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Critic’s Rating: 3 / 5.0
3
Well, that was something.
Overall, Accused Season 2 has been hit or miss with the installments, and this one falls closer to the latter than the former.
“Margot’s Story” involved a senior-aged woman who became enamored with a con artist and wanted to exercise some control over her life and feel alive.
At least, that was the gist of the hour and what Margot had to say at her trial.
In some ways, the hour could’ve had things that I find most endearing like lively senior-aged women still trying to make the absolute best out of their lives or a second chance at love sort of romance that may or may not have involved a younger man.
The hour had the makings of that, with Margot and her friends letting loose at the dance studio, especially Connie, with her brash personality that can be endearing.
But as an Accused installment, it was rather underwhelming.
Margo didn’t feel like a fully realized and multidimensional character. I found her to be rather one-note, and it was hard to comprehend her motivations for her sudden devotion to Alexei fully.
Sure, he was nice to her, and she was lonely, but was that all it took?
Margo was surrounded by such vibrant older women that it seemed odd that she suddenly put dancing with this instructor at the center of her life as she did.
We didn’t see enough of their relationship building up to feel strongly about it or make sense of her jumping in to help him in any meaningful way, let alone his making this deep connection with her that had him not cashing the check she gave him.
Initially, it seemed like it could have been another murder case and that the victim was Wendy, who we routinely saw treating Alexei like crap.
It would’ve made sense if the way she treated him sparked something in Margot that prompted her to do something extreme.
But instead, it was about the scamming.
Alexei was an infamous con artist who found ways to swindle money out of those he felt could afford to lose it before skipping town and moving on to his next mark.
The idea of him starting his own dance studio and requiring the downpayment and enough money to pay it off for a year (which felt ludicrous) was enough to inspire others to contribute to the cause.
Connie bought into what he was selling and convinced their other friend to fork over some money, considering it an investment.
But right out of the gate, it seemed like a sketchy one, as no one did enough research or consulted with a financial advisor.
Because who randomly invests in a dance studio for a guy they barely met?
But, the hour worked to show how vulnerable senior-aged people can be, making them perfect targets for scamming.
However, it reads poorly, like the wise elders we look to are somehow too dumb for their own good.
Amid this mess, we saw a friendship falling apart because Connie was jealous.
There’s no other way of putting it.
She didn’t like that the dance instructor she enjoyed and liked flirting with devoted his time and attention to Margot.
It led to her concocting all these ideas in her head about what that relationship was like and projecting it.
How on earth she immediately jumped to Margot being in on the scam is beyond me.
It spoke volumes that Connie didn’t know the ins and outs of Margot’s financial situation that she lost her job, or even that she did give Alexei money, too.
In some ways, it seemed like they weren’t nearly as close as one would’ve thought, and the fact that Connie opted to get jealous and harbored all of this unspoken resentment and negativity towards her friend was a sad reflection of their bond.
Connie happily got up on the stand to strengthen the prosecutor’s case against Margot without talking with her friend about anything or understanding.
It was offputting, and she looked like an idiot when Margot took the stand to tell her truth.
It’s a real miracle that they could maintain their friendship after that, but alas, this trio was supposed to be the epitome of sisterhood.
Alexei seemingly made Margot feel alive, regardless of how shallow that came across.
And when Margot learned the truth, she was hellbent on making him pay.
Yet, it was still unexpected that she would take the gun out of her friend’s purse and confront him at the dance studio with all the open windows.
Why not call the police or keep the gun hidden away until he did something that would’ve escalated things?
It was such an extreme reaction that we’re supposed to believe it resulted from Margot always getting the short end of the stick and trying to take control of her life for once.
But it was so impossibly reckless and stupid.
After all that, Alexei told her the truth, and she immediately helped him flee to goodness knows where.
I don’t understand her motivations behind that, either. Even if he didn’t steal her money, he did to her friends and many others.
And it’s doubtful he’ll stop doing it either, especially now that he got away with it, and Margot is the only person facing any real consequences.
He told her she was special, but was she? Or did he just not get a chance to cash her check yet and conned her into letting him go?
The hour was far from compelling, but at least Margot didn’t go away for everything, only her assault on a cop, which never would’ve happened if she hadn’t confronted Alexei with a gun in the first place.
Unlike other Accused episodes, we saw Margot’s life after the sentencing, which consisted of her on probation and working at a soup kitchen.
And truthfully, nothing resonated with this hour, so I’ll likely forget the extent of it now that the credits have rolled.
But having some stage legends helming the hour was nice.
Over to you, Accused Fanatics.
Did you find this Accused case interesting?
Why do you feel Margot covered for Alexei?
What are your overall thoughts on the season thus far?
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