Olympia Meets Madeline Kingston – ryan

Matlock

I was that, too

Season 1

Episode 17

Editor’s rating

4 Stars

The Long-Awaited Moment Where Olympia Meets The Real Madeline Kingston is a Perfect Showcase of What Makes Their Relationship so Rich.
Photo: Sonja Flemming/CBS

AS I MENTIONED IN LAST WEEK’S Matlock reCap, what i liked most about the long-awaited “Olympia Meets Madeline Kingston” twist is that it calls back to this season’s earliest episodes, welympia blank against matty “POOR, PITITIPUL ME” ACT-Essential Saying. Age, this lady shouldn’t strut that stuff in front of a black woman in a predominately White Law firm. For that Same Reason, I was Pretty jazzed about the season’s penultimate episodes, in Which olympia doesn’t let matty off the hook Easily. She’s pissed. Olympia is so pistsed that she becomes, frankly, excessively mean. I love her for that.

I have some lingering dissatisfaction with how this episode ends, but’ll still declare it best so far, setting up a finale that it is, based on the direction this story of Heading, Completely upnd the show’s premise. This moment – Where Matty’s Deception is out in the open, at least for olympia – is something i’d been dreading all years. But watching it felt a little like endouring one of the those Painful Conversations with a love one that ultimately ends up being more refreshing and energy destructive.

But it doesn’t start that way. This Episode Picks Up Where the Last One Left off, with Olympia Confronting Matty by the Alley Where the Kingstons’ Secret Limo is Parked. What follows is a series of chilly Orders from Olympia. Dismiss the driver. Get in this CAB. Come upstairs to Jacobson-Moore’s Abandoned Office Suite on the 25th Floor. Turn Over Your Bags and Your Phone – and Your Passcode. Take this pad of Paper and Write Down Every Lie You’ve Told. And don’t – will swimming – mention your daughter.

Olympia’s Fury in these opening scens is terrifying. She won’t give maty any opening to spin. From the start, she hisses, “Think Very Carefully before lying to my face again,” and lets her know, “i’m your judge, i’m your jury.” She refuses to belies anyding maty Says About Her Actual Credentials or How She Constructed Her New Identity. Its all “what a con man would Say,” Olympia grumblers. And it Certainly doesn’t help that maty loes her folksy accent the moment she gets cornered.

As Savvy TV Viewers, we know this ice-out can’t last forever. And while maty deserves to squirm a little, we also know this show’s cald Matlockand the Writers Ultimately Want US On Her Side. The problem for the maty is that the best way to defensive herself is to talk about ellie, which Olympia Expressly Forbids. In fact, ilyympia physically winces every time maty brings it up, spreads becn’t want to risk Hearing About a Dead Kid.

The Turnaround Begins When Matty Catches a Break. When Olympia Notices that Matty’s Phone has Been Buzzing With Concerned Messages from Her Queens Apartment Building Superintendent, She Must Be Matty’s Not-Dead Husband. She Orders Matty to Call Edwin, on Speaker, to Tell Him She’s Working Late. And Edwin, God Bless Him, Sayys Nice Things About Olympia and About How Much Matty Her Without Knowing The Boss is Listening. Eight Words in Particular – “Now That You Know She Didn’t Do IT”

The Truce is Still UNAasy. Eight as Matty’s Telling Olympia About the Missing Wellbrexa Document, She’s Also Reminding Olympia About the Dephs of Her Betrayal – Like How Matty Stole Her Laptop, Containing the Only of A Voicemail Her Dead Father. And when matty accuses Julian of taching the document, it makes myympia think about the spy-pen gambit and how she spent days feeid and hating for no reason. Genuine Damage has been done to olympia’s psyche. That is Easily Forgoven.

In fact, olympia gets so mad that she threatens to shut this makeshift tribunal down and call the cops. But Remember What I Said About Matty’s Shifting Accent? As we are learned a few weeks ago, she imitates her sister bitsy Because it softens Personality. But whennever she drops that act, she hardens. She Counters Olympia, Saying the Cops Will Find She Legally Changed Her Name and Took the New York Bar Exam, Making Any Claims that she’s an Imposter Seem Weak. She Also Promises to TELL The Pressing About Jacobson-Moore’s Wellbrexa Mess, Embarrassing Olympia’s Family, Kids Included. That’s right: Matty is Willing to Mess up the Lives of Olympia’s Children for Her Own Daughter’s Sake.

I Should Mention that while llympia has maty trapped in an Old office on Floor 25 AFTER HOURS, THERE AN ACTUAL CASE-WEK-WEK ON FLOOR 24, HANDLED MAINLY BY BILLY AND SARAH AT FIRST, WITH OLYMPIA DOWNSTAIRS TO TRACK. The case involves amy buckley (Eliza bennett), a Heavily Pregnant 26-Yoar-Old Who Wants an Immediate Divorce from Her Controlling Husband, Grant (Michael Antosy), Who is About to Have a C-Section. Jacobson-Moore is the Only Firm Amy Knows, Given that Her Husband’s Wealthy Family Does Business there.

