'Filthy Rich' Episode 1: Did Margaret Monreaux plan or stage her husband Eugene's death?
Spoilers for FOX's 'Filthy Rich' Episode 1 'Pilot'
If you've watched the trailer of the new FOX's drama series 'Filthy Rich', you know what's coming your way. The network promised us an interesting first season that seemed to suggest that Eugene Monreaux (Gerald McRaney) was wanted dead. But at the end of the first episode, we see him in Louisiana. Of course, we don't know if that's a flashback or someone's dream, but as for his family, the conservative icon's body was not found and a memorial was held. Kim Cattrall's Margaret Monreaux brings us a matriarch that offers advice when it suits her needs and controls the public with wit and confidence. With a show like this, we can't help but expect drama and the first person everyone always suspects is the spouse.
Besides the fact that Margaret appointed herself CEO to replace her late husband, she had more to gain from his death. The issue at hand was how the late patriarch's money would be distributed among his two children with Margaret, and three other children from three different women. Margaret on the other hand was always getting the majority of her husband's shares. Now, with the upper hand, she believes her son Eric Monreaux (Corey Cott) is not set to take his father's place, refuses to credit her daughter Rose Monreaux (Aubrey Dollar) for her wardrobe, and refuses to deal with "bastards." It's hard not to think that she couldn't have had a hand in making her husband disappear. With traits like deceptive kindness as her strong suit and some knowledge that her husband used to be unfaithful, she was armed with motive, possible unfiltered hate, and possible premeditated plans. As Franklin says in the trailer, "Planes don't just fall out of the sky." If you remember, Margaret's response was, "They do if God wants them to."
Margaret is "the most-watched minister on the face of the earth" and her religious outlooks have gardened her praise and a respected and comfortable position on society's pedestal. Now, she even has the title of CEO -- the icing on the cake. There is something astray and the audiences have already been given a hint that Eugene's death could have been planned and executed, but who wanted him dead? Rose and Eric were unfair of the father's varied shortcomings, and his three other children were aware of the fact that their father had ignored their existence. Did Margaret find out about her husband's illegitimate kids? Is she not the respected woman the world sees her as? With the premiere episode bringing to light Margaret's inability to deconstruct emotions and the trailer foreshowing harrowing circumstances, we think Margaret is hiding something. With Luke Taylor (Cranston Johnson) investigating, we might not be too far from the truth.
Episode 2 airs Monday, September 28, 2020, from 9:00-10:00 pm ET on Fox.