Matlock – Episode 6 “Sixteen Steps” Recap & Review

Sixteen Steps  

Episode 6 of Matlock starts with a flashback to two years ago when Matlock met Olympia at the firm. Matlock was looking for a sign to start her revenge plan and Olympia was going through something. After bumping into an angry Olympia at the firm, Matlock told her family she had made up her mind, and they moved to New York.  

Presently, Edwin tries to find a way to make a mould of Kira’s fingerprint so Matlock can break into the server room. On the other hand, Alfie helps Matlock to delete the dating app to avoid Stanley. She is excited to go to work since Olympia had an old case overturned on an appeal. This new case will allow her to get time with Julian and win him over, ultimately getting to the Pharma side. 

At the office, Sarah is desperately trying to make Billy see the importance of a prenuptial agreement. Olympia offers Matlock a chance to work on a different case. She is worried the case which involves the death of a baby after ingesting contaminated baby formula will overwhelm Matlock. In the first case, Olympia lost the case because she didn’t let the parents testify. They also didn’t convince the jury that the factory violated any safety regulations. 

Now, Olympia is hoping to correct her mistakes. She asks Matlock to talk to the parents, Vanessa and Ana, and be there for them. Vanessa and Ana are not excited to relive their trauma again. They have another baby on the way and are hesitant to testify. However, Matlock convinces them to do it.  

As we look into what happened the first time, we learn what happened to Olympia and Julian. They were arguing a lot during that time. They had different opinions on the case and their personal lives. Julian didn’t get why Olympia suddenly wanted to do more cases that help people. This pushed them to a divorce. 

Meanwhile, Matlock gets a text from Stanley asking to meet. She panics and calls Alfie and Olympia and overhears part of the conversation. Matlock lies that she is dealing with some of the debt her dead husband left her with.  

In the first trial, Julian and Olympia met Teddy, who told them about the violations the factory ignored. However, Teddy’s testimony wasn’t enough. At the same time, the manager, Harold, was not the approachable type. This time, they find Harold gone, but Teddy is still there. He tells them that Harold left after fixing up a few things at the factory. He even recalls a time when one of the pipes collapsed and he had to jump in and hold it in place. Olympia and Julian question why Harold updated a few things at the factory and left. They send Matlock to talk to him, but he denies doing anything wrong. 

Meanwhile, Olympia and Julian hit the wall in their investigation to find out why the batch from the factory was contaminated. Matlock discovers there might be more to Harold’s retirement, and the team starts looking into it. 

Elsewhere, Matlock sends Stanley a message asking him to stop contacting her. However, the man shows up at the firm the next day. Fortunately, Matlock sees him before he is allowed in and talks to him. He is worried about his kid, who is a missing drug addict. Matlock feels for him, but rudely sends him away when she sees Olympia looking for her. On the other hand, Olympia and Julian discover the factory’s roof.  

They reach out to Teddy, but he never thought the contamination had happened after the roof caved in. Olympia checks the roof and finds mould. She sends a sample to the lab, hoping to prove that the mould contaminated the batch. As they wait for the results, Olympia preps Vanessa, but she refuses to talk in detail about the death of her son. Olympia starts to worry that the jury will not relate to Vanessa’s suffering. She talks to Matlock, and the latter talks about her daughter. Matlock later convinces Olympia to force Vanessa to relive her trauma at the stand.  

After the results prove that the mould didn’t get into the contaminated batch, the case depends on Vanessa’s testimony. Fortunately, as they talk about their kids, Olympia and Matlock figure out how the batch was contaminated. 

The next day at the hearing, Teddy testifies about how the roof collapsed and he held the pipes up with his broken arm. Since his hand was in a cast, he accidentally contaminated the batch. With this revelation and Vanessa’s heartbreaking testimony, Olympia wins the case. However, Vanessa is not pleased since Olympia pushed her too hard on the stand. Olympia feels guilty about the cost of winning. 

After the case, Sarah convinces Billy to ask his girlfriend about a prenup after he proposes. He, in turn, convinces Sarah to consider asking Kira out. As for Olympia, she and Julian get back together. On the contrary, Matlock heads home and has a panic attack. The paramedics advise her to avoid stress and Edwin suggests it might be time to end their plans. After her health scare, Matlock decides that maybe Alfie is their second chance, and she promises to quit. The following day, Matlock is ready to quit, but Olympia and Julian inform her that they want her to join Pharma. 

The Episode Review

Matlock is so deep into her revenge plan and not even a health scare can deter her. Edwin should already know that it is too late to go back. Matlock has to see this through. Otherwise, she would have resented him for not allowing her to complete the mission. As she said, joining Pharma is her sign. It probably isn’t. We humans like to see what we want, but that is the justification she needs to tell herself.  

This episode shed light on Olympia and Julian’s divorce. They used to fight a lot because they didn’t understand each other. Olympia felt it was time to change for the better, and Julian struggled to accept her input and desire to change. In the end, Olympia decided to end it. Now, they have a second chance, but will it work out?