Warning: SPOILERS forMatlockseason 1, episode 13, “Pregame.“The freshman season ofMatlockhad already introduced several possible side villains aside from the three key figures in Matty’s (Kathy Bates) investigation, but episode 13’s two new potential threats are so different from each other that it’s hard to tell which could throw a bigger wrench in the protagonist’s plans. The series has previously set up other antagonists such as Shae (Yael Grobglas) and Simone (Andrea Londo) amongMatlock’s cast of characters, but this is the first episode to introduce two such threats at once.
Much of episode 13, “Pregame,” focuses on Olympia’s (Skye P. Marshall) fight to win a murder trial that could affect an upcoming class action suit. Matty’s involvement in the case is more limited than in most episodes of theMatlockreboot, butOlympia’s approach to the trial creates an enemy who could impact Matty as well. Yet another imposing presence shows up at Matty’s house that night. WithMatlockseason 2confirmed, there’s no telling how long either of these new characters may cast a looming shadow over Matty’s plans.
Matlock Episode 13 Introduces ADA Park And Madeline’s Sister Bitsy As Possible New Threats
One Doesn’t Know Matty Yet But Either Could Be A Problem
The first to appear is ADA Andrew Park (Andrew Ghai), who opposes Olympia in the trial of a young woman accused of causing her sorority sister’s death by spiking her drink with a dangerous Four Loko-style beverage called Slamm’d.Olympia notices right away that Park is dangerously ambitious, looking for the conviction that will put his name in the headlines. She tells him to go after a bigger catch, a “bear.” After Olympia wins, he says that he’s found his new bear but that his hunt requires patience. It’s strongly implied that he knows something about either Olympia or Jacobson Moore.
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Meanwhile, Matty ignores calls from her sister Bitsy (Julie Hagerty) throughout the episode. It’s not stated outright that there’s any bad blood between them, but Matty is strongly opposed to visiting Bitsy for Easter. Later, after spending the night getting high with Senior (Beau Bridges),Matty comes home to find that Bitsy’s taken it upon herself to visit Matty and Edwin(Sam Anderson). Aside from Bitsy’s overly saccharine nature (she uses words like “heckadoodle”), it’s still not clear what Matty holds against her. But the next episode’s preview reveals a bit more, as well as why Bitsy could become an obstacle toMatty’s revenge plot.
Park And Bitsy Could Threaten Madeline’s Revenge Plan In 2 Very Different Ways
They Have Entirely Different Interests In What’s Happening At Jacobson Moore
“You don’t get to weigh in on my family again” are the only words Matty speaks to Bitsy in the episode 14 promo, but they carry heavy implications. What little we’ve seen of Bitsy’s characterization comes across as somewhat sanctimonious, andit’s likely that Bitsy had some unkind things to say about Ellie’s (Marnee Carpenter) situationbefore she died. That attitude makes Bitsy dangerous since she’s seen accusing Matty of criminal behavior for her actions at Jacobson Moore. She is the likeliest person to spill the beans to someone about Matty because she’d think she was doing it for Matty’s benefit.
ADA Park could provide a more indirect obstacle. If he plans on going after Jacobson Moore as implied, or even just Olympia, it’s likely to put the firm on high alert. Senior would almost certainly respond by accelerating the firm’s cover-up operations, which would put the Wellbrexa files even further out of Matty’s reach. And if Park does have something on Olympia, then bringing that to light could damageMatty and Olympia’s friendshipin a way that throws everything Matty thought she knew about her investigation up until now into total disarray.
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BecauseMatlock’s high ratingspartly stem from its compelling twists, there’s always the chance that Matty is secretly already working with Park and that his line about patience alludes to waiting for her to gather more evidence. However, while that possibility makes Bitsy seem like a more urgent threat, any damage she might do by revealing Matty’s secret could easily be mitigated depending on who she approaches. This far into her investigation,Matty could lie her way into mutually assured destruction with most of Jacobson Mooreby simply pretending to know more about them than she does.
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This circles things back around to Park. Even if he were working with Matty, his ambition and desire to land a “bear” gives him leverage over her if he decides they have a bigger secret than Wellbrexa worth uncovering. And if he’s not working with her, he potentially has more resources than anyone to learn her real identity if he starts looking into Olympia’s team. Either way, with only a few episodes left in the first season ofMatlock, odds are that Matty’s about to run into some of her most anxiety-inducing setbacks to date.
Matlock
Cast
Matlock (2024) follows the return of Madeline Matlock, a brilliant septuagenarian, to a prestigious law firm. Utilizing her unassuming demeanor and astute strategies, she navigates the legal world to win cases and uncover corruption. The series draws inspiration from the classic television series of the same name.
