Felicia Nickens
The following recap contains spoilers for Only Murders in the Building S4E8, “Lifeboat” (written by John Hoffman, Steve Martin & Kristin Newman, and directed by Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini)
I knew the West Tower folk weren’t involved in Sazz’s (Jane Lynch) murder, but I wasn’t sure about Dudenoff. The truth, however, is pretty sad and by the end of the episode, I wanted to give them all a big hug. In the end, this season has come down to family and how that looks amongst different people.
The Trio & The Actors
The trio leaves Charles’s (Steve Martin) sister’s house in Long Island to head back to the city and figure out a plan to get a confession from the West Tower folks. As is their luck, Oliver’s (Martin Short) car dies on the way there. As the trio awaits AAA, the actors call them and make it clear that they are involved in the case now and will be part of whatever they have planned for the Westies. They agree to meet somewhere safe, which winds up being the Only Murders film set. They discuss what they know so far and ponder how they will go about getting everyone all together in one place. The idea to invite them for a game of Oh, Hell is thrown out there along with Eva Longoria’s suggestion for a ding dong (a surprise they don’t see coming at the door). At the same time, Eugene Levy tries to bring out Charles’s angry side. He thinks it will help him be a more well-rounded actor if he can portray all sides of Charles in the movie. Charles informs him that he hasn’t exploded in years and has learned techniques to keep himself calm, such as tidying up. Later, Eugene tries to make a mess to provoke Charles, but is unsuccessful.
Eva shows Mabel a device of her own making which is a UV gun for her face/screwdriver/vibrator/recorder (complete with autotune). Mabel wants nothing to do with it but does like her ding-dong idea. Meanwhile, Zach Galifianakis finds out that Oliver plans to wed Loretta at City Hall and tries to convince him that weddings should be grand and representative of love. The trio and actors head back to Oliver’s apartment, where they await the Westies.
The Westies & Dudenoff’s Funeral
The Westies show up to Oliver’s apartment in what appears to be good spirits, however the second they are inside, they lock the door and block it off so that no one can leave. The actors can’t help themselves and start throwing accusations at the Westies. They aren’t having it though and demand everyone take a seat so that they can explain their side of the story.
One by one and monologues later, a full picture is painted for the trio and the audience. Dudenoff was a lonely old man who lived in the West Tower alone on his floor. One by one he became acquainted with the folks who make up the Westies. If he felt a connection, then he offered them a seat at his weekly Oh, Hell games and a rent-controlled apartment. They were all a big happy family of self-proclaimed lonely losers. They end with him going to Portugal to live out his dreams and them continuing to cash his Social Security checks to keep their apartment scheme going.
Mabel confronts them with Dudenoff’s titanium bone and accuses them of murdering him. They are appalled and state that they love Dudenoff. Before Mabel can continue, there is a knock at the door, the ding-dong. Turns out it’s Helga, the other Westie who has only been heard on the two-way radio up to this point. She’s there to tell the truth and so she does. Everything the Westies said was true, up until Dudenoff’s move to Portugal. Helga too, was brought in by Dudenoff after she lost her father. One day, she came home to a note on her door from Dudenoff saying that he was ready to live out his dreams and was going to Portugal. He left her a check and the apartment. While she read the note the lights flickered to indicate that the incinerator was being used at that moment. She became suspicious when the rest of the Westies stopped inviting her over and would avoid interacting with her. So she left.
The rest of the Westies decide to come clean to Helga and the trio about the end of the story. Dudenoff left them all notes that day, but theirs were different than Helga’s. Their notes were invitations to Dudenoff’s funeral down in the basement. As they arrive in the basement, Dudenoff sits in front of a camera. He explains that he was diagnosed with an illness and wouldn’t be alive much longer. Instead of waiting to die, he took a ton of pills and requested that they wait for him to die then burn his body in the incinerator for them to keep the family together and keep the rent-controlled apartments. He records a video for Helga, who I believe he saw as a daughter figure. The video explains his choice not to keep her in the loop. He didn’t want her to experience the loss of two fathers.
The trio realizes the Westies have nothing to do with Sazz’s murder and begins to leave. Eva pulls out the vibrator/uv/recorder and plays back their rent scheme confession. Mabel says they won’t be using it as she doesn’t want to tear their family apart and that she, Oliver, and Charles were all lonely losers until they began their podcast. The trio goes back to Oliver’s and starts packing up part of their murder board to exclude the Westies. Just then they get their own ding-dong. It’s Helga at the door with information about Sazz. According to her, she and Sazz would communicate on the two-way radio. Sazz said she had a stunt double understudy who was angry with her and would be the death of her. After some googling, Oliver finds the movie and the stuntman. None other than Ben Glenroy (Paul Rudd).
Now, I don’t know if this is another red herring because Ben was shot and is in the hospital in a coma. Someone had to shoot him, so it’s safe to say that somebody else probably shot Sazz. I’m glad the Westies weren’t involved; I kinda liked them. Things to remember…Jan is still missing and I’m sure she plays a part in figuring out this mystery. The mystery goes back to Season 1 and there have been a lot of characters passing through since then. I’m betting it’s someone we haven’t seen in quite some time, and it’s possible we may not get the answer this season. Also, Oliver and Loretta’s romance seems too good to be true. Something tells me there will be something stopping that wedding. Anywho, it’s almost the end folks and we are still not much closer to any answers. Let’s hope next week is a doozy.
