Reviewer Rating: 5/5.0
5
Now that’s all I have to say, Arkenix! Less fluff, more Mabel, Charles and Oliver.
Our favorite crime-solving trio gets back to their roots, both figuratively and literally, on Building Mysteries Season 4 Episode 1. What a great experience!
Trust me, I was prepared for the worst.
But to my surprise, the Season 4 premiere felt very reminiscent of Murder in the Building Season 1.
In the first season, friendship and solving murders were the top priorities for our three detectives, and all the pettiness of subsequent seasons got in the way.
Oh, there are plenty of guest stars in this episode, including Meryl Streep, but they take a back seat to the main course, which is where they belong.
back to roots
Whether intentional or not, when we were kids watching home movies of Steve Martin, Selena Gomez, and Martin Short, the tone was set from the beginning, giving us a glimpse their root.
While this may seem like a reset for the show, Mabel, Charles, and Oliver show how much their characters have grown since they first came together as a team.
But they also realize that they are comfortable in their own skin.
Maybe a movie meeting with Bev Mellon (Molly Shannon) in Los Angeles prompted the three to re-evaluate themselves, but it all seemed a bit tongue-in-cheek, and there was a lot of it in this episode.
Her characterization of the trio reminded me of Robert Downey Jr.’s acceptance speech at this year’s Critics’ Choice Awards, in which he read some of the vicious comments critics had made about him during the year.
Mabel and Charles are troubled by the way Bev describes them. Of course Oliver threw it away.
Her description of Oliver is not as bad as her descriptions of the other two, though, of course, Mabel’s description being the worst.
But he did get a taste of it when Zach Galifianakis later told him at the party how he planned to play Oliver:
Zack: I was a little adventurous about how I played your character.
I’m considering him as a talented, successful guy, fully aware that it’s 2024.
It made Oliver’s self-esteem drop a notch or two, and he deserved it.
Then Loretta showed up.
Ride into the sunset
I was surprised that Oliver refused to commit to Loretta.
With his musical Death Rattle Dazzle already in the water, she asked him to move to Los Angeles to be with her. There really isn’t much for him to do besides movies and podcasts.
Even before he knew there was another murder to solve or that Mabel would be involved in the film, he hesitated. Not that he wasn’t madly in love with Loretta. He is.
But he’s not ready to give up on Mabel and Charles, podcast or not, even if he doesn’t say so. He actually puts them and their feelings above his own. I’m impressed.
That’s not to say that, deep down, he doesn’t keep the prospect of a happy life with Loretta alive.
But considering how the rest of the episode plays out, it seems likely that the romance between Loretta and Oliver will fade into the sunset. I can’t say I feel bad about it.
Of course, it’s also possible that he didn’t commit because he didn’t want to live with a woman who was more successful than him, which is exactly what Oliver Sr. thought.
But I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt on this one because my initial assessment of the situation feels more correct.
Mabel only shows who’s boss when it comes to murders in the building
Words sting. Bev’s description of Mabel hit me hard.
She leaves the meeting before reaching an agreement, reflecting on what Bev said.
Bev: And Mabel, with all your traumatized, homeless, jobless, mumbling-about-millennium-charm look, is stuck between these two old guys…
Mabel didn’t want to be that person, nor did she want to That Mabel’s version will be forever sealed on celluloid by signing away her “life rights” to the film.
But do we really need to change who we are, or question the choices we make in life, to please others, be the talk of the town, or be the most popular kid on the block?
This is what Mabel needs to think about as she tries to figure out “how to get out of this mess.”
Things got even worse when she learned that Eva Longoria would be playing her in the movie.
Of course, Longoria is the complete opposite of Mabel – whoever she wants to be who others think she should be, she can be.
Mabel questions why they “ageed her up” in the movie, and is stunned when Longoria tells her that a focus group found the age gap between Mabel, Oliver and Charles to be “creepy.”
This goes back to questioning Mabel’s choice.
Later, this only added fuel to the fire when Longoria told Mabel that the script made her look “like a sad sack.”
Mabel keeps holding on, resisting pressure from Oliver to sign the deal, but after talking to Eva, she finally shows everyone who’s boss.
