Critic’s Rating: 4.8 / 5.0
4.8
With a title like Escape from Planet Klongo, you just knew Only Murders in the Building Season 4 Episode 9 would come roaring back to form. And boy, did it deliver.
Plus, the meta-jokes were on point — when Ron Howard’s picture was put up on the murder board, and Oliver casually dropped, “Oh, look, it’s a real celebrity,” I couldn’t help but laugh.
I love it when a show can poke fun at itself.
After the complete slog that was Only Murders in the Building Season 4 Episode 8 (which only seemed to exist to clear the Westies from the suspect list — yawn), this episode hit all the right notes.
It had twists, laughs, and some genuinely touching moments between our favorite trio. It’s exactly the kind of episode you want right before a season finale.
The Killer Reveal
Let’s dive into the big reveal: Marshall. Yep, our quirky screenwriter is the killer.
I know, I know — he was already on everyone’s radar after Only Murders in the Building Season 4 Episode 5 “Adaptation” (an episode that I wasn’t exactly thrilled with).
Why introduce a new suspect so late in the game?
Well, it turns out it was all building to this moment, and I’ve got to give credit where it’s due — it was done in a pretty clever way.
The breadcrumbs were there all along, but this episode made them finally click into place.
The best part, though, is that this reveal doesn’t overshadow the heart of the show — the relationships. This episode gave us some truly sweet moments between Oliver and Charles.
Charles is clearly worried that everything will change once Oliver gets married. But, as always, Only Murders in the Building perfectly balances humor and heart.
Take Oliver’s “bachelor party,” for example. He forces Charles to plan it, and, of course, he has a few demands — Whiskey, A-list Celebrities, and a Naughty Secret (or, as he likes to call it, codename: WANS). Classic Oliver.
And while we all probably rolled our eyes at Oliver’s claim that he knew “Ron-Ron,” surprise, surprise — Oliver wasn’t lying this time!
Even Mabel got in on it with her hilarious line about knowing Tom Hanks because she watched Polar Express.
But as it turns out, not only does Ron Howard remember him, but Howard’s appearance became a crucial piece of the mystery puzzle.
Clever, Indeed
The path to the big reveal was cleverly laid out.
Oliver and Charles, in spandex, dressed as CGI aliens, and arguing about bachelor parties while on Howard’s movie set? Hilarious.
Also hilarious was how the trio managed to get onto the set in the first place, with Mabel winning the prize for doing absolutely nothing but being terrified of having to act — was that another playful jab at themselves?
But beneath the laughs, there’s something deeper going on. Charles feels like he’s losing his friend.
When he finds out Oliver changed his emergency contact from him to Loretta, it hits him hard. It’s that “beginning of the end” feeling and Charles knows all too well how things can change when marriage comes into play.
But despite the drama (and the comedy gold that was Charles and Oliver hiding behind menus to finally talk honestly), the highlight of this episode wasn’t even the killer reveal.
It was the moment these two old friends bonded over drinks at a Chinese restaurant. Oliver finally stepped out of his usual self-centered mode to recognize how much Charles meant to him.
And Charles, quirks and all, gave Oliver his WANS — whiskey, Oliver’s picture front and center on the Wall of Fame, and, of course, Ron Howard showing up.
Oliver got the bachelor party of his dreams, and I loved every second of it.
The Big Question
Now, let’s circle back to Marshall. The trio pieced it all together and decided that Marshall, Sazz’s former protégé, must be the killer.
But I’m not totally convinced. Sure, he probably stole Sazz’s script — but how?
Clearly, Sazz herself slipped it into that case of beer at Oliver’s wrap party back on Only Murders Season 3, but was Marshall somehow there?
And wouldn’t you think the script would have already been in the hands of Bev?
So how could Marshall have stolen it so quickly unless Sazz knew her script had been stolen? She wouldn’t have had to launch into an investigation to have figured that out, right?
And why would Marshall want the stars of his show dead? I get why he’d want anyone who might’ve figured out he stole the script dead and buried, but the trio at the heart of his script?
It’s a hard pill to swallow.
So, could it have been a gift? Was Sazz’s death faked? (I’ve floated this theory before and am still not ready to let it go.)
I mean, does Marshall really have the skills of a sharpshooter? He’s a screenwriter, not a hitman.
And just because he showed up at Mabel’s apartment doesn’t make him intimidating. He was there because Bev sent him. He’s struggling with his script because he doesn’t know these characters like Sazz did.
Could that mean he’s not the killer? After all, the stalker has been lurking around since Only Murders in the Building Season 1 — surely it’s not Marshall, someone we barely know, right?
And while Marshall’s fake beard and connection to Stubbins (via the Ronkonkoma movie) raise suspicions, something about this all feels too easy.
Mabel and the Laundromat King of Brooklyn
And what about Mabel? She left to go to the hospital alone, and suddenly, the killer sneaks in to smother Stubbins? That’s a little too convenient.
Plus, why was Mabel so interested in that news report about the missing Laundromat King of Brooklyn? Could he be tied into this mess somehow?
Did Mabel actually hire someone to do the dirty work for her if she is, indeed, the killer?
It’s a stretch but not impossible.
And I still can’t get Selena Gomez‘s tease out of my head when she said not too long ago, something to the effect of, “Wouldn’t it be fun if Mabel was a killer?”
Mabel and the person who still has Sazz’s phone were the only ones who knew Stubbins was awake. And yet, here we are, with Stubbins dead.
There are still many questions to be answered.
What’s Next? A Final Twist or an Unexpected Victim?
So, is Marshall really the killer? I’m not buying it just yet. There’s still one episode left, and I have a feeling the real reveal is yet to come.
Will Sazz show up, alive and well, claiming it was all a big joke? Will Mabel or the mysterious Laundromat King turn out to be the real mastermind?
And who’s going to be the next victim to set up Only Murders in the Building Season 5?
Maybe there won’t even be a murder — maybe the big twist will send us on a hunt to capture Mabel.
Or maybe… just maybe… it’s all as simple as Marshall being the killer.
But let’s be real — when has anything ever been that simple on Only Murders in the Building?
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