So Help Me Todd – Season 1 Episode 4 “Corduroy Briefs” Recap & Review

Corduroy Briefs

Todd has backed up Margaret’s car into a wall at the start of So Help Me Todd episode 4, and his own car is busted. Hence, Todd and Margaret take the bus. But the angry mother first sends his son to borrow Allison’s car.

The case for this episode is Shawn Phillips. He is claiming damages from Northbrook Aerospace for a crash he was involved in 10 years ago. In the crash, Shawn lost his leg but came out on top of it competing in paralympic sports. Northbrook filed a motion to dismiss and the mother-son duo must do some digging to make sure Shawn does not lose the case and Northbrook pays.

Gus Eastern, a familiar face for Margaret represents Northbrook. In evidence, he submits a report by the federal investigative authorities which clears the corporation of any liability. Margaret convinces the judge to give them some time to go through discovery and the report and gets 2 days for the same.

The paperwork that does arrive is skimpy and looks like won’t be of too much help. Todd spots some anomalies in a fitness report by a Northbrook mechanic. It looks like they have doctored the document and Todd is sent to investigate further.

Posing as an FAA agent, Todd sizes up Konnor Preston. After some hassling, he reveals that he was not the original person on the job. A Tyesha Johnson had initially made the report and was subsequently fired from the job. Margaret and he track her down in a shop somewhere around Hillsborough.

Tyesha tells them that Northbrook planes are fit to fly in very cold conditions where the temperature goes sub-zero. They notice a bald man watching them talk to Tyesha and she quickly dismisses them. They take photos of his number plate and learn that his name is Nathan Shaw, a guy who works for Newgen PR services.

They get a distress message from Tyesha in the office, asking them to come to her house. When they reach the spot, they notice Nathan turning it upside down, escaping in the car, and no sign of Tyesha. Todd takes into his possession an odd-looking Sunday newspaper puzzle from the kitchen wall. Outside, they notice Allison’s car has been smeared by a lawnmower who did it all over the car.

At the intersection, Todd asks Margaret to plant a tracking device on Nathan’s car while he distracts him. They just about get away with it and later head to Tyesha’s boyfriend’s house. Although they have broken up, he tells them the company has been harassing Tyesha for months.

He gives them a package with a code as the name it is addressed to. She is a sucker for puzzles and the pair then try to decode her writings. Todd’s tracker alerts him and he tracks down Nathan’s meeting with Dirk, the CEO of Northbrook. He clicks some pictures but then Margaret’s call spoils the plan a bit. In the ensuing chaos, Nathan breaks one of the car’s windows.

Allison is upset and asks the pair to take care of it. She also points out that the work she does for the family is very underappreciated. Margaret successfully strikes a settlement with Gus and he arrives with Dirk at the offices. Todd overhears Dirk’s assistant in the office asking the manager to continue production of the faulty equipment. Shawn is offered $1 million but Margaret is warned by Todd.

He is advised to reject the settlement and instead take down the company for putting more faulty planes in the sky. When Todd has another look at the puzzle, he notices that all the answers are wrong. They deduce that it is indeed coded for something. It is a link to a Google Drive account.

Tyesha has gathered a lot of evidence that will be helpful for the case. Todd texts Tyesha that they have got the evidence and that she is safe now. She testifies against Northbrook which forces Gus to strike an improved settlement deal where Shawn gets almost twelve times the money he was initially getting. Tyesha and Shawn start to hit it off as well. Margaret promises to be more involved with Allisson and says that she will be hosting dinners occasionally from now on in.

The Episode Review

What a stupid rendition of how a client-attorney relationship worked. All the legal shows that have done so well for themselves before So Help Me Todd – Suits, Good Wife – showed how lawyers are never above morals. Yes, an ethical code exists. But the only duty they have is to the client. And their own pockets.

They would not advise them not to take a life-changing settlement of $1 million and instead ask them to continue a trial that could go on for years. Especially when they are on the verge of bankruptcy. The way it usually works is when an attorney gets sensitive information as Todd does, they leverage it to increase their paycheck. But So Help Me Todd is set in la la land sitcom-style setup where realism doesn’t matter much.

Despite the larger settlement deal later, it just is not right. The seriousness that was shown in the first two episodes about the dramatic side of the story has gone completely out of the window.

It has left the show with just no layers. The only dynamic is that of humor and that is not enough to keep you watching the episodes. Unfortunately, ABC has a dampener on its hands.