Matlock Season 2 Episode 2 Review: Another Matlock

The Wellbrexa saga continues, and if possible heats up, with Matlock Season 2 Episode 2, “Another Matlock.” Once again we are left wondering who to root for between Matty and Olympia as the two try to come out on top with regards to the scandal.

Both women know how to play each other like a fiddle, which makes this entire episode that much more entertaining. Just when Matty thinks she’s got Olympia in the palm of her hand, Olympia pulls a fast one. And vice versa. 

At the tail end of Season 1, it was hard to see how the Wellbrexa issue could continue to be exciting for another season. Yet, here we are two episodes in and things have never been more enticing than they are now.

Matty Needs to Stop Being So Controlling

Both Olympia and Alfie bring up this issue at different times because it really is something that Matty holds tight to. In fact, most of the tension between Matty and her family stems from her inability to bend or concede in any real way.

She’s got her goal in mind and she knows exactly how she wants to achieve it. Instead of shifting gears a bit to keep as many innocent people out of the fire as possible, Matty has blown forward full-steam ahead.

This is what will be her downfall sooner than later if she doesn’t take a step back and reassess. Olympia could easily have turned her in for all her deception at the end of Matlock Season 1.

Instead, Olympia chose to trust her and work with her to find the culprit behind the hidden Wellbrexa study. That is when Matty should’ve circled Edwin and Olympia in on the plan together and come up with a solution that keeps Olympia and her kids out of the blast radius.

But, she didn’t and that has caused Olympia to do some deceiving of her own. It’s woman against woman at this point and if Matty doesn’t try to adjust even a little, she stands to lose everything.

We do see her relinquish control a little bit in terms of Alfie’s father, Joey. But, is it enough to truly bring Alfie back to her side? Only time will tell.

Olympia Isn’t Playing Around

One thing can be said about this episode, Skye P. Marshall is bringing her A-Game to Olympia’s story this season. She is just as fired up as Matty and somehow manages to be two steps ahead of her.

It’s a nice flip from how things played out last season, when it was Matty always two steps ahead. Now, she is being challenged at her own game and it’s not so easy to handle.

Olympia creating a fake Wellbrexa to fake out Matty is a level of conniving that even I didn’t pick up on. Not only that, Olympia has learned from Matty the best ways to get the upper hand and is implementing them wherever she can.

Setting false trails, buttering up Edwin, and ultimately recording Matty’s threat is a level of deviance I suspect she’s had under the surface all along.

Even better, she’s now playing house with Julian in order to get him on her side just in case the whole thing blows up in both Olympia’s and Matty’s face. Which, let’s be honest it most probably will.

If we are talking about the standout performance by Marshall, we would be remiss not to mention how much Jason Ritter has stepped up already this season. His little tantrum and freakout afterward were chef’s kiss and set up the moment of collaboration between him and Olympia perfectly.

It’ll be interesting to see if Olympia does take this whole scandal directly to Senior or if she and Matty eventually find common ground. Either way, viewers will be sat with popcorn for the battle of wits to continue.

A Case Proves Matty’s Still Got It

One of the great things about Matty is how much her own personal tragedy helps her win in the courtroom. She has a level of charm that disarms even the most stoic of individuals, which she uses to her advantage.

During the court case this week, Matty is tasked with getting the jury to believe their client was under duress when she attacked a man without her having to appear in court. It’s a difficult case to crack because the people involved are gang members that have terrorized their neighborhood to the point no one wants to speak out.

Matty might be able to easily charm the judge with tales about how her name became fun after the show started to air. But, that doesn’t work on criminals — or does it?

It’s captivating to see her get under the skin of Alexei just by utilizing various tactics she learned from the TV show. Her strength really shines as Alexei becomes more and more unstable on the stand. 

While this case wasn’t Matty’s top choice on how to spend the episode, she manages to shine brightly regardless. It further proves why she’s not ready to retire just yet. She just loves practicing law.

Stray Thoughts:

• At this point are Sarah and Billy even necessary? I love Sarah as a character but so far this season neither of them have gotten any significant screentime.
• Edwin is getting more and more things to do as a character which is a necessary shift.
• Time of Your Life by Green Day was a well-placed musical moment for this episode

 

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Matlock airs Thursdays at 9/8c on CBS.

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