(Warning: Spoilers ahead.)
Last week’s game-changing episode of Only Murders in the Building may have vindicated the Westies, but it also put the Hollywood-based characters in hot water. Helga had told the trio that Sazz (Jane Lynch) once mentioned being troubled by a stuntman assumed to be Glen Stubbins (Paul Rudd). Although we know sweet Paul Rudd would never harm a fly, his connection to the case sure implies that the killer is someone from Hollywood, not New York. (It also means that Stubbins is in grave danger, but tragically nobody bothered this week to put a guard outside his hospital room door.)
I predicted last week that the killer was both Marshall (Jin Ha) and Eugene Levy, specifically positing that they were covering up Marshall’s plagiarism of Sazz’s movie idea. By the end of “Escape From Planet Klongo,” a solid two-thirds of my theory was already proven correct, meaning either I’m a genius or Season 4 was sort of slacking on the mystery front; I’m choosing to assume the former. The only question left is whether Eugene Levy was involved—he’s suspiciously absent this episode, but there might still be enough time to reveal him in the finale.
When it came to Marshall, I felt certain my prediction would prove true as early as this episode’s opening scene, a flashback to Sazz accidentally hitting someone with the back of her car. She soon introduces this mysterious man to the world of stunt acting, which is important because Mabel, Oliver, and Charles soon find out that this is the stuntman Sazz complained would be the death of her.
The mysterious man’s face remains hidden throughout most of the episode, but it’s clear from his body type that he’s Marshall. After all, what other thin young man has been introduced as a suspect this season? Rudy’s too buff and Alfonso’s never been given enough focus to make for a satisfying reveal.
Still, I had some second thoughts in the scene where Mabel meets up with Bev Melon (Molly Shannon). The past three seasons of Only Murders has made it clear that if a suspect suddenly gets a lot of screentime in the mystery’s final stretch, they’re probably involved. It didn’t help that Molly Shannon plays Bev as unhinged as ever here, especially as she blends up a psychotic-looking smoothie like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
Melon then proves her innocence by complaining about the movie’s script, wondering why Marshall’s rewrites feel so different from the script she “originally fell in love with.” This has been a recurring observation throughout the season, with both the main trio and the celebrity trio complaining about how terrible all the changes to the script have been. For Melon herself to not understand what’s going on there? This is the biggest sign yet that she’s innocent.
The speculation around Marshall’s bad rewrites comes to a head in the final scene when Mabel finds Sazz’s original movie script, hidden in the pack of beer Sazz had brought Charles in the Season 3 finale. At the same time, Charles and Oliver learn from director Ron Howard (more on him in a bit) that Marshall was a stuntman who suffered burn wounds on his set. Through a series of flashbacks, we find out Marshall was already interested in screenwriting at the time, he only got into stunt-doubling to make more connections in the industry, and he used to have a luscious head of hair that was tragically burnt off in the fire.
It’s also revealed that Marshall was the guy who smothered Glen Stubbins to death, making this the third time Paul Rudd has been killed off in just two seasons. (Rest in peace, Stubbins! Hopefully the Lord lets no rats into heaven.) Marshall doesn’t look particularly happy about what he’s doing, implying that he’s not a Jan-style killer. Yet he ruthlessly goes through with it anyway, proving he’s plenty dangerous even without a potential second killer urging him on.
This is all mixed news for Mabel, who ends the episode trapped in her apartment with him. If any member of the main trio’s gonna win a fight to the death with Marshall, it’s gonna be her, but perhaps things won’t come to that. Maybe Marshall will give up and come clean, especially since he’s seen the text on Mabel’s phone and knows that Charles and Oliver have figured him out too. A quick confession would be the cleanest way for the show to set up and fulfill another killer reveal in the finale, assuming there is one.
The other big storyline of “Escape From Planet Klongo” follows Charles and Oliver trying to sneak into Ron Howard’s movie set. (Mabel comes with them at first, but has to leave to find out the news about Stubbins.) This subplot continues the season’s long-running theme of Oliver’s insecurity; he keeps insisting that Ron Howard knows him well despite all signs to the contrary. However, this episode comes after Oliver has resolved things with Loretta and won over Zach Galifianakis, so the season is no longer interested in kicking him while he’s down: Oliver’s friendship with Howard turns out to be 100 percent true.
The storyline also follows through on the theme of Charles being an absurdly lonely man; he’s incapable of throwing Oliver the bachelor party he wants not just because he’s bad at being social, but because he doesn’t want Oliver to grow apart from him. But much like Oliver, Charles has spent the season confronting and working on this character flaw of his. The result is that he manages to have a nice heart-to-heart with Oliver at the Chinese restaurant, albeit while covering his face with a menu to avoid feeling too vulnerable.
With Oliver and Charles back on good terms, Ron Howard (AKA Ron Ron) stops by to give them the stunt-double backstory they desperately needed. Even if Mabel dies in the opening scene of the finale (she won’t), Marshall still won’t be able to get away with it. It’s only the potential second killer they need to look out for now.
Clues From the Crime Scene:
- Now that we know for sure Marshall’s the killer, it’s worth reflecting on his scenes back in “Adaptation.” If there was a second killer involved, and Marshall could see the trio hadn’t figured that part out yet, why would he himself raise the idea for them? Perhaps Marshall truly did act alone; after all, he is young and healthy enough to believably pull Sazz’s murder off in the timeframe established.
- Then again, Marshall struggles with imposter syndrome. Perhaps clueing the trio in on the second killer was worth the risk to him, because it at least gave him a moment where he felt like a smart guy being useful, not the poor stressed-out sad sack he’s come across throughout most of the season.
- Last week, I brought up the scene in “Adaptation” where both Eugene Levy and Marshall watch Charles walk away from them. (The context is that Charles just hinted he figured out the two-killer twist.) This brief shot of the two in the same frame seems even more vital this week, now that one of them’s already confirmed as a murderer. We know why Marshall was so concerned, but what’s the innocent explanation for Levy?
- Another big question left over is why Marshall (or Killer #2) shot Stubbins in the first place. Based on Stubbins’ reaction to seeing Marshall at first, it seems like he hadn’t placed him as a murderer. Shooting him in such a public place implies urgency, but it’s not yet clear what the rush was.
