Felicia Nickens
The following recap contains spoilers for Only Murders in the Building S4E6, “Blow-Up” (written by John Hoffman, Steve Martin & Rick Weiner, and directed by Jessica Yu)
Finally, after weeks of waiting, Sazz’s murder may be close to being solved. This may be one of my favorite episodes. It reminded me of S1E7 (“The Boy From 6B”), which was intended to be through the eyes of Theo, who is deaf, with the whole episode moving like a silent picture with no talking and only the movements of the characters to show the audience what happened. “Blow-Up,” like the aforementioned episode, was shot uniquely. It takes place solely through the lenses of various (in-story) cameras, with a documentary/hidden camera feel to it. The choice to do this must have been inspired by the Brothers sisters, who this episode delves deeper into.
The Brothers Sisters
Only Murders in the Building S4E6 opens with Tawny in an orange jumpsuit, explaining that what we are about to see is a testimony of the accused, but we will see it through their native language of “film.” So begins a montage and explanation of their upbringing. They stole their first camera at nine years old and began making films with their aesthetic of “living at the intersection of voyeurism and body horror.” This made them outcasts for most of their lives, until they met their film professor in college, who happened to be no other than Dudenoff (Griffin Dunne). His encouragement of their work helped them to continue in the film industry in the current day.
Who was shot?
Once we hear from the Brothers sisters, the story returns to the photoshoot, where all three Olivers are lying on the ground. Our Oliver (Martin Short) is the only one who wasn’t injured, and it is determined that the entire trio are most likely targets, with Mabel (Selena Gomez) being next. The bullet hit Glenn Stubbins (Paul Rudd) in the head, but the bullet bounced off his metal plate and landed on Zach Galifianakis (he’s OK). The trio rushes out and into a taxi. Howard is filming them and informs them that he, among all his set positions, is also the set documentarian.
The crew returns to Oliver’s apartment and he is up in arms about his brush with death. Detective Williams (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) shows up, returns Sazz’s ashes to Charles (Steve Martin), and tells them she needs more proof before she can do anything about the sisters. Also, to everyone’s surprise, she tells them that Dudenoff is not in Portugal and has been cashing checks at the local bodega. Another person back in the city is Jan. During this conversation we as an audience get various angles from what look like hidden cameras. Very mysterious.
The crew heads up to the penthouse, where a production meeting is taking place. Marshall seems on edge. It could be the shooting, or maybe he has something to hide. Mabel shares with him that she suspects the sisters of the shooting. He isn’t surprised and suggests Mabel watch their student film. The trio goes back to Oliver’s and watches the film, which stars none other than Vince Fish, the conjunctivitis resident of the West tower.
The crew heads over to the West tower to speak with Vince. He’s there with Rudy (Kumail Nanjiani) and they are playing with a drone (complete with a camera). Vince admits to starring in the film and relishes his acting skills. They mention the sisters being suspects and try to use the drone to see if they can peek into the production suite to see what they have going on. As word comes out that Dudenoff is in NYC and not Portugual, the Westerners are surprised and end up crashing the drone.
Back at Oliver’s, he decides his dance with death was a sign that he should commit to Loretta and gives her a call. He explains that he doesn’t want to be without her and intended to ask for her hand in marriage back when they were in L.A. Unfortunately for him, he is met with a “ehh” and a hang-up.
The Reveal
Charles opens the box with Sazz’s remains and pulls out her titanium body parts. Mabel, with her keen eye, notices that the serial numbers are different on two different bones which leads them to the conclusion that there was another murder in the building.
They rush up to the penthouse to confront the Brothers sisters, much to their delight. The joy is cut short when Mabel receives a text from Detective Williams informing her that the other body part belonged to Dudenoff. The sisters are devastated by their mentor’s death. Charles, still convinced there is the murder weapon in the sister’s long case, grabs the case and opens it. Shocked, they pull out small cameras which the sisters admitted they placed throughout all of their apartments. They remind the trio that it was part of the contracts they had signed (but never read).
The sisters remove the cameras from the apartments, finishing at Oliver’s. Before they head out, Charles finds one more camera, but they say it’s not theirs (because they wouldn’t be caught dead filming in 720p). Just then, he receives a text from Sazz’s number. Then Mabel and Oliver receive one as well. Charles holds the phone towards Howard who is filming and the text states, “I’m Watching You.” Realizing the killer has been watching them all along, they break the camera, pack their bags, and leave the Arconia.
I think there were a lot of clues given in this episode, albeit subtly. Dudenoff has a connection to the west tower folks. Someone was cashing his social security checks even though he was dead. Who and why? Perhaps this has something to do with the West tower folks and the rent control. Perhaps they knew that once his body was discovered, the trio would investigate and learn the truth, screwing with their low rent, so they tried to kill the crew. Sazz, of course, was mistaken for Charles. However, she had something important to tell Charles and Bev. What did the movie have to do with Dudenoff, if anything? Jan is also running around town, but I don’t think she will bring trouble, so much as assist with answers. We may have multiple murder plotlines or multiple murderers. You never know with all the crazies living at the Arconia.
