Charles, Oliver and Mabel team up with their Hollywood doubles to solve Sazz’s murder. Here’s our Only Murders In The Building episode 3 review.
Season 4 of Only Murders In The Building is now off to a good solid start. Charles, Oliver and Mabel are looking into the murder of Charles’ stunt double, Sazz Pataki (a wonderful Jane Lynch), but as we discovered at the end of the last episode, Charles was the intended victim.
You might also remember that Paramount Pictures is interested in turning the trio’s podcast into a Hollywood film, going as far as casting Eva Longoria, Zach Galifianakis and Eugene Levy as Mabel, Oliver and Charles. This week’s episode finds the OGs and the cast team up to find out more about the murderer.
Last week’s episode also revealed that Charles’ old flame Jan, a convicted killer, escaped jail to hide in Charles’ closet. Jan insists Sazz called her, but detective Williams firmly believes Jan is still a little salty about the events of season 1 and hired someone to kill Charles, accidentally taking out Sazz.
This week, the trio are torn between the suspects. On one hand, a piece of tinsel found at the sniper’s nest suggests that the killer might be the Christmas-obsessed Rudy (Kumail Nanjiani), but Charles is convinced the killer must be Vince (Richard Kind). Oliver suggests the group should divide and conquer, leaving Eva and Mabel paying a visit to Rudy while Charles and Eugene head over to chat to Vince, with somewhat disastrous consequences.
Meanwhile, Oliver tries to bond with Zach, who is less than enthused about it all. The pair got off to a bad start in episode one, but Oliver is trying his best here, bless him. Martin Short and Galifianakis create a tangible dynamic and their scenes are the episode’s best. Smartly, these scenes with the characters’ supposed cast work surprisingly well, but also go deeper than just cheap thrills. Through the new actors and their research into their future roles, we’re learning an awful lot about our central trio.
Martin, Short and Gomez continue to be an absolute delight. Comedy often relies on chemistry and timing and Only Murders In The Building has buckets of both with the cast. Another highlight is Michael Cyril Creighton as Howard, who in this episode adopts the wandering pig from the sniper’s flat. Creighton’s Howard is often just the comedic relief, but he’s often the best part of any scene he’s a part of.
We’re still early on in the season, but I’m waiting for the season to find its emotional grounding. Both seasons 1 and 2 worked so well because the murders turned out to be tragedies too. Season 2, which might go down in history as the best season of Only Murders In The Building, not only gripped us with the murder mystery, but by introducing a new side of the victim, Bunny. That hasn’t quite kicked in yet for the new season and I’m hopeful that’s still coming.
Join us again next week for another deep dive into a new Only Murders In The Building episode as our trio finds themselves in a bar full of stunt men.
