‘Matlock’ Fans ‘Shocked’ by Matty’s Sacrifice With Julian

[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for Matlock Season 2 Episode 3, “Tomorrow Is Still Tomorrow.”]

Matty Matlock (Kathy Bates) made a big sacrifice in her hunt for justice in Matlock Season 2’s third episode. Her decision meant that she and Olympia (Skye P. Marshall) could bury the hatchet and focus on the real enemy, Senior (Beau Bridges), but it was still a sacrifice nonetheless. The biggest sacrifice of the episode was made by Emmalyn Belvin (Patricia Belcher), who took responsibility for the Wellbrexa leak to the press even though she wasn’t the culprit, resulting in her losing her job of 40 years without a meaningful farewell.

Fans on Reddit are reacting to “Tomorrow Is Still Tomorrow” and what it means for the future of this secret investigation to root out corruption at Jacobson Moore.

With husband Edwin’s (Sam Anderson) help, Matty realized that she feared losing control of the Wellbrexa investigation now that Olympia is in on it, and it was making her act out of character and make messy decisions. In a conversation with Olympia at the end of the episode, Matty said that she didn’t want Olympia to “hijack” her investigation and make it about her family, when it’s about getting justice for her daughter, Ellie, and the other families who lost loved ones to opioid addictions, addictions that may have been prevented had Senior and Julian (Jason Ritter) not buried evidence of the addictive qualities of the medications 14 years prior.

Matty has rightly wanted Julian to face the consequences of his decision to hide the Wellbrexa study. Olympia wants his manipulative and controlling father, Senior, to be held responsible for it all. At the beginning of this season, Matty felt it would be enough for Julian to take the fall, because he was the one who hid the study. But in Episode 3, she came to terms with the fact that Senior really is the bigger fish to fry.

Matty and Olympia made a deal: Julian will apologize to Matty, Edwin, and Alfie (Aaron D. Harris) for not rejecting his father’s order and “face what his decision cost [their] family.” Olympia agreed without missing a beat. Matlock fans are surprised that Matty would agree to let Julian avoid legal consequences. Of course, that’s not entirely within her control, but she’s no longer pursuing him specifically. His testimony against his own father would be much more useful in Matty’s fight for justice.

“Honestly shocked Matty is only asking for an apology from Julian now, she wanted him jailed so bad, definitely still does,” a fan wrote on a Reddit thread discussing the episode. “That said, I can’t wait to see that Julian apology to Matty and her family. He’s finally gonna find out the consequences firsthand and the truth. I hope it happens, or at least he finds out the truth from jail or wherever.”

“I’m conflicted,” another fan replied. “Because on the one hand he [committed] a very serious crime and deserves to go to jail for it, but on the other hand I think he’s truly haunted by what he did, and has already punished himself more for it than jail ever could.”

Another reply argued that this is the best way forward in the grand scheme of things.

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“I think it’s evident enough at this point that Senior is a bad, bad man,” they said, “so while letting Julian skate isn’t ideal, getting him to testify in order to catch the bigger fish, the real villain behind the malfeasance, is probably worth it.”

While Matty isn’t targeting Julian anymore, that doesn’t mean she has to like him. Her disdain for Julian was clear in this episode, when she had no cordial expression or words for him when they crossed paths in a hallway at work. Fans noticed that Julian may be catching on to Matty’s secrets.

“Did everyone notice Julian’s expression when Matty passed him by in an un-Matlock dour look? Feels like he’s realizing something’s up,” one comment said.

“Yeah, I think she dropped [the] accent too… this was definitely the start of Julian getting the truth,” a viewer replied.

One fan really didn’t like that Matty forgave Olympia for her recording trickery from Episode 2.

“I am so annoyed. Olympia recording Matty and using it as leverage was crossing the line. I thought these two truly had something special,” they said. “As much as I love Julian… Matty is right. I’m team Matty, and Olympia is bothering me a bit lol.”

Fans are also commending Emmalyn Belvin for her bravery, calling her a “hero.” They hope to see more of her as the case against Senior presses on.

“I hope they bring her back in more episodes, like to testify! Or she gets the biggest retirement party later,” one fan said.

Matty and Edwin took care of Emmalyn by anonymously giving her their go-bag of cash that contained $500,000. Yes, the Kingstons are very rich.

Matlock, Thursdays, 9/8c, CBS