Ahead of a trial in Matlock episode 3, "A Guy Named Greg," Madeline Matlock (Kathy Bates) and Alfie (Aaron D Harris) discuss ways for her to get close to Judge Bolding (Chuck McCollum). Bolding used to be a marine, and Matlock says that’s something she can work with.
The next day, Matlock, Olympia (Sky P Marshall), Billy (David Del Rio), and Sarah (Leah Lewis) go through jury selection. Sarah’s extensive research leads to the selection of specific jurors. Olympia praises all three of them, even though it was just Sarah who did the work.
Matlock’s phone goes off during the selection process in court. Since the judge likes everything to go by the rules, he scolds her. This leads him to insist that all phones are banned for the rest of the trial. It turns out this was Matlock’s plan all along. Matlock and Alfie want to get hold of Olympia’s phone so they can access her computer and emails. With Matlock assuming she’s banned from court for annoying Judge Bolding, she should have ample opportunity to do so.
Will Matlock be able to get her hands on Olympia’s phone? Here’s what happens in Matlock episode 3.
Sarah and Billy both have insecurities
Sarah asks Olympia if she hates her. Olympia responds, "You know what you did." Over the course of the episode, Sarah reveals five different ways that she thinks she’s annoyed Olympia. Ultimately, Olympia tells Sarah this was a test. She’s too eager to please her and that’s why she doesn’t trust her… yet.
Elsewhere, Billy admits to feeling inadequate because he went to community college. Matlock says it makes him distinctive, as he didn’t have an easy ride like the Ivy League graduates who populate the office.
Matlock’s plan is foiled and the case hits a snag
Matlock thinks the team’s new sexual harassment case is a stinker. In order to win it, the plaintiff Alejandra 'Alex' Ramos (Danielle Larracuente) has to be a nun, which Matlock points out she’s not. If Alex loses, she sets society back 50 years. When they’re about to enter the courtroom, Alex asks why Matlock isn’t coming in too. Olympia says that Matlock should join them, as Alex finds her so comforting. This means Matlock won’t be alone to grab Olympia’s phone back at the office.
Alex testifies. She says she never found the accused Jeremy Stone (Chad Coe) attractive, especially because he was her boss. She recalls how, on the night of a work party, when she was really drunk, Jeremy touched her butt and breasts and pulled down her dress. The only reason he stopped is that she threw up on the floor. The next morning, at a meeting where they were both present, Alex had a panic attack. The panic attacks kept happening. Her work slipped. Alex was eventually fired. She says Jeremy was the one who should have been fired.
In the cross-examination, Jeremy’s lawyer Veronica Cabrera (Natalie Ceballos) reveals that Alex was previously in a relationship with Derek Liu (Andrew Grace). She then presents a sex tape where Alex pretends to be a secretary and Derek is her boss. Later, Alex says she and Derek got together before she was hired and they broke up a couple of weeks after Derek got the job.
Billy believes that while Jeremy doesn’t appear to have a criminal record, his social media posts suggest that he has done community service. He wonders if his criminal record has been sealed and hidden. This leads them to Marla Freeport, the community service employee who signed off on Jeremy’s work. Marla reveals that Jeremy was convicted of groping. She’s also willing to take the stand and has all her notes from back the too.
Unfortunately, Bolding refuses to accept Marla’s testimony, calling Jeremy’s past crime too prejudicial to this case.
Matlock is scared of The Meerkat and her new job
Olympia asks for the help of Shae Banfield (Yael Grobglas), otherwise known as The Meerkat. A jury consultant, Shae can immediately tell when someone is lying. This obviously makes Matlock very nervous. Shae believes that the sex tape has cost them four jurors.
Matlock avoids Shae. But she tells Matlock she has to sit next to Alex in court to prove that she wasn’t scandalized by the sex tape. Later, Shae stares at Matlock, convinced that she’s hiding something.
After watching Olympia perform in court, Shae says that the jury doesn’t like her. In her estimation, she’s now losing the jurors 7-2. But Shae says the jurors really like Matlock. She believes that Matlock should try the rest of the case. But Olympia disagrees. She believes Matlock is drawing too much attention, so tells her to stay out of the courtroom.
