Allison is spending the holiday with Chuck’s family; Lawrence will be working for the Governor; Clem and Chet will be going to Philadelphia. Francey consoles her as Susan walks in with the new case for the episode. Chloe Brown, a bank teller, is suing the bank for worker’s compensation for an injury she sustained during a robbery. Allison is the one who treated her in the ER and referred her. Margaret isn’t interested but Todd is as the amount is close to a million dollars. Everyone around and except Margret is going to be with their families on the holiday and it breaks her heart. ..
Chloe meets with the Brown family, who strike her as odd. Yvonne, when asked to testify against the robbers by Margaret, diverts the conversation, signaling something is wrong. Todd has placed a recorder in the room and notifies his mother of the same later. There is something odd with the family and Todd will investigate further. His suspicions are proved right when he gets an Instagram DM from Yvonne’s, Chloe’s mother, account where Chloe confesses to the robbery in the video.
Todd and Margaret then go to the Brown house to talk about it. The Brown parents give them several pieces of information but Chloe is not present as she is sleeping. They tell the Wrights that Chloe has been a depressed and mentally unstable child and has been making heavy medications for that. Todd and Margaret lament not being with her as they went to the Blazer’s game and were even on the kiss cam. They celebrated their anniversary that day which made the news of the robbery hit even harder.
Chloe has been surfing Clip Clop, a streaming service, all day since the injury has rendered her unable to work. The Wrights are about to leave when they discover Clancy, Chloe’s brother fixing the lawn mower. Chloe emerges from her room and greets them. Margaret confides in Todd that she is upset her children do not understand her personal crisis. Ever since Henry left, she has been left alone and no one has come to her aid. Todd is alone that night and suddenly realizes something. He goes to East Sandy and finds that Allison and Lawrence are spending time together but have not invited Todd. ..
The siblings have an elaborate argument where Lawrence accuses Todd of being Margaret’s favorite and hogging her attention and Todd does the same. Allison then slyly claims she is the favorite one but the trio sleep together in one room, as Margeret dives into nostalgia about her children back home. Allison inquires about the case and Todd reveals the medications but that strikes her oddly. Since she treated her in the ER, she repeatedly asked Chloe if she was on medications and she said no every single time. Lawrence also hears the name “Yvonne” during their conversation. Lawrence goes back to the Governor’s retreat and Allison to Chuck’s parents. ..
When Allison mentions this to Chuck, he reveals that Todd asked him to check the kiss cam footage from that day. The Brown couple paid almost 200 bucks, while being despondent, to the cam guy to be on screen. They wanted to have a strong alibi in case they came under suspicion. Chet reveals something shocking to Lawrence. There was a robbery in Portland 67 years ago where the specifics were the same as this one. It was carried out by someone who had a daughter named Yvonne. Lawrence’s ears stand up when he hears this. Something is definitely going on!
Chuck tearfully says a few words for Robert, his young brother who died a few years ago and it inspires Allison to be with Margaret on the holiday. Chuck’s father has an eidetic memory and he says that the day the Brown coupe would have got married was a snowstorm. It seems like they’re lying about the anniversary. Todd finds something buried on the Brown compound through Google Earth and gets messages from Chet and Lawrence about their discovery. Allison reports her findings to Margret and Todd, who take it from there.
Margaret expertly deduces that Chloe and Clancy both were thrown into conservatorship and that their accounts are held in the name of a trust. They do not control their own financials and their parents do, confirming the theory that they committed the robbery and shifted the blame to Chloe. The parents are holding the bother sister duo prisoners in their own rooms. Even the doctor who declared them hazards as children was a fraud and later committed suicide. Todd requests Lawrence to give him a way out and he informs him of the legalities involved. If the kids want to get out of conservatorship, they need to openly admit they’re being kept forcibly and sign a form. ..
Todd uses the Clip Clop service to communicate with Chloe through movie titles in a fun sequence. They are able to get the signatures from the kids and a video confession as well. Yvonne and Dan are arrested and Margaret solves the case with her family’s help. Unbeknownst to her, Lawrence is given off for the holidays and he surprises Margaret at a family dinner, keeping in line with the traditions. ..
The Episode Review
The show has suddenly become more interesting and I am really enjoying it. Episode 7 is a great example of how the show can balance drama and comedy well.
The Wright family come together during the festive season as they all search for ways to connect with their loved ones. Lawrence is the most important player in this story, and his interactions with Margaret are a key part of the show’s themes.
This episode was notable for its lack of jargon and the characters’ acceptance of emotions. This allowed for many subtle moments on screen and brought out the best in Marcia Gay Harden and Skylar Astin. The mystery that the Wright “family” worked on had many layers and certainly kept us guessing. ..
In some ways, Margaret prioritized her work over family, ironically becoming reversed here as the family comes together because of the work. That was quite a nice touch.
The premise of this show is based on a true story from Milwaukee this year. The show was very impressively able to match the true story with a positive comment from Britney Spears’ case. Overall, I am very impressed with the episode 7 in the series.
