S01.E02: Rome, in a Day

[chitowngirl]

Olympia and the aptly nicknamed "Team You Three" take on a lawsuit involving a developmentally delayed teenager whose family claims he's been wrongly accused of murder; Olympia and Julian disagree on a parenting matter.

[AnimeMania]

Patricia Belcher as Mrs. Belvin   

[SoMuchTV]

Okay, sweet thought, but MWBSP is actually longer to say than the phrase it stands for. I’ll file that away in the  GWTW folder. 

[shapeshifter]

Much better than the Pilot.

I've been thinking it was a mistake for them to re-air the Pilot for several weeks, and I still think that. 
I get that it is a slightly complicated premise, but viewers who were confused can Google, and viewers who are confused are not likely to be un-confused if it's re-aired a bunch of times. 

Oh well. Kathy Bates will pull the audience back in from the faulty scheduling (IMO) choice.

[babyrambo]

I like the show well enough, but what I’m really enjoying is seeing Kathy Bates in such a fun role. She’s so lively and quick and it’s wonderful to watch.

This episode was a bit more routine than the pilot (heavy handed gesturing at certain plot elements & punchy dialogue that didn’t always land, like Olympia’s speech about trust which felt more heavy handed than relevant) but that’s to be expected. 

The cast is solid—I like that they’re not making the others unrealistically dumb to elevate Matlock (Olympia clocking Mattie’s old lady act was great, their scenes are the most engaging imo) & usually kid actors grate on my nerves but Matlock and her grandson are pretty sweet. I also liked that the show seemed to preempt certain audience nitpicks  and decided to address them in a lighthearted way. I’m sure they’ll miss certain things because at the end of the day, a series is only as smart as its writers, but I don’t mind. Also preferred the flashbacks more this episode because they actually felt useful rather than decorative.

Right now, I’m in for the whole season. 

[Irlandesa]

I really like how Matty manipulated with a speech about manipulation.  This was a good episode but it feels weird that Ritter's character and the dad are a bit sidelined.  I'm wondering if it's always going to be Olympia as the lead lawy Matty works with.

[Bastet]

I'll just spare us all each week complaining about inaccuracies (reserving space for the most egregious), and only give my feedback within the fictional world this show has created.  But, OMG, if this flashback shit continues every episode to make sure we remember what just happened half an hour or less before, I'm going to complain every week.  The hell?!

Even though I don't give a shit about the original series, I liked using the Matlock theme to open and having Matty decked out in a Matlock suit during her nightmare.

It is still a huge problem that Olympia and Sarah are assholes to Matty while the men dig her; this is some seriously sexist bullshit.  The pilot had them making progress, and this episode did, too, but are we going to do this every episode where that's their default?

Matty and her husband questioning themselves about not paying enough attention - addicts are liars, so signals are there but dismissed - was a nice nod to the fundamental case here.

The youngsters not understanding commercial breaks, having no concept of watching network shows live, was amusing. 

I wish Olympia had known sports on her own, rather than needing to be spoon fed by a man.

This was fine, and I'm sticking with it, but it remains something I'd readily abandon if not for Kathy Bates or another actor I have the same respect for.  I want this to become better than it is.

[Boofish]

I see nothing wrong with how Olivia treated Matty. I hope she don't combine the old lady shtick with the woe is me unnecessary tears every week. She only seems mad Olympia is just as competent as she is. She don't need to approve Olympia tactics. That annoyed me. 

I enjoy the flashbacks because I have fun pinpointing the significance. As soon as she "forgot" her food I called it on the flashbacks. I didn't think they were using it to get her code my theory was the other girl saying something wasn't adding up so she needed to prove she lived there 

My husband says BRB and we had a whole argument about the stupidity of using abbreviations when it's the same amount of syllables.

[Irlandesa]

6 minutes ago, Boofish said:

My husband says BRB and we had a whole argument about the stupidity of using abbreviations when it's the same amount of syllables.

And I forgot what it even stands for.  All I know is that it wasn't exactly clever.

One thing I forgot to mention that I loved is that the Big Boss actually did call her out on the dates Matlock ran just like in her nightmare.  I doubt he happened to know that so it suggests to me that he looked it up.

[DanaK]

3 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

One thing I forgot to mention that I loved is that the Big Boss actually did call her out on the dates Matlock ran just like in her nightmare.  I doubt he happened to know that so it suggests to me that he looked it up.

