Matlock Season 2 Episode 4 Review: Grief, Addiction, and Olympia’s Return

I know I said last week’s episode was one of my faves this season, but this episode was actually perfection and I think it’s my favorite. This week we are delving deeper into Olympia and Matty’s feud and having to work together, showing more of Matty’s past with her daughter & how current issues at work and home are affecting her, and a lot of classic Matlock comedic relief. 

Matty and Olympia are starting to work together instead of being at odd’s with each other and as they are working through this, they’re opening up to each other more and things are starting to feel back to normal. But the trust they had built with each other is just simply not back where it was; they’re learning how to navigate this while also keeping up appearances and moving forward. Kathy Bates already deserves every award possible for this show, but for this episode alone, she did some of the best work I’ve seen on this show (and that’s saying a lot because I love her prior work AND she kills it on Matlock every week). Seeing her in present day, facing all of these issues in her personal life, while also having moments of her life trigger and bring up memories of her daughter who passed from drug addiction, is simply one of the most raw and honest portrayals of grief and loss I’ve ever seen.

We see Matlock trying to delve deeper into figuring out who was on the Australia trip with Senior, and when she finds who she ultimately thinks it is, they meet at a bar, and you can see every emotion going through Matlock’s head as she enters and the night progresses. Olympia shows up and she ends up helping Matty and talking her through this. Which once again, just furthers the already blurred lines of their friendship and the lack of trust between them. 

We see a good amount of Sarah and Billy throughout everything as well & the banter and everything feels like it did in season 1. Honestly, I’m still feeling like Billy’s personal storyline is kinda lackluster, but I’m waiting to see what Sarah’s storyline is going to be. I know we’re only 4 episodes in, but even though the banter and screen time felt back to normal for her, I don’t feel like she has much going on after her rival was sent away last week other than whatever case they are working on this week. I know they are probably trying to find her footing and what should logically come next for her since Kira is no longer there, we haven’t met her family (yet), plus the major storyline this season is a very Matty/Olympia heavy plot. This isn’t the most pressing issue because I know Leah is very valued and respected on the show, I just would love to know what’s next for Sarah outside of work. 

As mentioned before, one of the major themes this episode was about Ellie’s addiction and Matty’s memories with her. We see flashbacks of  her during her pregnancy with Alfie and how paranoid Matty and Edwin were for the safety and health of the baby. This was so sad to watch, we know this is the reason that Matty is doing all of this, but when we see Ellie in flashback, it just brings the point home even more. The path to recovery is not linear and anyone you know could be suffering with an addiction. Not only is this tied into this week’s case & the investigative work Matty & Olympia are doing, but we see Alfie wanting to find new hobbies and interests so that he can connect with his father more. For his sake and for the viewer’s sake, I hope his dad is actually at recovery, things get better, and they’re able to have a connection. But I know these writers love to play with our emotions, so I will not keep my hopes too high. 

Overall, I think this IS my favorite episode this season thus far. Everything flowed perfectly, all of the stories feel like they’re picking up pace, and all of the characters felt highlighted. I would give this episode 5/5 stars.

What did you think?

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• Loved it
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• So/So