The news that there will definitely be a Matlock Season 2 is exciting, but there’s a question lingering over it.
The central premise depends on Kathy Bates’ Madeline infiltrating Jacobson and Moore to prove one or more of the lawyers working there covered up the existence of documents related to the opioid crisis.
The original plan was for Madeline to get her proof by the end of Matlock Season 1, but that doesn’t seem to leave much room for any interesting stories in Season 2. Fortunately, there are a couple of ways that Matlock can deal with this problem.
Matlock Season 2 Could Pull An Elsbeth
Elsbeth had a similar problem at the end of Season 1.
With the case against Captain Wagner over, there was no real reason for Elsbeth to stay in New York for Season 2, so the writers had Wagner invite her to stay on as a consultant.
However, Matlock might find it more difficult to pull off. In Elsbeth’s case, the object of her investigation was cleared of all wrongdoing and became an ally rather than an enemy, and her role allowed her to be dispatched to investigate other NYPD corruption if needed.
However, Madeline is trying to bring down the entire law firm, so it wouldn’t make sense for anyone to ask her to remain at Jacobson and Moore once her deception is discovered and the villains are unmasked.
Furthermore, her investigation depends on the other lawyers buying her bumbling old lady act.
Once she exposes their unethical behavior, won’t that prove that she’s far more with it than they realized?
There is one way this could work, and it would probably be in keeping with the show’s theme of people not being what they seem.
Even though Madeline is investigating the entire firm, it’s possible that not everyone wanted to participate in the cover-up.
There’s a reason she’s focusing on each member individually and trying to determine who did what.
Not everyone is equally to blame for the cover-up, and it may turn out that some people didn’t participate at all.
If that is the case, Madeline might find an ally or two during the course of her investigation. It doesn’t even have to be any of the major characters.
Clerks or first-year associates who wanted to speak up against corruption but were afraid of losing their jobs or who had been blackmailed into keeping their mouths shut could be among the group.
It would be a neat twist if Shae, the human lie detector, had avoided Olympia in the past because she was aware of what was going on but had nothing to back it up but her gut instincts about who was lying.
Madeline is currently terrified of Shae realizing her secret, but Shae could be her strongest ally in the end.
Once the documents issue has been exposed, Matlock Season 2 could focus on those who disapproved of the corruption, leaving Jacobson and Moore to start their own, more ethical law firm.
Of course, that wouldn’t do much for Matlock Season 2 in terms of making it more than a standard law procedural that fought different cases each week, although it would be interesting and would allow Madeline to continue pretending to be less intelligent than she is to win cases.
What if Matlock Season 2 Focused Exclusively On Similar Corruption Elsewhere?
If it does take up the idea of Madeline and the white hat lawyers starting their own firm, Matlock Season 2 could easily create a new, satisfying season-long arc.
They could represent a whistleblower in a similar case, which could lead to them investigating a different cover-up or corruption issue at another powerful firm.
This case could pit them against Jacobson and Moore, which would allow Madeline to continue her revenge by investigating her old firm’s ties to the new accusations of unethical behavior while also beating them in court.
Again, it wouldn’t be exactly the same as what we’ve got now, but hopefully, that kind of story would recapture some of the magic of the original premise.
Matlock Could Also Give Us A Partial Answer
If the idea of Madeline and some other holdouts from Jacobson and Moore doesn’t appeal to you, maybe this will:
Season 1 ends on a cliffhanger, such as Alfie helping Madeline uncover a major piece of evidence that will have to be resolved during Matlock Season 2.
Although the producers have said they will end the documents story by the Season 1 finale, they might have to revise their plans in order to keep things going.
The cliffhanger solution makes it so they don’t break their word. Madeline and Alfie have their evidence as the credits roll, which means the case has been solved.
That doesn’t preclude something going wrong when Matlock picks up where it left off.
Madeline keeps succeeding with tricks such as switching computers before spilling her coffee on “Olympia’s” computer on Matlock Season 1 Episode 3, but sooner or later, karma might catch up with her.
Someone could steal the evidence out from under her nose, out her as a spy, or otherwise set her back so that she has to keep working to prove what she already knows.
If done well, it wouldn’t feel contrived, and Matlock Season 2 could continue the story that had begun in Season 1.
What do you think, Matlock fanatics? Would it be too much of a cop-out for Madeline to get and then lose the evidence she needs?
Does the idea of Madeline and some more ethical lawyers breaking away from Jacobson and Moore appeal to you more?
Vote in our poll and then hit the comments with your thoughts.
Matlock airs on CBS on Thursdays at 9/8c.
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