In Matlock episode 6, "Sixteen Steps," after getting Kira’s (Piper Curda) fingerprint, Edwin Kingston (Sam Anderson) has found an app where he can make a copy of it so Madeline Kingston/Matlock (Kathy Bates) will be able to break into the server room. He just needs a few days to figure out how to use it.
Elsewhere, Julian (Jason Ritter) and Olympia Lawrence (Skye P Marshall) have had one of their old cases overturned, so they have to work together. Madeline sees this as a chance to impress Julian, so he can bring her over to the pharma cases, which will give her full access to the Welbrexa files.
Will Madeline be able to charm Julian? Will Edwin figure out how to use the app? Here’s what happens in Matlock episode 6.
Madeline’s dating problems
Alfie (Aaron Harris) deletes Madeline’s dating app, so the person who contacted her can’t find her. But she then gets an email from Stanley York (Henry LeBlacn), who says he knows that she works at Jacobson Moore and he works only a block away. He wants to meet up. She then sends an email explaining that her grandson made the dating profile as a joke.
Stanley comes to the office and gives Madeline a picture of Ellie. Stanley reveals that his son Tommy has started taking drugs and has been missing for three weeks. She gives him advice.
But then when Olympia spots the pair talking, Madeline shouts at him and storms away, telling Olympia he’s an accountant after money.
Julian and Olympia
In a flashback, still married, Olympia and Julian argue because Julian hasn’t been present in the months after her father died. Olympia also tells Julian that she wants her life to feel meaningful. She then asks Julian for a divorce.
In 2024, as they clean out their brownstone house ahead of moving, Julian says he was wrong for leaving Olympia. The pair then passionately kiss. The next morning, they walk into the office together.
A second chance
Anna (Veronica Diaz-Carranza) and Vanessa Sampson’s (Ayesha Harris) child Dante died at 9 months as a result of contaminated baby formula. They sued the formula company, First Twelve Formula, for contaminating it at the factory. But the defense argued that it happened at their apartment. When the jurors didn’t feel sympathy for the mothers, because Olympia didn’t put them on the stand, First Twelve Formula was found not guilty.
In a flashback, Julian and Olympia interview Anna and Vanessa. Olympia promises that the pair won’t be cross-examined, insisting that the case will be proved without putting them on the stand. Julian tries to walk back the comment. But Olympia is insistent.
At the factory, Olympia gets Teddy (Jernard Burks), a supervisor of quality control, to admit that the violations were much worse than the FDA reported and nothing has been fixed. But it still wasn’t enough to win the case.
When they meet Anna and Vanessa in the present, Vanessa is now four months pregnant. Anna asks why she thinks they’ll win this time. Olympia says she’ll allow them to testify. Her emotions held her back last time. Anna agrees to testify.
Teddy tells Olympia and Julian about the updates to the First Twelve Formula factory, which were only done after the trial. Still, they just have Anna’s testimony to rely on, and Olympia is nervous. They need more proof.
Can they find further evidence?
Madeline interviews former First Twelve Formula factory foreman Harold (Christopher Cho) about why they changed the pipes after the case and why he departed. But he remains tight-lipped. Madeline notices that his house is full of modern and expensive technology. They think he’s been paid to cover up the contamination. They discover that the contamination occurred when the roof at the factory caved in, plus it was covered in mold. All they have to do is confirm that the bacteria in the mold is the same one that made Dante sick. But it’s not a match.
With Anna sick, Vanessa decides to testify instead. But Vanessa lacks Anna’s emotion and detail. Olympia feels guilty for trying to make Vanessa relieve her trauma and pain. Madeline tells Olympia she’s doing the right thing.
Olympia asks Madeline how close she was to her daughter. Madeline says they were close at times, but not when she passed. When Olympia admits that she doesn’t know how Madeline keeps going after losing a child, the pair grow closer.
It turns out that after breaking his arm following the factory’s roof collapse, Teddy continued to work in a cast, because the company wouldn’t grant him medical leave. When another pipe burst, Teddy held it in place, without gloves, because he couldn’t get them over the cast. He believes he introduced germs into the formula via the cast.
In a tense cross-examination, the defense counsel (Emily Bridges) mentions several ways that Vanessa and Anna could have contaminated the formula instead. Julian worries about putting Vanessa up on the stand. Olympia says they still need the sympathy she’ll show. But she’s worried about pushing her. But Madeline convinces her to do so. On the stand, Olympia asks Vanessa personal questions about raising Dante, which makes her cry.
It works too. The jury finds First Twelve Formula negligent in maintaining the safety of its product. It’s liable for the death of Dante Sampson, and Vanessa and Amy get $8 million total in damages.
Madeline decides to quit
Madeline assumes that everyone will feel happy that they got justice and found First Twelve Formula guilty. But Vanessa and Anna still look grief-stricken. Madeline then recalls Vanessa and Teddy’s tears on the stand and the trauma they had to relive.
Madeline worries that she won’t actually get the feeling of revenge she craves by bringing down Jacobson Moore. So much so, that she tells Edwin she’s having a heart attack. Luckily, it’s just a panic attack.
Edwin, who failed to work out the app, says she needs to look after herself. It’s only going to get worse as Madeline gets closer to finding the hidden documents. Madeline thinks she just has to keep going because she won’t get another chance. If she stops, she’ll always regret it. Edwin says Alfie is their second chance. Edwin needs Madeline to help raise Alfie. Madeline decides to quit Jacobson Moore.
The next day at the office, though, Julian tells Madeline she’s joining him to work on pharma cases, and they have a new case with Welbrexa. She’ll get to go through all of the previous cases. Madeline decides not to quit and she tells the pair she’s right where the universe wants her to be.
New episodes of Matlock air live on its regular night on Thursdays on CBS. Episodes become available the next day on Paramount Plus.