I thought it was hilarious when she told him she didn’t count the later ABC years to explain the discrepancy 

[MMEButterfly]

I find I cannot nitpick this show. I sit back and enjoy the chess game and Bates and Bridges, et al. 

[Silver-hyren]

I did not like this episode.  The revenge plot twist at the end of the pilot was interesting but it felt like the dialogue at the beginning of this episode, with Matty stressing out over maintaining her cover, was trying to position her and her husband as the underdogs fighting to topple the big evil law firm from the inside.  Except, they aren't.  They're a wealthy, privileged white couple who only care about the opioid crisis because their daughter was affected.  So why do they have to go the secret identity route?  

Also can't stand the grandson (honestly had an instant dislike for him the second he came bounding down the stairs in the pilot).  He's just too precious and perky.  The acronym sent me.  Hated it the first time, and it only got more teeth-rotting sweet the more they brought it up.  Why would Mom be so proud?  We know nothing about her except she waned to be a lawyer when she grew up (did she ever become one?) and she died of a drug overdose.  How did she become addicted?  What was her life before her addiction?  Was she like Olympia, a champion for social justice - is that why she'd be proud of what her mom is doing?  How long ago did she die?  The conspiracy board makes me think it was a while ago and they've been cooking up this revenge plot for some time.   

Finally, the flashback.  I gave the one at the end of the pilot side eye but let it slide because it helped put some of Matty's odd dialogue into context but here?  We just saw her leave the dinners behind.  We don't need that refresher.  Bait and switch isn't so odd a trope that people can't figure it out on their own as it plays out.  That's really what did it in for me.  The writing isn't nearly as clever as it thinks it is to merit talking down to its audience that way.  

I miss So Help Me Todd.  No that show wasn't realistic at all either, but it owned that it existed in an over the top, manic theater kid world.

[Nashville]

1 hour ago, Silver-hyren said:

I did not like this episode.  The revenge plot twist at the end of the pilot was interesting but it felt like the dialogue at the beginning of this episode, with Matty stressing out over maintaining her cover, was trying to position her and her husband as the underdogs fighting to topple the big evil law firm from the inside.  Except, they aren't.  They're a wealthy, privileged white couple who only care about the opioid crisis because their daughter was affected.  So why do they have to go the secret identity route?  

Also can't stand the grandson (honestly had an instant dislike for him the second he came bounding down the stairs in the pilot).  He's just too precious and perky.  The acronym sent me.  Hated it the first time, and it only got more teeth-rotting sweet the more they brought it up.  Why would Mom be so proud?  We know nothing about her except she waned to be a lawyer when she grew up (did she ever become one?) and she died of a drug overdose.  How did she become addicted?  What was her life before her addiction?  Was she like Olympia, a champion for social justice - is that why she'd be proud of what her mom is doing?  How long ago did she die?  The conspiracy board makes me think it was a while ago and they've been cooking up this revenge plot for some time.   

Well… for starters, I expect TPTB feel they gotta leave something for Episode 3….  😉

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, Silver-hyren said:

Also can't stand the grandson (honestly had an instant dislike for him the second he came bounding down the stairs in the pilot).  He's just too precious and perky.

I was surprised at how well the young actor playing Alfie (Aaron D. Harris) carried his lines. Hopefully they will give him more to do than be "precious and perky," but I don't want him to be morose and moody.

[CrazyTrain]

3 hours ago, Silver-hyren said:

Also can't stand the grandson (honestly had an instant dislike for him the second he came bounding down the stairs in the pilot).  He's just too precious and perky.  The acronym sent me.  Hated it the first time, and it only got more teeth-rotting sweet the more they brought it up.  Why would Mom be so proud?  We know nothing about her except she waned to be a lawyer when she grew up (did she ever become one?) and she died of a drug overdose.  How did she become addicted?  What was her life before her addiction?  Was she like Olympia, a champion for social justice - is that why she'd be proud of what her mom is doing?  How long ago did she die?  The conspiracy board makes me think it was a while ago and they've been cooking up this revenge plot for some time.   

 

He is just such a bad actor he almost ruins the whole show. I found that acronym dumb. The grandpa had never heard it before? Hopefully we get more of the mom's background as he show goes along.

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, Silver-hyren said:

Also can't stand the grandson (honestly had an instant dislike for him the second he came bounding down the stairs in the pilot).  He's just too precious and perky.  The acronym sent me.  Hated it the first time, and it only got more teeth-rotting sweet the more they brought it up.

I didn't mind him from the little we saw in the pilot, but he drove me crazy every time he was on screen this episode.  The actor is terrible, the character is just a collection of clichés ... he's too much.

