Reviewer Rating: 4/5.0
4
Move over Matlock, because this is starting to look like an Olympia Lawrence show. After a brief appearance in In the Belly of the Beast , Jacobson Moore’s swankiest lawyer is back with much fanfare.
No No Monsters has its fair share of baby mama drama, with a bunch of nosy moms pushing Olympia to her breaking point. To be fair, some viewers echoed that outrage.
A lot happened in this episode; you’d be forgiven if a thing or two were missed. Luckily, most Matlock fans know that the show can be “blink and you’ll miss it” at times.
However, there were so many tense and incredible moments that we at least got to see the juiciest meat from Matlock Season 1 Episode 8.
Matlock uses Olympia to prove that knowing the truth can be a double-edged sword
Poor Olympia Lawrence just can’t catch a break. First, there’s Julian, “the playboy,” as Marty puts it. It just goes to show you that even good people get into trouble once in a while.
If you’ve read the spoilers for Matlock Season 1, Episode 8, you’ll know that I asked, “Should Olympia really be upset about Julian’s affair all those years ago?”
After watching “No, No Monsters” I came to the conclusion that if it was important to her, then it was. Emotions are complex, and no matter how much we want to control how we feel, we can’t always control how we feel.
As Olympia herself said, she was struggling with what to do because while she wanted to know who that woman was, she was self-aware enough to know that she couldn’t get through this without seeing that woman’s face. one day.
So while Julian may be in the doghouse for a while, at least Olympia isn’t canceling everything. It could be worse. Just ask Billy.
Billy’s rapid emotional recovery is questionable
Some characters are so cute and thoughtful that you just want good things for them. However, this is CBS, not Disney+.
Although it was painful to see Billy break up with Claudia in Matlock Season 1 Episode 7, he seemed to be doing fine for the most part.
Of course, Sarah acted like she was trying to convince herself of Billy’s emotional state, but she didn’t mean too far off. By the end of the episode, Billy is ready to move on and take his life back.
I’m willing to suspend my faith for the sake of this story because no one can get out of a relationship that lasted almost a decade so quickly.
I mean, Billy was listening to Adele’s first two albums. Everyone knows Adele’s saddest albums are her last two, but that might just be me.
Regardless, Billy has made tremendous progress in dealing with his emotions and finding a healthy mindset. Sadly, the same cannot be said for Madeleine Matlock.
Matlock makes the most of Marty’s moments of vulnerability and the sad state of what it meant to be a working woman in her time
Marty had reached the point of no return. Every step she takes toward her goal is another part of her life that she must sacrifice. This sounds heavy, but it’s the truth.
What’s clear in “No, No Monster” is that justice doesn’t drive Marty (Kathy Bates) to seek revenge. This is her sin. It was every moment she missed raising Ellie.
While I still believe her mission was to seek justice for her daughter, it was also to appease all the pain and guilt she had inflicted on herself as a form of penance.
At this point, I hope we never have an episode of Matlock that doesn’t show how vulnerable Marty is and what she’s willing to do for her daughter.
Perhaps the most unexpected and best part of “Matlock,” however, is the continued references to the workplace during Marty’s time.
Every time she describes what the world was like in the past, it’s a window into everything that helps shape the brassy woman Marty is now.
Sadly, while it’s highly illegal to refuse a job because a candidate has one or more children, that doesn’t mean employers still can’t find other ways to solve the problem.
The world is not kind to mothers, and to make matters worse, it is all too common for other mothers to judge each other.
The goal of any scripted show is to inspire emotions, even if those emotions are just a little bit hostile
“No, No Monsters” is full of “Mama Bear” energy. From Olympia (Skye P. Marshall) to Nadira and especially Marty, the mothers didn’t get it in this episode, and many of us were right there with them.
If you’re like this TV fanatic, you curse the screen when a truly terrible character gets too much time to speak. And, man, there were a lot of curse-worthy moments in Matlock Season 1 Episode 8.
Is this “Average Judge Week” or what? Elsbeth is facing an equally infuriating judge who stands in the way of righting wrongs.
Then there’s the opposing counsel, who apparently appeared in Matlock Season 1 Episode 3, but to be honest, I don’t remember or recognize her.
If she keeps showing up, we should at least know who we’re dealing with. Natalie Ceballos plays the very annoying Veronica Cabrera.
Does anyone else want Marty to throw a stapler at her, just to shut her up so Marty can speak in full sentences? I already have it in hand.
That said, the level of emotion the actress evokes proves she knows what she’s doing. So while this role isn’t great, we can see the actor show off her acting chops in Law & Order: Organized Crime, 9-1-1, and NCIS: Los Angeles .
While Madeleine Matlock has her eye on Olympia and Julian, the culprit may be right under her nose
Now let’s get to the most critical part of “No, there’s no monster,” which is the fact that after all that hard work of getting into Senior’s email, this is a damn photo of him from vacation.
Luckily, CBS was kind enough to give viewers a teaser in a promo, because that’s going to be a huge letdown.
Still, understanding it and seeing it in action are two different things. It was painful to watch Marty break down on the phone with Edwin.
As for the plan, I think viewers who say the culprit might be someone we’ve only met once or twice are more accurate than ever. This is Stewart, right? Or is this too obvious?
The show is slowly but surely making Stewart’s presence more known with each episode. In fact, it only seemed to focus on how close Stewart was to Senior.
While this wouldn’t cause the biggest stir with Jacobson Moore, it would at least allow all the main characters to continue on for another season without being seen behind bars.
The bottom line is, it would be nice if Olympia wasn’t involved, but given her past experience as a cold-blooded lawyer, the odds are high.
If it weren’t for her, she’d still be getting some bad news as she and Marty get closer, but what will happen when the truth comes out?
There is no turning back now. Marty was in too deep. So deep, in fact, that she constantly finds herself caught up in Olympia and Julian’s (Jason Ritter) drama, no matter how hard she tries to stay away from it.
That said, it’s still fun to see Marty’s facial expressions whenever she finds herself literally standing in the middle of another Olympia vs. Julian argument.
Matlock certainly made an impression on the audience that will last throughout the holidays. The series will now take a slight hiatus over the New Year period until January 30th.
Until then, fans of the show can relive the exciting first half of Matlock season 1 on Paramount+. If you find any clues or things we may have missed, please feel free to share them with the class.
Do you agree that Wellbrexa’s culprit could be a minor character we’ve only seen a handful of times?
Do you think Julian was having an affair with someone from Jacobson Moore?
Leave a comment below to let me know what you liked about this episode, and join me again as I review another episode of Matlock!
Be on the lookout for Matlock spoilers ahead of each new episode!
Watch Matlock online
