The smoke has cleared after the bombshell Matlock Season 1 finale, and now, it’s time to look toward the future. CBS’ reimagining of the Andy Griffith legal drama followed the septuagenarian lawyer Madeline “Matty” Matlock/Madeline Kingston (Kathy Bates) as she explores the truth about a pharmaceutical cover-up at the law firm Jacobson Moore that could’ve saved her daughter’s life. The final episode brings the Wellbrexa case to a head when Skye P. Marshall’s Olympia finally learned the truth from Julian’s (Jason Ritter) deposit box – that her ex-husband had hidden the critical documents under pressure from his father. Now that she’s been promoted to senior partner and is leaving reeling from the reveal, she’s left to choose who her allies are and how she’s going to best bring justice to the victims of the opioid epidemic hurt by Julian’s actions.
In an interview with TV Insider alongside Ritter, Marshall discussed what comes next for her good-natured lawyer after everything that happened in the last three episodes of Season 1. It was a roller-coaster of emotions for Olympia as she was faced with Julian’s crime, Matty’s deception about her identity, and her promotion, all in a very short span. She naturally has reservations about both her former husband and friend, but both sides have important matters that could benefit from her skills. Whether it’s ensuring Matty gets the justice she’s been seeking from the beginning or ensuring Julian doesn’t take the fall for everything that was orchestrated by the man upstairs, she has reasons to stick with both of them.
When asked if she believes Olympia will pick a side between Matty and Julian, Marshall responded that “I don’t think she is.” She sees pursuing the higher-ups involved in the Wellbrexa cover-up, like Beau Bridges’ Senior, as a way to help both and do what she does best by getting justice for everyone who suffers similar tragedies to Matty’s:
“I think since day one of the pilot of Matlock, Olympia has been laser beam focused on justice. Matty has a case. There’s a victim involved. Let’s get to business, but also Julian has a dictator, right? So, who told you to do this, and who told him to do this? I think that Olympia, she represents people who don’t have the skill or the will to get justice for themselves, and she will find out who’s responsible and then get the class action from the big boys. I think she is going to go for the big fish and not let all of this fall on my ex-husband.”
‘Matlock’ Has a Few Loose Threads To Pull on in Season 2
Digging deeper into the Wellbrexa investigation is only one direction Season 2 will explore, though. The finale also added a new, more personal wrinkle to Matty’s story when a man claimed to be her grandson Alfie’s (Aaron D. Harris) absent father arrives at the door. Played by Sons of Anarchy veteran Niko Nicotera, this new character threatens to completely upend the family dynamic between Matty, Alfie, and her husband Edwin (Sam Anderson), especially since Alfie personally sought out the man. Season 1 showed very little of his relationship with his grandmother outside of their collaborations in cracking the cover-up, but that seems likely to change with the big reveal, and it means we could see more of Matty’s maternal side. Series showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman previously discussed how the change rips away some control from Bates’ typically well-situated lawyer, explaining:
“What it’s going to do is destabilize Matty’s entire home life. This is a character who was so in control. Our show is entirely built around her control. She’s the mastermind. We see her in pieces at the end. She’s always a little ahead of the audience, and she’s always the one that has all the cards and is dealing them out.”
