Matlock Season 2, Episode 9, “Collateral,” explores how even the best-laid plans can unravel at any time and derail everything. In turn, this episode, written by Conway Preston & Sarah Gertrude Shapiro and directed by Michele LaBricherie, sees the ensemble continue to grapple with control and the loss of it. For Matty, that initial spiral began when Olympia discovered the truth last season.
“Collateral” takes a similar approach. However, this time, it’s from Julian’s perspective after he learned more before Matlock’s extended hiatus. That shift comes with (additional) interpersonal upheaval, complemented by that at the law firm as it prepares for the merger. The latter organically leads to the introduction of a new character, who already brings a lot to the show.
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Julian Tries to Take the Lead
The episode delivers some good back-and-forth between Julian and Matty. It’s exciting to see Jason Ritter and Kathy Bates go toe-to-toe like this again. Their scenes also provide a brief glimpse of what Julian is like as a lawyer, something Matlock doesn’t explore nearly enough. However, with his new promotion back to his former position, hopefully, that will change in the show’s very near future. It’s compelling that he spends the majority of “Collateral” in a solid place, only for that all to flip in the span of a few minutes by the episode’s end.
Matlock earns that satisfying journey without it ever feeling rushed. The pacing finds its footing alongside Julian, doing the same with what he believes to be the upperhand. After a season and a half of Matty and then Olympia making discreet moves, “Collateral” shows Julian doing the same in choices like getting Olympia’s car keys. Unbeknownst to Julian, that history means that Olympia and Matty are already more than a few steps ahead of him.
There’s so much potential for Matlock to mine from all of those little interwoven intricacies. The same is true for Julian, trying to trust his gut with Senior. Ritter expertly portrays Julian’s efforts to emotionally and physically reach out to his father. It’s honest for that character to want Senior’s love and respect and believe in his inherent goodness, despite all the glaring warning signs otherwise. Matlock always finds something special when it digs into that dynamic.
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Sarah Tries to Find a Place
That kinetic push-pull folds into the whiplash of Sarah’s honesty about Senior pulling even more strings than Julian realizes. As with Julian and the Wellbrexa study, though far less intense, Sarah reinforces to Julian that Senior has a pattern of manipulation. The fallout of which coincides with Jacobson Moore’s merger and its impending downsizing. That obstacle opens the doors for Matlock to introduce Sarah Wright Olsen as Gwen Easton.
Her being a recurring character instills hope that this merger storyline won’t resolve quickly or off-screen, that it has longevity. Matlock later confirms as much when Olympia convinces Senior to slow things down for a better culture at the office. The irony there is delicious, given the ripple effect of Senior’s actions. Regardless, Gwen’s presence becomes a relevant device for Sarah to confront her place at the law firm. It’s quite self-aware – for the show and the character – that Sarah names her attachment style at the workplace.
With Billy on leave (and the tease that his position may be eliminated because of it), Matlock has started to explore Sarah more independently from that dynamic. Ideally, there will only be more of that personal development from her in the future. Professionally, pairing Sarah back up with Julian is smart after the success of their working relationship earlier this season. They have a lot to talk about when it comes to Senior, if the show goes there.
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Justice Matters
At one point, Olympia says that Jack Alvarez’s story is a cautionary tale for Matty. While that’s true on the show’s grander scale, there’s much more in this procedural story than how it serves the series regulars. If anything, its seriousness and relevance make the serialized arc’s current complications seem less pressing. Even so, Matlock tries to hold all of the above with care and weight.
With the procedural element, “Collateral” is clear about the nuances of Jack’s history and his immigration status, that he follows laws, pays taxes, and contributes to his community. No matter how much time Matlock spends depicting otherwise, it’s not enough when people in power view Jack as a threat. So much so, the DOJ wants to send him to a third country where he doesn’t speak the language. It’s entirely transparent. Therefore, he has to settle for a deal that costs his professional future but saves his family.
On the other hand, the episode finds no sympathy for the ICE agents who detain Jack or the DOJ that bends the law to fit its biased narrative about him. As it has in the past, “Collateral” continues Matlock’s efforts to tell stories that prioritize humans who may fall through the cracks of biased or corrupt social systems, like the legal one. As Matty says, justice matters, and holding a mirror up to those biased or corrupt systems matters.
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