Matlock Recap: Read ’Em and Weep

For weeks now, while watching Matlock, I’ve been hoping that Matty might start rethinking her whole Jacobson-Moore takedown, focusing less on who specifically hid the damning Wellbrexa documents and more on the whole corrupt culture of big pharma. And perhaps she will, eventually, turn that corner — but not, alas, this week. After realizing in last week’s episode that Olympia probably shredded the docs, Matty is now determined to destroy her boss and friend. After all: Matty’s 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’s always felt a bit off to me that Matty can’t go big 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 taking 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’s approaching 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 by doing her best “aw shucks” Itsy Bitsy impression, her sister actually 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.

Much of the fun of a courtroom drama comes from hearing both sides of a tricky argument and weighing their relative value — even if, ultimately, you’re inclined to favor the side the drama’s protagonists are on. In this episode, we get some vigorous debate from the plaintiff and the defendant about whether Slamm’d should be held liable for an effective marketing campaign that made a caffeinated alcoholic drink look fun and cool, attracting younger consumers who perhaps not mature enough to register the potential dangers. On its face, neither side has a slam-dunk case. Sure, Slamm’d employed a cartoon tiger as a mascot; but Charmin uses cartoon bears and no one would argue that they pitch toilet paper exclusively to minors.

The turning point comes when Billy and Sarah track down DJ Flex Master (Adam J. Jefferis), who worked an off-the-books Slamm’d party in Connecticut aimed at getting teenagers hyped about the product while it was still in its testing phase. The DJ held onto a box of Slamm’d swag, including an older version of the drink’s can design, which had an angrier-looking tiger mascot. Digging through boxes of documents, the team (with Shae’s help, filling in for the exiled Matty) learns that the Slamm’d parent company, Hyperfuel, tested a friendlier tiger on minors during a focus group for a kids’ sports drink. Those were the results that were withheld from Jacobson-Moore.

So even though Senior intervenes in Olympia’s case and negotiates a settlement that lets the firm break even on expenses (without harming Slamm’d), Olympia presses forward with these newly uncovered documents. She wins a judgment of $40 million, well beyond what Senior had asked.

This should be a big moment for this show’s semi-namesake, Madeline “Matty Matlock” Kingston. But from the opening shot of this episode, which shows her laying in bed and staring at her alarm clock — shot from a disorienting upside-down angle — Matty spends this hour seeing everything through a bias. She bristles when she hears Olympia say, “There’s only one thing that matters, and it’s winning at all costs.” She makes a smart-aleck remark after being asked to convince a dead child’s mom to testify against Slamm’d. She lies through clenched teeth when Olympia — concerned by how checked-out Matty has been lately — asks if she can count on her. (“Of course, always,” Matty mutters unconvincingly.)

To Bitsy, Matty confesses she’s had a hard time making friends as an adult, which is why being close to Olympia has meant so much to her. For her part, Bitsy wonders if her sister is just in love with being a lawyer again. Either way, ending this Jacobson-Moore adventure isn’t going to be easy.

But end it she must. And it seems Matty may have finally found the exit door. While digging into the online history of the Redditor “reademandweep31” — the one who first hipped the Kingstons to Jacobson-Moore’s culpability in hiding Wellbrexa’s opioid data — Matty, Edwin, Bitsy and Alfie discover two key details. They learn that the shredded documents likely pertained to a study Wellbrexa did into the dangers of crushing their opioid tablets, which is something they warned about on an early version of their label, but then removed. (The original label would’ve been a “how-to guide” for getting crazy-high, according to Matty.)

The Kingstons also learn that reademandweep31 is still working at J-M. And who is this anonymous whistleblower? Why, it’s Mrs. Belvin! The episode ends with Matty about to meet up with the firm’s perpetually grouchy 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 gets some much-needed perspective on the Wellbrexa mess? Or is Mrs. B about to hand Matty all the accelerant she needs, so she can burn Jacobson-Moore to the ground?

Hot Doggin’

• Alfie seems less miserable now as the new kid in school. He’s struck up a friendship/flirtation with a classmate named Molly and is even taking an after-school magic class so he can hang out with her more. Alfie also gets his Great Aunt Itsy Bitsy’s help with dance lessons and a “Will you go out with me?” cupcake. It’s all very sweet, and it justifies Edwin’s take on his grandson from several episodes ago, when Matty wanted to intervene with the school administrators, and Edwin said it would be better for the kid to figure stuff out on his own. Another example of Matty being bull-headed — and wrong.

• Julian and Olympia toast the signing of their divorce papers, with Julian noting that their marriage lasted longer (12 years) than all of his father’s combined. This amicability between the exes may not last though, given that the partner race still rages, and given that Julian just won the business of a cash-rich AI start-up.

• Sarah ruefully notes that Julian’s AI client probably pays a retainer higher than what Olympia bills in a year. But hasn’t Olympia been racking up a lot of high-profile, high-dollar victories this season? I know Senior is inherently skeptical of social justice cases, but it still kind of came out of nowhere for the Slamm’d suit to be a do-or-die.

• Matlock will be off for a few weeks while CBS focuses on a different court: the college basketball kind. I’ll see you back here on April 3. Only three episodes left this season! Will Matty’s investigation be done by the finale? Will her lies be exposed? With so little time left, I think we’re barreling toward a season-ending cliffhanger.