Matlock Season 1, Episode 10, titled "Crash Helmets On," was an absolute rollercoaster from start to finish. The episode starts with Olympia diving into a wrongful death lawsuit at a nursing home, a case that quickly gets complicated. Madeline, ever the pro, goes undercover to investigate the death of a resident, tricking the man’s girlfriend into spilling the beans. It’s a clever move, and you can’t help but admire Madeline’s ability to manipulate a situation in her favor, even when the stakes are high. But the episode doesn’t just focus on the case; it also sheds some light on Madeline’s growing relationship with Sarah, as the two bond over a personal story about Sarah’s adoptive grandmother. This was a moment I wasn’t expecting, and it gave Sarah a chance to show a lighter, more human side that we haven’t seen much of.
Then, Madeline shifts the spotlight to Sarah, picking her to lead a case involving Autry Tucker—a character we first met earlier this season. Autry, an elderly man, is being evicted from his apartment, and the case is a perfect way for Sarah and Billy to get some trial experience. I was pretty excited for Sarah to get a chance to step up, but things quickly go off track. Madeline, in a move that feels a bit cold, ends up making an enemy out of Sarah when she has to hand over the first chair position to Billy after he catches Madeline trying to retrieve the recording pen she’d planted.
This moment hit hard. It’s obvious Madeline’s decision was to keep things clean, and in true Matlock fashion, she managed to switch out the pens so nothing could be traced back to her. But, man, the fallout from this little move was huge. Billy does an amazing job at trial, and it’s clear he’s learning fast, but the real drama unfolds after the case. Now Sarah is furious, and her grudge against Madeline changes the whole dynamic between the three of them. Sarah is no longer just a rookie trying to impress Olympia—she’s out for blood, and I can already sense this rivalry brewing even more.
On top of all this, there’s Madeline’s ongoing manipulation of Olympia. Madeline keeps feeding her the idea of going after Julian, even suggesting that Julian might have left the recording pen in Olympia’s office. This is a setup of course—Madeline is just too calculated sometimes. Sure enough, Olympia plans to order a forensic accounting of Julian’s accounts, giving Madeline the chance to confirm that it was indeed Julian who hid the documents. I was really rooting for Julian and Olympia to make it work, but now I’m starting to question everything. We barely see Julian in this episode or the series for that matter, and Olympia seems more interested in fixing things with Elijah than getting back on track with Julian. Is she using him? Or is there more going on behind the scenes? Is Olympia really the one behind the missing documents?
The episode also touches on a deeper, more emotional theme: the inevitability of death. With Madeline being elderly and having to face her own mortality, she starts to think about who will look after Alfie. Madeline wants to look for Alife's father but Edwin isn't sure that is a good idea. It was a poignant moment that added a layer of emotional weight to the otherwise tense and dramatic casework.
All in all, Crash Helmets On was a solid episode, but it left me with a lot of questions. I’m starting to doubt whether Julian is really the one hiding the documents, and if Olympia is behind it all, it’s going to be a huge blow to Madeline. Their friendship has been growing, but is it built on a lie so are they really friends? The shifting dynamics between these characters are getting more and more complex, and I can’t wait to see where it all leads.
Rating: ★★★★
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