Matlock Season 1 Finale Sets Up A More Intense Season 2 (Despite The Wellbrexa Mystery Being Solved)
Warning: SPOILERS for the Matlock season 1 finale, “Tricks of the Trade.”
Even though the first season of Matlock completely solves the Wellbrexa mystery, that only serves to make its sophomore year more intense. The Matlock season 1 ending didn’t exactly skimp on cliffhangers. There’s a baby on the way, the revelation of a father for a tween who’s never met him before, and an unexpected promotion. But with that said, there are still numerous unanswered questions in Matlock season 1. Despite expectations, some of them still pertain to the Wellbrexa file.
It seemed like a major moment in the Matlock season 1 finale when the person who hid the Wellbrexa file was finally revealed. Unfortunately, the true reveal was that Olympia is still keeping the true culprit a secret from her best friend Matty. She has reasons for doing so, and those reasons are more than likely to continue affecting Matlock’s cast of characters moving forward. But for the time being, Matty will have to continue her investigation without knowing that her best friend has all the answers. That should greatly affect the second season of the show.
Matlock Season 1 Finale Ends With The Confirmation That Julian Hid The Wellbrexa File
He Knew That He Wasn’t Doing The Next Right Thing
Perhaps Matlock’s positive reviews should have prepared viewers for some impressive twists at the end, but Julian hiding the Wellbrexa file was one of the most shocking for unexpected reasons. Matty had already found proof that nobody else could have done the deed, but the real surprise was that Julian has been keeping the Wellbrexa study in a safety deposit box this whole time. Olympia found this out while investigating the trust that Matty suspected would be related to Wellbrexa all along.
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The oddest part of this reveal is that Julian’s a legitimately competent lawyer. He knows that keeping that file around could be terrible for him. But the only reason Julian stole the file in the first place was to get approval from his father, and he has now realized that’s never going to happen. As a result, he’s officially left Jacobson Moore to strike out on his own. This makes him a direct ally, but it also makes him a brilliant fall guy because the firm can now blame the cover up on him without necessarily implicating themselves without direct proof.
Madeline’s Revenge Plan Will Be Far More Complicated In Matlock Season 2
The Coverup Isn’t Just About Julian Anymore
After the return of Alfie’s father in Matlock, it seems inconceivable that she could possibly focus all of her attention on the revenge plot she’s been following. She now has to worry about her grandson’s emotional health, not to mention that the return of Alfie’s father means that Matty will be preoccupied by memories of Ellie throughout much of Matlock season 2. Naturally, she’ll probably try to get a paternity test. But the results of that test will raise further questions regardless of the result.
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More importantly, the audience knows that Julian only facilitated the cover up because he was yearning for Senior’s approval. After Olympia’s promotion, Julian finally accepted that he’ll never get that approval and has elected to move on. That said, Olympia still cares enough about Julian to potentially hide the fact that she found the Wellbrexa document. This means that Matty will be searching for her next clues without full information. This could greatly delay her progress, and it will likely hurt her friendship with Olympia once she learns the truth.
Matlock Season 2 Is Poised To Surpass Season 1’s Quality
The Show Can Only Keep Getting Better With Time
As incredibly fraught as things have gotten with Matty and her relationship with Jacobson Moore, they can only get more engaging from here. It’s already confirmed that Jason Ritter will return in Matlock season 2, so the possibility that Matty and Julian will confront each other is stronger than ever. Matty knows Senior well enough that they’ve gotten high together, so it shouldn’t surprise her at this point to learn how Julian’s been treated. Although she has no objective reason to forgive what Julian did, she might still sympathize with his reasons.
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Kathy Bates’ Matlock wraps up its runaway success debut year with an intense 2-hour finale that perfectly sets up its exciting sophomore year.
There are plenty of other plotlines to explore in the next season as well. Now that we know who made the Reddit post that originally turned Matty and Edwin toward Jacobson Moore in the first place, there are countless questions to be asked about what else she knows. The next season of Matlock could easily drop some new knowledge about the storyline. At the very least, they wouldn’t plan a second season unless Matty had an uphill battle ahead. Seeing what obstacles she has to overcome and how she does so should account for another year of unbridled entertainment.
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