Crafting episodes for network television has always been a journey of trial and error, as writers and cast members collaboratively uncover which storylines and characters resonate with audiences, and which can lead the show off a cliff. I venture to guess that one of the key takeaways for the showrunner of Matlock, Jennie Snyder Urman, last year was that the series thrived when Matty and Olympia worked in harmony. The stretch of season-one episodes where Matty grew disillusioned with Olympia due to her belief that her boss had hidden the Wellbrexa document was a slog—a true exercise in frustration.
Therefore, it makes perfect sense why this week's Matlock swiftly shifts gears from last week's cliffhanger, where an imperious, wine-swilling Olympia regained the upper hand over Matty thanks to a little blackmail material. It takes only a few scenes into "Tomorrow Is Still Tomorrow" for these two to mend fences. And while the peace is born out of necessity, it also feels more organic—for the characters, the actors, the writers, and viewers at home—to see Matty and Olympia pulling on the same side of the rope.
The two are reunited by another clever plot twist. While Olympia has been diligently attempting to keep Matty in check and away from the New York Times, the truth is that Matty and Edwin have already contacted the Times multiple times, promising dirt on Jacobson-Moore and Wellbrexa. So it's only natural that a Times reporter would start asking questions, prompting an inconvenient internal J-M investigation into who at the firm has been blowing the whistle.
The emergency calls Senior to summon partners and employees from across the country, including two we may see more of in the coming weeks: Eva Muñoz (Justina Machado), Senior's ex-wife, who immediately starts silently and unnervingly eyeing the firm's newest partner, Olympia; and Lester Logan (James Lesure), aka "The Wolf," the firm's head of security, known for his ability to scatter rats with his bombs.
I'll tell you why this new plot development is so effective. Firstly, it immediately turns Matty and Olympia back into allies since both stand to suffer if their Wellbrexa-related machinations are exposed. The probe could derail their shared plan: to get the full truth about Jacobson-Moore and punish Senior. (The word "justice" is a constant refrain from Olympia, a way of keeping Matty from settling for just hanging Julian.) In this week's episode, the ladies push back against the immediate threat of the investigation by having Olympia flatly lie to Lester—after some coaching from the masterful prevaricator Matty.
I don't think we've seen the last of The Wolf, though, not just because Olympia slips up in her interview and mentions the New York Times but also because I can envision a scenario where Olymp.
Another captivating facet of the investigation, particularly in terms of crafting compelling television drama, is that when Matty enters her scramble mode, certain regrettable facets of her personality bubble to the surface like a sudden eruption. We witnessed this last week as Matty inadvertently plunged herself into trouble by arrogantly boasting to Olympia that no court would ever convict a 'sweet old lady with a dead daughter.' Our hero can be remarkably obnoxious and self-centered, adding an unusual layer of depth to the show.
This week, while Matty isn't quite as classless, she still has to contend with the repercussions of a previous ill-advised decision involving Jacobson-Moore's esteemed administrative manager, Emmalyn "Mrs. B" Belvin (played by Patricia Belcher). Last season, Matty anonymously bullied Mrs. B into revealing more about the day the Wellbrexa documents went missing. When Mrs. B discovers the internal investigation, she is distraught, convinced it will lead back to her. Matty pleads with Olympia for help in protecting Mrs. B, but the situation is inherently untenable. Unless Matty wants to confide in her friend and potentially break her heart, the most logical option is to let Mrs. B confess and lose her job just a few months short of retirement.
As an added example of how Matty sometimes callously uses people, she takes advantage of Mrs. B's abrupt exit to raid her files one last time, searching for more information about the woman Senior was sleeping with in Australia when the Wellbrexa cover-up occurred.
You may have noticed that I haven't yet mentioned the case of the week, and that's because there isn't much to say about it, even though the guest star is the renowned Yvette Nicole Brown as Nadine, the proprietor of a foodie-favorite fried-chicken restaurant. Nadine is suing her cousin Pierre, who opened a food truck that copied her recipes handed down from their grandmother. His lawyers argue that she gave him permission to compete during an argument at a family gathering where she yelled at him, "If you think you know so much, do it better yourself!"
The relevance of this case to the larger story emerges when Pierre offers to settle by partnering up with Nadine. Matty wants their client to remain a solo act, while Olympia prefers a compromise. Ultimately, Matty realizes that Nadine's true issue is her desire to be in control of her nana's legacy—similar to how Matty is resisting ceding control of the Wellbrexa mission to Olympia. But just as Pierre's chicken tastes more or less the same as Nadine's, so do Olympia's goals align more or less with Matty's. Everyone needs to take a deep breath and consider the bigger picture.
In the later part of this episode, there is a poignant moment where Matty, with Edwin's assistance, comes to a realization that causes her to break down in tears. With Alfie's biological father now in rehab, Matty is feeling the familiar sting of frustration, remembering how futile it is to make others do what she needs them to do. She couldn't coax Ellie into staying clean, she can't guarantee that Joey will do the same, and she certainly can't push around Olympia.
The episode concludes with Matty officially agreeing to work with Olympia to save Julian and bury Senior, albeit with certain demands. One of her demands is for Julian to apologize for hiding the document once everything has settled. Matty also accepts an apology from Olympia, who feels bad about baiting her (and then recording her).
But I still wonder: Doesn't Matty also have some apologizing to do? I think about Olympia's conversation with Edwin last week, where she reminded him how Matty gaslit her for a whole year. I think about poor Mrs. B., and all the people at Jacobson-Moore who love Matty and may someday learn how deeply she's deceived them.
In other words, I don't know if Matty fully realizes just how many people she either has or will hurt. I do hope, however, that Urman and her Matlock writers understand the depth of the emotional turmoil and the need for redemption and forgiveness in this storyline.
