For weeks now, while watching Matlock, I've been eagerly hoping that Matty might finally re-evaluate her whole crusade against the Jacobson-Moore takedown, focusing less on who specifically shredded the damning Wellbrexa documents and more on the larger, corrupting culture of big pharma. And while I've held out hope that she'd eventually take that crucial turn—alas, this week was not the one. After realizing in last week's episode that Olympia might have been the culprit behind the shredding, Matty is now determined to take her boss and friend down. After all: Matty has been lying to Olympia about her identity, and Olympia isn't the moral crusader Matty thought she was. They don't owe each other anything...right?
It always feels a bit off to me that Matty can't see the bigger picture when it comes to the possibility of Olympia's guilt. (Circumstances can be extenuating! People can change!) But this is the journey that Jennie Snyder Urman has been leading us on since roughly the middle of this season. We're meant to understand that Matty can be cussedly stubborn and short-sighted when it comes to her crusades. She knows now that she may have been too hard on her daughter Ellie, but that realization hasn't made the slightest bit of difference in how she approaches her secret mission.
Two of this episode's most emotional moments concern Matty's shortcomings. First, while questioning a witness in the Slamm'd class action, Matty realizes she left a key piece of evidence at home. Just as she's trying to regain the jury's trust with her best "aw shucks" Itsy Bitsy impression, her sister walks into the courtroom and discovers that Matty has been riffing on her for months. Later, at home, Matty gets down on her knees to apologize, explaining that the imitation isn't meant to be a joke. She's been borrowing Bitsy's life story and personality for the Matty Matlock character because, well...the real Matty is a "grouchy old turtle." She's not as likable.
That's a heartbreaking admission and one that rings true based on the direction this show has gone in recent weeks. But as I've been saying in this space for the past few reviews, even if it makes dramatic narrative sense for Matty to feel distracted, alienated, and even angry toward Olympia, it sure isn't fun. As Olympia drives toward the finish line on her big Slamm'd case, it sucks that Matty can't be happy for Olympia's success. It really sucks when Matty gets so upset over the idea that Slamm'd also hid documents—a maneuver that leaves Olympia suspiciously unbothered—that her negativity drives Olympia to banish her from the office.
It's a shame because while I don't think the Slamm'd case was complex enough to span three whole episodes, it does come to a satisfying end this week, with some decent lawyering—coupled with the usual dumb luck that Olympia's team enjoys.
The essence of a courtroom drama often lies in the nuanced exchange of arguments, where both sides' perspectives are weighed carefully—even if, ultimately, one side's narrative resonates more with the protagonists' narrative arc. In this episode, we witness a lively debate between the plaintiff and defendant on whether Slamm'd bears responsibility for an effective marketing campaign that portrayed a caffeinated alcoholic drink as fun and cool, luring in younger consumers who may not be mature enough to comprehend the potential hazards. Neither side presents a clear-cut case. Yes, Slamm'd employed a cartoon tiger as a mascot; however, Charmin's use of cartoon bears as a toilet paper brand is a comparable tactic without raising concerns of exclusively targeting minors.
The pivotal moment arrives when Billy and Sarah track down DJ Flex Master (Adam J. Jefferis), who organized an unofficial Slamm'd party in Connecticut aimed at hyping up teenagers about the product during its testing phase. The DJ retains a box of Slamm'd swag, including an older version of the drink's can design featuring an angrier-looking tiger mascot. By delving through boxes of documents with Shae filling in for the exiled Matty, they uncover evidence that the parent company, Hyperfuel, tested a tamer tiger on minors during a focus group for a kids' sports drink—results that were withheld from Jacobson-Moore.
Despite Senior's intervention in Olympia's case and negotiating a settlement that breaks even for the firm (without jeopardizing Slamm'd), Olympia presses forward with these newly discovered documents and wins a judgment of $40 million, far exceeding Senior's expectations.
This should be a defining moment for Madeline "Matty Matlock" Kingston, the show's semi-namesake. However, from the opening shot of this episode, which shows her lying in bed and staring at her alarm clock from an unsettling upside-down angle, Matty spends the hour viewing everything through a biased lens. She bristles when she hears Olympia declare, "There's only one thing that matters, and it's winning at all costs." She quips smartly after being asked to convince a dead child's mother to testify against Slamm'd. She lies through clenched teeth when Olympia, concerned about Matty's recent detachment, asks if she can count on her ("Of course, always," Matty mutters unconvincingly).
To Bitsy, Matty confides that she has struggled to make friends as an adult, which is why her close bond with Olympia means so much to her. For her part, Bitsy wonders if her sister is simply in love with being a lawyer again. Regardless, ending this Jacobson-Moore adventure won't be easy. But end it she must. And it seems Matty may have finally found the exit door. While delving into the online history of the Redditor "reademandweep31"—the one who first alerted the Kingstons to Jacobson-Moore's culpability in hiding Wellbrexa's opioid data—Matty, Edwin, Bitsy, and Alfie uncover two crucial details: the shredded documents likely pertained to a study Wellbrexa conducted on the dangers of crushing their opioid tablets, which they warned about on an early version of their label but later removed (according to Matty, the original label would have served as a "how-to guide" for achieving intense highs).
The Kingstons also learn that reademandweep31 is still employed at J-M. And who is this anonymous whistleblower? Why, it's none other than Mrs. Belvin! The episode ends with Matty about to meet up with the firm's perpetually grumpy dog lover and Barry Manilow fan in the park, revealing her secret to someone at the firm at last. Will this be the moment when Matty gains some much-needed perspective on the Wellbrexa mess? Or is Mrs. B about to provide Matty with all the fuel she needs to burn Jacobson-Moore to the ground?
