I’ll say it: ‘Only Murders in the Building’ needs to end with season 5
That was quite an Only Murders in the Building finale, huh? Not only did Charles, Oliver, and Mabel manage to “apprehend” Sazz’s killer—with a little help from an unlikely source, of course—but Oliver and Loretta got to have their fairytale wedding in the Arconia’s historic courtyard. All’s well that ends well, right?
Wrong.
Spoilers ahead for Only Murders in the Building’s season 4 finale.
Of course, we already knew that Only Murders in the Building had been renewed for season 5, so it was inevitable that another victim would be revealed in the season finale. It’s tradition, after all. I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect it to be Lester, the Arconia’s sweet doorman—though if he’s been killed, there may be a few skeletons hiding in his closet—but if someone had to get murdered in the building, it may as well have been him. Plenty of other new storylines have been set up for next season, too, like the appearance of the mysterious Sofia Caccimelio (Tea Leoni) and Oliver’s possible move to New Zealand.
In fact, so many storylines have been set up for next season, that the finale, especially the resolution of Sazz’s murder, felt oddly rushed. Did I love Charles and Oliver’s daring ledge walk? Of course. Did I laugh when Charles threatened Marshall P. Pope with Eva Longoria’s multi-tool vibrator? Absolutely. Did I smile like an idiot during Oliver and Loretta’s wedding? Obviously. But everything felt too … convenient, almost, as though the writers and the characters were just waiting for the other shoe to drop, eager to jump into the next season.
This is an issue with the show that I’ve written about before. Only Murders tends to always have one foot planted firmly in the future, sometimes at the expense of character depth and believability. I was surprised by how few familiar faces appeared at Oliver and Loretta’s wedding. Where were the other residents of the Arconia? Oliver’s son was there, thankfully, as were Howard and Uma, but surely, that’s the bare minimum.
A show can only rely on future promises for so long before it starts to unravel, and it feels like, to an extent, that’s already happening. Jan was hiding in the secret passageways all season long so she could conveniently sniper shoot Sazz’s killer at precisely the right moment. Okay. Sure, she’s one of the few recurring characters from season 1, and she always brings a certain murder-y je ne sais quoi to the proceedings, but really? No one thought to look for her there? Clearly, Oliver, Mabel, and Charles will never be in any real danger, and I know this is technically a comedy show, but they are tracking murderers here. At some point, something needs to change.
I love this show. Always have, always will. But all good things must come to an end, and I truly believe that Only Murders in the Building’s time to shine is coming to an end, too. Season 5 is the perfect place to bring this trio’s story to a close. Season 4 acknowledged the plot holes that the podcast—and the show, by extension—still needs to fix, Mabel is thinking about her future, Oliver is building one with Loretta, and Charles is finally truly connected to his emotions, open to experiencing more of what life has to offer. This may be the perfect time for them to move on from a podcast that has brought them so much joy and love, despite the subject matter.
The more Only Murders tries to expand, better, and embiggen what came before, the more it loses what made it so special in the first place. This season excelled at exploring the characters’ grief, but it was still weighed down by the numerous, overwhelming celebrity cameos and a flashy Hollywood storyline. (I miss the days when Oliver would bring Sting a turkey, and that was it.) Hopefully, now that Hollywood is firmly in the rearview mirror, Only Murders in the Building can provide one last season of Arconia-based murder shenanigans and wrap everything up in a neat little bow. Fingers crossed.
This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.
