‘Matlock’s Latest Cliffhanger Just Completely Changed the Future of the Show
Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for Matlock Episode 16.
Since Madeline Matlock’s (Kathy Bates) first day at the law firm of Jacobson Moore, she’s been dedicated to crafting a harmless grandma persona. In every episode of CBS’s Matlock, she has pretended to be useless with technology and generally a little confused by what’s going on around her. And then, in moments when it suits her, Matty displays some of her true cutthroat characteristics. She’s incredibly skilled in the courtroom, and has a way of connecting with people that makes them instantly trust her. But no one (aside from her family) knows that Matty is actually Madeline Kingston, and that she has a secret motive for going back to her law career. In fact, Matty’s sole purpose in life is to hold the lawyers responsible who hid documents that would have taken opioids off the market — before they could have led to her daughter’s death. As sweet as Matty might seem on the surface, she has also been lying to pretty much everyone, and her lies finally catch up with her in the show’s latest episode.
Matty Has Been Trying to Keep Up a Facade in ‘Matlock’
Almost every episode has seen Matty experience incredibly close calls in keeping her real identity under wraps while she tries to investigate who was responsible for burying the Wellbrexa documents. But up until this week’s episode, it seemed like Matty had thought of everything. She pretends to take the bus home (and then switches to her chauffeured car service when she’s far enough away from the law firm), and even rents an apartment nearby. She’s managed to avoid completely setting off the human lie detector, Shae (Yael Grobglas), when they’ve worked together on cases. Matty has even become besties with Olympia (Skye P. Marshall) and worked alongside Sarah (Leah Lewis) and Billy (David Del Rio), and no one has truly doubted Matty’s cover.
Despite Matty’s skill at creating a believable facade, she has bulldozed over her family many times just to strive towards her goal. There have been several conflicts with her devoted husband, Edwin (Sam Anderson), especially when Matty wants to rely on their young grandson, Alfie’s (Aaron D. Harris) technical skills. Matty even risks losing her sister, Bitsy (Julie Hagerty), when Bitsy discovers that Matty has been mimicking her characteristics as part of her disguise. As Marshall noted in a recent interview, “The audience has completely forgotten that they’re supporting a con artist… Madeline Matlock is a liar, and she is creating destruction in pursuit of this attempt to relieve her of her guilt and shame.”
It’s true that Matty is often ruthless when she’s pursuing her goals, like when she deletes a voicemail from Olympia’s deceased father in order to cover her tracks or when she basically kidnaps Mrs. Belvin’s (Patricia Belcher) dog, Barry Manilow, in this week’s episode. Matty certainly isn’t a villain, but it’s true that she’s not exactly a saint either. The question remains: is there anything Matty won’t do in her pursuit of the truth, and how long can she go on fooling people?
Olympia Has Figured Out That Matty Is Lying in ‘Matlock’
In Episode 16, Billy and Sarah become convinced that the “Johnson Case” is something Olympia is working on in order to switch sides and join the public defender’s office. As the episode progresses, we learn that Olympia couldn’t have been the one who hid the documents in the Wellbrexa case. Matty is incredibly relieved that the woman she now considers a friend wasn’t the one who betrayed her family several years ago. It feels like Matty is once again on the right track, and she can continue her quest.
However, at the end of the episode, we see Matty getting off at her bus stop, and right before she can slip into her black car, Olympia shows up. She tells Matty that the “Johnson Case” is actually about her. Olympia had been doing recon as soon as she became suspicious of several missteps Matty made. In true Matlock fashion, we see several flashbacks that serve as tip-offs for Olympia. First, Olympia asked Julian (Jason Ritter) about the recording pen device, but he insisted he never used one (although Matty pointed the finger at him). Then, Alfie left his wallet at the office, with an ice cream shop punch card that listed an address in a completely different neighborhood than Matty’s fake apartment. And lastly, when Bitsy showed up in the courtroom during a case in Episode 14, Matty got pretty flustered. Olympia realized something was off and was able to run the plates from the courthouse CCTV to unravel Matty’s entire disguise.
Through these flashback scenes, we realize that as long as Matty has been suspicious of Olympia, Olympia has been wary of her. There could be even more clues that made Olympia doubt Matty’s story. As the episode ends, Olympia asks a shocking question: “So, who the hell are you, ‘Matty Matlock’?” As the screen goes to black, it’s pretty clear that the jig is up for Matty.
Where Will ‘Matlock’ Go From Here?
We don’t know exactly what else Olympia knows at this point. Has she confirmed that Matty’s real name is Madeline Kingston? And that she’s actually rich, with a husband who is very much alive? It does seem that no matter how hard she’s tried, Matty’s web of deception has started to unravel. Now that Olympia has figured out her secrets, where will Matlock go next? Will Matty be able to spin some more lies and come up with a different motive for hiding her identity? Or will she decide to actually come clean with Olympia?
Olympia could be a helpful ally in discovering who really hid the Wellbrexa documents, but she’s also a formidable opponent who won’t take lightly to the fact that Matty has been lying to her face this whole time. No matter what Matty decides to do, there’s a great deal of risk involved. Perhaps she can appeal to Olympia’s sense of right and wrong, and enlist her to help uncover the truth. But how will Matty continue to work at the law firm after this reveal?
We’ve all been waiting for the day when Matty’s facade was going to come crumbling down. And this shocking cliffhanger will likely change the future of the show forever. There are only two episodes left this season, but Matlock has already been renewed for a second. Now that Olympia is onto her, Matty can no longer avoid being seen for who she truly is: a manipulative liar who is focused on one single goal (no matter who she manages to hurt along the way). However Matty decides to handle Olympia going forward, it’s going to be a wild ride to see what happens next.
New episodes of Matlock air on Thursday nights on CBS, with episodes available to stream on Paramount+ in the U.S.
