Anyone and Everyone Could Be the Killer on 'Only Murders in the Building'

By Chris Revelle | TV | October 10, 2024 |

By Chris Revelle | TV | October 10, 2024 |

There’s a trope in whodunnits in which viewers (or readers) are left guessing at the killer’s identity because as far as the clues suggest, it could be any of the characters we’ve met. As fun as this trope can be, it can also be difficult to do well because the trope’s effectiveness hinges on a delicate balance; make the killer too obvious and the show could frustrate an audience that’s gotten ahead of the story, but setting up every character as a potential killer can make the mystery feel too diffuse like the story is relying on ambiguity to do the work of a well-told mystery. As this fourth season of Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building approaches its final three episodes, the story should enter its home stretch where red herrings and false leads begin to fall away and the mystery’s endgame materializes. After viewing the seventh episode (“Valley of the Dolls”), I’m not sure how close we are to that point of relative clarity, but the magic of Only Murders just might be that it’s too charming for that to be much of an issue.

Beware, past this point are spoilers for Only Murders in the Building’s fourth season.

For maybe the first time in Only Murders’ history, I have no idea who our killer is. That doesn’t reflect some kind of super-deductive skill on my part; I’m just used to having at least some idea of what’s going on by now. The show hasn’t given us nothing, but so far it’s cast the net of suspicion pretty wide in terms of possible perpetrators. Here are the tentative theories I’ve gotten so far:

Jan did it. This is the weakest of my theories. All I’ve got is that she’s killed before and proven she knows how to slip in and out of the Arconia undetected. Otherwise, Jan probably isn’t the killer because she was in prison when Sazz was murdered and there wouldn’t be that clear of a motive. Jan escaped prison using “parkour and psycho-sexual manipulation,” and it’s doubtful she would do that for someone she killed.

Howard did it. This is the theory I least want to be true because Howard and his sweaters are amazing. Similar to the Jan theory, Howard’s motive for killing Sazz would be questionable. Maybe (maybe!) Howard went off the deep end in his love and devotion for Charles, Mabel, and Oliver and thought murdering Sazz would give them a mystery to solve together, or maybe he felt left out by the core group one too many times.

The Brothers sisters did it. The past couple of episodes have been pointing away from the star directing team, but Charles isn’t able to tell Bev with certainty that Trina and Tawny aren’t the killers, so they’re still on the table. They seemed pretty surprised to learn about their beloved Dudenoff’s death, but there’s plenty to suggest they could still be involved in Sazz’s murder. Tawny’s (I think?) shoeprint in the mysterious Dudenoff apartment feels pretty damning even if she explained it away to some degree. And I know that film weirdos with questionable boundaries would probably bug everyone’s places with cameras for a behind-the-scenes feature, but “we didn’t plant those cameras” feels like a pretty weak defense. The trouble is, with what we already know there’s not a clear motive. Maybe Sazz ran afoul of Dudenoff on some project they worked on together? Maybe Sazz was trying to stop the movie and the sisters plugged her? Maybe the sisters thought committing a murder would create some wildly metatextual experience with Oliver, Charles, and Mabel investigating while a movie about their investigations is made?

The Westies did it. Howard calls a phone number that corresponds to a cashed Dudenoff check and the eye-patched Vince Fish answers as “Milton Dudenoff.” When Howard hangs up, Vince remarks to the other Westies gathered in a card game that “they know.” It feels too obvious a feint to be real and could be in regards to the rental scheme the Westies are in on, but maybe not! The Westies claim to send their rent checks to Dudenoff’s place in Portugal, but the checks they’re cashing are almost certainly those same rent checks. Maybe they killed Dudenoff for his apartments and covered it up with the “moved to Portugal” story and when Sazz began investigating various incidents at the Arconia, they took her out to avoid discovery. The Westies are also the most able to pull off such a quick kill, clean-up, and incineration with five of them. Oliver showed us one man couldn’t do it and maybe the Sisters could’ve done it with two, but the Westies would have the easiest time with five. The Westies would also be an interesting change-up in murderers in the same way as Murder on the Orient Express: doesn’t it make more sense for the perfect murder to be pulled off by a crowd?

There’s a moment in “Valley of the Dolls” that sparked something. When Eva Longoria, Zach Galifianakis, and Eugene Levi unveil their murder wall, it becomes clear that Sazz was investigating old loose ends from murders past like the poisoning of Oliver’s dog Winnie. It feels like the series is focusing on the misadventures of seasons past and engaging in some meta-commentary. With the rest of the season trading in reflections, doubles, and memory, maybe the mystery isn’t as important as the emotions and personal reflection it inspires. I will be happy for Only Murders in the Building to prove me wrong on that count, but even if they don’t refocus on the murder proceedings, the ride has been far too delightful for that to be a problem. The wacky Hollywood satire has been delicious, seeing Meryl Streep turn a guest role into gold is amazing, and taking us into Melissa McCarthy’s Long Island home where there’s a Billy Joel doorbell is a reward all its own.