Olympia questions Derek, who admits that Alex dumped him a few weeks after he got the job because he was hired. He says they did many other role plays in the bedroom, insisting they did them because it was stuff she wouldn’t do in real life. But the jury clearly isn’t listening. Olympia caves in and tells Matlock that she will try the case.
Matlock fights off unbelief and nerves
To help Matlock, they conduct a mock-trial. But Shae can instantly tell Matlock is lying about something. After putting pressure on Matlock, she admits that she doesn’t believe Olympia should have taken the case. She says that back in her day, they used to have to put up with comments and they just made sure they didn’t end up alone with certain people. Alex overhears everything and departs upset.
On the roof, Matlock apologizes to Olympia, calling it her generation’s problem. Olympia explains that she picked the case because Alex is messy and she wants her daughter to be able to make mistakes without the threat of her life being ruined. Continuing her thoughts on bias, Olympia adds that it’s not fair that she can’t do the trial, even though she’s two and a half times the lawyer of everyone around her. She admits she had to keep Matlock on the bench after her phone went off because she didn’t want to look like she was being mean to the old white lady who had made a simple mistake.
Turns out, Matlock has never been in a courtroom before. She was a contract lawyer. The night before the trial, Edwin (Sam Anderson) gives her a pep talk, saying that she does incredible things every day and people never see her coming.
In court, Matlock questions Jeremy. He calls himself a good person, then says criminals are not. Thanks to Matlock’s questioning, and Jeremy not taking her seriously, implicates himself. This allows Matlock to ask whether he has been charged with sexual assault. He says he has, but it was expunged.
During closing remarks, Matlock doesn’t listen to Olympia’s suggestions. She admits she initially thought that Alex was partially to blame for Jeremy’s attack. She recalls being attacked at her past job by her boss, who she calls Greg. She said afterward, she just decided to avoid Greg. But this meant she avoided large parts of her work, which completely subverted her own dreams and ambitions. She says her bias made her question Alex. Alex is hard-working, loved her job and was good at it. She should have been able to continue doing it. Jeremy stopped her.
The jury doesn’t just find Jeremy guilty, but they also award Alex $9 million in damages.
Olympia is torn
Back at the office, Julian (Jason Ritter) and Olympia are getting along more and more, much to the annoyance of Elijah (Esme Ikwuakor). The case is making Olympia have second thoughts about her own relationship with Elijah.
In a heart-to-heart, Olympia admits to Shae that she told Senior (Beau Bridges) not to hire her. Plus, even though Julian told Olympia that Shae was doing the case pro bono, Shae reveals that Julian paid for Shae to work on it. Shae also knows that there’s something going on between Olympia and Elijah. She warns Olympia to be careful.
Olympia goes into Elijah’s office. She says she has to put her family and career first. Elijah says he won’t beg for Olympia to be with him. She walks away.
Are Matlock and Olympia friends?
In a moment when everyone else is in court, Matlock grabs hold of Olympia’s phone. She goes through her computer files. When Olympia returns to the office surprisingly, Matlock pours a coffee over her computer, which leaves it completely fried.
Later, when Matlock and Olympia dance with joy after the settlement, Matlock asks if this means they’re becoming friends. Olympia insists that it doesn’t. But she’s clearly softening to Matlock.
Surprisingly, Matlock switched out Olympia’s computer for a fake before spilling coffee on it. She finds an audio file that’s hidden away. Archie presses play. Is this the evidence that proves she’s complicit in the opioid epidemic?
Nope. Instead, it’s from Olympia’s father who recently died, wishing her luck and saying he loves her. Matlock momentarily feels guilty, as Olympia no longer has this cherished audio file. Until she looks at the pinboard, remembers she’s there to avenge her daughter’s death, and says, "We’re not friends."
New episodes of Matlock air live on its regular night on Thursdays on CBS. Episodes become available the next day on Paramount Plus.
