It’s Been Who All Along? Only Murders in the Building Episode 7 Delivers a Puzzling Twist
Only Murders in the Building episode seven was a character-centric, doll-filled episode that left audiences with more questions than answers.
Mabel, Oliver, and Charles have ditched New York City to escape their killer. They run into the arms of Doreen, the eclectic younger sister of Charles, played by Melissa McCarthy. Doreen is the exact opposite of Charles: bold (too much leopard print doesn’t exist for Doreen), talkative, and head over heels in love with Oliver. Doreen’s suburban home is the perfect sanctuary for the gang, other than her super creepy doll obsession. Doreen’s currently exiled husband is a cop who sleeps on a boat in the driveway, making Doreen’s house the perfect hideout.
Even though Selena Gomez’s Mabel pleads with Howard to keep their hideout a secret, Bev Melon struts up the driveway in a full-on crisis. Molly Shannon’s character is stressing over the fate of the movie and she has decided to stay with the gang until she sorts it out. Shannon’s comedic timing is a godsend to the world of television. Melon’s pink power suit, ultra-stressed persona, and complete indifference to anything other than her film contrasted against the mundane, familial suburbs was one of the funniest gags throughout the episode.
Oliver muddles through the opening scenes, heartbroken after breaking up with Meryl Streep’s Loretta, who he believes doesn’t love him. Meanwhile, Doreen can’t keep her hands off Oliver. Guess who shows up? Loretta. Streep’s character walks in on Oliver in quite a suggestive situation on the couch, when in reality, he was fighting off Doreen’s advances. McCarthy steals every scene she’s in throughout the episode. As flirtatious as she was with Oliver, it was the moment between her and Steve Martin’s Charles, who finally confronts their family trauma, that steals the spotlight. Minus her one serious portion of the episode, Doreen caused utter chaos and I loved every second of it.
Loretta’s surprise arrival throws Oliver for a loop. However, he finally breathes easy once Loretta reveals that she wasn’t the one on the other end of the phone when Oliver professed his love. It was her stand-in who was bandaged up for a scene and couldn’t speak. Loretta and Oliver laugh the instance off and they’re quickly together again after their brief breakup.
Trouble in paradise quickly returns when Oliver tells Loretta that he stalked her online through a fake account. The betrayal sends Loretta into a spiral and she finds solace alone in the house. However, Loretta literally fights for Oliver when Doreen busts into the living room and attacks her. The quick fight was a chaotic scene that will go down in television history. I mean, did you ever think you’d see Melissa McCarthy and Meryl Streep punch each other in the face? Legendary. The fight brings Loretta and Oliver back together, and Loretta adorably proposes to Oliver. Martin Short and Streep’s chemistry is off the charts!
What’s one thing this episode taught us? Never trust Howard with a secret. Eugene Levy, Zack Galifianakis, and Eva Longoria arrive at the safe house too. Mabel is initially annoyed when they crash the party, but Loretta advises Mabel to let them help with the investigation. She claims that actors know more than you’d think. Mabel decides to let the actors take a swing at the investigation, and they do not disappoint.
Mabel is awoken by an excited team that has all the answers. Longoria, Levy, and Galifianakis took over Doreen’s living room with the most complicated murder board this show has ever seen. They believe whoever killed Dudenoff is also after the podcasters. With Howard investigating the mysterious cashed checks linked to a dead Dudenoff, they hope this will reveal the killers.
However, the actors believe that Sazz’s murder wasn’t the true beginning of this story. Through Levy, Longoria, and Galifianakis, the show calls itself out on some major plot holes from past seasons, including when someone poisoned Oliver’s puppy in season one. The team assumed it was Jan, but Galifianakis reveals it couldn’t have been Jan because the threatening letter left for Oliver had a smudge at the beginning of the note. The smudge is a clear indication of a left-handed writer, but a photo of Jan playing the bassoon reveals she is right-handed.
Longoria explains that Jan also received a threatening note in the past that had the exact message our trio received in the previous episode: “I’m watching you.” With that, it’s clear that someone has been after Mabel, Oliver, and Charles since the beginning. Charles starts to wonder if Sazz knew this all along.
That’s not all! Howard finally bribed the bodega owner to let him see who’s been cashing Dudenoff’s checks. The security footage reveals that the checks have been cashed by the West Wing Arconia group. Howard calls the number left behind, and Richard Kind’s character, Stink Eye Joe answers the phone. Howard hangs up the phone, and Stink Eye Joe ominously tells the rest of his group that the podcast team knows their secret.
While this episode had amazing twists, the revelation that the Arconian tenants are the killers feels a bit underwhelming. I hope this is just another classic red herring that the show loves ending their episodes with. This episode was carried by the side characters. Howard, Loretta, Doreen, Bev, and the actors were the most captivating part of every scene, giving the traumatized podcast team a much-needed reprieve. However, even though the team has more answers, there seems to be a treasure trove of new questions to answer.
Only Murders in the Building season four is streaming on Hulu, with new episodes every Tuesday.
