CBS’s Matlock reboot has earned praise for revamping a classic courtroom drama while delivering rich, layered storytelling. But among all the legal showdowns and moral gray areas, one character continues to quietly steal the spotlight: Olympia Lawrence. Played with incredible nuance by Skye P. Marshall, Olympia is not just a side character or office rival—she is the emotional core of the show’s moral reckoning.
The Calm Before the Storm
When viewers first meet Olympia, she appears to be the quintessential corporate lawyer—sharp, stylish, and fiercely protective of her place within the firm of Jacobson & Moore. At first glance, she could easily be dismissed as a mere foil to Kathy Bates’s Madeline “Matty” Matlock. But the show subverts expectations. Olympia’s calm, calculated demeanor hides a complex interior world—a tension between ambition and integrity that slowly unfurls across the season.
Her early scenes set the stage for a slow-burn transformation. Unlike characters who are loud in their convictions, Olympia operates in silences: brief pauses, furrowed brows, half-finished sentences. The show smartly uses her restraint as a storytelling device, drawing us into her headspace without always spelling things out.
Echoes of Conscience
Olympia’s journey truly begins when Matty starts poking into the firm’s past—specifically, its entanglement in opioid litigation and questionable pharmaceutical settlements. These investigations hit a nerve for Olympia, not because she’s complicit, but because they remind her of the idealism she once had when entering law. Flashback dialogue references her past work in pro bono clinics and her initial desire to “help people, not bury them under paperwork.”
In one pivotal episode, Olympia finds a sealed file marked “Confidential – No Distribution” while reviewing archived cases. The file details a case involving a teenage boy who overdosed on a misprescribed medication—a case the firm settled quietly, never disclosing their client’s liability. The camera lingers as she closes the folder. She doesn’t say a word. But the audience knows a shift has begun.
The Mentor Who Knew Her First
A standout moment comes midway through the season when Olympia reconnects with her former law professor, now an activist attorney running a nonprofit. In a quiet dinner scene away from the chaos of litigation and boardrooms, she lets her guard down. “I used to think the law was about truth,” she admits. “Now it just feels like I’m keeping score.” Her mentor replies, “Truth doesn’t vanish, Olympia. It just waits for someone brave enough to bring it back.”
The exchange is brief, but it plants the seed for her eventual pivot. It’s not a grand epiphany—but a slow awakening to the fact that she can no longer sit in silence.
Playing the Long Game
Unlike some characters who undergo sudden redemptive arcs, Olympia doesn’t leave the firm or ally with Matty overnight. Instead, she walks a tightrope—still working within the firm while slowly, methodically pulling at its seams. She begins to leak small pieces of information to Matty: a name here, a date there. Nothing that can be traced, but just enough to keep the investigation alive.
She also begins challenging the firm’s senior partners more openly. In one boardroom scene, she questions why a settlement was reached without discovery. “We’re not just representing clients,” she says. “We’re setting precedents.” The room falls silent. It’s a moment of defiance—but also one of clarity. Olympia knows she can’t dismantle the system from the outside. So she’s choosing to fight from within.
A Mother’s Grief and a Lawyer’s Resolve
Another unforgettable episode sees Olympia visiting the mother of a deceased teen who had been part of the buried opioid case. The mother, played by a guest star with heartbreaking depth, doesn’t yell or accuse. She simply asks, “Would you defend the people who did this if it were your child?” Olympia can’t answer. Her silence says more than words ever could.
After this meeting, her choices begin to change. She reroutes internal memos. She delays meetings. She begins aligning herself more overtly with Matty’s investigations—all while keeping up the facade of corporate loyalty.
Skye P. Marshall’s Quiet Tour de Force
What makes Olympia’s character arc so compelling isn’t just the writing, but Skye P. Marshall’s performance. In a series full of dramatic reveals and impassioned speeches, she does more with a look than most actors do with a monologue. She captures a woman torn between worlds—between what she’s built and what she knows is right.
Viewers have taken notice. Online forums and Reddit threads are flooded with theories about Olympia’s endgame. Is she planning to take the firm down? Will she confront her bosses in Season 2? Or is she preparing to replace them entirely by outmaneuvering them from the inside?
What Lies Ahead
As the first season concludes, Olympia is offered a full equity partnership. She accepts—but the final scene shows her copying files to an encrypted drive. Her expression is unreadable. Is this strategy, betrayal, or survival?
No matter the answer, one thing is clear: Olympia Lawrence is not just another supporting character. She is the pulse of Matlock’s moral journey—a woman torn between two versions of herself, fighting battles most won’t ever see.
And in a world full of loud crusaders, her quiet rebellion might just be the most powerful force in the room.
