Over the years, the podcast trio has become keenly aware that as soon as they solve one murder, another victim is discovered. Well the Only Murders in the Building season 4 ending is no different. But first, Charles (Steve Martin) and Oliver (Martin Short) must rescue Mabel (Selena Gomez) from Sazz’s (Jane Lynch) killer.
At the end of the penultimate episode, Charles and Oliver discover that screenwriter Marshall P. Pope (Jin Ha) was Sazz’s stuntman protégé. His motive is tied to the movie script based on the Only Murders podcast.
Everything that has followed, from Zach Galifianakis getting shot to Glenn Stubbins’ (Paul Rudd) death, leads back to Marshall, and this finale reveals all of the pieces to the puzzle — though plot holes from season 1 remain unsolved. Also, the Arconia also plays host to Oliver and Loretta’s (Meryl Streep) nuptials, and the groom is worried his bride will be the next victim. In the jam-packed finale, we also get a potential new client and another body before the credits hit. Plus, a face from the past makes a timely appearance.
Rescuing Mabel
Mabel hasn’t replied to Charles’ message about Marshall being the killer, which doesn’t cause too much concern until Marshall sends a text telling Oliver and Charles to stay away from the Dudenoff apartment. If they come to the front door or call the police, Marshall will kill Mabel.
Charles realizes Marshall killed Sazz by himself, disposing of her body so quickly because he walked on the ledge from the other side of the building. But they can also use this route to get to Mabel without the killer realizing. The only problem is that Marshall is a trained stuntman, and Charles and Oliver are not.
Rather than go from one side of the building to the other, Oliver suggests they use the window from Vince Fish’s (Richard Kind) place. As Charles and Oliver run across the courtyard, Loretta arrives from Los Angeles with bad news. Loretta’s TV show is relocating from LA to New Zealand (because the algorithm “feels it’s newer”), and Oliver says he will move with her. First, they have the pressing issue of saving Mabel. Luckily, Mabel stalled Marshall by saying she would help with script rewrites.
When Charles steps onto the very high ledge, he hopes Sazz’s ghost will appear. Instead, Oliver joins him for the perilous mission. After all, Oliver is Charles’ “ride or die.” Vince and Rudy (Kumail Nanjiani) ring Dudenoff’s doorbell to distract Marshall, but rather than escape through the window, the trio stays to confront Sazz’s killer. Luckily, Mabel has Eva Longoria’s 19-in-one multitool in the apartment, and Charles notes that “at least four settings could kill you.” Charles uses this to disarm Marshall — time to get the killer’s confession.
Sazz's script
At an early age, Marshall’s father taught him to hunt, but all Marshall wanted to do was be a writer. He put all his childhood trauma into his screenplay, but unfortunately his script got zero bites. Marshall was about to call it quits until he met Sazz. Her kindness was a balm, she even offered to read Marshall’s work.
A flashback at the start of the episode to a recent day on the Brazzos set shows Sazz tapping in for Charles to perform a stunt, but she is clearly feeling the aches and pains more acutely. Sazz glances at the writer on set, and a lightbulb goes off, inspiring her to write the Only Murders movie script.
When she offered to read Marshall’s work, she asked if he could return the favor. Envy got the better of Marshall as he couldn’t believe how good Sazz’s first attempt was. So, Marshall told her it isn’t very good, but he would make a copy and give her some notes.
Marshall sent the script out in an attempt to get an agent and wasn’t expecting it to get greenlit by Bev Melon (Molly Shannon) at Paramount. Sazz found out and confronted Marshall. Sazz wanted to run it by Charles before selling the story, which adds to the betrayal. However, Sazz still told Marshall she was flying to New York for Charles’ Broadway debut and planned to tell her friend about the whole mess then.
A killer surprise
Marshall, unwilling to let it go, followed Sazz to New York and remembered the information about the Dudenoff apartment from her script. When he shot Sazz, she didn’t die straight away, and he made it to the apartment to hear her final words (“He’s gonna get you. My… number… one”).
Back in the present and now done with hsi story, Marshall uses his stunt skills to get the gun back, but someone from Charles’ apartment shoots Marshall dead. It's Jan (Amy Ryan)! The escaped prisoner never left the building and has been living in the secret passages, waiting for her chance to get revenge on Sazz’s killer. The police take Jan straight back to jail.
One wedding and one body
With Sazz's murderer caught, it's time for Oliver's wedding. He's walked down the aisle by Mabel and Charles and is nervous about where Loretta is. No need to panic, as she is walked down the aisle by Dickie (Jeremy Shamos) and Oliver’s son, Will (Ryan Broussard). It is a beautiful event that goes smoothly. Loretta says she can’t imagine taking Oliver away from the Arconia, so they agree to do long distance again.
After the celebrations, Charles and Mabel are approached by Sofia Caccimelio (Téa Leoni), who wants to hire them to look into her husband’s disappearance. Nicky is the missing dry cleaner on the news report at the hospital in the last episode. They politely decline, saying they only deal with cases connected to the Arconia. She tells them it “has everything to do with the building.” They refuse but take her card.
After Oliver bids farewell to Loretta the following morning, the podcast trio wraps up “the season at the movies” while walking around the courtyard. It is here they discover doorman Lester (Teddy Coluca) dead in the fountain.
Is Lester's murder connected to the Nicky Caccimelio case? We must wait for Oliver, Mabel and Charles to return for the already confirmed Season 5 of Only Murders in the Building.
All episodes of Only Murders in the Building are available to stream on Hulu in the US and Disney Plus in the UK.
