S02.E10: The Tooth Is Out There

[DanaK]

Quote

While Margaret tries to save her struggling law firm by taking on a case involving a large cosmetics company with deep pockets, Todd is determined to crack an important FBI investigation that will seal the fate of Crest, Folding & Wright, one way or another, on the second season finale of the CBS Original drama SO HELP ME TODD, Thursday, May 16 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+
 

Now series finale sadly

[AnimeMania]

[chitowngirl]

Gus seems less…schlubby…now.

Who is Allison’s lawyer? Susan was only the delivery person…

And there’s the cliffhanger. Wonder who they had in mind to cast as the missing partner?

Edited May 17 by chitowngirl

[Bookworm13]

No, damn it! I was watching the clock so closely at the end thinking we’d get cut off as soon as Todd’s photo finished rendering without ever seeing who it was, and somehow this is worse. I loved seeing the sisters again - they’re fun in small doses. I’ll be back in the morning once I gather my thoughts. 
 

[kirinan]

Not sure this will make anyone feel better about the cancellation, but the show’s creator talked to TV Line about what would have happened on the show’s subsequent seasons. Interesting info!

[gail56]

18 minutes ago, kirinan said:

Not sure this will make anyone feel better about the cancellation, but the show’s creator talked to TV Line about what would have happened on the show’s subsequent seasons. Interesting info!

Thanks for that! I can picture it all playing out. At least we have that. But if by some miracle the show does get picked up somewhere else, he let the cat out of the bag about everything!

[AnimeMania]

8 minutes ago, gail56 said:

he let the cat out of the bag about everything!

He could have left that part about Veronica returning in the bag. I would have preferred if he gave Veronica's story arc to Belinda Tuttle (Sandra Bernhard).

[Twilight Man]

But the big question was never answered..........

Will Lyle grow the mustache back or no??????????

[South]

Dang!  I’m gonna miss the madcap escape of this show.

[shapeshifter]

7 hours ago, kirinan said:

Not sure this will make anyone feel better about the cancellation, but the show’s creator talked to TV Line about what would have happened on the show’s subsequent seasons. Interesting info!

Best post-cancelation of a TV series article ever!
tvline.com/lists/so-help-me-todd-finale-ending-explained-season-3-plans/so-help-me-todd-season-3-gus

I especially appreciate knowing that Judy did not turn out to be working for the bad guys (Fielding or whomever).
But can I really know this? 
All those pie-in-the-sky spin-offs…
Show Bible or spur-of-the-moment interview fantasies??? 

Never mind.
The interview gives us one more glimpse into the zany-but-mostly-lucid imagination of So Help Me Todd series creator Scott Prendergrast.

And now that I know the family in the show is based on the show's creator/writer's own family, the show's title finally make sense.
However, it still bugs. 
Margaret should have uttered "So help me, Todd…" at least one every season.

She didn't, did she?

[Gregg247]

Such a fun and entertaining show!  I really feel like they started hitting their stride this season; S1 was good but it seemed like the actors and writers fully understood the characters and what works/doesn't work for each of them in S2 and they really leaned into that.

I'll miss the show.  I can't believe NBC wouldn't pick this show up; it may be relatively low rated for CBS, but on NBC those ratings would be gold!

[Silver-hyren]

I am sooo salty this show was cancelled.  It got screwed over by the shortened season and long gap for March Madness, then ended just as the storylines they had going started coming together.  That ending was so abrupt I felt like I got whiplash.  Would have been rough enough if that was just a season cliffhanger, but to know we don't get a resolution or more time with these wacky characters in their nonsensical storylines (and Margaret's fabulous wardrobe) just makes me angrier.

[problemista]

I enjoy this show so darn much -- and there were lots of joys from this episode, even though I was sad knowing that it would be the last. There just aren't other shows that fill this particular niche -- a clever, silly and heartfelt family-detective-law show. My mom and I both watch each episode right away (we're half-a-country away from each other) and then excitedly talk and laugh about it; she loves Margaret's blouses while I giggle over the sibling relationships. I'm glad that this episode brought the usual mix of hijinks and sweet character moments -- loved Lyle with the "manscara", that Allison was put on the road to solving her mystery, that Todd and Margaret got to savor their teamwork. Did I say that I enjoy this show so darn much? I really do. Thanks for sharing the link to the showrunner interview -- I would have happily watched all that unfold over 7 seasons [and if Todd somehow got rescued, I'd still happily watch it unfold, even with these spoilers]. And when the showrunner said what the final words of the series finale would have been,  I totally teared up.  

[iMonrey]

Nothing sucks more than ending a series on a cliffhanger. I know they couldn't help it, in fact a network exec told them to go ahead and end on a cliffhanger. That doesn't make it suck any less.

