Felicia Nickens
The following recap contains spoilers for Only Murders in the Building S4E10, “My Best Friend’s Wedding” (written by John Hoffman, Steve Martin & J.J Philbin, and directed by Jamie Babbit).
Lester is dead. Yes, that’s the ending, and while we should all know by now that every season ends with a new death (even Oliver said it), it was still a shock to see our beloved doorman taken out. Enough about that for now, let’s talk about Sazz (Jane Lynch). This season was centered around the mystery of her murder and in the end, her love for her #1, Charles.
The Killer
Charles (Steve Martin) arrives at his apartment with Oliver (Martin Short) in tow, and just as they question why Mabel (Selena Gomez) hasn’t responded to their text about Marshall being the killer, Charles receives a text. Yep, from Mabel’s phone from Marshall. He informs them that if they come near the door or call the police, that Mabel is dead. They look out of the window and see Marshall holding a gun to Mabel. Charles decides that he will save Mabel. He couldn’t save Sazz and he won’t lose another person he cares about. Oliver questions how he will do this and Charles tells him he will walk the ledge of the building to the other side where Mabel is. Oliver wants no part in walking the ledge but does help Charles by telling him it would be a better idea to climb out of Vince’s window since it is next door to Mabel’s apartment.
They make their way to Vince’s apartment, where Vince is teaching Rudy (Kumail Nanjiani) how to exercise. They let the guys in and learn what’s happening with Mabel. Charles climbs out onto the ledge and almost falls. He takes a few steps and freezes. He begs Sazz to tap in and just then a hand grips his shoulder…it’s Oliver tapping in. Such a beautiful moment to see Oliver put his fears aside and his sometimes-selfish tendencies to help Charles and Mabel. He tells Charles he is his “ride or die,” and they will rescue Mabel together. Charles is still frozen, and Oliver tells him they need to pivot so they are facing the wall (Friends reference?). They manage to pivot, and Oliver encourages Charles to merengue towards Mabel’s apartment and they do, hilariously so.
Meanwhile, Mabel tries to distract Marshall by telling him that she can’t help with the script if he kills her, and reminds him that it’s terrible. He can’t risk having a shitty script so he allows her to look at it. Vince and Rudy distract Marshall by knocking on the door and requesting a cup of sugar because they are making sugar chicken. Charles knocks on the window and Mabel lets them in. Charles grabs Eva Longoria’s 19-in-1 tool and threatens Marshall. Marshall holds the gun up but somehow Charles manages to karate kick it away and Oliver grabs it.
Marshall sits down, and we get the backstory of how he came to murder Sazz. After his stuntman snafu, he decided to be a writer. He shows Sazz his script, and she is touched by it and genuinely thinks it is good. She uses this opportunity to show him her Only Murders script. After reading it, he realizes it is better than anything he could ever hope to write. He tells her it’s horrible, though, and asks that she make a copy for him so he can make notes. Well, he shops it around Hollywood under his name with a few other changes and Bev Melon greenlights it.
Sazz finds out and confronts Marshall. She is hurt and betrayed. She hadn’t even told Charles yet and wanted his permission. She tells Marshall she will fly to NYC the next day for Charles’s play and will tell him afterward. We know the rest…Marshall shoots her from Dudenoff’s apartment, then uses the ledge to go to Charles’s apartment, where he takes Sazz and throws her in the garbage shoot.
Marshall manages to get the gun away at this point and aims it at the trio. Next thing you know, a bullet comes through him and he drops dead. The trio runs to the window to find Jan standing in Charles’s apartment with a sniper. Ah, Jan. Later, she is arrested and tells Charles she’s never left his apartment and has been living in the walls, eating his Pirate’s Booty.
Wedding Bells & Murder
The wedding is beautiful and goes off without a hitch, much to all of our relief. Loretta (Meryl Streep) and Oliver enjoy their wedding day since she will need to fly to Australia the next day to film. Mabel and Charles step away and head to the elevator, where Sofia Caccimelio (Tea Leoni) walks out. She wants to hire them to find her husband, but they decline and say they only investigate murders in the building. She tries to tell them about the people he is connected to the Caputo crime family, but they brush her off. The following day, after Loretta leaves, Oliver joins Mabel and Charles in the courtyard. As they pass the fountain, which is spitting out red water, they realize that Lester, the doorman, has been murdered. Thus, leaving us with another murder in the building.
This episode was a beautiful send-off to Sazz who truly loved Charles and who wanted to protect him till the end. It also proved how strong of a bond the trio have. Now we have one more murder to solve before the trio calls it quits and I’m looking forward to seeing all the clues over the years finally lead to something major, and perhaps Paul Rudd will reappear once more.
Hey, at least they didn’t kill Howard.
