Warning: SPOILERS for Matlock season 1, episode 14, “Game Day.“Episode 14 ofMatlockcasts new suspicions on Olympia (Skye P. Marshall) after Matty (Kathy Bates) had previously written her off as a suspect in the Wellbrexa cover-up, but the new evidence against her isn’t necessarily the smoking gun the series wants us to believe. It seemed almost a guarantee when Matty asserted Olympia’s innocence earlier in the season that theMatlockrebootwould twist things against her at some point since she’s technically still among the main three inMatlock’s cast of charactersmost suspected of covering up documents that could have prevented the opioid epidemic.
Matty and Edwin (Sam Anderson) beginMatlockepisode 14, “Game Day,” entirely convinced that Julian (Jason Ritter) is responsible for hiding Wellbrexa’s documents on opioid addiction, andall seems lost when tracing the documents' movements leads Matty to a shredder room. This would be a logical way of stretching out the investigation to make room forMatlockseason 2since it makes much more sense for Jacobson Moore to shred the documents than to keep them. However, the shredder room turns out to be a major red herring, and the real truth makes Olympia a stronger candidate than ever for the documents' cover-up.
Matlock Episode 14’s Olympia Twist Explained
Julian Seems Exonerated By A Single Detail
Shortly after finding the shredder room, Matty learns that Jacobson Moore underwent renovations years after the Wellbrexa cover-up. As it turns out, the shredder room used to be a coffee bar, meaning there’s no current evidence the Wellbrexa documents were shredded. However,Matlockshowrunner Jennie Snyder Urmanpromised a cavalcade of twists in the back half of the season, and the biggest in episode 14 is whenMatty learns that whoever took the documents visited the women’s restroom multiple times that day.Unfortunately, Olympia is the only female suspect on Matty’s list.
Matlock Episode 12 Just Made 1 Character’s Story Extremely Uncomfortable
Matlock episode 12 introduces a delicate new reality for one character that makes the entire series’ story arc more difficult to stomach.
More damningly, whoever took the documents also finished the day in Olympia’s old office. Matty doesn’t want to believe it because the rooms were accessed with Julian’s key card, but Olympia points out in an emotional fantasy sequence that Matty’s gotten away with using Julian’s card for days. The idea that Olympia picked up his card by accident when they were living together isn’t much of a stretch. Matty is devastated by this realization, but there’s thankfully still plenty of room forMatlock’s revenge storyto place Olympia in the clear before the season finale.
Why Olympia May Still Not Be The True Culprit In Matlock’s Wellbrexa Mystery
Matty’s Explanation For Olympia’s Guilt Could Also Explain Her Innocence
Olympia’s ambition admittedly does make her a bit of a wildcard.Matlockepisode 10shows her willingness to defend a nursing home for potentially causing a man’s death, and she had no way of knowing that the nursing home would actually turn out to be innocent. But she does seem to largely care about her pro bono cases, and her conversations with ADA Park (Andrew Ghai) suggest thatOlympia genuinely wants harmful products like Slamm’d taken off the shelves. Helping Wellbrexa get away with hiding documents about addictive substances would morally contradict her current position.
And while Matlock’s introduction of new villains from time to time allows for infinite possibilities, there are already pre-established characters who could replace Olympia as prime suspects in the Wellbrexa case.
Granted, this contradiction could easily be justified with a major reveal about Olympia’s backstory, including any guilt she might have felt over the Wellbrexa case that steered her toward helping others. But in her imagined conversation with Olympia, Matty unknowingly pinpoints the most logical argument against Olympia’s supposed guilt. If Olympia and Matty could both get away with using Julian’s key card, so could anybody else. And whileMatlock’s introduction of new villainsfrom time to time allows for infinite possibilities, there are already pre-established characters who could replace Olympia as prime suspects in the Wellbrexa case.
Who Might Be The True Suspect In The Wellbrexa Case In Matlock?
There Are At Least 2 Suspects Matty’s Barely Considered
One of the oft-cited reasons forMatlock’s ratings successis the strength of its unexpected twists, and nothing would be more unexpected than if the blame were to fall on an easily forgettable character like Stuart (Francisco Chacin). As Senior’s (Beau Bridges) assistant,Stuart probably has experience forging Senior’s signature when the boss is unavailable. And given the contentious nature of Julian’s relationship with his father, it’s sadly not hard to imagine Senior ordering Stuart to frame Julian by using his key card if Julian disobeyed Senior by refusing to perform the cover-up himself.
Matlock’s New Villain Is A Hypocrite But She Is The Only 1 Who Could Jeopardize Madeline’s Revenge
Matlock season 1, episode 11 reveals a new hypocritical enemy for Kathy Bates' character who may have the power to ruin Madeline’s revenge plan.
However, the likelier culprit is Shae (Yael Grobglas).Matlockrevealed that Shae earned her position through her involvement with Wellbrexa, and it’s not unreasonable to assume she and Julian were close enough in the years leading up to their affair that she might have gotten her hands on his card if Senior gave her an order that required security clearance she didn’t have at the time. The only question is why she would have visited Olympia’s office after taking the documents. But since that’s hardly impossible to explain,Matty’s friendship with Olympiamay not be as jeopardized as it seems.
Matlock
Cast
Matlock (2024) follows the return of Madeline Matlock, a brilliant septuagenarian, to a prestigious law firm. Utilizing her unassuming demeanor and astute strategies, she navigates the legal world to win cases and uncover corruption. The series draws inspiration from the classic television series of the same name.
