Matlock Recap: Brace for Impact

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One peculiar characteristic of growing older is that our minds often categorize individuals who appear traditionally ‘elderly’ – such as gray hair, wrinkles, etc. – with the same generation as the elderly people from our younger years. This thought arises because in this week’s Matlock, Matty had a meaningful chat with a peer about witnessing Janis Joplin at Woodstock, which initially caused me to experience cognitive dissonance. To my 54-year-old perspective, elderly people should be listening to music by Guy Lombardo and Frank Sinatra. However, I should recognize that they were likely part of the counterculture generation during the Summer of Love, despite my initial assumptions. I confess – as many of us do – in attributing certain traits and beliefs to a person based solely on their appearance.

However, the paradox in Matty’s conversation with Joplin is that it’s actually a strategy: an attempt to get near a woman who could potentially provide crucial information for Jacobson-Moore’s current case. Meanwhile, Olympia’s legal team is defending Tranquil Pines, a nursing home under lawsuit by the Higgins family, claiming negligence led to Walter Higgins’ stroke death. Matty’s objective is to extract valuable details from the residents by empathizing with them, fellow seniors. This leads her to discuss topics like free love and rock ‘n’ roll with Lucille, Walter’s partner.

Olympia and Matty aim to show that Walter’s careless lifestyle, particularly his excessive use of erectile dysfunction medication, may have contributed significantly more to his demise than any alleged nursing home neglect. To gather evidence, Matty dresses up in her imitation Ann Taylor slacks and poses as a prospective resident, hoping to pry gossip from the other residents about the romantic affairs at Tranquil Pines. (As she points to a man with a walker, one woman whispers, “His legs aren’t in great shape, but his tongue…”)

Occasionally on the show Matlock, Matty’s job and her covert plan have placed her in an adversarial position. She convinced Olympia to take this case initially because Tranquil Pines was one of Julian’s clients. By stealing them, Olympia will maintain a high level of hostility in her divorce case that could potentially trigger a discovery process, revealing beneficial documents from the Jacobson-Moore case. To execute this strategy, which is rather underhanded, Matty finds herself assisting Olympia in proving that an apparently kind man was responsible for his own tragic demise.

Besides this, it’s evident that she unintentionally influences Sarah in ways that might escalate into serious issues. Initially hesitant, Sarah joins Matty on their visits to Tranquil Pines, where she gradually exposes a more fragile side of herself. At first resentful about being immersed in the scent of elderly individuals, Sarah later demonstrates remarkable compassion by assisting a confused resident back to her room and softly singing Patsy Cline’s “Walkin’ After Midnight” to her.

Besides allowing Leah Lewis to exhibit her beautiful singing talent once more, Sarah’s scenes at the nursing home provide Lewis with opportunities to deliver impactful monologues about her character’s past and cultural identity. In one instance, when Matty questions Sarah’s claim that she is her granddaughter by saying, “We don’t share the same family resemblance,” Sarah responds sharply by revealing that she was adopted and her actual grandmother does bear a strong likeness to Matty. Later on, after assisting a woman with dementia, Sarah recounts an incident where her grandmother fiercely defended her against racial slurs… until she developed dementia herself, at which point she would shout, “Remove this Asian girl from my room!

Sarah’s significant personal instances brought to mind certain powerful Olympia scenes from earlier this season, where she would bristle at Matty for demanding the kind of unique respect that is seldom granted to Black women in such high-stress careers. Similar to how Olympia’s honesty eventually altered Matty’s view of her, potentially harming her objectives, Sarah’s honesty also results in a swift decision and a tactical blunder.

This week, we have another case similar to a weekly format, and it features Autry (Hal Williams), a helpful elderly gentleman who appeared in Matlock’s second episode. He’s lending a hand with our current investigation by applying his skills as a retired electrician to reveal that residents at Tranquil Pines are sabotaging their security systems. However, Autry himself requires aid from Jacobson-Moore. His housing cooperative is threatening to evict him due to excessive television volume, but he suspects the real motive is that his neighbor wants his apartment instead.

