Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for Matlock Episode 14.The day Matlock fans have been waiting for all season has finally arrived — well, it at least appears that way in this week’s episode, but you can never be 100 percent sure with this show. Matty (Kathy Bates) retraces Julian’s (Jason Ritter) footsteps from the day the Wellbrexa documents were taken via his key card check-ins and finds herself at her most dreaded conclusion. Now her loyalty will be tested, and we’ll see whether new friends or avenging Ellie will take precedence.
This is the strongest episode Matlock has had in a minute, as important parts of Matty’s backstory are revealed along with the implications those closing minutes have for the rest of the season. (And we love every time we get Shae (Yael Grobglas) back on our screens!) This week’s episode is also important for YouTwo, as Billy (David Del Rio) and Sarah (Leah Lewis) prove they are serious about valuing and maintaining their friendship, even when they disagree.
YouTwo’s Friendship Prevails in ‘Matlock’ Episode 14

Image via CBS

YouTwo have been through the wringer in the first season of Matlock. They’ve competed for Olympia’s (Skye P. Marshall) attention. They’ve fallen out over the right to try a case on their own. This week, they’re tested by the possibility of a new office and Billy’s continued dalliance with Simone (Andrea Londo). Obviously, Sarah would prefer Billy hook up with anyone besides her work nemesis, but she manages to put her reservations aside in favor of their friendship.
They make a truce that Sarah will listen to Billy complain about Simone’s sneaky antics if Billy stops pointing out that Sarah is incapable of making the open relationship Kira (Piper Curda) wants work. Either way, it’s a massive moment of growth for this team. I still miss the days when Matty was thick as thieves with them, but having YouTwo back on stable ground is good enough for now. We’ll see if they can keep this maturity up when someone gets Olympia’s old office to themselves.

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Matty’s Inspiration Saves the Day in ‘Matlock’ Episode 14

Image via CBS

Meanwhile, Julie Hagerty does not disappoint as Matty’s sister Bitsy. It turns out that Matty’s younger sister was the main inspiration for her Jacobson Moore alter-ego, complete with anecdotes from the infamous Cindy Shapiro. There is a lot of unresolved tension between Matty and her sister, though, and it has little to do with Bitsy’s takeover of Matty’s kitchen. We learn that Bitsy allowed Ellie to hide out at her house for a week after one of her first stints in rehab when she was nineteen years old. Matty spent the entire time scared out of her mind about where her daughter had disappeared to, and she blamed Bitsy for not keeping proper tabs on Ellie. Bitsy had been trying to do right by her niece, and Matty eventually had to recognize that Bitsy was not responsible for Ellie’s addiction and the issues it caused the family.
The two are able to hash out the decades-old disagreement, but not before Bitsy discovers Matty’s investigation board in her office and demands answers. Matty explains the gambit and Bitsy immediately freaks out, which feels like a very valid concern that Matty should take more seriously. Being an old lady is not an actual defense for fraud. Despite Bitsy’s concern, she helps Matty come up with an evidence workaround that moves the needle on the Slammed class action lawsuit. Matty is able to use social media proof that the drink company purposefully targeted minors with secret parties to convince the mother of the sorority girl who was killed in last week’s episode to participate in the lawsuit — which changes the tide of the case.
Matty Is Forced to Face a Painful Truth in ‘Matlock’ Episode 14

Matty is able to get a win in court, but she faces a devastating loss on a personal front. She follows every stop Julian made with his key card on the day the Wellbrexa documents disappeared while she and Edwin (Sam Anderson) try to sketch out Julian and Shae’s interactions throughout that day. Thanks to some old blueprints and wandering around, Matty is confident that Julian never destroyed the documents that would help her prove Jacobson Moore hid evidence that would have taken opiates off the streets ten years earlier. Unfortunately, Matty follows Julian’s keycard path all the way to Olympia’s old office. The voice of Olympia in her head forces her to reconcile that Julian wasn’t the one who took the documents after all. Olympia must have taken Julian’s keycard by mistake – something that apparently happens very often – and took the documents back to her old office.
Matty doesn’t confront Olympia in the episode, so it’s not confirmed that Olympia is the culprit, but Matty can no longer deny that her mentor is the new prime suspect. The discovery comes after Olympia promised that Matty would be her first hire if she was forced to leave the firm, showing how close the two have become over the course of the season. Now Matty has to figure out what she wants to do with the information she has. Does she have the guts to scour Olympia’s old office and find the Wellbrexa documents? Can she confront Olympia? Is she willing to send the woman who has given her a second career to jail? Matty has to decide whether avenging Ellie or protecting her new friend is more important, and what it will mean for her future either way.
Matlock continues Thursdays at 9 PM on CBS. Episodes are available the next day on Paramount+.

Matlock

Matty’s investigation leads to a devastating conclusion in Matlock Episode 14.

Release Date

September 22, 2024

Network

CBS

Writers

Jennie Snyder Urman

Pros & Cons

We get our biggest break in the Wellbrexa case yet.
Julie Hagerty is a DELIGHT.
YouTwo aren’t taking their friendship for granted.

Matty isn’t taking this big risk seriously enough.
The lack of security over keycards at Jacobson Moore is concerning.