How Did Matlock Explain David Del Rios Exit in Midseason Finale?

[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers forMatlock Season 2 Episode 8, “Call It a Christmas Gift.”]

Hours before theMatlock midseason finale aired on CBS on December 11, creator Jennie Snyder Urman revealed that David Del Rio‘s final episode as Billy Martinez had already aired. Del Rio was fired from the series in October after CBS investigated a report of an alleged sexual assault. It reportedly involved his costar, Leah Lewis, who plays Sarah. Del Rio denies the allegations. Snyder Urman said that Billy’s absence would be explained in future episodes. How was it addressed in the midseason finale, Episode 8?

When was David Del Rio’s final episode ofMatlock?

Snyder Urman said that Del Rio’s final Matlock was Season 2 Episode 7, which aired on December 4.

“I’m not going to discuss details, but what I can talk about is in terms of the show,” Snyder Urman toldDeadline. “The last episode you see him is in 7, and then you find out how Billy’s story ends, which is in a very organic way that has to do with our whole office and how things are being shaped in this merger.”

How didMatlock write out David Del Rio’s Billy?

Michael Yarish/CBS

There was a possible merger looming in Matlock Season 2. In Episode 7, Billy and Sarah discussed rumors of the merger. Early in Episode 8, Sarah called Billy and left him a voicemail saying she didn’t want to pry or push, implying that he was suddenly absent from work, but it wasn’t clear why. Near the end of the episode, Billy called Sarah back.

“It was so weird not knowing what was happening with you,” she said on the phone.

Viewers only heard Sarah on the call, but it was revealed that Billy’s pregnant partner, Claudia (Bella Ortiz), had a miscarriage. It seems that Billy is going to take some time to be with his family, with potential updates on the character to come in later episodes.

Is Senior dead inMatlock?

Elsewhere in the holiday episode, Sarah was hoping to talk to Billy about feeling guilty for spying on Julian (Jason Ritter) at the order of Senior (Beau Bridges). A couple of scenes later, Senior had a stroke and ended up in the hospital in a medically induced coma.

Before his stroke, Senior arranged a big holiday bonus for Sarah. Julian got information that helped Olympia (Skye P. Marshall) and Matty’s (Kathy Bates) growing case against Senior, but they wondered how they’d be able to get justice in the Wellbrexa investigation if Senior dies.

Earlier, they had accessed thousands of photos from Senior’s trip to Australia with Debra Palmer (Melanie Lynskey), the trip that’s key to their Wellbrexa investigation. Julian found a number saved as “Australia” in his dad’s phone. He felt guilty for searching while Senior was unconscious. Later on, Julian spoke to his unconscious father in a moving scene reflecting on their complicated relationship.

“I want to move on from the resentments, so I’m letting go of mine, because you’re my dad,” Julian said through tears.

Michael Yarish/CBS

Olympia brought the Wellbrexa study to Matty and Edwin’s (Sam Anderson) home. They tried to keep the document for themselves, but eventually let Olympia leave with it. The Kingstons warned that if Senior dies, they may go back to their plan to hold Julian accountable. Snyder Urman told Deadline that the Welbrexa study storyline will conclude in Season 2.

The case of the week led to Matty giving an impassioned statement to a jury, in which she said there’s always a cost to telling the truth. It hit hard for everyone in the room, especially Olympia and Sarah, and even more so when they lost their case. This made Sarah come clean to Olympia about taking pictures of Julian’s date book. Olympia moved her off her team in response.

“Trust is important, and you lost mine,” she said.

The episode ended with Olympia giving Matty the Wellbrexa study in a sign of trust, saying that Matty deserved justice, even if it meant Julian getting in trouble. At the same time, she hoped Julian would stay safe.

The camera panned back to reveal that Julian was outside of Olympia’s house. The closing flashbacks revealed that Julian was spying on them the entire episode. Now he knows that Olympia and Matty have the Wellbrexa study. Fans will have to wait until late February for this latest Matlock cliffhanger to be addressed.

Matlock, Returns Thursday, February 26, 9/8c, CBS

If you or someone you know is the victim of sexual assault, contact theRape, Abuse & Incest National Network‘s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or a loved one is in immediate danger, call 911.