Matlock Season 2 Episode 9 Review: Julian Declares War as Secrets Explode

We’re back in business! Matlock is back on this week and they’re stepping up their game. Everyone’s storylines are getting fully ramped up and I think this last half of Season 2 is about to be absolutely insane television. 

We open back up with the reveal of Julian finding out that Matty and Olympia have been working together and lying to him for months. We really see Jason Ritter shine in this episode, for most of the show he’s given a good performance but really hasn’t had much time to shine. If this is any sign of where is story is going for the remainder of the season, I’m terrified to see what’s to come for Matty and Olympia if they don’t find a way to placate him. He confronts Olympia with the info that he knows about her and Matty working together.

She’s shocked and tried to backtrack a little, but ultimately, she gives in and tells him more without giving Matty’s cover away. Throughout talking to Matty throughout the episode, he still does not trust her and her and Olympia barely have time to collaborate and get on the same page. I feel like if things keep ramping up,

Olympia is going to have to make the decision of whether she wants to save and help Matty or if she wants to keep Julian out of prison.

All of this is happening while Senior is still in the hospital recovering from his stroke. He tells Julian that he loves him and gives him his title back at the firm. This is giving him the push to stop Matty and Olympia at whatever price, he’s holding onto this hope that his dad is going to choose him and support him instead of disregarding him like he’s always done. Olympia tries to talk some sense into him but it still doesn’t work. You can see how much those words and actions meant to Julian because he refuses to give up on his dad. 

On the other side of things, due to Julian’s spiral, Matty is worried that he will find out about her double life. She begins to stay at her apartment in Queens again just as things are moving along in Alfie’s storyline. His dad seems to be doing a lot better and his family is coming down for his birthday. They do drop a little crumb of information that one of the relatives is a detective…so, one can only wonder if that is going to come back into play in the future. It’s been nice to see this progression and what it looks like for Alfie and Edwin, along with Matty, of course. Matty feels like she is losing a sense of control of her situation and the distance is taking some time to get used to.

One of the key questions we’ve all been wondering is what are they going to do with Billy’s character upon return? Well, as most of his S2 storyline has been thus far, it went out with more of a fizzle than a bang. Essentially he is on leave due to personal reasons, leaving things a bit open, but also, with the viewer not really wondering or caring about whether it’s permanent or not. This does play into one of our new characters that is being introduced, Gwen. She is an analyst who is taking in the value of the employees at the company as the merger comes to fruition. Sarah, following the end of the mid-season finale, is worried about this and wants to desperately reconcile with Olympia and rejoin the team.

Especially with Billy being gone, she is needed now so that Matty is not the only one going to bat for them. Olympia allows her to work on this week’s case, but says that this doesn’t mean that she’s permanently back on the team. She’s trying to keep up this facade for Gwen because she doesn’t want to be let go or reduced to a lower position than the one she’s in. Then an opportunity unexpectedly falls into her lap. She confesses to Julian what she did for Senior and why that’s causing the rift between her and Olympia. She needs to get a document signed by Olympia confirming that she’s of value and still apart of their team. Julian winds up signing the paper for her and that confirms her joining his crew as he settles back into his position at Jacobson Moore. 

In our final minutes, we find Julian looking for Olympia at the office and is unable to find her. She lies about where she was last night and he ends up going to her car to get more information. This leads him to Matty’s home with Alfie and Edwin. She says that everything has been about her and she’s been targeting them due to the injustice with Wellbrexa. And just in those final minutes, we also see Olympia meeting with Senior in his hospital room. She tells him that she is the one who orchestrated the coup against him and rallied the votes for the partners to exile him from the company. 

Overall, another great episode of Matlock and an amazing mid-season return that is ramping up to reach a head at the end of this season. I would give the episode a 5/5 star & I can’t wait to see what’s next. 

What did you think?

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