Note: This story contains spoilers from “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” Episode 5.
The upcoming nuptials between Michelle Pfeiffer’s Shyanne and Greg Kinnear’s Kenny on “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” bring the whole family to Vegas in Episode 5, giving Shyanne and Margo (Elle Fanning) a night to partake in the underbelly of the city just under Kenny’s nose during an impromptu bachelorette party.
Shyanne recruits both Margo and Jinx (Nick Offerman) for her “real deal bachelorette party,” and soon enough, the trio is at the Bottom Dollar bar, with baby Bodhi tucked into Margo’s jacket. It’s at the bar where Shyanne and Jinx share some illicit memories, bringing a mix of unresolved feelings for Shyanne straight to the surface.
“They had a really hot romance, and they were just chemically drawn to each other, as some people are, [and] have a child together,” Pfeiffer told TheWrap. “I think she was madly in love with him, and that’s one of the reasons probably why Shyanne decided to keep the child — there was a fantasy that she had that he would eventually come around … that never happened or not in the way that she needed him or wanted him.”
For that reason, when Jinx comes blowing back into Shyanne and Margo’s life ready to step up for Margo and Bodhi, Shyanne shrugs it off as typical for Jinx. “He’s the hero … and meanwhile, I’m the one who’s holding things together and I’m the one you resent,” Pfeiffer said. “I think a lot of women in general feel that when it comes to raising children with their partners.”
Shyanne and Jinx’s lingering flirtation is swiftly clocked by Margo, with Fanning noting “Margo sees all” and in fact, somewhat welcomes it, saying “deep down in her or … maybe it’s more on the surface than we think, but I think she would love for her parents to get back together.”
“There is something between them — there are sparks, there’s a lot of history,” Fanning told TheWrap. “Gosh, I feel for Shyanne in those moments, because I think this show also is a lot about people’s second chances in life and getting a second chance, and Shyanne feels that being with Kenny is kind of her second chance at doing something and doing something better … or making more of herself or marrying this kind of stereotypical good guy.”
Fanning also applauded Kinnear for bringing an insecurity and vulnerability to Kenny that imbues viewers with a sense of sympathy for him. “He could easily be written off as a cliche of that type of character.”
That said, Fanning admitted Shyanne is “a lot,” warning “I don’t know if Kenny can … contain all of Shyanne, but he’s trying.”
Shyanne and Jinx’s rekindling is interrupted when the bartender spots Bodhi spilling out of Margo’s jacket, prompting Jinx to take Bodhi back to the hotel room while Shyanne and Margo continue on the bachelorette of Shyanne’s dreams, the last scene shot for the first season of the Apple TV series.
“The last thing we shot was us in the car for the bachelorette party with the penis hats out of the out of the limousine,” Fanning recalled. “It was a perfect way to end.”
In the midst of their wild night, however, Shyanne’s fun-loving spirit comes to an abrupt halt when Margo reveals she’s been working via OnlyFans to keep up with the bills, resulting in a reaction that Fanning said was bigger than the one Margo was bracing herself for.
“They butt heads because they are so similar … and Margo has learned everything from Shyanne, but also has also learned from her resilience,” Fanning said. “It’s true that Margo’s like, ‘Well, you did kind of the same thing to provide for me when I was a baby … you worked at Hooters, and you would do anything to give me a better life than you had, and so I’m just doing the same thing with my son … How can you judge me?”
In Pfeiffer’s eyes, Shyanne definitely could’ve reacted better, but chalks it up to a lack of education about OnlyFans, which she admits has a “certain perception” in broader society that caused Shyanne to head straight to the “worst-case scenario”: porn.
Of course, the explicit territory covered in Margo’s OnlyFans is merely one element of her presence on the platform, with Pfeiffer explaining OnlyFans feeds Margo’s dreams of being a writer, which she had to put on pause to take care of Bodhi.
“What she discovers is actually it’s a platform for her to continue her creative writing and creating these …. wild characters and these crazy stories, and it opens her up to … she sort of unexpectedly finds her village with a newly sober father, her crazy friend, Susie, her OnlyFans community,” Pfeiffer said. “It just proves that support doesn’t need to be traditional … or conventional, but it can be just what it needs to be.”
Despite the cruel words thrown at one another, Margo shows up to Shyanne and Kenny’s wedding in the iconic Elvis wedding chapel and gives a heartfelt toast to the happy couple. Fanning admitted she doesn’t know if Shyanne and Margo’s conflict is “completely resolved,” but their lack of resolution “felt true to life.”
“One minute, you can be in a knock-down, drag-out fight, and then with family … you forget about it, and … you kind of put yourself on the back burner, and if it’s an important day for another family member, you have to show up,” Fanning said. “Margo is going to be there because she knows that this marriage to Kenny is important to her and means a lot, and she doesn’t want to miss that.”
“The heart of this show is these are really messy, flawed people doing the very best that they can,” Pfeiffer added. “They mess up, and they don’t always do the right thing. But the fact that they’re trying to … recover from it and that ultimately, at the end of the day, they want what’s best for each other, and they love each other …. honestly, as humans, it’s really the best we can hope for.”
“Margo’s Got Money Troubles” releases new episodes Wednesdays on Apple TV.
