Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for the Matlock season 1 finale, "Tricks of the Trade."The season 1 finale of Matlock's reviews, it should come as no surprise that the season's conclusion saves most of the best twists for last. Several of those pertain to the series' true overarching antagonist.

Matty (Kathy Bates) has been sure of Julian's (Jason Ritter) guilt in the Wellbrexa coverup for a couple of episodes now, and Matlock season 1's ending confirms it. But while he knows he's done something terrible, Julian's crippling desire for Senior's (Beau Bridges) approval makes it hard not to sympathize with him. And now that he's quit the firm, it's actually easier for Jacobson Moore to let him take the fall without hurting Senior. However, those who suspected that Senior was the real villain, regardless of who hid the documents, received even more confirmation from what initially seemed like a positive plot development.

Olympia Gets Unexpectedly Promoted In The Matlock Season 1 Finale

There Were Times It Seemed She’d Leave The Firm

Olympia's relationship with Julian in Matlock has always had its ups and downs, but their partner race made things particularly rocky for a while. It seemed very much at times like Olympia was going to end up leaving the firm, and she even considered taking a massive income cut to go into public defense instead of working for private clients. This suggests she cares more about her ability to help people than she does about making money, even though she's been trying to use Jacobson Moore's resources as a means of doing both simultaneously.

That innate goodness is part of why Olympia never made sense as the series' main villain, even when Matlock episode 14 strongly suggested Olympia's guilt. However, that goodness is also why Olympia's promotion to partner doesn't immediately make a lot of sense for Jacobson Moore. Although she's had some big wins recently, such as her lawsuit against Slamm'd, Julian and his team of pharma bros seem like they'd be bigger moneymakers for the firm overall. While it might initially appear that Olympia is getting her just reward, Senior might have something else up his sleeve.

How Olympia's Promotion Is Likely Senior's Way Of Protecting Jacobson Moore

She Gives Them More Plausible Deniability Than Julian Would

"You now have a stake in everything that happens at Jacobson Moore," says Senior after formally announcing Olympia's promotion. But just like Madeline Matlock always has a trick up her sleeve, Senior can hardly open his mouth without saying something that sounds surreptitiously villainous. This is no exception, as Senior strongly implies that he expects Olympia to protect the firm through underhanded tactics. He nearly says as much when the two share a toast of champagne in the confetti-filled conference room:

"I want someone who isn't afraid to swim upstream, break a few rules…. Those within the legal limit. Which you do well because you're an excellent lawyer. Didn't want to risk losing you to another firm. That's the damn truth."

Asking Olympia to break rules "within the legal limit" sounds like a reflection of how she operates already. She and Matty excel at finding and exploiting loopholes to win their cases. But with everything we know about Senior, it seems more than likely that he'll ask Olympia to go beyond the law at one point or another. Because she typically takes cases that reflect her values, having her do his dirty work would give Senior and the firm a lot more plausible deniability in Matlock season 2 than promoting someone who works with Big Pharma like Julian.

What Olympia's Promotion Means For Matlock Season 2

Matty's Fight Just Became Much Easier Or Much Harder

This season tested Matty's friendship with Olympia quite a bit, and Matty was devastated when she briefly thought Olympia was behind the Wellbrexa coverup. Now, whether Matty can trust Olympia is about to be called into question all over again. Worst of all, developments in Alfie's (Aaron D. Harris) Matlock storyline are set to ensure that Matty will begin the next season more vulnerable than she's been to date, as she has yet another reminder of Ellie's (Marnee Carpenter) complicated circumstances hanging around her life.

Olympia is one of the only friends Matty can talk to about Alfie's alleged father, but not if she catches on that Olympia is keeping secrets about the Wellbrexa file. And since Julian is confirmed to return in Matlock season 2, there's every possibility that he and Matty will have a confrontation in their future that could force Olympia to pick sides. But it's also possible the next season of Matlock will involve Olympia using her new influence to go after Senior, a mission that could unite Matty and Julian. Either way, the twists and turns are far from over.

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