Sure, there were a dozen different ways she could have handled it beyond, "I just can't...end of conversation!"

[Maverick]

Susan clearly cares more about the recognition and validation from the promotion so she would probably accept it under those conditions even if her new husband wasn't extremely wealthy.