SPOILER ALERT: The following reveals major plot points from the Season 1 finale of CBS’ Matlock.
Season 1 of CBS’ hit freshman series Matlock has officially concluded, leaving fans with plenty of action-packed moments and huge reveals that answered most questions while positing new ones.
Deadline spoke to series showrunner and executive producer Jennie Snyder Urman about the key reveals in the finale, including who the mysterious person was who hid evidence that could’ve saved Matty’s (Kathy Bates) daughter’s life, and how the events that unfolded set up Season 2.
(L-R) Kathy Bates as “Madeline Matlock”, David Del Rio as Billy Martinez, Leah Lewis as Sarah Franklin, and Skye P. Marshall as Olympia Lawrence.
DEADLINE: Jennie, you and the writers on Matlock did an excellent job of keeping us guessing until the very last moments—and some even after the reveal—about who hid the Wellbrexa files. Did you always know it would be Julian (Jason Ritter), or did you consider others along the way?
JENNIE SNYDER URMAN: We were sort of in between, a little bit at the beginning, considering between Senior [Beau Bridges] and Julian. We knew it wouldn’t be Olympia, but it would seem to be her at some crucial moments for Maddie, right before she got unmasked. Then the more we thought about it, we realized it had to be someone who would be really painful for us to discover had done this. Senior would have been the more obvious choice. As Olympia says, ‘He’s in charge of everything,’ but it felt like [Julian] put the most people in the most painful situation, which is always good for drama. And you know, Julian, even though he makes these mistakes, he’s still so endearing, because Jason imbues him with so much heart, kindness, and sensitivity. You see where he tries, and even though he doesn’t always succeed, you’re rooting for him because he’s trying. It just felt like it would be painful to have him be the person, and how that would put Olympia in a really difficult position in Season 2.
DEADLINE: Some people questioned if it could be Olympia because she and Matty would be on more even footing, knowing a big secret about one another. Was that ever considered?
JSU: We definitely explored the route, but I don’t see that character who is so committed to justice, who has such a spine and a sense of where she wants to be morally in the universe—I couldn’t see her doing it. If I can’t imagine the character doing it, or get to an honest place where all the pieces would justify that decision, then I don’t want to do it. I don’t want to do it just for dramatic effect. We’re always going to stay true to the character.
DEADLINE: Will the fact that Julian is remorseful help his case with Olympia in Season 2?
JSU: He’s begging, and he’s remorseful. He kept the documents all these years to punish himself. It’s his Tell-Tale Heart. It’s the thing he knows that he’s done, and that’s why he’s kept it. He says, ‘Don’t let me be defined by that, and please don’t think this is who I am. Think about all the other things I am to you and our family.’ That’s what makes it so difficult and makes us not know what decision Olympia will make at the end of the finale.
DEADLINE: So, because she’s so devoted to justice, it’s plausible that she will turn him in, right?
JSU: Yes, but he’s also the father of her children. Does she want him to go to jail? Does she think he was the person who was ultimately the mastermind? That’s something that she’s going to be thinking about. It’s going to leave everybody in a really difficult position.
(L-R) Jason Ritter as Julian Markston and Skye P. Marshall as Olympia Lawrence
DEADLINE: Beyond Olympia and Julian’s problems, is there a way to repair her friendship with Matty?
JSU: The way that I look at this relationship and how we’ve always built the show around this relationship… as I have said to the actors, the writers, and the executives, this is an epic love story. That’s what we’re dramatizing, and it’s the spine of the show. It’s going to be, will they, won’t they? There’s going to be push and pull, there’s going to be real heartbreak. And then, how do you work past that, when there’s also real love? I want to treat it as seriously as a romantic love story, because friendships are huge love stories in our lives, and are sustaining in many areas of our lives. Friendship, like the Greeks spoke of it, is one of the pillars of love. I want to treat this friendship, and what they found and what they gave to each other, with respect. So the question is, how can they get past it, and how do they find each other again? Can they trust each other after such a big betrayal? Sometimes in the writer’s room, we break it down into romantic love story tropes and think about how that gets translated into friendship and what that feels like. The answer to your question is: it’s a long road to get back because she was lying to Olympia this whole time, and yet, as she’s told Olympia over and over in Episode 17, two things can be true: I love you, and I lied to you, and that’s what she will be fighting for.
DEADLINE: This is a similar situation she is facing with Julian.
JSU: Exactly. It’s difficult for Olympia to let her walls down and trust. So the fact that she trusted Matty and exposed her vulnerabilities is part of the pain of the betrayal. At the same time, she found the document, and Matty was right. So, how does that impact her feelings of betrayal? It complicates everything, the fact that Matty was right. These complicated emotions in her life are what we are exploring at the beginning of the second season.
DEADLINE: Sarah (Leah Lewis) missed taking the lead on a case as Matty prioritized her needs above the team’s. Why was it so important to make things right for her?
JSU: It’s important for us as the writers, but also for the character, for Matty, to reckon with all the collateral damage of her mission. All the people she hurt in the ways she needed to get to whatever goal she had set for herself were real people with real lives, and she had to make it right. Sarah is one of them, and she lost some confidence as a result. She was passed over for this case she thought she got, but didn’t because Matty was trying to keep her secret. It weighs on Matty heavily. It was like this doll house, and Matty was trying to get what she needed without moving any furniture or causing too much chaos. She didn’t leave too many fingerprints, not hurting too many people that she cared about. Sarah is the last thing she feels guilty about, and Matty wants to see her succeed. It was a big deal for the character to get to be in court, and to feel everybody rallying around her and her team. You want that warm feeling in the finale, too, of our team coming together and everybody rooting for Sarah. Leah was so excited to get the case in the finale. She waited all season for her moment, and she really crushed it. I’m so lucky to get to work with those actors.
Aaron D. Harris as Alfie Kingston
DEADLINE: To wrap up, the finale dropped another big reveal to keep us on our toes. A man who is potentially Alfie’s (Aaron D. Harris) father is at Matty’s door. Set us up for what’s ahead in Season 2, please.
JSU: Yes, this man has shown up, and he says he’s Alfie’s father, and it will throw everything into chaos. The entire show has been built around Matty’s sense of control. We flash back to see how she masterminded things, and suddenly, Olympia has this piece of information that Matty does not know. There’s also this new element throwing her home life, which is her center, her grounding center, into absolute chaos. So I think you’re going to see what happens to this character when suddenly she’s under all different kinds of pressures and isn’t the one in control. I am really excited to see what Kathy Bates does with that.