So, I'm starting to understand a bit more about how this bribery scheme was supposed to work. Folding paid a certain amount of money to bribe the judge, then went around selling the judge's services to the highest bidder, who would then receive a favorably judgment from the bribed judge. 

Trouble is, I can't understand how Folding could arrange, much less guarantee, that a particular client would be assigned that judge. I don't think judges pick their own cases, and it seems like where a case goes is mostly based on geography.

I'm not sure this is the long-term story arc they should have hung the show on, because I don't think it made a lot of sense. 

15 hours ago, gail56 said:

But if by some miracle the show does get picked up somewhere else, he let the cat out of the bag about everything!

It's pretty clear that ship has already sailed, unfortunately. It would have happened by now.

[Night Cheese]

I started this show a month or so ago and finally caught up on Tuesday, just in time to learn it has been canceled. 😔 I even just started following this forum earlier this week, which is usually my personal indication that I'm getting serious with a show, lol.

It took me a while to warm up to this show because a lot of the law/lawyer/legal stuff was very poorly written and it was difficult to mentally get beyond that. But MGH and Skylar Austin kept me in it and it really paid off. I don't know if the legal stuff got better or I just started enjoying it enough that I mentally handwaved the dumb writing. I thought the second season was better than the first, which is pretty remarkable given how much the writers' strike affected the quality of television shows this year.

Thank you to everyone who posted the interview articles with the creator. After finishing this episode this afternoon I was hoping to learn where they were planning to take the storyline after the cliffhanger. Getting to learn the whole 7-season plan was unexpected, but very much appreciated. 

[chitowngirl]

Those mouth things that Todd was wearing at the dentist are actually comfortable. You can relax your mouth and jaw, so you don’t have to hold your mouth open. Your jaw isn’t achy when they take them out.

[Eindestand]

After reading what Prendergast had in store for us, now I'm really bummed.
We won't be able to see Allison's major course correction nor she and Todd having a professional rivalry. So sad.
Oh well, at least we now know the significance of Allison looking at the book she gave Todd for Christmas. Such a clever tidbit.
I will miss this show.

Edited May 19 by Eindestand

[bunnyface]

On 5/17/2024 at 2:01 PM, iMonrey said:

So, I'm starting to understand a bit more about how this bribery scheme was supposed to work. Folding paid a certain amount of money to bribe the judge, then went around selling the judge's services to the highest bidder, who would then receive a favorably judgment from the bribed judge. 

Trouble is, I can't understand how Folding could arrange, much less guarantee, that a particular client would be assigned that judge. I don't think judges pick their own cases, and it seems like where a case goes is mostly based on geography.

 

I also don't understand how Margaret could be (set up to be) the one to pull it off.  She's only been a name partner for a year or so (this season), so she's only been in a position of writing checks, having access to money and having authority for the last year or so. I thought this bribery scheme had been going on for some time.  I still think it was Beverly.  She was always creepy.

[Sarah 103]

On 5/17/2024 at 12:37 PM, Silver-hyren said:

I am sooo salty this show was cancelled.  It got screwed over by the shortened season and long gap for March Madness, then ended just as the storylines they had going started coming together.  That ending was so abrupt I felt like I got whiplash.  Would have been rough enough if that was just a season cliffhanger, but to know we don't get a resolution or more time with these wacky characters in their nonsensical storylines (and Margaret's fabulous wardrobe) just makes me angrier.

Agreed. I am going to go on a mini-rant and post an incredibly unpopular opinion (and yes I know how many people love sports and how well it does in the ratings and all about the Super Bowl as the modern gold standard for TV ratings). I have hated and loathed March Madness with a passion for years. I despite that sportsball ruins my regularly scheduled TV series (this has been the case since I was a little kid and whatever show I had wanted to watch on TBS wasn't on because an Atlanta Braves game was happening). ESPN is a thing that exists. If you want to watch sports, go to cable.  

On 5/17/2024 at 8:20 PM, Night Cheese said:

It took me a while to warm up to this show because a lot of the law/lawyer/legal stuff was very poorly written and it was difficult to mentally get beyond that. But MGH and Skylar Austin kept me in it and it really paid off. I don't know if the legal stuff got better or I just started enjoying it enough that I mentally handwaved the dumb writing.

I don't think that aspect was poorly written. It's just that it's beyond TVLand law. The cases exist to have something for Todd to investigate and clash with Margaret over. This show is not a super-serious procedural that is barely attempting to be realistic/accurate. It's a throwback to Moonlighting which was a throwback to the old 1930s/1940s screwball comedies, only instead of a romance at the center, it's a mother/son parent/child relationship. 

[twoods]

So bummed this was the last episode. This was my happy place show that always made me smile and put me in a good mood. Todd and Margaret’s relationship was so good this season. Shame on you, CBS.