Olympia (Skye P. Marshall) faces a huge decision heading into the sophomore season of Matlock, and it provides the perfect opportunity to bring back a Shae (Yael Grobglas) storyline that never paid off as well as it could have. Most recent news about the series has revolved around Matlock's 2025 Emmy Awards potential, but it's still exciting to look forward to what's in store.
However, looking forward may also require looking back at how Matlock' cast of characters wound up in their current positions. Even if Julian (Jason Ritter) hid the document, several parties are now implicated in the Wellbrexa cover-up in one way or another. And while Shae's hands are likely clean, her backstory could potentially influence whether Olympia helps Julian in Matlock season 2.
Matlock Episode 3 Reveals Gramercy Tavern As The Source Of Tension Between Shae And Olympia
It's Established Early On That Olympia Values Trust Above All
Matty's (Kathy Bates) perpetual lies to Olympia lead to some of the most heartbreaking moments in Matlock season 1, like Olympia losing her father's last voicemail and having an emotional breakdown over Julian allegedly spying on her. But what really makes Matty's deceit so tragic is that Olympia's opinions about people are guided almost exclusively by trust, which comes up frequently.
No episode makes Olympia's trust issues clearer than episode 3. It's a theme throughout the entire script, with Olympia having to trust Matty to close a sensitive trial before openly declaring her distrust of Sarah's (Leah Lewis) ambition. It's intriguing, however, that the person Olympia seems to distrust the most is expert jury consultant and human lie detector Shae "the Meerkat" Banfield.
The plot thickens when it becomes clear the feelings are mutual. Shae and Olympia have a tense history relating to Gramercy Tavern, and Banfield at least twice brings it up in passive-aggressive fashion to broadcast to Olympia that she hasn't let it go. That's what makes it interesting to learn that it was Olympia's distrust, not Shae's, that initiated this feud.
As revealed later on, Olympia once told Senior (Beau Bridges) during a meeting at Gramercy Tavern not to hire Shae because she wasn't a culture fit. Of course, what she really meant is that she found Shae untrustworthy. And while Shae's general personality could spark distrust in anybody, the Gramercy Tavern story feels compellingly suggestive after another major revelation about the Meerkat.
Matlock's Gramercy Tavern Storyline Deserved More Attention After Julian's Big Shae Reveal
Olympia's Previous Reasons For Distrusting Shae Weren't As Clear-Cut
It's not too difficult to imagine why someone would have issues with trusting Shae. There's a natural tendency to think that someone so adept at recognizing a person's lies is probably fairly skilled at bending the truth themselves, and with less chance of being caught. But Gramercy Tavern is only one instance of Olympia's passionate condemnation of Shae Banfield's character.
While Gramercy Tavern is revealed in an episode that ends with Matty declaring she and Olympia aren't friends, an episode that concludes with Matty finally declaring otherwise reveals that Julian cheated on Olympia with Shae after they met to work on the Wellbrexa case. It's arguably one of the biggest twists in Matlock season 1, but there's one major problem.
Although Shae was technically still working for Wellbrexa at the time, it's not actually clear when Olympia learned about her and Julian's affair. This creates uncertainty in the timeline around her Gramercy Tavern conversation with Senior, as it's uncertain whether the affair played a role in her attempt to prevent the Meerkat from landing a position with Jacobson Moore.
In fact, certain details indicate Olympia might not have known about Shae and Julian when she spoke with Senior. In episode 9, she asks if Shae was sleeping with Julian during the later projects they worked on for Exxon and Boeing, suggesting Olympia never knew a lot of details. But season 2 can clarify the timeline in a particularly meaningful way.
Why Matlock Season 2 Is The Perfect Time To Revisit Gramercy Tavern
Olympia's Memory Of Those Events Could Determine Whether She Helps Julian
When Olympia first discovers that Julian is the culprit Matty has been investigating, she's so shocked that she doesn't even want him involved in their kids' lives anymore. Julian is now asking the woman he cheated on to help him avoid getting caught for a crime that indirectly cost innumerable lives, and she has no reason to do that without trusting he's reformed.
Although she's thoroughly familiar with the borderline abusive power Senior holds over him, Olympia's decision whether to help Julian will likely necessitate a look back on all the times she's questioned his integrity. Whether she knew about the affair before Gramercy Tavern or had other reasons to distrust Shae at the time could play a central role in that reflection.
Flashing back to the events surrounding Gramercy Tavern would answer both how long Olympia had known about the affair and whether she was possibly projecting all suspicion onto Shae to avoid an even deeper distrust of Julian. Regardless of whether it affects her feelings towards Shae, that reflection's impact on Olympia's next move could drastically impact Matlock season 2's entire storyline.
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