S01.E18: Tricks of the Trade Parts 1 & 2

[Yeah No]

6 hours ago, possibilities said:

Of course not. But I was speculating based on the idea that maybe they introduced him in order to write Alfie off the show, since he's unpopular and they've set up the conflict between Edwin and Matty where E doesn't want to be the primary parent and M going back to work is annoying him. I like Alfie. But so many people complain about him that I'm worried they are writing him off with Daddy Ex Machina.

Have you seen complaints other than here? I'd like to know what people are complaining about with him. If most people don't like that a child is being involved in unethical stuff I can see that, but the show could always stop him from participating in it and still keep him on the show. The only reason I can see for the show eliminating him altogether is if the major complaint is about the character or the actor in general. In my case I don't care for him being involved in Matty's obsession but I also just don't like the actor. I have written about this before but I'm on my last nerve with shows casting overweight, unattractive boys. I can think of a few of them going back decades. In some cases I suspect that the kid might be a relative of one of the producers.

[possibilities]

15 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Have you seen complaints other than here?

No, but I haven't looked anywhere else.

 

[Nashville]

4 hours ago, possibilities said:

No, but I haven't looked anywhere else.

 

Well, we do frequently meet the one-stop shopping needs of many customers….  😁

[coffeebean]

On 4/18/2025 at 12:59 PM, babyrambo said:

Not as strong as last week’s, which is my top episode of the season, but still a solid finale. Definitely didn’t need to be two parts though. 

Because the double run time made me think they’d deviate from the normal formula, but other than the last 15 minutes of Part 2, this was pretty much a standard episode. Which meant a lot of padding and false starts while they dragged things out to the inevitable cliffhanger.

And by the end of Part 1, I was a little tired of it. Especially those seemingly endless flashbacks—maybe it was a network note about audience attention spans, but rehashing scenes they’d already shown in the same episode was tiresome. Really hope they drop the flashbacks in S2.  

Just like I was hoping they would drop Alfie’s dad. The second the kid mentioned doing something questionable at dinner, I knew he was hinting at finding his dad. Who I’m already bored of, because I foresee a custody battle and couldn’t care less. The kid is fine, but not essential to the show, so I don’t care if he stays or goes. Just like I don’t care about Claudia-Billy this baby thing. I was never invested in their relationship so running it back and adding a baby sounds like a snooze. I’d much rather watch Billy and Sarah date new people and settle into themselves as lawyers. Especially Sarah, who like more out of the two. I know she’s often written like an obtuse, crazy-ambitious caricature, but I prefer that to Billy, who is sometimes written like a bland, overly precious try hard. At least Sarah has bite. Even if it does get her into trouble, like with this case. Seeing her get a win was nice, but I wished they’d resolved it in Part 1 and left Part 2 to be about the overarching story. 

Because I knew the answer would be Senior by way of Julian. And seeing Olympia trying to maneuver everything was interesting, but I just wanted to get to the good stuff. I wanted Olympia to get sick of doing Matty-manipulation lite (which she was rather good at, I loved how Skye Marshall played the guilt and hesitancy of those moments) and just ask Julian point-blank about his involvement. Because the bank reveal was fine but I still don’t why he showed up here at all? Also don’t get why he went so far as to steal the document, only to keep it. But I guess his reasoning of guilt sort of makes sense. I also thought Olympia would up the stakes and reveal that Matty knew, but maybe they’re saving that for the season two premiere.

And come season two, I’m hoping they up the intensity of the cases, trim the fat with some of the side plots and characters (I wouldn’t mind seeing Shae again but Simone is cartoonishly evil and juvenile & needs to go) tighten up the roundabout storytelling, and expand on Olympia—I can maybe see her covering for Julian to protect the kids, but I still hope this Wellbrexa thing evolves in a way this isn’t too melodramatic, so she and Matty can at least come to a sincere understanding by the midseason point. Because having them at odds this episode revealed just how much their friendship elevates the show for me. I also wouldn’t mind seeing more of Senior. I’d never heard of that actor before, but he does sinister and suspicious really well. It’s the eyes and the smile, I think. Could definitely play the devil.

"Senior", in real life, is Lloyd Bridges' son. His brother is Jeff Bridges.