It wouldn’t be too Much of a Reach to Find Paralles BetWeen This Week’s Case and the Main Matty/Olympia Story. Everything AMY’S Situation Reflects Badly on Jacobson-Moore’s Senior Management, Which Handled Both sides of the buckleys’ prenup. Management, naturally, gets pistsed at Olympia for Helping Amy. While maty upstairs is suggesting that julian may have burehed evidence and taken a payoff, Downstair olympia hears a suddenly family about how amy’s own Sweet husband tours to be a manipulative CREEP.

But from a story-building perspective, what’s most effective about it is it is it urgency. While Olympia’s Grilling Matty, Barely Giving Our Heroine a Chance to Think, She’s Also Rushing to Night Court to File Motions. The Team Can’t Get Amy an Overnight Divorce, so They Aim for A Restraining Order, Keeping Grant Away from the Baby – Who, by the Way, he did not faother. The Judge is sympathetic, but the lack of hardness of abuse is a problem.

Enter Matty, an Expert in Contract Law. Another thing that breaks the Ice between olympia and maty is that the team needs the help of the Kindly Lady who has a rapport with clients and witnesses – whereer she’s a big fact or not. SO MATTY PORES Over the Prenup and Also Reconnects with Billy and Sarah, who sneakily follows olympia up to the 25th FLOR and Find Matty there. (She Lies to say, of Course, Saying Olympia Secretly Procured this Special Office for Her.)

The Speed-Running of this Case is exacerbated by amy going into labor. But with Matty’s Help – In Particular Her Coaxing Grant’s Priest Praise His Parishioner’s Devout Catholicism – The Team is able to get an annulment, proving grant fraud by lying his religiious faith atheist wife. The Technicality of the Annulment Matters Because the Way the Prenup was drafted, a divorce goft amy with nothing.

Nor mentioned, i’m taching a wait-and-see attitude on this episode’s ending. AFTER ALL The TALK About Duplicitous Husbands, Olympia Treats Julian to the Same “Smile in the Face of Her Future Prey” routine she did with matty lasty, and then to the kingston estate in westchester, presumably jaining maty’e. Or does she? Before, she is flashes back to the spy-pen fiasco, and how she felt panicked and isolated, with the evening dad’s voicemail to comfort her. That Kind of Memory Should Turn Her against Matty.

Then again, one of my least favorite tv-Drama Complications is “I can’t trust you anymore.” It ‘Usually Such A Contrivanke Meant to Temporary Wedges BetWeen Characters. (Matlock Creator Jennie Snyder Urman’s Earlier Show Are The Virgin did this frequently.) and it’s been obvious in recent weeks that Matlock‘s Better When Matty and Olympia are aligned. Eve in this episodes, Olympia Enloys brainstorming on Amy’s Case Despite How Angry She is at Matty.

SO Maybe We’re Also Going to Speed-Run this Friendship’s Collaps and Reconciliation, Which Will Beetter for the Show’s Entertainment Value. But I Hope Olympia Holds on to Some of Her Grude. She is know that, contrary to billy and sarah’s Opinion, Matty’s No Saint. If she kepes that in mind, it’ll makeir Relationship – and Season two – Much Richer.

• Sarah Struggles with How to Handle a Pregnant Lady. (DOES NEED A RESTING AREA? Weird Snacks?) But Becouse Amy is Sarah’s Age, They Do Bond. Their Conversation About Demanding Partners Convinces Sarah to Break Up With Her “Open Relationship” semi-girlfriend. Billy Also Decides to End Things with Simone, Which eaes Sarah’s Heartbreak. (Sarah: “She’s going to be upset. That does make with happy.”)

• A small thing that may May Be Huge: Sarah Defies Firm Policy (or Olympia Policy) and takes a case on her own, drafting a cease-descent to a personal trainer who wants to disSoles a business partnership. SHEKE MAKES HERNE LETTERHEAD. I SUSPECT WE’L HEAR MORE ABOUT THIS NEXT WEEK. And speaking of which…

• HAVE A Screener Already for Next Week Double-Three Final, But I have have watched, so the following Speculation is pure guesswork. My prediction? Season one ends with Olympia’s Team Leaving Jacobson-Moore-Eather on their or Because they Get Fired-and Starting Their Own Practice, Backed with Kingston Money and Postsibly Under Sarah’s Shingle. Their first case? A Major Lawsuit Against Wellbrexa and Jacobson-Moore.