Critic’s Rating: 4 / 5.0
4
It’s not an illusion. Sazz is dead.
On Only Murders in the Building Season 4 Episode 2, Charles comes to the grim realization that his best friend Sazz isn’t going to suddenly pop up alive and well.
However, that was sort of the feeling at first when Sazz did pop up: that it was all a joke, that the writers couldn’t possibly kill off Jane Lynch, and that someone else would take her place as this season’s murder victim.
But that’s not how it went.
Sazz did come back, but as a ghost, not only to help Charles through his grief but also to help him figure out who killed her and who has it in for him.
Losing a Friend
Grief is a funny thing that people handle differently.
But one common thread, especially right after someone you love dies, is to try to keep that person as close as possible, whether it’s clothes, perfume, or ashes.
Charles is still in shock over his old friend’s murder, and he can’t even bear to wash his hands of her ashes.
He doesn’t want to disrespect her, but he also isn’t ready to let her go.
Oliver and Mabel tried to be as compassionate as they could with Charles.
Even Oliver stepped out of himself despite saying some stupid things, which he instantly regretted.
The team wasted no time trying to piece together the clues they brought back from Sazz’s apartment in Los Angeles and the ones in Charles’s apartment at The Arconia.
Mabel and Oliver couldn’t see Sazz, so they believed that Charles was taking her death particularly hard, which he was.
Sazz: You don’t have to feel bad. That’s the gig. I take hits for my guy.
The two tried to comfort Charles as best they could, something true friends do, just like Sazz was doing, by sticking by Charles’s side.
I imagine she’ll stay with him throughout the season.
Oliver and Mabel didn’t want Charles to get too involved with the murder investigation so he could deal with his grief, but they also didn’t want him to have to go through any more trauma than he already had.
They wanted to carry the burden of the investigation for him, but they also wanted to protect him from whoever was trying to murder him.
Charles did help by giving them information about possible murder suspects from the west building, four to be exact, all of whom had a perfect “shot” into Charles’s apartment.
“The Westies” didn’t seem to be well-liked by the “regular” Arconia residents.
They were looked down upon for various reasons, including the fact that they were “renters.”
They were weirdos with weird names like “Stink Eye Joe,” “Sauce Family,” and “Christmas All The Time Guy.”
These were names that Charles came up with himself because he had no desire to learn about or get to know his neighbors across the way.
Again, this all goes back to the theme of perception, whether it’s our view of ourselves, our views of others, or what we think how others view us, which I discussed in my Only Murders in the Building Season 4 Premiere Review.
A Surprise in the Closet
While Mabel and Oliver set off to investigate “The Westies,” Charles was left alone to ponder his friendship with Sazz — with a surprise visit from a “not” old friend.
Jan broke out of prison using the Arconia’s secret tunnels to invade Charles’ apartment.
But she wasn’t there to kill him.
So, that’s one possible suspect out of the way.
She went to visit Charles because she was concerned about Sazz but she also gave him some additional information to help his investigation, though she wasn’t specific.
Jan: Snipers are assholes. What’s the point of a killing if you’re not up close for the release? That’s the best part.
It was kind of dumb of her to show up and then take off again, but her appearance did set up Det. Williams to get involved in the investigation.
I’m sure Charles being on hold with New York’s 9-1-1 system was a joke, but since I don’t live in New York, it kind of fell flat, which is exactly how Jan’s sudden appearance felt.
It just seemed lazy.
The Westies
The Westies were an interesting bunch who were a little star-struck by Mabel and Oliver’s appearance.
It wasn’t only because the Arconia trio were about to have a film made about their podcast but also because they were from the East building.
As mentioned, the “Westies” are the outcasts of Arconia, so, of course, they’ll go ga-ga over any attention they get from the other side, even if they have no idea they’re being investigated for murder.
I want to say that “The Westies” was a reference to the old Irish Mob based out of Hell’s Kitchen, a poor working-class neighborhood.
The Sauce Family’s favorite card game, “Oh Hell,” kind of leans me in that direction.
It also fits in with the Arconians from the east building turning their nose down at the residents of the west building.
Is class discrimination an underlying theme of this season of Only Murders in the Building? You never know with Hollywood these days.
We did learn that Stink Eye Joe’s real name was Vince Fish (Richard Kind) and that the “Sauce Family” wasn’t as scary as Charles made them out to be despite their strange habit of keeping a leg of ham imported from Portugal in their bathtub.
But it was funny to see Oliver and Mabel’s reaction whenever any of those characters did something suspicious like grab a knife to get a hit off the leg of ham.
We also didn’t get to meet the “Christmas All the Time Guy” yet, even though a piece of tinsel was found in Dudenoff’s apartment.
The Main Murder Suspect
It was clear from the beginning that Dudenoff was going to be the main murder suspect.
I can’t remember if we were able to see the card with that name on Sazz’s desk in “Once Upon a Time in the West,” but the minute Charles said he could never see inside that apartment, Dudenoff moved to the top of my list.
Also, whoever occupies that apartment has a coded lockbox, which, along with all the other clues Mabel and Oliver found in there, makes it almost like Murder 101.
What the pig in the bathtub represents, I have no idea, but maybe it will mean something later in the season. Maybe there’s a connection to the Sauce Family’s leg of ham. Maybe not.
Maybe Dudenoff is working with other people in the west building, like the “Christmas All the Time Guy,” but if they are, we’re not at that point yet.
It also seems that the cast from the podcast movie have yet to make it to the Arconia to shadow their real-life counterparts.
When that happens, it’s going to be a lot of fun.
And where was Howard?
Grave-y would’ve been a blast to bring along when Mabel and Oliver investigated the west building.
Maybe next time.
While we were given some clues about the probable murder suspect, we weren’t given any information as to why someone would want Charles dead.
And we know now that Charles and not Sazz was the intended target because whatever Sazz wrote on the floor in her blood, Charles is now taking the threat a lot more seriously.
Death is Nothing to Laugh At
I don’t think this episode was intended to have the kind of humor we’re used to seeing on Only Murders in the Building.
There were definitely some laughs, but it’s hard to find the humor sometimes when someone close to you dies.
Charles: You were mor than a stunt double. You took care of me in every way a person could take care of someone. You’re my oldest best friend. What will I do without you?
What we saw in “Gates of Heaven” was the importance of Sazz in Charles’s life and, surprisingly, via the documentary, how important Charles was to Sazz as well.
It also provided another opportunity for our trio to grow not only individually but also as friends and the team we love.
So how about it, Arconiacs? Is Dudenoff at the top of your list?
Why do you think he or she wants Charles dead?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.