Matlock Season 2 Has Been a Mess So Far, But There’s a Simple Fix

There’s no sugarcoating it: Matlock Season 2 is a confusing mess, at least so far.

The Wellbrexa document arc has dragged on and on; Mattie and Olympia’s friendship has taken unnecessary hits, and half the time it’s impossible to figure out what’s going on.

The good news is that there’s still some gold buried under all the plot twists for the sake of them, and if Matlock can make a few changes, the second half of the season can come roaring back.

The Best Part of Matlock Continues to Be Mattie’s Grief

Mattie’s complex feelings about her relationship with Ellie while her daughter was alive and her grief now are among the most powerful parts of the show.

When Matlock Season 2 leans into this aspect of the series, the episodes continue to be powerful. 

The subplot about Alfie’s father had echoes of that, but it didn’t go far enough.

Mattie’s conflict over whether to let him be part of Alfie’s life and the subsequent rift with Alfie lasted only one episode, then became a running conversation until almost the end of the first half of the season.

Alfie would mention how Joey was doing once in a while, but that was it.

This should have been a bigger part of each episode. I’d rather have had a real story about Alfie’s dad than manufactured drama between Mattie and Olympia that was as frustrating as it was unbelievable.

Matlock Season 2 didn’t do that, but now that Joey’s back, there’s an opportunity to pick up that storyline and do it justice.

Joey’s decision to disappear because Mattie put too much pressure on him was a good start. 

The evolution of his relationship with the family should not be forgotten as the season progresses; it should be an arc that keeps moving forward in every story once Matlock returns in February.

Matlock Season 2 Needs to Explore Mattie’s Trauma In New Ways

The big issue is that the Wellbrexa story has lasted far past its expiration date.

For Mattie, Wellbrexa has always felt urgent because she wants to be able to respond somehow to the trauma of Ellie’s fatal overdose.

She supposedly wants justice, but that’s not all she’s after. On Matlock Season 1, it seemed obvious that she also wanted revenge and, in any case, needed closure.

However, we’re now halfway through Matlock Season 2, and the series has been stuck forever on the point of whether Olympia would turn over the real files.

That was a story that should have already ended, but the worst problem is that Matlock Season 2 began relying on all sorts of tricks and random twists to make it seem more exciting than it was.

For example, the Matlock Season 2 Episode 8 fall finale cliffhanger in which Julian spies on Olympia and Mattie was uncalled for.

It felt like the writers decided we needed a twist to encourage us to tune back in, but the fact that Olympia and Mattie were back on track and the Wellbrxa documents nonsense was finally coming to an end was more than enough.

Instead of repeating the same tired plot points, Matlock needs to find new ways to explore Mattie’s trauma over Ellie’s death.

The best way forward is to get more case-focused again.

When a case reminds Mattie of Ellie, such as the harm reduction lawsuit involving those nuns, Matlock again shines.

Mattie reacts emotionally, making the case twice as interesting, and as a bonus, newer viewers can follow the storyline more easily.

The series doesn’t need a twist of the week as much as it needs a case of the week.

That was one of Matlock’s original charms: it blended procedural stories with the bigger arc, which allowed it to appeal to a wider audience.

Twists Do Have Value, But Not When They Become a Gimmick

I get that the big twist at the end of the episode is part of Matlock’s brand.

It’s fun when Maddie appears to have lost, only for a flashback to reveal that she did get the evidence she needed, plant a bug, or do whatever else she needed to do.

However, there’s a big difference between fun twists and those that are there for the sake of following the episode’s usual formula.

Some of the twists on Matlock Season 2 fall into the second category, and that’s a problem.

Matlock doesn’t need to get more and more convoluted. Nobody watches only to celebrate how clever the writers were this time.

Instead, any twists should come naturally from the story — and should be part of moving a new arc forward, not the same old one that should have ended long ago.

What do you think about Matlock Season 2?
Whether you still have some hope for the future or you’re done with this show, I want to know what you think.

Hit the comments with your thoughts, and don’t forget to share this article with anyone who might like to join the conversation.

If you enjoyed this article, check out our Matlock reviews. You might also be interested in our thoughts about how Matlock wrote out Billy.

Matlock Season 2 returns to CBS with all-new episodes on February 27, 2026, at 9/8c.

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