[Nashville]

1 hour ago, coffeebean said:

"Senior", in real life, is Lloyd Bridges' son. His brother is Jeff Bridges.

Yep, and I’m totally pissed off FX cancelled The Old Man. 🤬

[Yeah No]

10 hours ago, coffeebean said:

"Senior", in real life, is Lloyd Bridges' son. His brother is Jeff Bridges.

Yes, on behalf of all the older people on this thread, we remember when Beau Bridges was young and cute, and definitely not the kind of guy I could see playing an evil meanie. More like the kind of guy you'd want for your boyfriend, LOL. 🥰

Beau Bridges is now 83. Getting old sucks.....😞

[Percysowner]

1 hour ago, Yeah No said:

Yes, on behalf of all the older people on this thread, we remember when Beau Bridges was young and cute, and definitely not the kind of guy I could see playing an evil meanie. More like the kind of guy you'd want for your boyfriend, LOL. 🥰

Beau Bridges is now 83. Getting old sucks.....😞

As a 72 year old I disagree. It CAN suck of course, but Beau is still good looking, healthy.seeming loved and respected, and able to work at a job he apparently loves. Getting old sucks if you are not healthy, alone and lonely and unable to do things you want to do, but that sucks at any age.

Edited Saturday at 04:12 PM by Percysowner

[babyrambo]

5 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Yes, on behalf of all the older people on this thread, we remember when Beau Bridges was young and cute, and definitely not the kind of guy I could see playing an evil meanie

Didn’t make the connection until I saw the pic, but I just realized he’s the guy from one of my grandma’s favourite movies, The Landlord (1970). Completely different role and obviously he’s aged but now that I’ve seen the pic the resemblance is obvious—the same bushy & eyebrows and smile. 

[possibilities]

On 4/25/2025 at 4:27 AM, Nashville said:

Well, we do frequently meet the one-stop shopping needs of many customers….  😁

Are there any other tv forums worth anything? If so, I haven't found them.

[GHScorpiosRule]

9 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Yes, on behalf of all the older people on this thread, we remember when Beau Bridges was young and cute, and definitely not the kind of guy I could see playing an evil meanie. 

 

Same with Jeff! I don’t like seeing my Bridges’ as bad guys! Even the late Lloyd, who I ADORED!!

[Yeah No]

7 hours ago, Percysowner said:

As a 72 year old I disagree. It CAN suck of course, but Beau is still good looking, healthy.seeming loved and respected, and able to work at a job he apparently loves. Getting old sucks if you are not healthy, alone and lonely and unable to do things you want to do, but that sucks at any age.

I can't seem to say anything here anymore without someone calling me to task over it. Just because I said getting old sucks doesn't mean I'm also saying all the rest you read into my comment and assumed I meant! Beau Bridges will never look like that again but that doesn't mean I think he looks like crap for his age either!

But I don't appreciate being told there's something wrong with me, that I'm unhealthy, alone, or incapacitated for the way I feel about getting older. And actually I HAVE been incapacitated recently for medical reasons due to a condition that I have developed in my "old age". Thankfully it was short lived but it was not fun. Thanks so much for reminding me of that....I was trying my best to forget.

My friends and I often talk about how it sucks. All our aches and pains and medical conditions. At least we can feel better knowing we're not alone in that. And I think that's a pretty healthy way to deal with it.

[Chicago Redshirt]

On 4/20/2025 at 4:15 PM, shapeshifter said:

About Billy's ex being pg. 
That could be a good thing if

• it means Simone is no longer interested in Billy or getting revenge on Sarah
• glimpses of Billy's personal life revolve around cute baby cameos instead of closet necking

I am surprised that Simone seems to have IMO to legitimately have romantic interest in Billy and isn't just using him to piss off Sarah. Setting things up where she legitimately is pissed off at Billy for being 100 percent dumped for preggers Claudia (after Billy told her that he wasn't looking for anything serious) might make her a decent Little Bad. But I find the character poorly acted and tiresome thus far, and I also didn't like that Billy (up to now a likeable person who's got a good job and is reasonably attractive) indulged in a fling with someone who has been obviously and objectively nasty to his work wife. Ain't no one hot enough that I would want to hook up with them if they pulled some of the crap she did.

