Spoilers are ahead for the March 5 episode of Matlock Season 2, called "The Greater Good" and available streaming next day with a Paramount+ subscription.
Matlock entered a new era in the 2026 TV schedule, and it's all due to Julian learning the truth about Matty and Olympia scheming to put his dad behind bars. He wasn't overly repentant about his role in the Wellbrexa mess at the beginning of "The Greater Good," and it was easy to see Jason Ritter's point about Julian just wanting to avoid prison.
But after a series of events including Sarah getting confirmation that Bill was gone, Julian finally feeling remorse, and the two bonding as a team, Ritter's comments about a "second chance" set up some high stakes for the rest of Season 2.
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How "The Greater Good" Changes A Lot
The reveal of why Billy won't be back came the earliest in the episode, and was also the least surprising after David Del Rio was fired due to sexual assault allegations. The pieces started to fall into place when the winter finale revealed Billy's girlfriend suffered a miscarriage, and it was starting to look like his job at Jacobson Moore would be cut by an efficiency expert in the previous episode.
In "The Greater Good," his former team learned that he was taking the severance package from the firm due to the merger. Billy is gone for good now, leading a new associate to join Olympia's team due to Sarah joining Julian's team. Sarah was struggling in the latest episode, finding that gossip with Julian wasn't as much fun as with Olympia and Matty, and she didn't even have a secret handshake like they did with the new associate.
What Sarah didn't know was that Julian's mood was being affected by joining Matty and Olympia in their scheme against Senior, albeit reluctantly. Understandably, Matty wasn't exactly welcoming him with open arms, and Julian initially refused to apologize for his role in hiding the Wellbrexa study, claiming that it wasn't isn't fault that Ellie died.
In a really lovely moment from Jason Ritter, Julian completely changed his tune when he dropped by the Kingston house and came face to face with Alfie. That was enough for him to really feel what he'd cost Matty with the death of her daughter, and for him to realize how many other families had been ruined by Wellbrexa as well. He profusely apologized to Matty.
That breakthrough helped him realize that he wasn't treating Sarah particularly well either, and he went to the effort of sitting down and wanting to get to know her better. Sarah still seemed to want a secret handshake like what Matty and Olympia had with her replacement, but chatting with Julian about her personal life seemed to soothe the sting of Billy's absence.
Second Chances In Season 2
When Julian signed on for Sarah to join his team rather than be booted from Jacobson Moore after being cut from Olympia's team, he told her that he believed in "second chances." Speaking to Jason Ritter, I asked the actor who those "second chances" applied to on the show, and he shared:
I think definitely, when he says that to Sarah, he's thinking mostly about the second chance that he's hoping to get, that he hopes that Olympia and Matty will give him. They have so much on him, and Matty makes it pretty clear she could end it all right now. So I think he's on his back for sure, and all he's trying to do at this point is get through the next day and do what it takes to to make it through.
This wasn't a case of Julian deciding whether or not he should give Olympia and Matty a second chance after they spent a season and a half deceiving him, but rather getting an opportunity for himself. That certainly puts him in an intriguing position with Sarah, who is also paying the price for a choice she made for Senior. Ritter went on:
I think he sees a little bit of himself in Sarah, in that she was unable to say no to this very powerful person. Whether it was wanting [Senior's] approval or being afraid of the consequences from not doing what he asks, she still did this thing that she knew was wrong. But she came clean pretty quickly, and I think he respects that. Julian has been sitting on this secret for years, and that's never good for your heart.
Sarah has the advantage of coming clean quickly... as well as that her transgression had far less devastating effects than Julian hiding the Wellbrexa file. It should be interesting to see what kind of duo these two are as Season 2 continues, particularly now that Julian has the same big secret to keep from her that Matty and Olympia did.
For now, check out the promo for the next new episode:
Tune in to CBS on Thursday, March 12 at 9 p.m. ET for the next new episode of Matlock, ahead of Carrie Preston's Elsbeth as usual. If you've missed any of the series so far (or just want to revisit some of the highs and lows), you can find all of Matlock so far streaming on Paramount+.
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