Felicia Nickens
The following recap contains spoilers for Only Murders in the Building S4E7, “Valley of the Dolls” (written by John Hoffman, Steve Martin & Mateo Burghese, and directed by Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini)
Watching Melissa McCarthy and Meryl Streep get into a fight over a man was not something I thought I’d ever see, but I am not mad about it. I loved everything about this episode: the setting, the cast, and, yes, more answers (or questions, depending on how you view it). The whole episode took place at Charles’s (Steve Martin) sister’s home in Long Island. The setting change made it feel like a different show, but in a good way. The Arconia, as beautiful as it may be, can become monotonous.
Doreen, Dolls, & Deception
The trio has gone into hiding and the only place they can think to go is to Long Island, where Charles’s sister, Doreen (Melissa McCarthy), lives. Once they arrive, they are greeted by Doreen and her collection of creepy dolls. Charles and Doreen have a strained relationship, but she welcomes them in her home. Mabel (Selena Gomez) instructs the guys to turn their phones off and place them in a basket so that their location can’t be traced. Before she turns hers off, she lets Howard know where they will be and asks him to figure out who has been cashing Dudenoff’s Social Security checks. Doreen and her husband are not on good terms due to him spending too much time at Can-Can’s (the backside equivalent to Hooters), and he has been sent to stay on his boat in the driveway. She takes a liking to Oliver (Martin Short), who had broken up with Loretta via text earlier that day, and uses that opportunity to be flirtatious with him throughout the episode.
Mabel wants a quiet place to work on the case but she doesn’t get the chance because thanks to Howard, all the actors (Zach Galifianakis, Eva Longoria, & Eugene Levy) show up at the house, along with Bev Melon. The actors believe they are targets as well. Mabel wants nothing to do with them as she wants to just focus on the case, but they convince her that their skills go beyond reading scripts and that they can be of assistance. Fed up, she leaves all the collected clues with them and walks off.
The actors aren’t the only ones to show up. Thanks again to Howard, Loretta shows up right as Oliver trips and falls on top of Doreen, leaving them in a compromising position. Shocked, Oliver tries to explain himself and they go off to talk upstairs. Loretta wants to confront him about breaking up via text and he explains that she brushed him off when he opened himself up to her. Long story short, it was all a misunderstanding as her stand-in had her phone by accident. All is well for a bit until Oliver admits he was behind the finsta account which he used to keep tabs on her. Loretta is upset by the revelation and needs time.
Back in NYC, Howard goes to the bodega where the checks are being cashed. The owner won’t let him see the books, but Howard won’t take no for an answer and tries to use seduction to persuade the owner. Much to his surprise, it doesn’t work, but Howard notices the security cat and offers to have the cat showcased on his future podcast, Animals and Their Jobs. After looking through the books, Howard realizes that the signatures don’t match Dudenoff’s and are different every time. He and the owner begin watching security footage and to his surprise, he sees each one of the West Tower residents coming in and taking turns cashing the check. Are we, as an audience, really surprised though?
Back at Doreen’s, she isn’t through seducing Oliver. While he fixes a drink to cope with his fight with Loretta, Doreen comes in (wearing a wig that mimics Loretta’s hair) and continues trying to come on to him. He dismisses her advances and she becomes upset. Loretta comes in at this time and she and Doreen begin fighting. Doreen throws Loretta over the couch before diving after her. Loretta fakes injury using her superb acting skills. When Doreen checks to see if she’s OK, Loretta karate kicks her down to the couch and she begins beating on her. Oliver, Mabel, and the actors all stand by in shock and watch. Doreen calls “uncle” and the fight ends.
Later, Charles and Doreen have a heart-to-heart in the kitchen. She held resentment because he didn’t donate his spleen to her, even though the doctor told their family she didn’t need a spleen. He also didn’t make much effort to keep in contact with her, which he agrees to change going forward. Speaking of forgiveness, Loretta and Oliver have their own talk, which ends in Loretta proposing to him.
The actors gather the trio and go over the evidence with them. Surprisingly, they were able to figure out what the trio couldn’t: The killer has been after them since Season 1. They begin reviewing evidence that we as an audience assumed were just plot holes because they were clues that were introduced but never revisited. Some examples are Winny being poisoned, the note on Jan’s door saying “I’m watching you,” and all Sazz’s notes, which are deciphered as pointing to those events. Later, Doreen’s husband tells the trio that Howard called him because he couldn’t reach their cell. He tells them about what he learned. The episode ends with the Trio believing that the West Enders are the killers.
If it’s not obvious, I believe this HAS to be a red herring. Yes, I think they cashed the checks to continue living in the rent-controlled apartments, but that is most likely the extent of their crimes. I don’t think they killed Dudenoff at this point either. He may have died of natural causes, but to continue their rent scheme, they took his body to the incinerator in hopes his disappearance would be explained by his being out of the country.
I am excited that the show is bringing back clues from Season 1; things I actually had forgotten about but now my mind won’t stop turning over. Who would want the Trio dead? Since Season 1? That was before the release of their podcast. Could it be Cinda Canning (Tina Fey)? She didn’t like their success. Where has Jan gone and what will she discover? What happened to Theo? While a lot of this episode was comic relief, a lot was also revealed and I’m very excited to see where it ends!