I'm making the perhaps incorrect assumptions that a) Billy and Claudia are both Catholic b) the concept of abortion isn't going to come up c) Billy and Claudia are going to decide to get married after all because of their kiddo-to-be d) there will be subplots about Billy's getting used to being a husband/father, the actual delivery and Billy's early attempts to balance his Jacobson Moore work with new fatherhood.

But I would semi-applaud the show if it subverted any or all of those expectations. 

On 4/21/2025 at 12:13 PM, Percysowner said:

Well, unless senior has another, older son, senior implies pretty strongly that he is Julian Sr. and Julian is Julian Jr. I can't think of other contexts where senior is used as a name, but I could be forgetting something.

Nobody calls Julian "Junior" (although Elijah jokingly referred to him as "Little J" when Julian wanted to put the nickname "Big E" that one time), as I would assume they would from time to time if he were Julian Markston, Jr. So I am under the impression that Senior is not "Julian Markston Sr."

I had the notion that they possibly call Senior that because he's a/the senior partner at Jacobson Moore. But in the scene with Senior's ex/Julian's mom and Olympia an episode or so back, Julian's mom referred to him as "Senior" rather than whatever-his-first-name-is. So maybe he has gotten the nickname for some other reason, or the mom just called him Senior because that's what Olympia is used to.

On 4/21/2025 at 3:16 PM, possibilities said:

Olympia and Julian have already finalized their divorce, right? One of the articles in the media thread refers to them as soon-to-be-ex, but I thought I remembered they've finalized the divorce. 

If they were still married, would that mean she could not be forced to testify against him? And would her law license be in jeopardy if she didn't report him, now that they ARE divorced? Could he retain her and Matty and Sarah and Billy as his lawyers, to shield them from reporting him? Or could he cut a deal to get leniency if he turns his father in?

We really haven't seen him do much lawyering, and he even offered to leave the profession if Olympia wouldn't tell anyone about his malfeasance. So from the show's perspective, him keeping his law license doesn't seem to be important. Based on that, one way I can imagine this going is, they conspire to take down Jacobson-Moore, he becomes a full time parent, and Olympia and Matty start their own firm by the end of Season 2.

The "can't be forced to testify against a spouse" thing is somewhat misconstrued as I understand it, which is admittedly not necessarily perfectly.

Generally, prosecutors cannot compel a spouse to testify against another in terms of confidential communications made within a marriage. That does not mean that they cannot compel them to testify as to other facts that are adverse to the spouse that are non-confidential communications. For instance, a hypothetical prosecutor could subpoena Olympia to testify that around the time of the Great Coverup, they were looking to buy their first home, the down payment for their desired multilevel brownstone was $X, then they got a sudden influx of money with which to make a down payment. That much does not involve confidential communications. Something like "I asked him where did he suddenly get the money, and he told me Mom released money from the trust" would arguably fall into that area if it happened during the marriage. I'm sure that a decent lawyer who knows about this area could make arguments on either side. In this case, they had a conversation after they were divorced, which means that there's no spousal privilege to that conversation. A hypothetical prosecutor could then call Julian's mom (and/or, better, use financial records) to show that the money did not come from the trust like he said. I believe Julian admitted to Olympia that Wellbrexa paid him off. So Olympia could testify to that too.  

The spousal privilege also doesn't mean that the one spouse can't voluntarily agree to testify against the other. So if Olympia and Julian remarried/never divorced but still wanted to testify, Julian wouldn't have recourse. 

Applying real-world ethical standards to Matlock is always difficult. But disbarment is basically reserved for a handful of things: 1. serious crimes, whether or not directly related to being an attorney 2. swindling clients/financial or other abuse of clients 3. extreme dishonesty or failure in their duties toward the court 4. a long pattern of violations and failure to repent that suggests disbarment is the only option.

So realistically, Olympia finding out now that 14 years ago Julian (and Senior) engaged in a coverup doesn't fall into any of those categories.

And would her law license be in jeopardy if she didn't report him, now that they ARE divorced?

Failing to turn over documents to the other side is bad, no doubt, and can/should result in sanctions against the firm or its client that could range from money damages to the elimination of certain defenses to a judge essentially ruling in the favor of the party who had the documents withheld.

