DISCLAIMER: This recap of Only Murders in the Building Season 4 Episode 1, “Once Upon a Time in the West,” contains spoilers. Proceed at your peril.
Arconiacs, our crew is finally back on our screens with another murder to solve. I love that Season 4 starts with a fresh twist. Instead of our crew knowing there’s a murder to solve right off the bat, it takes them the whole episode to uncover Sazz’s death. I also love the film adaptation angle, as that provides some levity. I’ve missed this biting comedy with its legendary stars and murder-mystery elements. Bring on the rest of Season 4.
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Only Murders in the Building, “Once Upon a Time in the West”
We open with Charles (Steve Martin), who provides narration, featuring home video footage of Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez. Aw, look at these babies. Of course, said narration is for the final episode of the Only Murders in the Building podcast since our trio uncovered Ben Glenroy’s murderers. The power flicks off right as Charles “signs off” for all Arconiacs.
After Charles, Mabel (Gomez) and Oliver (Short) finish recording, the former invites his buddies to his apartment to celebrate. He wonders why Sazz Pataki never returned to the opening night party with the Malbec. On the elevator, Mabel asks if Oliver and Charles have received emails from Bev Melon. The fellas proceed to name well-known folks with fruity last names.
A Disappearing Body
Next, our trio enters Charles’s apartment. The lights are off, and at various points, it appears one of them has discovered Sazz’s body. However, that’s not the case. Because of this, I love the tension in this scene. Mabel tries to wipe a spot on the kitchen floor, kneeling beside the stove, which has blood splatters on the oven handle. She doesn’t notice them. They also don’t clock the bullet hole in the window. As for Sazz’s corpse, the killer moved her. That’s a first for our sleuthing, murder-solving trio.
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Then, the opening credits roll on. Looking closely, you’ll see Howard (Michael Cyril Creighton) is walking a dog. Interesting. Anyway, Charles falls asleep watching Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). He wakes up the following morning and opens his texts to Sazz, noticing they went unanswered. While pouring tea in the kitchen, Charles hears an inexplicable whistling sound.
Suddenly, Mabel and Oliver barge into Charles’s apartment, both wearing Oliver’s pajamas. Mabel admits she’s still homeless and staying at Oliver’s place; these are his least offensive PJs.
Goodbye, Death Rattle Dazzle
Oliver reveals Death Rattle Dazzle is closing after one performance. Donna and Clifford have pulled their funding for their legal fees (since, you know, they murdered someone). Loretta is off to LA for a TV gig. Besides Maxine’s glowing review, the other reviews were middling at best. Oliver’s life is over as he knows it. Charles mentions his concern about Sazz since she hasn’t responded to his texts.
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Next, Howard enters with a new animal companion: a dog named Gravy. Mabel cracks a gravy joke after Howard reveals that Sevelyn (his cat) loves sleeping with Gravy. Also, he’s not allowed to get more cats from a particular shelter. Anyway, Howard proposes a podcast idea to Mabel, believing she should capitalize on her brand. What if they covered animals who have jobs? After all, Gravy was a working girl. Mabel doesn’t look excited by the proposal.
Before Howard departs, Gravy starts sniffing around a specific spot on the floor and growling. It just so happens to be where Sazz died. Hmm…
Heading to Hollywood
Then, Mabel brings up Bev Melon again. She works for Paramount Pictures, and the studio wants to adapt the Only Murders in the Building podcast into a feature film. Bev wants them to fly to LA to discuss the project. Oliver hath been revived. Screw theater; Hollywood is where it’s at. Before they leave, Charles finally gets a text from Sazz. She mentions she’s doubling for Scott Bakula in LA. Well, whoever murdered her responded to Charles. Creepy.
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Later, our intrepid trio arrives in the City of Angels. They walk through the Paramount lot, where a Godzilla flick occurs in “New York City.” It boasts every NYC stereotype you can think of. “Hey, I’m walkin’ here!” and such. Then, they meet Bev (Molly Shannon) and the crew for the OMITB film, including the screenwriter and a sister directing duo.
Bev reveals they must sign over their life rights before production can move forward. Oh, and they already have a cast. Charles writes something on a slip of paper and attempts to slide it across the table to Bev. It doesn’t get much movement, so he eventually starts blowing on it as Oliver holds his legs so he can stretch over the table. It’s pure, unadulterated Steve Martin, and it’s hilarious.
4?
Bev looks bewildered. The paper just says “4.” Charles wonders aloud what that “4” could mean — $4 thousand or $4 million? Bev encourages the trio to have their lawyers contact Paramount’s legal department regarding payouts. Mabel excuses herself from the meeting, stating she must consider all this.
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Next, we see Mabel sitting outside the Paramount Pictures arch. Charles and Oliver join her. Mabel admits she didn’t like Bev’s description of her “character.” In the meeting, Bev described her as a mumbling, homeless Millennial. Mabel’s unsure she wants the world to know her as that because she’s still trying to figure out who she is. Petition to have more shows where 30-somethings struggle with their identity and path in life because, as someone currently in this position, Mabel’s story resonates with me so much in that regard.
Charles vows to support Mabel regardless of her decision. While Oliver also offers his support, he reminds Mabel that a decision in favor of the movie would mean the world to him. He needs a win. After this, Charles’s former driver from his Brazzos days pulls up. They’re going on a tour. As it turns out, Sazz’s place is part of said tour. Even though she “texted” him, it’s been a few days. She never responded after that. Charles is worried.
