Coming from a long line of stunt people, Sazz Pataki (Jane Lynch) learned at a young age that you always fall. "But the trick is, you get up, you dust yourself off, and make sure you don't become dust," Sazz says in an old Brazzos documentary. Unfortunately for Sazz, this doesn't account for real life.
Each of the Only Murders in the Building victims has a personal connection to the podcast trio, but none as profound as Sazz's nearly 40-year-long bond with Charles (Steve Martin), and he is understandably in shock after Only Murders in the Building season 4 episode 1's gruesome discovery.
As their investigation begins in Only Murders in the Building season 4 episode 2, Oliver (Martin Short) and Mabel (Selena Gomez) want Charles to stay in his apartment as they're concerned Charles is the target. Little do they know who might sneak in through the tunnels. Plus, what do the residents in the Arconia West Tower have to do with this crime?
Where did the shot come from?
Charles doesn't know what to do with his ash-covered hands as he doesn't want to wash Sazz's remains down the drain. While figuring out a solution to this messy problem, Sazz appears to him in the bathroom to tell him, "Me being dead is the least of your problems." Of course, Charles is working his way through his grief and fear, but it's also a lovely reminder of their friendship.
While Charles is in the bathroom, Oliver and Mabel speculate where the shot was fired from. They narrow the sniper's position down to the 14th floor of the Arconia West Tower but need to Postmates some luminol so they can see the residual blood to pinpoint where Sazz fell.
Having gathered the notes from Sazz's apartment (including "Looking at Charles" and the name Dudenoff), Oliver and Mabel wonder if Sazz or Charles was the intended victim (seeing as they wear similar clothes). Charles brushes this off, saying that Sazz wanted to break it off with Jan (Amy Ryan); but even though Jan is a killer, she is still in prison. Wanting to do right by Sazz, Charles calls 911, but as he says he isn't in immediate danger, he is now in a queue with 68 other callers.
The West Tower comprises the "weirdos" and "loners" (when Oliver uses "renters" as an insult, Mabel rightfully puts him in his place), who they refer to as "Westies." Charles even has nicknames for the 14th floor residents, including "Stink Eye Joe," "The Sauce Family" and "Christmas-All-the-Time Guy." There's also one apartment always has its blinds drawn, which is suspicious.
A surprise visitor
Mabel and Oliver give Charles "busy work" while they go to question the Westies, telling him to stay on the line to 911 and make a new murder board. When they are gone, Charles watches Sazz on the old Brazzos documentary (and continues to chat with an imagined version of her).
Upon hearing a noise from the closet, Charles boldly chooses to investigate. Charles lets out a scream when he opens the door and sees Jan. The convicted murderer used a combination of parkour that Sazz taught her and psycho-sexual manipulation to escape prison. She then used the secret passages to sneak into Charles’ place (which she learned courtesy of the podcast). She explains her concern for Sazz led to this daring jailbreak.
Meanwhile, Oliver and Mabel pretend they are location scouting for the forthcoming Only Murders movie, introducing themselves to Stink Eye Joe, whose real name is Vince Fish (Richard Kind), who wears an eye patch to deal with his antibiotic-resistant pink eye. They discover the windows are painted shut in this part of the Arconia. Vince then invites them to the Sauce Family's place for a game called "Oh Hell."
A dangerous card game
The Sauce Family are Inez (Daphne Rubin-Vega), Alfonso (Desmin Borges) and Ana (Lilian Rebelo). The rules for "Oh Hell" are unclear, but they are said to be "a little dangerous." Oliver and Mabel are on edge and continue to be when they find out everyone keeps getting up to eat ham hanging in the bathroom.
Back at Charles' place, he breaks the bad news to Jan about Sazz. Jan loved Sazz, which is why she won't kill Charles. Charles says Sazz would "tap in” for him to take the hits on screen, and he feels guilty about what has happened. Jan reveals Sazz told her on the day she died she thought there might be another murderer in the building, but doesn't know anymore. When Mabel and Oliver bang on the front door, Jan knows she has to go. They don't believe Charles when he says Jan was there.
Mabel and Oliver return to the West Tower when they realize the "Oh Hell" note from Sazz also reads as numbers upside down and want to use it on the keypad on the mysterious Dudenoff apartment door. It works, and they find a footprint by the pried-open window, suggesting this is where the shot came from. They also find a Ham radio, a piece of tinsel and a living pig in the bathroom. What does it all mean?
Detective Williams returns
Charles is scared to leave his apartment but has to collect the luminol from the lobby. As he is about to leave, armed police burst in to warn him about Jan. The 911 operator answers when Detective Williams (Da'Vine Joy Randolph) is there, and she is less than thrilled ("Shut the f***ing f*** up!") when Charles mentions reporting a murder.
While the police search the basement, Charles takes a moment alone with the imagined version of Sazz. "What will I do without you?" he asks. Oliver and Mabel apply the luminol, discovering Sazz had written "Tap In" in her blood. Charles knows he has to take over from her this time.
A poignant clip shows Sazz talking about how you need to find your person in the stunt business, the one you always fall for. Now Charles has to find out who killed his person, and the neighbors from the West Tower are the prime suspects.
New episodes of Only Murders in the Building season 4 premiere every Tuesday on Hulu in the US and Disney Plus in the UK.
