Warning: spoilers for Matlock Season 1, Episode 14, called “Game Day” are in play.
Our journey in the 2025 TV schedule has seen Matlock’s protagonist working through a rollercoaster of twists and turns. That’s to be expected, especially when last week saw Kathy Bates and Beau Bridges’ big scene promising a friendship I didn’t want to see end. This week’s chapter, “Game Day,” delivered another potential Fox and the Hound-style heartbreak, but what makes it so horrific is that it put someone we thought was off the board back on. And while it’s definitely a possibility, I think another party is still more likely to be the culprit.
Matlock May Have Put Olympia Back On The Welbrexa Clue Board
For those of you who love a good legal lesson, Matlock’s current episode kind of reminded me of Who Framed Roger Rabbit’s brilliantly evil plot. I say this because thanks to the help of Edwin (Sam Anderson), we were reminded of two important points to any good case: motive and opportunity.
Weighing those two factors eventually manifested through two fantasy sequences that Madeline played out to work the problem. The first scenario she dreamed up was an All The President’s Men-style parking lot meet up between Shae (Yael Grobglas) and Julian (Jason Ritter), which saw the ex-Welbrexa employee tipping her fling off to something earth shattering.
Alleging that marketing documents were accidentally sent to Jacobson Moore by an intern, Julian then forged his father’s signature, and brought those docs for shredding.
However, during this week’s developments involving the Slamm’d class action suit Olympia (Skye P. Marshall) is banking her future on, we learned about some interesting new wrinkles to Matlock’s central mystery. Namely that Julian’s key card logs may have been misleading…as Olympia may have swiped his card as cover.
The day of the file theft saw Julian at a coffee bar (which used to be a shredding room), the women’s room, and Olympia’s old office. Those last two revelations are what sent Madeline into that second fantasy sequence, which saw her heartbroken by Olympia’s supposed betrayal.
Arriving at her friend’s current office, this week’s huge setback in court didn’t stop her from showing up determined to get the truth. I gave myself a moment to gasp, but then I took another look at the facts, and I think there’s another scenario.
Hooray, Shae Is Still In Play
There’s a classic saying I think Madeline Kingston needs to consider at this point of her Matlock journey. As we all know, the truth is supposed to lie between the two sides every story carries, and I think that wisdom applies to these scenarios. While Shae Watch saw some mild waves, like a potential reunion of her alliance with Sarah (Leah Lewis) it looks like we might see some huge swells in the future.
Especially if my assumption is correct that she is the one who had Julian’s key card on the day of the file’s theft. It sounds like Opportunity is in the air, but Motive is something that needs to be gamed out to truly move forward.
And if we’re going by the details from these hypothetical scenarios, then maybe The Meerkat accidentally shared something she shouldn’t have, and had to cover her tracks. Cue Shae’s affair with Julian during the Welbrexa case, and the ensuing paper trail on his key card.
I could be totally off base, as there’s still a handful of episodes left in Matlock’s first season. CBS’ second season renewal might have ensured that Madeline Kingston’s Welbrexa crusade will go on indefinitely, with a huge cliffhanger teeing it all up in the weeks to come.
Part of me hopes this is the truth because I don’t want to see Olympia and Matty stop being friends, especially thanks to the recurring troubles at the Kingston household. But as a prudent investigator, I can’t totally discount the evidence until we know more.
The only way to find the truth is, of course, to keep tuning into CBS on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET and follow along. If my theory on recent episode titles holds up, the upcoming “Game Face” is going to be quite a ride for Madeline, Shae, and everyone involved.
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