11 hours ago, Boofish said:

I didn't think they were using it to get her code my theory was the other girl saying something wasn't adding up so she needed to prove she lived there 

I think it was both - prove she lives there, and hopefully also get Olympia's phone code (figuring if she has to wait at the door, she'll check her phone).

[Ellee]

Earlier in the episode Matty asked about an old file and the woman said she’d need something from Olympia.  Maybe the phone access code would allow the grandson possible access to this???

[gibasi]

I think I might like the show better if Matty really was Madeleine Matlock who divorced her cheating, gambling husband and is raising a bratty grandson. The rich lady pretending to be poor and infiltrating the law firm is not as interesting to me. 

[Nashville]

5 hours ago, Silver-hyren said:

How long ago did she die?

As the story line has currently been laid out, sometime within the past ten years.

[Silver-hyren]

1 hour ago, Nashville said:

As the story line has currently been laid out, sometime within the past ten years.

Right, but when in that timeframe?  Ten years ago and they raised their grandson from toddler age?  Within the last year or so?  Kid seems very well-adjusted for having just lost his mom.  

(Not expecting you to have answers, I'm just feeling surly and thinking on the things that didn't work for me in this episode are making lots of other things Not Work even more so . . . venting.)

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, Ellee said:

Earlier in the episode Matty asked about an old file and the woman said she’d need something from Olympia.  Maybe the phone access code would allow the grandson possible access to this???

Yes, that's the idea behind being able to get into her phone, that the codes for case file access are on there.

6 hours ago, Silver-hyren said:

The conspiracy board makes me think it was a while ago and they've been cooking up this revenge plot for some time.   

I don't know how long ago she died, but I think the plot is fairly new -- the grandson came across a post on Reddit saying someone at the firm hid documents, and a few months later she told him she was going to try to figure out who.  She didn't say when this was, but it seems like a time frame of months, not years.

[possibilities]

I came up with a new twist. What if she's not planning to go after the culprits legally? It's been noted that any evidence she gets would not be admissable, and she's opening herself up to fraud charges. Unless she's a mole working for the FBI and has a warrant? But what if she's not planning to try to expose them, and just plans to kill whoever she finds out is responsible for hiding evidence? Or otherwise cause them harm? What if she's hoodwinked the audience with her do-good act, and is actually on a sadisatic revenge mission?

I have no idea what the show is planning. I haven't seen any spoilers at all. And my mind might be influenced by watching other shows, like Found. But... I don't know how the show proceeds once she solves the case and is outed as an imposter, unless they have another twist. Bates has said in interviews that she hopes the show runs a long time, so they're not planning it as a one season wonder or a min-series.

Edited October 19 by possibilities
typos

[Calvada]

20 hours ago, Bastet said:

I wish Olympia had known sports on her own, rather than needing to be spoon fed by a man.

Or found that thing on the computer machine all the kids use - I think it's called Google.

I wish the chauffeur (or anyone else) was the computer expert.  Then the kid could have a line or two every week and not be an integral part of the plot.  Would they really be encouraging their grandson to be a computer hacker?  Of course, with their wealth they probably feel they can get out of any charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.  

[shapeshifter]

5 hours ago, Bastet said:

I don't know how long ago she died, but I think the plot is fairly new -- the grandson came across a post on Reddit saying someone at the firm hid documents, and a few months later she told him she was going to try to figure out who.  She didn't say when this was, but it seems like a time frame of months, not years.

This👆 could have been the whole first season.

[AnimeMania]

I guess I have seen enough to make me prediction about which of the 3 main characters covered up the opioid information.

Spoiler

None of them, it was Elijah Walker. He is always hanging around the periphery and seems to be about to do something shady. He hid/removed the evidence from one of the main 3 and they never knew it existed.

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, AnimeMania said:

I guess I have seen enough to make me prediction about which of the 3 main characters covered up the opioid information.

  Reveal spoiler

None of them, it was Elijah Walker. He is always hanging around the periphery and seems to be about to do something shady. He hid/removed the evidence from one of the main 3 and they never knew it existed.

Unless they’re a red herring…

[AnimeMania]

7 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Unless they’re a red herring…

Best outcome from a cast point of view.

[Chaos Theory]

If anything the shows format reminds me a little of Leverage.  We see what happens then we flashback to what goes on behind the scenes.   Right now everyone in the law firm seems likeable but there are hints of other things going on.   Olympia being able to leverage cases.   Julian having daddy issues…etc.     I do like Maddy and her family and how they are all involved in this.  At this point having them working for a common goal works for the show. 

