‘Matlock’ Reveals Matty’s Heartbreaking Role in Ellie’s Death (RECAP)

[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for Matlock Season 1 Episode 12, “This Is That Moment.”]

Matlock just showed the heartbreaking circumstances that led to Ellie’s death. The painful flashbacks were juxtaposed by a present-day legal case that hit really close to home for Matty (Kathy Bates), as it involved a struggling single mother desperately trying to maintain sole custody of her son. This mother wasn’t a struggling with drug addiction like Ellie, but her story was strong enough to illicit a powerful emotional response from Matty. The episode also showed Ellie, played by Marnee Carpenter, in her final days.

A woman named Paloma was embroiled in a bitter divorce with her cruel, remarried husband who was withholding child support despite his wealth (wealth that was being stored in secret offshore accounts). Julian (Jason Ritter) joined as the man’s lawyer to square up against Olympia (Skye P. Marshall), with whom he was in his own tense divorce proceedings. This case escalated into a custody battle so bad, Paloma barricaded herself in a Jacobson Moore office with her 7-year-old son. In a desperate plea to make sure the woman didn’t lose her child, a tearful Matty confessed on the other side of the barricaded glass door that she had a moment like this she desperately wishes she could take back on a daily basis.

That moment was Matty’s determination to get sole custody of her and Edwin’s (Sam Anderson) grandson, Alfie (Aaron Harris). Flashbacks showed a stern Matty and torn Edwin in court opposite their distraught daughter, whom they took to court after the 18-month-old Alfie had to be taken to the emergency room for a severe burn to his arm. The toddler was burned by a stove while home with Ellie, whom Matty suspected was high on opioids at the time of the accident. In court, Ellie claimed that wasn’t true; she and her lawyer said she was three-months sober. But that turned out to be a lie. Matty said on the stand that people struggling with drug addiction sometimes figure out how to pass a drug test while still using. Ellie admitted to this outside of her parents’ house during the custody battle, revealing that she had been sober for a month since the accident with Alfie.

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Ellie sobbed as she begged her mother not to continue with the case. Matty didn’t budge, but she promised her daughter that she could have supervised visits with Alfie “every single day.” She even denied taking Alfie’s favorite toy, telling her daughter to hold onto it for the day that she regains sole custody of her son. Ellie was a no-show at the next court date, forcing the judge to grant Matty and Edwin sole custody of Alfie. They returned home to the worst news imaginable: Ellie died of an overdose, her relapse triggered by the distress of her parents taking custody of her only child.

Alfie’s father, who has yet to be revealed onscreen, emailed Edwin following Ellie’s death hoping to connect with the family and say his goodbyes. In the present day, Edwin lied and told Matty that he no longer had that email and therefore lost the father’s contact information. The episode ended with a parallel to Ellie’s funeral. Matty asked her husband if he blamed her for Ellie’s death. On the day of the funeral, he said no. But now, he admitted that he sometimes does. The episode ended on that cliffhanger.

Next week, we’ll see what happened after Edwin’s resentment was revealed. Matty, Edwin, and Alfie have always blamed Jacobson Moore for Ellie’s death, as the legal firm could’ve gotten opioids off the market a decade earlier. And as this episode revealed, they now know exactly what document was hidden that contained the truth about the drug’s addictive nature. Edwin looping Matty in with their sworn adversary is a bombshell that’s sure to strike a heavy blow to their relationship.

Matlock, Thursdays, 9/8c, CBS