Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for Matlock Episode 13.
Family day has arrived at Jacobson Moore on Matlock, and as to be expected, some chaos ensues, as Matty (Kathy Bates) debates whether bringing Alfie (Aaron Harris) is worth the risk of exposure. Ultimately, the charming tween convinces his grandmother that bringing him to the firm will be an asset to her running Julian’s (Jason Ritter) ID badge, with the goal being to find out where Julian was when the documents from the Wellbrexa case disappeared.
Corporate espionage is harder than usual this week because Matty is still reeling from her confrontation with Edwin (Sam Anderson) about her part in Ellie’s overdose. Meanwhile, Olympia (Skye P. Marshall) and YouThree tackle a manslaughter case where a sorority girl is charged with drugging her roommate with a dangerous alcoholic energy drink that Olympia wants to take off the market, and the circumstances only worsen Matty’s guilt. The weight of the burden almost becomes too much until Matty finds an outlet in the most unlikely of places. It’s a good thing she’s found a release now because the law firm isn’t the only place to host a family reunion. Matty has her own family to deal with now, and it’s going to make everything more complicated.
Drunk Sorority Girls Exacerbate Matty’s Guilt in ‘Matlock’ Episode 13

Image via CBS

Olympia has her heart set on getting a dangerous drink taken off the market with a class-action lawsuit, but the case is thrown into jeopardy when a local sorority girl, Zoey (Galilea La Salvia), is arrested for dosing her roommate. If the college student were to be convicted, it would set a precedent of personal responsibility and damage Olympia’s argument against the toxicity of the drink.
The team is able to prove that one of the other sorority girls dosed the drink meant for Zoey, but the guilt Zoey feels over a fellow sister being dead only reminds Matty of her own guilt about Ellie’s overdose. Throughout the case, Matty constantly has flashbacks to her argument with Edwin and worries about him calling her a bull in a china shop. It takes her focus from the case and Olympia notices that something is off, but luckily Billy (David Del Rio) and Sarah (Leah Lewis) are back in cahoots and their hyper-observational skills pick up on a photo of one of Zoey’s sorority sisters putting her ID back in her drawer, proving Zoey didn’t buy the fatal drink.
YouTwo Have Some Romantic Drama in ‘Matlock’ Episode 13

Image via CBS

While Billy and Sarah work well enough to get a win in court, their romantic entanglements don’t go as smoothly. Billy is fully engaged in hooking up with Sarah’s nemesis Simone (Andrea Londo), using their supply closet makeout sessions to ask Simone to stop torturing his teammate, but Simone refuses. That begs the question: is Simone only hooking up with Billy to get with Sarah? It’s a truth he should consider more seriously. The honeymoon period for this new connection won’t last long anyway, because Sarah catches them coming out of the supply closet together. She’d already caught Billy with lipstick on his collar, so now she knows that his new romantic partner is the person out to destroy her.
Sarah doesn’t have a lot of time to think about Billy’s betrayal before going through her own romantic turbulence, as it’s finally time to check in with Kira (Piper Curda) about their relationship status. Sarah wants a monogamous relationship with Kira, but the latter doesn’t see herself as the monogamy type. She asks if Sarah could ever see herself in an open relationship, but we’ve all seen how hard it is for Sarah to attach. There’s no way she could function in an open relationship without first working on her intense trust issues. That doesn’t seem like a possibility in her current circumstances. It’s a shame if this is the end of Sarah and Kira, because they were absolutely adorable together.

Related

The Stars of ‘Severance,’ ‘Agatha All Along,’ Matlock,’ and More Are Coming to PaleyFest Next Month

The event begins on March 21.

Alfie Makes a Trip to the Office in ‘Matlock’ Episode 13

Image via CBS

Don’t forget, it’s family day at Jacobson Moore! So all of this drama is happening while employees are bringing in their kids and family for a non-denominational “Easter” celebration. Alfie convinces Matty to bring him in so that he can orchestrate a distraction, allowing her to go down to the security station and run Julian’s ID card. (We suspend disbelief that the keycard wouldn’t have been disabled days before when Julian reported it missing, or else he wouldn’t have been able to get anywhere in the office.) Alfie causes a whole office panic when he locks himself in the stairwell, giving Matty the time she needs to print out Julian’s whereabouts on the day the Wellbrexa files went missing.
Olympia also backs off checking on Matty once she’s able to finally meet Alfie, which is a relief. Matty walks willingly into the danger zone at the end of the day, though, by checking on Senior (Beau Bridges) while he screams for his assistant to bring him a pillow. He’s getting high in his office, and Matty makes the baffling decision to join him. The two trade war stories about regrets and Senior encourages her to talk to the person she let down as if they were still there. So Matty gives a tearful, intense apology to Ellie without telling Senior who she’s talking about. But the boss is already suspicious of Matty, and getting high with him makes Matty vulnerable to giving away clues she can’t afford for Senior to decipher. She doesn’t appear to give anything away in the moment, but only time will tell — and she did need to get that guilt off her chest to be back on her A-game in the office. At least Matty successfully survives family day, an Alfie visit to the office, and getting high with Senior in his zero-gravity chairs.
‘Matlock’ Episode 13 Ends With an Unexpected Family Reunion

However, the day is not without hiccups, as Matty returns home to the mansion still high and with a massive case of the munchies. She immediately digs into a cooling pie on the kitchen counter without realizing it’s her sister Bitsy’s (Julie Hagerty) signature recipe. When Matty didn’t answer her sister’s incessant calls, Bitsy hopped on a plane and came to see Matty instead.
Now Matty has to figure out a way to continue her investigation without getting her very invested sister involved. Alfie may be a pro at corporate espionage, but we can only imagine how Bitsy might complicate things if she finds herself at Jacobson Moore or around any of Matty’s colleagues. However, you don’t bring in a comedy legend like Julie Hagerty unless you’re planning some hilarious chaos, so bring it on, Matlock.
Matlock continues Thursdays at 10 PM on CBS. Episodes are available to stream the next day on Paramount+.

Matlock

Family Day brings chaos to Jacobson Moore in Matlock Episode 13.

Release Date

September 22, 2024

Network

CBS

Writers

Jennie Snyder Urman

Pros & Cons

Julie Hagerty is a massive get for the comedy.
Alfie gets to interact directly with the lawyers.
High Matty is an absolute delight.

Sarah is taking too many punches.
Billy seems to be getting played.
We still don’t know what Julian’s ID card revealed.