‘Matlock’s Season 1 Finale Fails to Deliver Big Revelations’

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Initially, the surprising premiere of Matlock unveiled Madeline’s mission for revenge and her hidden persona, leaving viewers curious about the evolution of this intriguing character. Though subsequent episodes kept interest alive, viewers grew increasingly restless as the show prolonged the revelation of Madeline’s true identity and the solving of its central mystery, as indicated by the series’ decreasing viewership over time.

In what appeared to be a creative standstill for Matlock, Episode 17 titled “I Was That, Too,” surprisingly offered the long-awaited resolution with Madeline getting close to securing justice. Additionally, Olympia found herself uncovering Madeline’s intricate deceit. Furthermore, this episode paved the way for a season finale that was hyped as explosive, promising to resolve family matters both figuratively and literally. This would be achieved by triggering significant changes in the series itself and the lives of its primary characters.

While the two-hour season finale held great potential, it ultimately fell short of its promises. Rather than shocking audiences with unexpected twists, the finale offered lackluster revelations and excessively lengthy side plots. The overall feeling is that the show has strayed from its initial inspiration, as if the creators of Matlock struggled to come up with a compelling creative path for the series beyond the first season. Contrary to setting the stage for an exciting second season, the finale seemed more like the start of the end.

The ‘Matlock’ Season Finale Features Three Weak Cliffhangers

The series titled Matlock initially unfolds as a mystery-revenge drama, where the lead character, Madeline Matlock, portrayed by Kathy Bates, assumes a covert role at the law firm Jacobson Moore to unmask the partner responsible for withholding documents linked to the opioid crisis that claimed her daughter’s life. Over the course of multiple episodes, there’s an intricate game of hide-and-seek between Madeline and her unsuspecting suspects – Julian, Olympia, and the firm’s senior partner. The tension culminates in Episode 17 when Madeline discloses to Olympia that she has proof pointing towards Julian, Olympia’s ex-husband and father of her children, as the partner who concealed the incriminating documents.

In Episode 17, Matlock appeared to be laying a trap for viewers with Julian as the main suspect, hinting at an intricate deception in the season finale. However, it ultimately turned out that Julian was indeed the guilty party in the final episode, when Olympia found the crucial Wellbrexa documents in his bank safe deposit box. This revelation results in a poignant scene where Julian confesses tearfully to Olympia and begs her for secrecy. Despite the anticipation leading up to this climactic moment, it feels somewhat anticlimactic as if Julian was chosen simply due to convenience rather than a thorough investigation of other suspects.

It appears that the final episode of the series seems to offer two additional suspenseful endings, but these do not seem particularly significant creatively. In the second cliffhanger, Billy from Jacobson Moore finds out his ex-girlfriend is carrying his child. Interestingly, while David and Sarah have developed a humorous partnership on Matlock, their prominent role in the finale – where Sarah attempts her first criminal case – underscores how insignificant the show’s weekly mystery format has become, almost serving as a distraction instead.

In simpler terms, the third suspenseful moment at the end of the final episode centers around a secretive character who declares himself as the biological father of Madeline’s adopted grandson Alfie. Alfie has been living with Madeline and her husband Edwin since his mother’s death due to an overdose. This storyline, which was only briefly mentioned in earlier episodes and seemed unimportant, ending the season finale feels symbolic of the overall feeling of creative struggle that is evident throughout the final episode.

‘Matlock’ Has Become Much Too Predictable

In the initial episode of Matlock, viewers found themselves genuinely thrilled due to the unexpected turn of events, as this twist sparked anticipation for more intriguing developments throughout the series’ first season and beyond. The fact that CBS chose to renew the show for a second season after broadcasting only two episodes hinted at the creative team having a well-thought-out plan for the show’s extended run. Nevertheless, the ending of the first season suggests that Matlock might have exhausted its reservoir of surprises.

As we move towards the next season, the key question arises: Will Julian’s emotional revelation persuade Olympia to either conceal or expose the vital Wellbrexa papers to shield him from both personal and professional disaster? However, considering Olympia’s distressed response to Julian’s heartfelt confession, it appears that the answer is clear. With Julian asserting that he hid the documents upon his father’s, Senior’s, instructions, the season finale has set up a dynamic for the second season where Julian, Olympia, and perhaps Madeline collaborate against Senior, who has solidified his role as the main antagonist of the show.

In a similar vein to how the interpersonal dynamics in the TV show Matlock make the most impactful moments during the season finale, these relationships and Madeline’s legal work should take center stage in the upcoming second season. Unlike the previously anticipated move to San Francisco with her grandson and husband following the resolution of the Wellbrexa conspiracy, Madeline has found a renewed passion for law that compels her to continue practicing. This newfound love for law, however, may prove difficult for Madeline if she intends on taking down the managing partner at Jacobson Moore, where she now works.

‘Matlock’ Faces an Uncertain Future

Since the debut of the first episode of Matlock, which drew CBS’s largest series premiere audience in five years (7.74 million viewers), the show’s ratings have been steadily and significantly dropping. The season finale, a two-hour event featuring “Tricks of the Trade — Part One” and “Tricks of the Trade — Part Two,” was only the third time in 2025 that an episode of Matlock managed to attract over six million viewers.

Despite the long-running series, Matlock, remaining an exceptional platform for Kathy Bates’ versatile acting skills at 76 years old, it challenges the usual norms in a TV landscape primarily aimed at the 18-49 age group. As the excitement from the show’s second season renewal starts to wane, it remains uncertain if Matlock will have a third season unless it can revitalize creatively, as the season finale seems to lack the necessary innovation and instead takes viewers on a repetitive tour through the brief Matlock universe, ultimately leaving them in a location not too dissimilar from where they started. You can catch up with Matlock on Paramount+.

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2025-04-21 04:05