Edited October 19 by Chaos Theory

[schnauzergirl]

I don't mind the grandson at all.  He's not been given the best lines to speak, but for me he comes across as that nerdy kid who is likely to be bullied at school. His commitment to his late mom, grandparents, and exposing the "big pharma" makes sense.  He may be a hacker, but what did Maddy said in the pilot -- she would do anything, everything for her daughter and I suspect her grandson shares that. (And, no I'm not advocating hacking, but this is a TV show). I will say I don't want him to have more screen time than is absolutely necessary, but his presence isn't a deal breaker.

Edited October 19 by schnauzergirl

[Bastet]

16 hours ago, Calvada said:

Or found that thing on the computer machine all the kids use - I think it's called Google.

That would have been fine for looking up whether Michigan won that weekend, but knowing which old games, plays, and coaches to summon up for her other ploys is a lot quicker to get from a friend who knows the sport inside and out.

[dancingdreamer]

I said out loud, Maddy,you forgot  your food. I loved the ending, it sure fooled me. When Maddy opened  that apartment  door, I was so surprised and relieved. Her nice car and chauffeur  delivered  pizza to her husband. Loved it! 

[schnauzergirl]

2 hours ago, dancingdreamer said:

I said out loud, Maddy,you forgot  your food. I loved the ending, it sure fooled me. When Maddy opened  that apartment  door, I was so surprised and relieved. Her nice car and chauffeur  delivered  pizza to her husband. Loved it! 

I said the same thing.  Luckily nobody reminded her or chased after her before she left the building.

[Bastet]

I knew she was doing it all intentionally, but I thought it was just to get one of them to come to her apartment, since Sarah had become suspicious about her living in Queens but never taking the subway (although she seemed to buy the mugging story).  I don't even have a smartphone, so I don't feel compelled to check it every time I'm unoccupied for 30 seconds, so I didn't think about that aspect of the plan.  I think she was hoping she laid it on thick enough for Olympia to think she had to go apologize, but even if she sent Sarah or Billy to bring the food, that would at least confirm she lives in Queens.

[schnauzergirl]

Aaron Harris who plays Alfie began his professional career in 2023 and it looks as if this is only his second professional job.  I'm going to cut him some slack -- he's just starting out and is saying the lines he's given.

Edited October 20 by schnauzergirl

[Yeah No]

This episode was better but I'm still on the fence about this show. I love Kathy Bates and think she's marvelous in this but I'm not in love with some of the supporting cast and their full-of-themselves smart-alecky ways.  They really need to get over themselves! I guess maybe the show is trying to make them look like they could be guilty of something but if so that's not coming across so well and I'm just finding them tedious to watch.

I love the angle of Matty using her unassuming older-lady ways to get people to reveal things to her. That works on "Elsbeth" but here I find she comes off as a little too unassuming at times. 

I also don't like the grandson. He reminds me of the typical son/grandson on a lot of shows, a pudgy nerd with big cheeks. I'm just so tired of that but to make it worse he's not a good actor at all. He feels misplaced on this show but I have felt that way about pretty much every other pudgy nerd with big cheeks in movies and on TV shows which has often led me to wonder whether they're related to a producer or something. 

I'll hang in there another week and hope for it to get better. It's not a bad show but I just don't know yet whether it's my show.

P.S. As this was airing yesterday I was coincidentally watching a YouTube travel tips video entitled "Rome in a Day", LOL. Then when I looked up and saw what was recording on my DVR it gave me a chuckle.

[possibilities]

My issue with the grandson is that I don't like the thing of having a precocious kid get involved in grown up shenanigans. He's basically committing fraud and his grandparents should not be setting him up to be a vigilante. It's making me not trust their morality, and I think we are supposed to think they are angels of justice, not scam artists. But using a young kid this way feels really wrong. It would be better if grandpa was a retired IT guy, or they did things some other way. And having an old guy be tech savvy would be another trope-subverter. They don't even really need to have a grandkid in the mix. They could just be heartbroken about their daughter and/or really angry about the opioid epidemic and/or have a general anti-corruption bug up their butts.

Basing this all on some random reddit post also feels like very thin evidence to spark this big of an effort. They are sinking a fortune into this project, and they really don't have very much to go on. 