By way of example, you may remember that Alex Jones, a popular conspiracy theorist, spread the lie that the school shooting at Sandy Hook was faked. The family members of the victims sued for defamation. Alex Jones was found liable by the judge because of failure to turn over documents about Jones's finances, as the judge termed it "willful noncompliance" with multiple discovery requests.

https://www.npr.org/2021/11/15/1055864452/alex-jones-found-liable-for-defamation-in-sandy-hook-hoax-case

https://www.courthousenews.com/sandy-hook-families-double-down-with-alex-jones-default-judgment/

From what I can tell in my quick googling, even in that case, the lawyer for Jones was not disbarred or even punished for his withholding the documents. He has a suspension for improperly disclosing medical records of some of the Sandy Hook family members that he's appealing. 

In the Wellbrexa case, we don't really know still the nuts and bolts of it. Who was suing, and on what theory? What records did they ask for in the discovery practice? Is there arguable justification for not disclosing this supposed Smoking Gun? What we've been told is that it is a marketing study and Matty has reached the conclusion that it suggested that the warning label be written in a way as to give people a recipe for getting high faster, which would mean getting addicted, which meant more profits. Matty's basically always right about everything, so there's that. But even if the study suggests that the label be written in one way and they went with another way, that doesn't necessarily mean that it was done to incentivize junkies to figure out how to get high faster/deeper. 

https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyer-for-alex-jones-gets-short-suspension-over-handling-of-confidential-documents

The spousal privilege doesn't apply AFAIK to reporting legal misconduct to a bar association. The idea behind spousal privilege is that we don't want to have the government threatening marriages by getting into the granular details of what's happening behind the scenes. That sort of philosophy doesn't apply to when two married lawyers are on the clock, I would think.

Could he retain her and Matty and Sarah and Billy as his lawyers, to shield them from reporting him?

Shows like Matlock (and pretty much every other law show on TV) suggest that every lawyer engages in basically every type of law simultaneously. In this season alone, we've seen Matty and co take on among others: several criminal defense cases (the kid with the crush, the trucker case and more recently Dino), a wrongful conviction case (the guy who got 20 years from the pilot), a wrongful termination case (the sex discrimination case), a civil rights case (the prison misconduct case), an intellectual property case (the guy with the cloud-seeding tech), a class action product liability case (in Slamm'd), family law (with the controlling husband trying to force his wife to give up the kid she was having of another man, and the other controlling husband who had hidden assets from his wife), and the pharmaceutical defense case where she got Wellbrexa off the hook. In real life, attorneys focus generally on just a handful of practice areas, if that. It generally doesn't pay to attempt to be a jack-of-all-trades. And there's an ethical duty to for a divorce lawyer to not handle a criminal appeal UNLESS they can get up to speed in that new area. It would take a long time to get up to base-level competence in all the fields that Matty and co were involved in just this first year.

That is a long prelude to saying: it would be a bad idea for Julian to attempt to hire anyone other than someone who specializes in defending lawyers in malpractice claims and before the bar's disciplinary body. And it would be a bad idea for Matty or whoever to represent Julian even if he asked. On top of that, they would have another ethical conflict: Olympia has at least some first-hand knowledge of what Julian was doing at the time and was married to him for about 14 years. Matty has been obsessively studying this issue (unbeknownst to Julian, of course) and has deep-seated feelings about his involvement that would absolutely prevent her from being the best possible advocate for Julian. Indeed, since Jacobson Moore would be implicated in Julian's misconduct, he would almost certainly be obliged to obtain counsel from outside Jacobson Moore. I don't think even someone like a Billy or Sarah who have no personal connection to the Wellbrexa case or Julian could honestly say that they could represent Julian fairly and zealously, given that they ultimately work for his father.

Or could he cut a deal to get leniency if he turns his father in?

I don't know if the attorney disciplinary mechanisms work like criminal courts in so far as there are plea deals and leniency and so forth, but I would suspect so.. 

We really haven't seen him do much lawyering, and he even offered to leave the profession if Olympia wouldn't tell anyone about his malfeasance. So from the show's perspective, him keeping his law license doesn't seem to be important. Based on that, one way I can imagine this going is, they conspire to take down Jacobson-Moore, he becomes a full time parent, and Olympia and Matty start their own firm by the end of Season 2.

