The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret: "Where Todd and Brent Misjudge the Mood of a Solemn Day"

I personally loved tonight’s episode of Todd Margaret but the person with whom I watched it felt the extreme opposite, so either one of us is wrong or this was an episode that will divide the audience in general. I just liked seeing some of the various storylines start to come together—it heightened the ridiculousness of this series and that’s what I like about it, its occasional giddy all-out unsubtlety.

The episode opens with Todd being awakened by his phone again. Brent is on the other line, demanding his money and to know whether Todd’s been with Alice. When Todd confesses that he hasn’t, Brent asks “You wanna plug that weeping hole?” and then advises him to “be her type.” I think we were all expecting some sort of creepy blackface thing to follow, right? Todd gets up and leaves Dave a voicemail letting him know he’s called the police on him.

Then we cut to a scene 18 days earlier, where we see Brent halfheartedly listening to “Unleash Your Inner Asshole” tapes—it turns out that he was a weak loser, just like Todd! Instead of a power-douche, he’s in plaid shirtsleeves, a failing temp telemarketer with a gambling problem getting verbally castrated by his boss Janine Garofalo, who vows to make a pile of torn-off balls, and then flatten the pile, and then hover over it and defecate on it. I love it.

Todd leaves the house with his briefcase full of counterfeit money, and on the way to the cafe the show indulged in a stupid (and I mean that in a good way) gag where Todd tries to kick a ball back to a kid and accidentally ends up kicking the ball right into his face. Where you’d expect the kid’s dad to be enraged, he’s understanding, but then another ball comes by and Todd kicks that one right into the kid’s face, this time eliciting the father’s rage. It was an old-timey silly kind of gag and it works for me on this show.

Todd passes a woman sitting in front of a bucket for donations and she explains to him that it’s Remembrance Sunday. “Ohh, Memorial Day,” he says and she says no, Remembrance Day. Once again Todd vies to be the most Despicable Person on TV when he puts some fake money in the bucket and takes out some real change. I loved the way he carefully thought it over when the woman explained to him that the money went to injured soldiers and war heroes, and then put MORE fake money into the bucket to take out more real money “for old times’ sake.” I couldn’t tell if he actually thought that more fake money meant he cared more, or if he’s just an awful person.

So Todd shows up at the diner dressed like Hudson but instead of pulling some awkward shit he’s dressed “Canadian,” in a Maple Leafs jersey and hunting jacket and cap, which of course only perplexes Alice and irritates Hudson.

Todd goes to meet Brent at a bar, but before he arrives sees a news story about how the decaying animals in his apartment back home have caused a stench that’s visible from outer space, which means Todd can never return to the States again. Then the TV coverage switches to Remembrance Day celebrations, which is live on all stations. Brent arrives and Todd gives him the money and admits that it’s counterfeit, but when Brent fires him (you’d think Todd would be relieved to be out of this pickle by now) he says that it’s the briefcase that’s counterfeit, not the money. Since this show is a giant cartoon, Brent believes him. Todd advises Brent to get lawyers (specifically, from Young and Not Legal) on retainer, and says he has a plan for a way to get Thunder Muscle great TV coverage.