Eva suggests “squeezing” the studio out of everything in order to realize her dream. It seems Mabel did just that.
Bev was caught off guard when Mabel handed her the little note. She didn’t expect Mabel to have the nerve to come up with any number she wanted, prompting the writer to respond “Oh, f**k.”
Good for her.
Not that money is the key to happiness, hopefully she’ll understand that later, but Mabel definitely knows her life is worth more than superstardom and Hollywood.
Unfunny uncle
We already know the team will somehow find out that Saz may no longer be a part of this world, but it’s a nice slow-motion tease until they discover the truth.
Charles couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right.
But Oliver makes him feel like the “unfunny uncle” Bev previously described, as he obsesses and worries about Saz instead of focusing on their Hollywood breakout.
Eugene Levy, who plays Charles in the film, doesn’t help dispel the “boring uncle” label.
Levy: Well, no one is really completely funny at our age, are we? You know what everyone has now? septicemia.
I laughed about this because isn’t that how our conversations with older friends and family always end?
Charles doesn’t like this about himself, but we are who we are. This goes back to the theme of whether we should change ourselves to make others happy.
It also proves that Mabel is the best part of Murder in the Building.
As the much younger member of the team, she wasn’t embarrassed that she had something in common with the two older gentlemen. She wasn’t embarrassed by their friendship.
Despite their quirks, she wasn’t embarrassed by the respect they showed.
There’s a murder to solve!
The fun in Hollywood didn’t last long for Mabel, Charles and Oliver.
It’s fitting that just when they were about to celebrate their movie deal, Charles ruined it all.
But by coming together again as a team, they show how much they value their friendship and their shared goal of solving mysteries (and murders), even if it only involves their mutual friends.
This beats a Hollywood movie any time.
Without hesitation, the team jumps in to solve the mystery of Saz’s disappearance. After Lester called, they immediately flew back to New York to investigate.
The show executes perfectly in the way it sets up the murders for us this season through intercuts with the movie Once Upon a Time in the West and our trio (and Howard!) discovering the truth about Sazz.
It’s very intense and contains nothing but music and visuals. I don’t know about you, but this whole scene gave me goosebumps.
It’s a hair-raising, thrilling few minutes that make me wish Only Murder Season 4 Episode 2 was out tomorrow. I can’t wait!
Who doesn’t love graves?
The final thing about this episode is how much fun Howard added to Murder in the Building. I absolutely love him.
His banter and quirkiness fit perfectly with the team, and with the addition of Grave-y, there’s no reason why he can’t become a permanent member of the Only Murders in the Building podcast.
Howard: Severine loved her. They slept in the bed, on top of each other.
Mabel: So Severin is covered in graves?
Howard: Yeah, I ate them all!
Forget animal work, although that would be fun; give us more Howard!
Who killed Saz?
I thought it would be fun for us TV fanatics to try and solve the mystery with our favorite mystery-solving trio as the season progresses.
To find clues to Saz’s murder, we must start with Only Murder in the Building, Season 3, Episode 10.
So, let’s break them down.
- Saz said she had copies of all of Charles’ keys.
- Before Saz went upstairs to get the Malbec, Charles got a text from Joey: “Scott Bakula said hi.”
- Everyone thought Charles was drinking Malbec, but everyone was surprised when he came back without alcohol. We know he wasn’t disappearing to discuss “sensitive” information that Szaz wanted to talk to him about. So, where is he?
- Saz was shot from outside. So there had to be another person involved in the shooting, one monitoring Charles’ movements and another doing the shooting. And the person monitoring his whereabouts should also be at the party, right?
Clues in this episode include files and notes on Saz’s desk, an incinerator filled with Saz’s ashes, and text messages from the fake Saz, which means the killer has her phone. Is there anything else I’m missing?
It’s your turn, Arconiacos.
Who prepared this for Charles?
Is that pile of ashes in the incinerator really “Sazz,” or is the Bulgarian joint just a red herring?
Who is at the top of your list of suspects and why?
Use your sleuthing skills in the comments section below! Be sure to let us know if Murder in a Building Season 4 Episode 1 lived up to your expectations.
