Reviewer Rating: 2/5.0
2
The tangled web woven by Building Season 4 Episode 5 becomes so complex that it’s difficult to understand.
Not every episode is a hit, but “Adaptation” felt flat, especially after “The Shocking” ending of “Stuntman.”
Still, the episode has its highlights – Charles’ James Bond-style reenactment of the Saz murders is a fun, much-needed highlight.
That said, there are so many characters and plot threads jumbled together – Bev, Jack Jonker, Marshall (?!), siblings and those movie star twins – that the episode feels scattered without a single episode It all comes together in a satisfying way.
There’s a lot to keep up with, and the audience can only take so much before things get frustrating. So, let’s start with Bev.
dead end
Just because Bev shot three people in Saz’s “poverty cabin,” it’s easy to pinpoint her as the prime suspect. But we can’t rule her out just yet.
She made it clear that her only goal was to get the movie off the ground, and Saz’s passing was definitely a big deal — especially since Saz called her shortly before he died.
Bev’s alibi seems airtight, but why is she in Saz’s shed? How did she know?
Our trio didn’t dig deep enough to get those answers. Or maybe Bev avoided the question entirely, letting them listen to Saz’s message so they wouldn’t doubt herself.
Also a weird detail, Saz hid a gun in that shed, along with random trampoline blueprints. None of this adds up.
Honestly, it felt like the writers forced this scene just to subtly reference Alec Baldwin Rust’s controversy, which would just take away from the story.
This episode had a lot of moments like that – the social commentary wasn’t smart or funny and just distracted from the plot.
Another puzzling thing is the FBI’s absence. They were supposed to be leading the investigation into Saz’s murder, but we haven’t seen any follow-up from the film crew or seen any real progress.
Once again, all the legwork was done by our trio, which is how it should be, but still – it’s not even clear why the FBI took on the case.
And Det. Williams? She shows up again, but it feels like her main purpose this time is to make some lewd comments about Jack Jonker and fuel Oliver’s insecurities about Loretta.
Can we find some solutions for Oliver and Loretta? Their long-distance will-they-or-won’t-they romance is starting to run into trouble, especially now that Jack Jonker is involved (if only through a newspaper article).
Oliver’s once lovable jealousy began to wane. We get it – he’s insecure, but it’s time to move forward with this storyline before it loses its charm.
Tip who?
Writers are the backbone of any story, but Marshall suddenly becoming a central character feels more like a distraction than a plot twist.
Of course, he’s the screenwriter, and while he claims to have a solid alibi (at least on paper), his sudden prominence in the story feels confusing and a little off.
To make matters worse, the three of us didn’t even bother to confirm his or anyone else’s alibi.
His excavations of their amateur detective skills start to feel spot on. Maybe that’s the point: If Saz’s murder was part of some elaborate movie hoax, the filmmakers might be counting on our trio’s lack of real investigative skills.
Considering Marshall was the one who came up with the idea for the “Only Murder in the Building” movie, it’s not a stretch to be a suspect.
He could have been following the trio like a stalker. But now pulling him into the spotlight and trying to make him seem like a major player in the mystery feels like it’s coming out of nowhere.
The old saying is true: too many cooks spoil the broth—or, in this case, spoil the murder mystery. But at least it was Charles who saved the day (and Mabel’s hair, which was awesome.)
The light bulb finally went off
Charles really saves the episode by reenacting the murder.
His attempts to piece together a timeline and play James Bond-esque killer to support his theory of the lone killer is both absurd and hilarious.
It’s great to watch him desperately try to prove his point, but his antics during the photo shoot steal the show.
When the siblings tell the trio to use The Godfather as inspiration for their poses, Charles’ over-the-top imitation of Sonny’s ambush is pure comedy gold.
It was while taking the photos that Charles and Mabel finally had an epiphany and realized there must be more than one murderer.
This is always the most logical conclusion, but are the siblings really to blame?
The whole shoe print clue looks too convenient. Then they were eager to bring Howard into the mix, even if he was just a production assistant/documentary director. This is definitely fishy. but why?
It feels like there’s something deeper going on, but we’re missing some details and can’t see it clearly.
The problem is that the theory that the siblings are involved because there are two of them and one of them is super strong enough to carry a body seems too simplistic.
We also don’t know their motives or their connections to the West.
It’s all still a chaotic mess, with suspects being thrown at us left and right, from the twins to Westie to stunt doubles and now the film crew behind the scenes.
Nothing ties together smoothly and it feels like we’re being dragged from one potential suspect to the next without any real clues linking them to Charles or Saz.
With five episodes left, there’s still time to unravel the mystery, but the show needs to simplify its clues rather than add more.
Over to you, Arkenix! What did you think of this episode of Murder in the Building? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