[shapeshifter]

8 minutes ago, possibilities said:

My issue with the grandson is that I don't like the thing of having a precocious kid get involved in grown up shenanigans. He's basically committing fraud and his grandparents should not be setting him up to be a vigilante. It's making me not trust their morality, and I think we are supposed to think they are angels of justice, not scam artists. But using a young kid this way feels really wrong. It would be better if grandpa was a retired IT guy, or they did things some other way. And having an old guy be tech savvy would be another trope-subverter.

All or any of this👆 pinpoints my reservations about the show.
I'll stick with it a few more weeks to see if they can pull off this premise in a way that doesn't turn me off so much that I must turn off the show.

So Help Me Todd was even more unbelievable at times, but it was fun.

Here the audience is required to suffer through some anxious moments to get to the punch lines. If that's going to be the pattern of the whole show, I will not be able to continue.

But I'll give it a few more, since it seems to be still setting the table.

[Yeah No]

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

My issue with the grandson is that I don't like the thing of having a precocious kid get involved in grown up shenanigans. He's basically committing fraud and his grandparents should not be setting him up to be a vigilante. It's making me not trust their morality, and I think we are supposed to think they are angels of justice, not scam artists. But using a young kid this way feels really wrong. It would be better if grandpa was a retired IT guy, or they did things some other way. And having an old guy be tech savvy would be another trope-subverter. They don't even really need to have a grandkid in the mix. They could just be heartbroken about their daughter and/or really angry about the opioid epidemic and/or have a general anti-corruption bug up their butts.

Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner! I was thinking just this after I wrote my last post and was dozing off to sleep on my couch. It does feel very wrong. And the fact that the kid acts so earnest and innocent about it makes it even more distasteful somehow. It's like she's corrupting the morals of a minor. Maybe if he were a little older and showed signs of having his own grudge to settle it might not feel as bad. I was already 22 when my grandma was 75. And like others above have said, he's not even acting like someone who lost his mother let alone is he showing any anger toward anyone over it.

I didn't like the revenge twist last week and now dislike it even more after this episode.

[MMEButterfly]

16 hours ago, dancingdreamer said:

I said out loud, Maddy,you forgot  your food. I loved the ending, it sure fooled me. When Maddy opened  that apartment  door, I was so surprised and relieved. Her nice car and chauffeur  delivered  pizza to her husband. Loved it! 

I love those touches, pure fun.

[slasherboy]

15 hours ago, Yeah No said:

He feels misplaced on this show but I have felt that way about pretty much every other pudgy nerd with big cheeks in movies and on TV shows 

With the exception being the pudgy nerd with big cheeks in "Bad Santa". Loved that kid, and I dislike kids in general so that's saying something. His and Billy Bob Thornton's relationship was gold.

[chessiegal]

Considering how much the studio has hyped this show, I see no reason for having a child actor who can't act. That's the one fault I find with The Dick Van Dyke Show. The actor who played Richie was terrible. I've seen plenty of child actors on shows who are good. There's no excuse.

[GHScorpiosRule]

On 10/18/2024 at 1:32 AM, Bastet said:

I'll just spare us all each week complaining about inaccuracies (reserving space for the most egregious), and only give my feedback within the fictional world this show has created.  But, OMG, if this flashback shit continues every episode to make sure we remember what just happened half an hour or less before, I'm going to complain every week.  The hell?!

This is where I’m at as well. But I just have to say this again and then I’ll shut up about it as it seems it’s part of the show’s premise, even if it’s WRONG. The Good Wife used this device and it drove me nuts then too.

All this interviewing and gathering evidence to rebut testimony or other evidence should have been done BEFORE the trial date was even set/started.

I still can’t stand Sarah, the associate or her arrogant, smug, and yes, contemptuous attitude toward Madeline. 

I’m in this for Kathy Bates.

[Yeah No]

2 hours ago, slasherboy said:

With the exception being the pudgy nerd with big cheeks in "Bad Santa". Loved that kid, and I dislike kids in general so that's saying something. His and Billy Bob Thornton's relationship was gold.

Oh yeah, he's kind of an exception. I loved the heck out of that kid and their relationship too. The thing is though, the kid in "Bad Santa" was a better actor and being like that was an essential part of his character. He was supposed to be a poor lonely soul that people would pin a "kick me" sign on. I don't see the reason for it here.

Another exception was Billy Sparks on "Young Sheldon". Being overweight and a little simple and goofy was part of his character and I think the actor that played him was brilliant in the role. So good acting can definitely make the difference.

I agree with @chessiegal that there's no reason for bad acting on this show so why couldn't they have found a kid that could act?

