We all knew that as we approached the end of the 2024 TV schedule, Matlock was likely to end on a cliffhanger to carry us into the new year. The visions of Kathy Bates' tenacious legal eagle unearthing those missing Welbrexa documents danced in my mind, and I was expecting those thoughts to pay off in the final act of the fall finale episode.

Unraveling the Mysteries of Matlock's Season 1 Finale

Olympia And Julian's Marital Drama Just Got Very Serious

At the end of this eighth episode of CBS' record-breaking drama hit, we witnessed Matty (Kathy Bates), Edwin (Sam Anderson), and Alfie (Sam Anderson) gathered as a family. They weren't simply engaged in holiday activities like carving a turkey or singing carols. Instead, they were listening in on a spy pen planted in the office of Jacobson Moore senior partner Julian (Jason Ritter).This situation was quite intriguing as it was revealed that the overall purpose was to obtain more information about who withheld the Welbrexa files, which indirectly led to the death of Madeline Kingston's daughter. However, what we actually heard was Olympia (Skye P. Marshall) posing a very important question to her recently reconciled husband: "I need to know who you slept with." As Matlock's protagonist looked at the camera in bewilderment, we cut to the credits as usual. But this time, things were different as we were now going to be without any legal action until almost a month into 2025. This moral quandary has deepened the current rabbit hole that Matty Matlock has been digging into.

Julian's Shady Past Puts Him Back On The Welbrexa Suspect List

I was initially content with keeping Julian in the background of the Matlock big bad suspect list, especially after he seemed to have made up with Olympia. But it appears that a darker side to this seemingly innocent character has been exposed, and the answer to this question might be crucial to Madeline Kingston's investigation into Welbrexa.Surprisingly, that email between Julian and his father (Beau Bridges) about handling the missing file that Matty is chasing after points to a forged signature that allowed those documents to be moved. This exposition was delivered in another outstanding performance that further justifies Kathy Bates' awards buzz.Clearly, the emotional trauma from this year's Christmas episode, where Billy (David Del Rio) unsuccessfully proposed to his ex-girlfriend Claudia (Bella Ortiz), wasn't enough. We Matlock viewers needed an extra dose to keep us engaged during the weeks ahead.With Matlock's Season 2 renewal confirmed, I was wondering how, or if, the Welbrexa mystery would be prolonged into the near future. Once again, my concerns have been addressed as there is so much Jacobson Moore personal drama to uncover. It seems like it's time for me to use my Paramount+ subscription to review all the previous episodes to see if I missed anything.Until we meet again, dear readers, I declare court in recess as we wait for the winter premiere on January 30, 2025. So have a very happy holiday and accept a very festive version of that OG theme slide whistle to send us off.