Only Murders in the Building Recap: It Takes Two

Only Murders in the Building
Adaptation
Season 4 Episode 5
Editor’s Rating ★★★
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When an episode of Only Murders in the Building ends with a jarring twist, like Bev Melon threatening to shoot Charles, Oliver, and Mabel, for example, the next one will most likely begin by somehow undoing it. After all, it’s too early in the season for any real answers. That’s exactly how this week’s episode opened: By revealing that Bev (who has the posters for Ice Age 2, Garfield 2, and Rio 2 on display in her office) wasn’t actually threatening them. She was just startled.

But why was she lurking around Sazz’s defunct trampoline park in Paradise, New Jersey to begin with? An age-old question. While Bev maintains she didn’t kill Sazz, she fears someone else working on the movie may have. The night she died, Bev was at Variety’s Power Women party in L.A. and got an ominous voicemail from Sazz. “You need to call me, there’s a problem with your Only Murders movie, a big problem,” Sazz warned. Since then, Bev’s been worried that some other shoe is going to drop and derail her film, and she’s trying to get to the bottom of what it could be.  

Interestingly, this call means Sazz knew about the movie before the trio did. But what could Sazz be so concerned about that she would go to Bev Melon before bringing it to Charles? Personally, I think it was just business — maybe Sazz wanted a gig (you’d think she’d be a shoe-in after doubling for Charles for so many years). That call now connects Sazz to the film, which opens up a whole new pool of suspects we haven’t yet considered since they’re based in LA. The killer might just be the most dangerous thing of all: bicoastal. 

This new lead couldn’t have come at a better time, since the investigation into the Dudenoff Westies just hit a dead end. Charles, Oliver, and Mabel seem satisfied with the answers they got from that crew, but I’m not so sure. One way or another, I feel like they’ll be back in the conversation soon. For now, the trio is off to the film production offices to poke around there, hoping to spot someone nervous to see them. 

After the Brothers Sisters recruit the three for the movie’s promotional photoshoot, the directors leave with a tall, thin suitcase the camera lingers on, which seems important so let’s flag that for later. Something else that’s important is Cat Cohen’s gripping eyebrow acting — they’re doing a gorgeous dance with every line that tells you so much about this character. Anyway, back to jittery suspects … 

When the film’s writer Marshall sees Mabel, Charles, and Oliver across set, he scrambles and tries to shuffle away. But when they catch up to him and start asking questions about the murder, he’s relieved. He was worried they had more notes on the script, and is thrilled to find out he’s simply a suspect in a murder investigation. Phew! We learn a lot about Marshall in this episode, specifically that he suffers from such bad imposter syndrome he dons a fake beard and glasses to feel more like a legitimate writer, mirroring his look after the likes of Charlie Kaufman — whose work includes the film Adaptation, after which this episode is named. Fittingly, that film is based on Kaufman’s struggle to adapt Susan Orleans’ The Orchid Thief, and stars Loretta Meryl Streep.

This imposter syndrome storyline is familiar — it feels like Mabel has been dealing with the same thing for years. Even after the success of the podcast, she struggles to wrap her head around the paycheck she gets for selling their life rights. It feels very professional, but she’s not exactly sure what she’s a professional at. Listen, if I’m getting a fat check from Bev Melon to have Eva Longoria play me, the only question I’m asking is if I can get it in gold coins so I can dive into it like Scrooge McDuck. But Mabel takes this opportunity to finally develop some sense of self, determining that (as we all know), she’s a podcast producer. You did it, Mabel! After three and a half seasons you finally realized you have a job after all! 

While Marshall isn’t as far along in his imposter-syndrome journey just yet, he does have an alibi doing something far worse than murder: trying his hand at stand-up. But while they have him, Charles wants to show off their murder boards, hoping it’ll inspire the writer to make his character even shrewder. Unfortunately the reverse happens when Marshall quickly points out that his only conclusive section (the timeline) is nearly impossible. Somebody couldn’t get from one side of the building to the other and clean up the crime scene all in 12 minutes … or could they?

Intent to prove his vitality now that Loretta has a hot new co-star, Oliver volunteers to reenact the murder to test the plausibility of the time frame. According to him, he’s so fit he’s been asked to be a pallbearer many times. But he fails miserably at making the trek in time — and even randomly gets yelled at by 30 Rock star and tennis player John McEnroe in the process. So if this timeline is impossible, could there be two killers? One shooting from the Dudenoff apartment while the other is across the courtyard ready to clean up the crime scene? It’s a fitting twist given the season’s theme of stunt doubles and stand-ins. Right on cue, Mabel makes a discovery while looking at Charles’s photos of the production office. She spots a footprint on the tacky mat that matches the one in the Dudenoff apartment, which means either DSW was having a big sale or the killer is on that film set.

So it’s off to the photoshoot they go, where Eva Longoria helps their footprint-investigating cause by pulling the crazy celebrity card to demand the tacky mats be laid out. “Oh honey, I’ve asked for crazier things. In season eight of Desperate Housewives, I told them I wouldn’t return unless they legalized gay marriage, and guess what? They did,” she says. When the footprint they’re looking for does appear, Mabel sees it belongs to Tawny Brothers — who of course has a built-in accomplice in her sister Trina. But just as she has this “aha” moment, gunfire rings out and the episode ends. If the start of this week’s episode is any indication, we’ll probably find out it was just a car backfiring or something.

But why would the Brothers Sisters want to kill either Sazz or Charles? Could it make for good press for their movie? Or maybe the sibling duo is too obvious and Tawny had a totally different partner in crime. I’m still suspicious of Marshall, whose fake beard and glasses might serve a different purpose altogether. Plus, his casual mention of having above average vision feels key — something an accurate sniper might have. Maybe he even rented the Dudenoff unit to spy on his subjects as he wrote them. One way or another, I feel like there must be some connection between the film and Dudenoff — and that’s where our answers will ultimately lie.