As a film enthusiast, I find myself pressed for time, so I delegate the decision of representing Autry in court to Matty. Initially, I choose Sarah, observing her knack for connecting with older folks during our time at Tranquil Pines. However, on a whim, I change my mind and assign the task to Billy. To everyone’s surprise, Billy delivers an outstanding performance in court, exposing Autry’s sneaky neighbor who had been tampering with Autry’s TV remote control, turning it up at night surreptitiously.

Billy’s achievements and helpful advice on the Tranquil Pines case have left Sarah in a fit of anger. She accuses Matty for the series of unfortunate workdays she has experienced. When Matty apologizes earnestly, Sarah coldly retorts, “You will pay for it.

It might not have been wise for the person exploring Jacobson-Moore’s digital records to create an adversary with someone dating a Jacobson-Moore IT employee. Here’s another point to consider: Sarah, who is in an a cappella group with Shae, known as a reliable truth-teller, also has personal motives to target Matty.

As a movie enthusiast, I can’t help but ponder over the intricate plot twists that unfolded. It seems Matty unknowingly lost control of her spy pen when Julian carelessly used it as an everyday writing tool. When this pen ended up in Olympia’s hands, Billy, with his keen eye for detail, identified it as a secret recording device and decided to hand it over to the police officers within his family. However, since the email account linked to the pen’s data was traceable, Matty felt compelled to retrieve it, which led her to rummage through Billy’s desk. In an attempt to divert suspicion, she handed him Audrey’s case instead. Oh, the drama! The mistakes just keep piling up, one after another.

It’s possible there are valid explanations behind Matty committing numerous unnecessary mistakes. Her inner self might be reacting, as it seems she has been overstepping moral and ethical boundaries. In their courtroom victory with Tranquil Pines, Matty and Olympia successfully exposed Lucille’s poisoning of Walter. However, Lucille acted out of spite towards Tranquil Pines, as Walter himself had requested her to do so — because he loathed the institution deeply enough to wish for his own demise. This is the very place Matty defended, and it all happened just to keep Olympia and Julian at odds with each other. What’s the point of triumph in this situation?

Additionally, it’s worth noting that Matty appears to be quite senior. She seamlessly blends in with the other residents at Tranquil Pines, many of whom are gradually weakening and experiencing memory loss. A heartwarming scene occurs in this episode where Matty attempts to console Olympia, who is concerned about losing grip on this case and potentially her career. Matty offers words of encouragement, suggesting that Olympia’s future at Jacobson-Moore could span over 40 years. As for Matty herself, she casually remarks, “I’ll be gone long before then, girl.

Essentially, she’s running out of time to accomplish significant tasks, and she’s aware of that. This chance may not come again at Jacobson-Moore, or her abilities might not last either. Therefore, it adds to the sadness when her choices seem to worsen the situation further.

Hot Doggin’

Sarah’s recent professional difficulties are undeniably tough on her, and I’m not trying to blame her entirely. However, it appears that some of these issues might stem from her own actions or inactions. For instance, she consistently struggles to build relationships with clients, and she often seems ready to bend or even break the rules she’s pledged to uphold. Take the Tranquil Pines case as an example: when new damaging facts about their client come to light, Sarah questions whether they need to disclose this information to the other side – a question that raises concerns. Is this really the type of attorney you’d want leading a legal team?

Despite the intensity of this episode, there are instances of humor, primarily centered around Billy’s oversized belt buckle. He wears it to convey self-assurance and attract women, causing Sarah to joke, “If you find a woman who appreciates that belt, propose!” Shortly afterwards, Matty enters the office and comments, “Cute belt!”, followed by Autry’s arrival, who is both intrigued by Billy’s trial strategy and his belt, as Autry also owns a large buckle himself. (“Wise thinking from my buckle partner!”)

Indeed, Matty manages to retrieve the spy pen from Billy and swaps it with an untraceable one for Billy’s law enforcement relatives. The motive behind this action was to increase Olympia’s suspicion towards Julian, as she believes he might be spying on her. Things are about to turn quite messy.

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2025-02-07 07:57