In fairness, the show keeps its focus on Matty and thus by extension Olympia. So we're not going to know much about the day-to-day or even month-to-month lawyering that Julian, Senior, Elijah, Simone or any of the other Jacobson Moore attorneys might be doing unless it intersects with Olympia/Matty.

But we know that Julian has Wellbrexa as one of his chief clients still, and presumably additional pharmaceutical companies. He also was competing with Olympia to become an equity partner. And we were told he had signed up some AI firm that was seemingly a big swing toward getting to be an equity partner. He took on Olympia in that one divorce case. Also, for what it's worth, Simone is one of his associates. 

His offer to leave the legal profession was spur of the moment and might not be genuine. Probably he doesn't need the money per se, and to the extent that he wants to work, I'm sure the nepobaby could figure some way to parlay his/his father's connections into any number of other fields. I personally would love it if they could wrap up the "Jacobson Moore caused the opioid crisis and I'm going to make them pay" subplot within an episode or two of the start of S2 and then have the show focus more on just the cases of the week and character moments with our Core Four.

But I'm pretty much sure that it will morph somehow and become more convoluted.

 

[SoMuchTV]

10 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Yes, on behalf of all the older people on this thread, we remember when Beau Bridges was young and cute, and definitely not the kind of guy I could see playing an evil meanie. More like the kind of guy you'd want for your boyfriend, LOL. 🥰

Beau Bridges is now 83. Getting old sucks.....😞

No, say it ain’t so! Pretty sure he’s about 50, right? I think he was my first movie star crush when he was in some movie where he was a skier, or a ski instructor, or… it’s all a little hazy now. 

[SoMuchTV]

9 hours ago, Percysowner said:

As a 72 year old I disagree. It CAN suck of course, but Beau is still good looking, healthy.seeming loved and respected, and able to work at a job he apparently loves. Getting old sucks if you are not healthy, alone and lonely and unable to do things you want to do, but that sucks at any age.

 

1 hour ago, Yeah No said:

I can't seem to say anything here anymore without someone calling me to task over it. Just because I said getting old sucks doesn't mean I'm also saying all the rest you read into my comment and assumed I meant! Beau Bridges will never look like that again but that doesn't mean I think he looks like crap for his age either!

But I don't appreciate being told there's something wrong with me, that I'm unhealthy, alone, or incapacitated for the way I feel about getting older. And actually I HAVE been incapacitated recently for medical reasons due to a condition that I have developed in my "old age". Thankfully it was short lived but it was not fun. Thanks so much for reminding me of that....I was trying my best to forget.

My friends and I often talk about how it sucks. All our aches and pains and medical conditions. At least we can feel better knowing we're not alone in that. And I think that's a pretty healthy way to deal with it.

Both things can be true! I know I can’t tell you how to feel, but IMO someone stating that they disagree with you is not the same as “calling me to task over it”. Getting old can suck, but people can still live their best lives. 

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Same with Jeff! I don’t like seeing my Bridges’ as bad guys! Even the late Lloyd, who I ADORED!!

Sea Hunt! 🏊🏻‍♀️🤿

 

1 hour ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

…But I'm pretty much sure that it will morph somehow and become more convoluted.

Gah! 😵‍💫

[Chicago Redshirt]

50 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

No, say it ain’t so! Pretty sure he’s about 50, right? I think he was my first movie star crush when he was in some movie where he was a skier, or a ski instructor, or… it’s all a little hazy now. 

According to IMDB, Beau was born two days after Pearl Harbor, December 9, 1941. So that would make him 83. 

[SoMuchTV]

10 minutes ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

According to IMDB, Beau was born two days after Pearl Harbor, December 9, 1941. So that would make him 83. 

Oh, I’m not questioning actual reality. I’m just questioning how old that makes me!

[Yeah No]

1 hour ago, SoMuchTV said:

Both things can be true! I know I can’t tell you how to feel, but IMO someone stating that they disagree with you is not the same as “calling me to task over it”. Getting old can suck, but people can still live their best lives. 

Of course they can both be true but that's not what that post said. There were a few insinuations and implications being made there that added up to it being more than just a "disagreement". The assumptions and presumptions about what I said weren't very true or very nice and I think I have every right and reason to not appreciate them and to say so. 

