Reviewer Rating: 4.5/5.0
4.5
Leave it to Kathy Bates to deliver a tear-jerking, Oscar-worthy monologue that left everyone in the room and at home speechless. She is a legend. She is Matlock.
Is it just me, or does it feel like we should be further along than two episodes? So much has happened to a fledgling show.
It’s fair to say that Matlock didn’t hold back on the story. Madeleine Matlock will have no plot holes. The writers leave nothing to chance.
The show has already addressed the question on everyone’s mind since the pilot premiered: “How will she keep up her scheming at a prestigious law firm?”
Twists are Matlock’s bread and butter
Luckily, Matlock wastes no time and addresses this issue with an anxious dream sequence, which wakes Marty up at just the right time to get him ready for work. What an interesting coincidence.
In this spoiler for Matlock Season 1 Episode 2, I ask why the show’s creators chose such a young actor to play the genius grandson.
Not only did I no longer care, but I got it. If the grandson were older, he would be less lovable and less willing to follow his grandmother’s plans.
There are also tons of dramas with teenagers. Madeleine doesn’t need any distractions when planning a corporate disaster.
Matlock has kept the tempo of the series at its maximum so far without a second’s pause. Normally, this would make the story difficult to follow, but the show has a strong hand in preventing that from happening.
At the end of the two-episode run, a montage sequence of how Marty goes on to realize her plan is presented in an Ocean’s Eleven format. I don’t know about you, but I love getting some clues after a shocking moment.
Let me turn off my brain and give me the goods.
Despite a cliché or two, Matlock maintains a well-rounded cast
Considering the unknown faces featured in the episode’s promo, it’s safe to say we’ve got even more cast members joining the cast.
We probably won’t see anyone joining the main cast. However, with a new show, especially one set in a law firm, viewers can expect to see a lot of plot characters.
That being said, it would have been nice to see more of Patricia Belcher as Mrs. B. It’s a cliche and a trope.
This seems to be a trend considering new shows like NCIS: Origins are still doing this. What do you think about this? It’s an obvious plot device for comedy, but the characters are often fan favorites because of all the funny, sarcastic one-liners they have.
Despite this, Matlock features a diverse cast who all embody different personalities.
Take Sarah for example. Despite her naturally ambitious nature and lack of tact, she displayed a big heart. It’s as if the character is actively trying to avoid thinking in terms of how she feels.
Considering it’s a man’s world, I don’t blame her.
Matlock takes the time to stage the drama rather than torture the audience with waterboarding
Speaking of men, the male characters in Matlock aren’t as fleshed out as Olympia or even Sarah.
Billy’s job was to remind Sarah to apologize to her every time she said something unfiltered. And, of course, there was Elijah. This is a by-product of Olympia, in case you didn’t catch his name.
The only thing we know about him is that he and Olympia liked each other and tried to keep their relationship private while Olympia finalized her divorce from Julian.
Interestingly, Julian (Jason Ritter) gets a fair amount of screen time. Enough for the audience to see that he’s not playing the stereotypical hateful ex.
The story of Olympia and Julian highlights that divorcing couples don’t have to be enemies. I love it when a show takes the road less traveled and shows the ex-couples as real people and not just drama machines for writers to milk.
There’s no doubt we’re going to see a lot of drama. There is no need to immediately waterboard the audience.
Matlock is a darling with talented acting and quality writing
We had to find the one and only Madeleine Matlock played by Kathy Bates. The character is as good an actor as the woman who plays her.
Marty’s tearful speech to the Olympia was part of her master plan, but it was still an incredible performance. I couldn’t bear to watch the old man cry, so I was a mess.
How could anyone not shed tears hearing such an incredible speech? I don’t think actors have to pretend to be so speechless.
Hopefully Billy and Sarah don’t find out that Marty faked the waterworks. She needs as many people in her corner as possible.
As for Madeleine’s plan, Matlock pulled another quick one. You’d think we’d have learned our lesson by now.
Olympia (Skye P. Marshall) seems close to seeing through Marty’s ruse, but the septuagenarian is miles ahead of us.
Matlock is a darling with talented acting and quality writing. The cases explored in the series are one of the many things that make the show so unique.
The similarities between the cases in the series and those in the real world are not lost on Matlock viewers.
These cases do not feature the victims’ deaths in dramatic ways, as in many of Elsbeth’s series. There’s no focus on the complexity of the crime like “High Potential.”
Matlock’s case speaks to the heart and humanity of the defendant and his story. They show that, despite the truth, justice is not so easy to achieve. Matlock is where the heart meets the head.
Hopefully Marty wins soon because all that anxiety is unhealthy for a woman her age. As she says to Ms. B at the beginning of the episode: “At my age, they’re not looking for a reason to hire you. They’re looking for a reason to fire you.
At least it looks like Marty and Olympia will finally get along. Marty made the right choice by reading her filth because Olympia manipulated her. Oddly enough, this worked to her advantage.
However, there was one thing I had to tell Marty. She wasn’t supposed to get a call from her grandson while she was waiting in her car in Olympia.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the super lawyer had some kind of recording set up in her car for reference.
It’s only a matter of time, as the creators say, this big mystery will be solved by the end of Matlock’s first season.
Who do you think will discover Marty’s secret first?
Which Jacobson & Moore partner do you think discovered documents that may have led to the withdrawal of opioids from the market?
Leave a comment below to let me know what you liked about this episode, and join me again when I review the next episode of Matlock!
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