Skye P. Marshall as Olympia, Jason Ritter as Julian and Kathy Bates as Madeline Matlock in the 'Matlock' season two finale.

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[This story contains spoilers from the two-part Matlock season two finale, “Who Are You?” and “Matty Matlock.”]

As promised when Matlock creator/showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman last spoke to The Hollywood Reporter on how the second half of season two would unfold, the big pharma Wellbrexa opioid scandal and Jacobson Moore’s unscrupulous role in it is now wrapped up. But that didn’t happen until the very last minutes into the second episode of the two-part season two finale.

After all the hard work of blowing up her life — transforming from wealthy lawyer and happily married Madeline Kingston into Matty Matlock, the folksy septuagenarian left bankrupt by a no-good husband and forced to still work to take care of her grandson Alfie (Aaron Harris), it looked like Matty was going to walk away from it all. But it wasn’t from defeat or bitterness. Instead, she reached a point of forgiveness primarily for herself regarding her daughter Ellie’s deathly drug overdose that she never anticipated. She also realized she wasn’t willing to walk away from her friendship and connection to Olympia.

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Getting to this point broke with a lot of conventional TV storytelling. Skye P. Marshall’s Olympia found out who Oscar and Emmy winner Kathy Bates’ Matty Matlock really was at the end of the first season. Television of yesteryear would have likely had that play out for another season or two. But after Matty and Olympia begin rebuilding their friendship, they revealed to Jason Ritter’s Julian, the son of chief villain Senior (a very savvy performance by Beau Bridges), who Matty really is. Considering that Julian has been sitting by his father’s hospital bed following a stroke, the move was even riskier. Julian, who has dirt on his hands from doing his father’s bidding and removing the damning study revealing Wellbrexa’s wrongdoing, surprisingly joins the duo.

By the show’s end, Julian, especially on discovering that his dad has been faking early dementia and that the father-son closeness he’s longed for is yet another manipulation, is committed to doing whatever it takes — even risking prison time, by working with the DOJ, particularly with Lida Guitierrez portrayed by Gina Rodriguez, the star of Jane the Virgin, the show that got Urman noticed. Julian’s attempt to outsmart Senior boils down to a dramatic moment of his father discovering the wire and crushing him per usual. But everything isn’t what it seems. As Matty and Olympia walk away from Jacobson Moore on their own terms seemingly without bringing down Senior and his precious law firm, it’s revealed they actually did snare him, along with Justina Machado’s Eva, Senior’s disgruntled ex-wife and a partner in the firm and many others, including Julian.

So much happened in the second half of season two. Despite being married 50 years, Matty and husband Edwin (Sam Anderson) weren’t on the same page, mainly because he wants to return to their old life in San Francisco. And then there is the uneasy relationship with Alfie’s father Joey (Niko Nicotera) and the threat of Alfie going through what they did with Ellie after Joey relapses. A case of the week dealing with a company that creates AI versions of your loved ones you can chat with not only raised serious ethical questions with Jane the Virgin’s Yara Martinez as Vicki, who is not just grappling with her sister’s death but must also contend with a claim on the company as her last wishes. It also resulted in Matty finding addictive comfort in chatting with an AI version of Ellie. That storyline introduced Marshall’s husband Edwin Hodge as Langston, a super smart tech expert with multiple impressive degrees.

Urman spoke to THR below about wrapping up season two and building to this ending, and she offered insight into how smoothly the show handled the exit of one of the show’s core characters with actor David Del Rio’s dramatic departure as Billy amid bombshell accusations involving his co-star Leah Lewis, who plays attorney Sarah Franklin. She also talks about Julian’s dramatic arc, the fun Jane the Virgin re

'Matlock' Season 2 Finale Explained, Hints at Season 3: Interview