[MissLucas]

Yeah, that was some Leverage level manipulating with the food - so many things could have gone wrong. But just like in Leverage I'm willing to overlook that as long as they don't pull that trick too often.

The kid seems to be there to a) add to the drama and b) providing tech support. The scene where Maddie breaks down in the bedroom about not having noticed their daughter's problems before it was too late, shows that Kathy Bates can bring that just fine on her own (as if proof was needed). And the kid/teenager geek who handles all the hacking the too old main characters aren't capable of is a tired trope. It would have been more interesting to give that skill set to somebody unexpected - but here we are.

 

[DanaK]

I understand some of the issues brought up, but I’m really enjoying the show so far and I’m intrigued as to where it goes. I’m liking what Kathy is doing here with her myriad of emotions, pinging between determined, stressed, crafty, and heartbroken as well over her daughter’s death

[Chaser]

The kid is a big negative for me. I think the actor is fine, it’s the character that doesn’t work. I see a happy well adjusted kid skipping along like it’s one big game. Not the son of a drug addict that overdosed whose grandmother is going undercover to try and prove her daughter was murder (or whatever they are trying to prove). I think they should have aged him up. Make him a tech genius college drop out who spiraled after hacking into the firm and finding out corrupt lawyers got his mom killed. A catalyst for grandmother.

[fishcakes]

I'm out. I love Kathy Bates, but I can't get past how wrong they get every single aspect of the legal stuff, which is 90% of the show. I had to watch that absurd trial while peeking through my fingers like it was a horror movie.

[DearEvette]

After watching this episode, I wish Mattie's cover story was her real story. Sigh.

On 10/18/2024 at 10:17 AM, Silver-hyren said:

did not like this episode.  The revenge plot twist at the end of the pilot was interesting but it felt like the dialogue at the beginning of this episode, with Matty stressing out over maintaining her cover, was trying to position her and her husband as the underdogs fighting to topple the big evil law firm from the inside.  Except, they aren't.  They're a wealthy, privileged white couple who only care about the opioid crisis because their daughter was affected.  So why do they have to go the secret identity route?  

I co-sign on your whole post and feel much the same way.

Yeah, the pilot was interesting but this episode, I think, begins to show the cracks in the wrap-around premise.  Mattie is the primary POV character and therefore she comes with a certain level of character trust and plot armor. But it isn't 100% working for me because I am struggling to feel that she is a victim of injustice and that her crusade is righteous. And yeah her plot moppet grandson is annoying.

Also I hated the last bit with Mattie and Olympia because it was too neat.  Too many variables that were not predictable fell exactly into place. They had to bank on:

1) Someone noticing Mattie left her food

2) That someone would take it to her rather than calling her to let her know she forgot it

3) That that someone would be Olivia and not one of the other junior associates (who are most likely who would have been sent)

4) That Olivia would be able to piggy back onto someone entering Mattie's building without having to have Mattie buzz her in, thus no need for Olivia to call when she got no answer

5) That Olivia, at the front door, would unlock her phone right underneath a conveniently positioned camera and without her head getting in the way.

I hate stuff like this.  Only one or two variables? Maybe. But this many?  No.  People are unpredictable and don't always act 100% the way people try to maneuver them to be.

Other thoughts:

Now I want to know what Julian did?

That last shot of Elijah watching Olympia and Julian felt a little fore-body.  Is he just looking pensive because he is afraid they'll get back together or is it something more sinister?

I actually like the two junior associates Sarah and Billy and how the show is building the contrast between them and using them for light comedy.

Edited October 21 by DearEvette

[shapeshifter]

5 hours ago, DearEvette said:

After watching this episode, I wish Mattie's cover story was her real story. Sigh.

Yeah. Someone in the writers' room came up with this interesting twist, and then, unfortunately, nobody shot it down.

 

5 hours ago, DearEvette said:

I actually like the two junior associates Sarah and Billy and how the show is building the contrast between them and using them for light comedy.

Yes. Maybe Mattie's wealth becomes known, and she starts a new law firm with Sarah and Billy and Olympia to do pro-bono work with Oxy victims.
Then they can oppose Beau Bridges and Jason Ritter in court.

[andromeda331]

4 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Yeah. Someone in the writers' room came up with this interesting twist, and then, unfortunately, nobody shot it down.

 

Yes. Maybe Mattie's wealth becomes known, and she starts a new law firm with Sarah and Billy and Olympia to do pro-bono work with Oxy victims.
Then they can oppose Beau Bridges and Jason Ritter in court.

That would be fun.