[pennben]

As to the show…just caught backhalf this weekend. 
 

1. Involving grandson in capers needs to go. Let this nonsense go.  as well as grandson. Preposterous plots there. 
2.  Why must there be a season long plot? Just be. Have threads. 
3. Shows used to be able to sustain themselves without such nonsense as here.  
 

[mostlylurking]

Was it just me or was there a little something something going on between Billy and Sarah?  The show hasn’t given any indication that Sarah might be bi but I’m sorry I saw sparks. 
 

It’s sad because Julian doing Senior’s bidding is exactly the reason why Senior doesn’t respect him.  Julian  doesn't have the guts to stand up to his dad, unlike Olympia. That’s why she got promoted. I totally understand Julian’s feelings, but he’s weak and Senior knows it.

Really strong season.  Can’t wait for season two. I’m so glad we not only got a high episode count this season but we only have to wait a few months for season two.

 

[shapeshifter]

39 minutes ago, mostlylurking said:

It’s sad because Julian doing Senior’s bidding is exactly the reason why Senior doesn’t respect him.  Julian  doesn't have the guts to stand up to his dad, unlike Olympia. That’s why she got promoted. I totally understand Julian’s feelings, but he’s weak and Senior knows it.

I agree with your summary of Julian's relationship to Senior, but not entirely with why Olympia got promoted.
In the convo between Senior and Olivia, Senior malevolently intoned:
“Congratulations. You now have a stake in everything that happens at Jacobson Moore.” 
IMO, Beau Bridges delivered that line like a warning. 
I wondered if Senior has figured out something is up, and is following the old adage to "keep your friends close, and your enemies closer," in this case making Olympia liable for anything illegal the company is found to have done. 
Even if this doesn't apply to stuff 10 or 12 years ago for her, there's still shenanigans going on related to it.

[Yeah No]

3 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I agree with your summary of Julian's relationship to Senior, but not entirely with why Olympia got promoted.
In the convo between Senior and Olivia, Senior malevolently intoned:
“Congratulations. You now have a stake in everything that happens at Jacobson Moore.” 
IMO, Beau Bridges delivered that line like a warning. 
I wondered if Senior has figured out something is up, and is following the old adage to "keep your friends close, and your enemies closer," in this case making Olympia liable for anything illegal the company is found to have done. 
Even if this doesn't apply to stuff 10 or 12 years ago for her, there's still shenanigans going on related to it.

I was thinking the malevolent tone was because she got the position by default since he wasn't going to give it to Julian. But I like your theory too.

[mythoughtis]

Matty wants to keep working because she enjoys it.  It also keeps her from being a full time parent to Alfie.  Edwin is tired of living away from wherever they formerly lived, and also wants some help with Alfie. That doesn’t make either of them evil.  They just want different things right now.  Everyone is mad at Edwin… well the man is at least in his 70s. He has a right to want to do things on his bucket list.  It’s not easy being grandparents raising a child.   

[peachmangosteen]

10 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I agree with your summary of Julian's relationship to Senior, but not entirely with why Olympia got promoted.
In the convo between Senior and Olivia, Senior malevolently intoned:
“Congratulations. You now have a stake in everything that happens at Jacobson Moore.” 
IMO, Beau Bridges delivered that line like a warning. 
I wondered if Senior has figured out something is up, and is following the old adage to "keep your friends close, and your enemies closer," in this case making Olympia liable for anything illegal the company is found to have done. 
Even if this doesn't apply to stuff 10 or 12 years ago for her, there's still shenanigans going on related to it.

This is exactly what I thought as well. I thought they would reveal Senior had some inklings Olivia was researching something in this episode tbh.

1 hour ago, mythoughtis said:

Matty wants to keep working because she enjoys it.  It also keeps her from being a full time parent to Alfie.  Edwin is tired of living away from wherever they formerly lived, and also wants some help with Alfie. That doesn’t make either of them evil.  They just want different things right now.  Everyone is mad at Edwin… well the man is at least in his 70s. He has a right to want to do things on his bucket list.  It’s not easy being grandparents raising a child.   

Matty made her sacrifice already. It's Edwin's turn.