Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for Matlock Episode 17.The penultimate episode of Matlock Season 1 kicks off right where we left Matty (Kathy Bates) – caught by Olympia (Skye P. Marshall) outside of her alleged Queens apartment, where she usually catches her town car home. Olympia drags Matty back to the office and sequesters her in an office without her phone or any other electronics to explain every lie she has told up to that point. It seems like the gig is up, but never underestimate Matty, especially when her back is against a wall.
While Matty tries to figure out her predicament, Olympia is dragged into a case involving the pregnant daughter-in-law of one of Senior’s (Beau Bridges) clients, Amy (Eliza Bennett), who needs a divorce from her controlling husband before her baby is born and he realizes she’s been unfaithful. It’s a delicate line for Olympia to toe, especially with the partner vote just around the corner. This week’s episode leaves us with major questions going into the season finale, and still no clue how this is going to shake out for everyone involved.
‘Matlock’ Episode 17 Follows an All-Nighter Annulment

Image via CBS

Amy’s husband has moved up her scheduled c-section to the next morning, which means she needs a divorce with only hours to spare. Divorces don’t work like that, but after hearing how much control Amy’s husband has over her life, Olympia works with Sarah (Leah Lewis) and Billy (David Del Rio) to put together a case for a temporary restraining order that will allow Amy to have the baby without her husband signing the birth certificate and give the team more time to orchestrate a divorce and custody case.
There’s not enough threatening evidence to secure the restraining order, but Amy’s husband, Grant (Michael Antosy), arrives at the law firm. He threatens Olympia in the lobby, and Billy is able to get it on camera to support their case. That doesn’t stop Grant from telling Senior what’s going on, though, and he demands that Olympia and the team let Amy go. If they do, then Grant will give her the divorce she wanted, which tips Olympia off that there’s something nefarious within the couple’s prenuptial agreement.
Olympia puts Matty on the case to find a loophole. They figure out they can argue for an annulment based on fraud to void the prenup, but the clock starts ticking a lot faster once Amy starts having legitimate labor pains. The team uses old text messages between the couple and an interview with Grant’s priest to prove that he lied to Amy about his intentions for their children while they were dating. It’s enough to convince the judge to give an emergency annulment, which allows Amy to have her baby peacefully and figure out the next steps for her and her daughter.

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Olympia Puts Matty in the Hotseat After Bombshell Discovery in New ‘Matlock’ Episode 17 Sneak Peek

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Matty Has a Potential Recruit in ‘Matlock’ Episode 17

Image via CBS

Olympia’s wrath over Matty’s duplicity is not to be underestimated. She takes Matty’s stuff, frisks her, and leaves her in the empty office to confess her sins (I have a lot of questions about the legality of all of this). When Olympia reads that Matty’s husband is still alive, her rage increases. By the time Matty admits that she has Olympia’s laptop with the voicemail from her dead father, Olympia is apoplectic. Olympia calms down a little bit when she realizes she needs Matty’s help with the Amy case. Matty agrees to look over Amy and Grant’s marriage documents if Olympia agrees to check out the Wellbrexa file and see that the document is missing for herself. From there, Matty tries to convince Olympia that their friendship is real, but Olympia isn’t ready for forgiveness yet.
Luckily for Matty, Sarah is insistent that YouThree be together to work on Amy’s case. She tries to call Matty in despite Olympia’s insistence that the older lawyer has the night off. That leads Sarah and Billy to discover that Olympia has taken Matty’s phone, and they follow her to where Matty is being kept on the 25th floor. Matty doesn’t sell Olympia out, but she is able to manipulate the situation to get her phone back and the opportunity to go back down to the main office floor.
The team assembles Amy’s defense, and Matty continues to hole up in the upstairs office until Olympia is ready to let her go. We see exactly what Matty’s lies about Julian (Jason Ritter) and the pen did to Olympia’s mental health, but it also showed that Olympia has never fully trusted him. Olympia read Ellie’s obituary and tried one more time to question Julian about where he got the money to buy their brownstone. His answer wasn’t satisfactory, because Olympia demanded that Matty take her home to meet Edwin (Sam Anderson) and Alfie (Aaron D. Harris). Does this mean that Olympia is now on Matty’s team, or is Olympia putting herself in a place to protect Julian, and thus her kids? Only the super-sized finale will tell.
Matlock Season 1 concludes on Thursday, April 17 at 9PM on CBS. The episode will be available to stream the next day on Paramount+.

Matlock

Olympia faces a crossroads as Matty’s scheme is revealed in Matlock Episode 17.

Release Date

September 22, 2024

Network

CBS

Writers

Jennie Snyder Urman

Pros & Cons

The tension between Olympia and Matty is ELITE.
Sarah and Billy make responsible relationship decisions.
A top series cliffhanger really sets up the finale.

Olympia essentially kidnaps Matty and it seems really illegal.