Warning; spoilers for Matlock, Season 1 Episode 17 “I Was That Too,” are in play.
By the end of last week’s Matlock episode, a simple but significant question hung in the air. Kathy Bates’ double agent of justice seemed to be cooked in the 2025 TV schedule after Skye P. Marshall’s Olympia Lawrence asked, “Who the hell are you, Madeline Matlock?” After watching the penultimate episode of Season 1, I now know that confrontation was only the beginning, and I think its shockwaves could see us saying goodbye to the Welbrexa case once and for all.
Olympia And Matty Are Now Partners
Just as I suspected in last week’s rundown, the episode title for this week’s Matlock referenced Olympia calling Matty out on her elaborate ruse. Picking up in the moment after confronting our hero outside of her bus, we see our lead characters all holed up at Jacobson Moore for the night. Yes, that includes Billy (David Del Rio) and Sarah (Leah Lewis), who sadly didn’t leave the office before being drafted into an all-nighter.
In a story reminiscent of real-time dramas like The Pitt and 24, we follow a last minute case that saw a pregnant client trying to escape her controlling husband before giving birth. Meanwhile, Madeline Matlock was writing out a confession that spun the Welbrexa Scenario – a tale of greed, conspiracy, and addiction. My final Matlock big bad prediction seems to have aged like milk.
As Olympia now suspects Julian (Jason Ritter) may have bought the brownstone with a bribe after all, Ms. Lawrence and Ms. Matlock (her legal name, thanks to a clever name change) are now on the path to expose who stole the Welbrexa safety study that inadvertently led to Ellie Kingston’s overdose.
Matlock Has To Drastically Change After The Welbrexa Case Is Closed
Right from Matlock’s surprise pilot ending the formula for the series has been Madeline and her family against Jacobson Moore. Acting as a sort of legal David and Goliath, the conflict kept getting more complicated as Matty and Olympia eventually became friends. While that curveball did help move this mystery forward, the fallout of whatever the Welbrexa mystery brings looks to be something that would fundamentally change showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman’s master plan.
On one hand, I could totally see that happening, as I’d guess that Team Matlock planned a one-season mystery, just in case the cancellation axe swung down hard. If that’s the case, then my dreams of Olympia and Team You Three starting a firm with the Kingston family (including Julie Hagerty’s Bitsy) on staff could come true.
However, thanks to Matlock’s early Season 2 pickup, there’s a chance that even if that was the case, things could have changed. A new ending may have been written where the Welbrexa mystery persists, becoming even more important in the season to come. In which case, we’ll probably be left on a whopper of a cliffhanger that lets us know the ride is far from over.
Either event is valid, as “I Was That Too” may very well be the best of Matlock’s Season 1 episodes. Pitting Olympia against Matty in a much milder version of a Jack Bauer interrogation from 24 amped up the drama, with Skye P. Marshall and Kathy Bates digging even deeper into their skillsets.
That only has me looking forward to next week’s two-hour finale, “Tricks of the Trade,” with even more excitement. Because if Ms. Marshall’s tease for Season 1’s closer has been realized this evening, there’s a chance that the forms we see our characters in now will define the trajectory of Season 2, and beyond.
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