Movies News Talk
Only Murders In The Building Season 4: The Killer's Revealed...or Is It?
Only Murders in the Building just delivered one of its best episodes EVER! A perfect blend of laughs, emotional depth, and a killer mystery! And we even find out WHO DUNNIT! (Or did we? We're going to look at the deeper possibilities later!). This episode is just amazing. We get intense character development; especially that payoff with the arcs involving the main trio of Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short), and Mabel (Selena Gomez). Seriously.
But the standout? That scene between Charles and Oliver. Those two old buddies are hunting for clues—then discovering the legendary Ron Howard was directing Project Ronkonkoma! This triggers Oliver's typical, funny storytelling—a tale about a 1988 Chinese restaurant encounter.
The trio head to Ron Howard's movie set; cleverly getting in as extras. But the AD recognizes Charles from his old cop show, "Brazzos," creating an amazing moment which emphasizes a classic and ongoing aspect within the show. The dialogue used was brilliantly chosen: It made the confrontation both very realistic and appropriate and made a lot of comedic sense! They were asked to leave after Oliver's hilarious (and increasingly inappropriate) off-script acting. Charles also lost his cool and exploded; producing some fantastic lines and that made a stellar moment to showcase just how close those two individuals remain; and what this intense emotional exchange conveys about that longstanding friendship and some key details about what might really be unfolding between the duo themselves. And they miss Howard.
Yet they head to that famous Chinese restaurant— and have that iconic photo reveal with Ron Howard; and then actually meet up with the star himself. It makes Oliver’s fanciful story true! This generates a fantastic, emotional and beautiful moment between the old pals; a genuine payoff perfectly blending that fictional element into a deeper metaphor concerning the real-life relationship between Steve Martin and Martin Short. The small move to place Oliver's picture next to Ron Howard's is adorable, showcasing just how easy and fun it is for the creators to use some light-hearted comedic relief at a key, meaningful moment of their overarching storytelling techniques! It made a surprisingly emotional moment; blending real life and fiction in a way not seen earlier!
In the meantime; we discover another pivotal point: a murder in a hospital! Glen Stubbins (Paul Rudd) was murdered! But it's very cleverly concealed through some amazing writing choices; a phone call to his contact (Sazz); and reveals Sazz’s phone went to the killer—another big and unexpected clue for viewers.
That plot however continues with Mabel’s discovery of Sazz's movie script – written by Sazz, not the apparent Marshall (Jin Ha), another huge hint concerning this very person. At the restaurant, Ron Howard shows a photo and Marshall's face matches! The plot cleverly shows just how far those disguises and changed appearance go and makes an already existing and established character actually turn out to be our killer!
And then the show just completely explodes and changes. Everything feels finished—yet so many loose ends remain. We have an identity (maybe); but there’s way too much happening. Here’s what needs explaining.
A crucial final question involves next week's finale. A wedding—and those “Only Murders” weddings are generally lethal, very deadly in this universe—possibly with Loretta (Meryl Streep) becoming the next victim. There is absolutely some significance involving that moment, in the end!
Only Murders’ latest episode is amazing— an intense yet funny combination! But even this doesn’t really resolve everything completely. The writers masterfully maintain suspense even when providing answers, setting up the perfect setup for an exciting finale. What happens? It remains unclear even after receiving an unexpected amount of information which raises numerous other questions which will inevitably leave every viewer guessing. It generates curiosity!