S02.E05: Margot’s Story

[Snazzy Daisy]

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A widow (Debra Winger) taking dance lessons with her two best friends (Ruehl and Ebersole) gets mixed up in the instructor’s shady dealings.

Air Date: Nov 19, 2024

 

Other Cast —  Jesse Rath, Matthew J Thomas, Mercedes Ruehl, Christine Ebersole.

[AnimeMania]

Jesse Rath as Jeffery Wexler
Debra Winger as Margot
Matthew James Thomas as Alexei
Mercedes Ruehl as Connie
Christine Ebersole as Deb
Dani Kind as Emily

[Madding crowd]

I liked seeing Debra Winger again but this one didn’t work for me. People do fall for romance scams all the time but Margot didn’t seem the type to pull a gun on a bunch of cops. Then she said Alexei gave her everyone’s money back and she was planning to return it.

When would that have happened since the police arrived a few minutes after Margo arrived at the studio. Even if that would have been long enough for him to give her the account numbers from his banks that money would have been long gone before she went to court. And why was her bank notifying her daughter that she had taken money from her own account? If my bank contacted my children when I made a withdrawal I would not be happy and it doesn’t seem legal unless the daughter was on the account. 
 

 

[I Want My MBTV]

Yes, this episode was good to see the actors but otherwise made no sense. Connie was the one in love with Alexei and was the one that introduced Margot to him and gave her the sob story about how mean his boss was and gave him money long before Margot got involved.  If anyone was a co-conspirator I'd say it was jealous Connie!  Then Margot's response about why she pulled the gun on the police was also completely ridiculous.  I don't know why they didn't just have her holding the gun on Alexei when the cops came in and maybe refusing to put it down and then something happens.  If the gun were loaded she could have accidentally shot someone and that could have been what she was on trial for but the way this was written was just a big mess and that's saying something for this show. 

[Spartan Girl]

They really brought Debra Winger back to play someone that not only got duped by a dance instructor, but literally helped him get away even after she knew what he did? Ughhhhhhh.

[Snazzy Daisy]

Connie dances like a spider on a hot plate. It’s all over the place. 😂

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“With you, it was different. With you, I just wanted to dance.”

That’s how a sweetheart swindler comes in between their 30 years of sisterhood. The whole scamming plot is really underwhelming.

The actor who plays Margot’s defense lawyer is Meaghan Rath’s brother. 
 

[Chicago Redshirt]

Even for Accused, this plot made little sense.

Margot is a pragmatic, anal-retentive rules follower who will deny a patient an appointment because she was 45 minutes late. She also was put in financial hardship because her impractical husband got himself in debt.

So naturally, because she had a good time reviving her interest in dancing and because a few compliments were thrown her way, she's willing to a) throw a lot of cash at a guy she met b) then take a gun and threaten said guy and c) take said gun and threaten law enforcement officers. If we're going to go this route, might as well go all the way and have Margot sleep with Alexei and/or spend a lot more time with him to get it in the realm of suspension-of-belief-land that she would think that a dance studio would be worth investing tens of thousands of dollars to support.

Also, accepting the premise that Alexei is a wanted criminal in at least two other states, it is ridiculous that a) Connie would somehow find about it, b) be able to tell Margot and c) have Margot act on that knowledge before frigging law enforcement could try to arrest Alexei. 

It is also wild that law enforcement brought five gajillion officers and Alexei still got away apparently. And that nobody capped Margot for pointing a gun at them. 

It seems bizarre that any prosecutor would try to accuse Margot of wire fraud or conspiracy in the scam. There presumably would be no evidence of Margot having any financial ties to Alexei or conspiring to do anything with Alexei beyond going out on a date with him. That is, until she somehow found time and ability to access Alexei's bank accounts and return/secure the funds for the people he had scammed.

Margot's defense lawyer wouldn't have had to be a brainiac (see what I did there, Supergirl fans?) to show that Margot was innocent of the wire fraud. 

Are we supposed to believe that Alexei was genuine in some level of at least remorse for scamming Margot, if not romantic feelings for her?

My quick attempt to script doctor:

Get rid of all the dental office stuff, Margot is in debt stuff. Flip some of the backstory on the friends. Now Margot is the well-to-do widow of the entrepreneur and has money and a background with finances. Connie is stuck in a not-so-great marriage and is in debt with an impractical husband.

She, Connie and the third friend regularly go to exercise class together and get introduced to Alexei simultaneously. Alexei tries charming all three, and strikes up things with Margot. Margot doesn't just do the Instagram video and develop a business plan, but also starts hitting up friends to support him, including Connie and the other friend. Connie gives Alexei expensive gifts, and money for the studio. And yes, she sleeps with him. This triggers Connie's jealousy and when she has the conversation with the business person who handles real estate, she calls the police. Connie shows up to rub it in Margot's face that she fell for a scam artist.

Margot rushes down to confront Alexei, and you can have that confrontation play out a number of ways. You could have Alexei trying to be remorseful, much as it was in the original. You can have him be a true villain and be like "You really think I would be interested in someone your age?" You can have him become physical with her. Ultimately, in a fit of passion or in self-defense, she shoots him just as a detective is heading to interview him.