Matlock season 2 has been a non-stop rollercoaster ride when it comes to Matty's ongoing quest to get justice for her daughter. Now with Olympia on her side, the pair of gone back and forth on their trust issues, and ended up pulling Julian in when he discovered the truth about their scheme. But the most shocking twist of the season belongs to jury consultant Shae Banfield.
Before Matlock took another break to make way for basketball on CBS, the most recent episode concluded with Jacobson Moore's secret weapon getting arrest for tampering with the jury. Fearing that her job would be cut, Shae took Senior's advice and made sure not to lose the latest high-stakes case. Unfortunately, she took his advice too literally and got caught with bribery.
For the first time, Matlock will tackle a major arc for Jane the Virgin star Yael Grobglas' fan-favorite recurring character, and ahead of the big episode navigating the aftermath of Shae's arrest, the actress teased what to expect. Not only will we see a brand new side of the usual cool and confident character, but she will be leaning on an unlikely ally for support.
While speaking with Matt Webb Mitovich for Matt's Inside Line, Grobglas explained that what excited her most about Shae's arrest storyline was getting to explore her vulnerabilities. Because Shae has limited screen time and has so far been featured in a limited number of episodes in the series, we don't know much about her beyond her reputation as a shark in the workplace.
"I’ve never gotten to explore her softer sides, her real fears," Grobglas shared with Mitovich. "We also get a glimpse into some of her background, where she talks about that. And especially getting to do it with someone like Kathy Bates."
Matlock brings Shae and Matty closer after Shae's arrest
Finally, we're going to learn about Shae's backstory, or at least parts of it. We know that Matty has a way of pulling the truth out of people and disarming them with her own calm vulnerability, which should allow Shae to open up to — you guessed it — her unexpected new ally. Shae will be spending even more time with Matty in season 2 episode 12, and it's going to be exciting.
If there's one person at the firm that Matty needs to continue to be careful around, it's Shae. She's a living, breathing lie detector, the aforementioned secret weapon the firm calls upon to help out in cases. She knows when people on the stand are lying and whether the stories they're telling are working on the jury. But will closer encounters with Matty send her senses flaring?
"I take it as Shae’s radar is always on, and she can always clock when someone is saying something that's not 100% true. On the other hand, I don’t know that in every conversation she has it is her top priority. I think she probably clocks the levels of importance of someone's lie, so this one maybe she writes off. Maybe she went, 'Right now you are the one person on my side, so maybe I better be happy about that for a second and not put my foot in it,'" Grobglas mused about Shae and Matty.
Shae could totally pick up on some of Matty's lies, if she tells any, or the validity of her fake Southern accent and other falsehoods of her identity. We've watched as Shae appeared to have some suspicions about Matty in the past, especially in the first season of Matlock, but they have never spent as much time together as they apparently will in season 2 episode 12.
Grobglas referred to the dynamic between Shae and Matty as a "constant power battle based on respect," but we'll have to wait and see how that power battle shifts as they get to know each other battle within the circumstances of Shae's arrest. Matty just might be able to outsmart Shae this time, getting her right where she wants her with her guard down.
Matlock season 2 episode 12 airs Thursday, April 2 at 9/8c on CBS.