Wilted Roses
After stopping for In-N-Out (potentially unpopular opinion: there are better burger joints in LA), our trio arrives at Sazz’s apartment complex. Charles used to live here, too. They notice the slot in her door is chock full of mail. Charles peeks through the slot to see a vase of wilted roses on a table. Sazz hasn’t been here in a while. Charles is now on high alert.
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Later, the gang arrives at a party thrown in their honor courtesy of Paramount. Bev greets them. She encourages Mabel to chat whenever she wants to discuss signing over her life rights. We see posters for the Only Murders adaptation, complete with a release date set for Christmas. Then, the cast appears for press photos on a mini red carpet. Zach Galifianakis will play Oliver, Eva Longoria is Mabel and Eugene Levy will portray Charles. The aforementioned actors are even dressed as our trio.
Charles is excited to have Eugene play him. Mabel looks slightly confused about why Eva, who’s older than her, is cast as her. Then, there’s Oliver, who has no clue who Zach is. He thinks the latter is the kid from Home Alone. Zach almost quits until Bev offers to let him proceed with his Erin Brockovich remake, which he stars as the titular character.
Seeing Double
Eva explains that a focus group thought Mabel’s current age and the ages of Charles and Oliver make for a creepy dynamic, so they voted to age up Mabel in the film. Zach asks Oliver if he can play the latter as “talented.” Eugene gushes about Brazzos and how popular it is in Canada. He even provided the French voiceover for Charles’s character.
That evening, Loretta (Meryl Streep) makes her entrance at the party. She looks divine. Loretta is filming the Grey’s Anatomy-esque show. She expresses her excitement for our trio’s new venture. Mabel excuses herself, leaving Oliver and Loretta alone. She heads to the bar, where she runs into Eva again. Eva gives Mabel advice — sign over her life rights for the film, get as much money from the studio as possible and pave her own way with it. Just don’t sell tequila; that’s Eva’s thing.
Meanwhile, Loretta asks Oliver to move in with her in LA now that Death Rattle Dazzle is dead. The request takes Oliver aback. NYC is his home. Loretta admits she’s in love with Oliver. Oliver asks her for time to think about this. That said, he loves her, too. They cuddle. Aw.
The Bakula of It All
Then, Mabel approaches Bev with her asking price. When Bev peers at the number, the film’s screenwriter looks over her shoulder, gasping at said number. It’s a lot. Elsewhere, Charles believes he sees Sazz. He flags her down at an elevator, only for it to be Scott Bakula. He’s dressed like Sazz (and Charles, technically). Charles asks about Joy. How is she doing? Scott claims he received a text from Joy with a photo, but he can’t show it to Charles. Oh, and Sazz hasn’t shown up to work, which isn’t like her.
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Later, Mabel finds Oliver to share the outcome of her meeting with Bev. She has champagne and glasses in her hands. Success! Mabel is walking away with quite a lot of money for her life rights. Oliver is ecstatic. However, their shared euphoria takes a backseat when Charles delivers a Sazz update.
Breaking Into Sazz’s Apartment
After this, they break into Sazz’s apartment. Mabel notices the framed X-rays on Sazz’s wall, featuring all the bones she’s broken during her illustrious stunt career. Charles claims she had metal in place of many of her bones, which she would get from Bulgaria. Howard texts Mabel, asking her if she’s thought about his podcast idea. “Gravey” is ready for her time in the spotlight. Mabel claims they’ll discuss it when she returns to NYC. Oh, and Howard is spelling “Gravy” incorrectly.
Howard replies that he spells her name “Gravey” because of the canine’s former job — she was a cadaver dog. Mabel recalls when the dog sniffed around Charles’s kitchen and growled. Uh-oh. On Sazz’s desk, our trio finds strange, seemingly disparate notes, from “Lookin’ at Charles” to “Long Game.” What does it all mean?
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Then, Lester (Teddy Coluca) calls Charles to discuss the window replacement he requested. Charles never asked for such a thing. Lester stands in Charles’s apartment and describes the bullet hole in the window, which Charles didn’t see earlier. He remarks on the whistling noise.
Follow the Dog’s Nose
The gang returns to the Arconia in NYC to examine the bullet hole in Charles’s window. That explains the whistling noise. Howard brings Gravey in to assist. Gravey follows her nose, leading them to the incinerator. We see shots from Once Upon a Time in the West spliced between moments from the episode.
Finally, Charles opens the incinerator to find it was recently used despite signage claiming it’s out of order. There are ashes within. Charles discovers two metal bones from Bulgaria among said ashes, confirming someone murdered Sazz Pataki and burned her body in the incinerator to erase the evidence. They also planned to replace Charles’s window so he would be none the wiser regarding her murder.
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Charles texted Sazz’s number, calling the murderer out for impersonating Sazz. He asks them who they are. “Not your f*cking friend,” they respond.
Oh, that’s dark. It’s about to get dark, Arconiacs.
Only Murders in the Building drops new episodes every Tuesday on Hulu.
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What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events.
Who I am: Before moving to Los Angeles after studying theater in college, I was born and raised in Amish country, Ohio. No, I am not Amish, even if I sometimes sport a modest bonnet.
Bylines in: Tell-Tale TV, Culturess, Sideshow Collectibles, and inkMend on Medium.
Critic: Rotten Tomatoes, CherryPicks, and the Hollywood Creative Alliance.
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