Get ready for double the trouble in Only Murders in the Building Episode 9, as Charles’ (Steve Martin, Cheaper by the Dozen) old Brazzos stunt double, Sazz Pataki, played by none other than Jane Lynch, comes to visit. With a keen understanding of Charles and a sharp eye, she’s able to untangle more about the mystery than ever before.
At the start of the episode, we see Jan (Amy Ryan, The Office) recovering from the stabbing that happened at the end of the last episode. So, she isn’t dead. Very interesting considering the state we last saw her in, but regardless she’s back on her feet with Charles by her side. Charles, who is giving up hope on the podcast. Lucky for him, Sazz is in town (although she’s a bit much for him) and ready to give him advice on what to do next.
Meanwhile, Oliver (Martin Short, Schmigadoon!) and Mabel (Selena Gomez, Hotel Transylvania) are trying to de-code who really murdered Tim Kono because they clearly got the wrong guy last time. In fact, many of the residents (led by their very exasperated landlord Bunny, played by Jayne Houdyshell) say they want the podcast crew evicted. Oliver is already at that point because he can’t pay his rent, but now Bunny wants to get rid of all of them. Some of the residents argue against this because the podcast is actually helping solve some problems in the building, but Bunny is adamant and they’re set to get kicked out. At least Mabel’s BF Oscar (Aaron Dominguez, Shaft) is likely off the hook for Tim’s murder and attends meetings with his lawyer to clear up the case.
He and Mabel aren’t the only happy couple in this episode. Charles and Jan are very loved up, which stunt double Sazz makes a few comments about. Charles reveals that Sazz actually stole his girlfriend Cookie back when they were filming Brazzos, which has definitely caused some issues between them. Even if Charles thinks of her as somewhat irritating, when Oliver and Mabel meet her, they’re ready to hear her insight. Sazz Pataki, after years of being his stunt double, walks, dresses, and moves like Charles, but the one thing she’s able to do that he isn’t is uncovering new possible information about this investigation that none of them considered. Sazz says that this murder was likely an act of romantic passion, considering the fact that Tim was sharing a drink with this person beforehand. Mabel later reveals that the trash Tim was holding the night he died also was not his own…and potentially belonged to a lover. It feels like everything is finally adding up, but who could the lover be?
Meanwhile, Jan is also prepping for her big first-chair bassoon recital, one she does not want Charles at. Especially not after Charles walks in on Sazz changing Jan’s bandages and thinks that his girlfriend is leaving him for Sazz once again. Jan says she wasn’t cheating, but that she needs a bit of space for her recital and asks him not to attend. But Sazz tells Charles to actually do something for once in his life and show up at the recital to keep Jan’s heart.
Oliver and Mabel are investigating the murder in the meantime, mainly because Charles also said he wants out of this podcast and just wants to focus on his relationship with Jan. Maybe it’s unsurprising considering the fact that he was almost evicted because of the podcast, but his girlfriend may not be the best person to focus on right now. Especially not after Oliver and Mabel dig through the “sex toys” they found in Tim’s apartment way back when…sex toys that actually happen to be related to musical instruments? They discover that one of the “toys” is actually a bassoon cleaner (!!!!). And after they talk to Tim’s neighbor Ndidi (Zainab Jah, False Positive), they find out that a woman was often at Tim’s place, and Tim made her scream. This is another one of the show’s “holy shit” moments that’s hard to see coming until we’re in the middle of it. Were Tim and Jan romantically involved? Regardless, Jan might have a big motive we didn’t know about…
This becomes even more apparent when Charles secretly attends her recital and discovers that she isn’t the first-chair bassoonist at all, and she lied to him. Uh-oh. It looks like Jan is about to get a whole lot more involved than we could’ve predicted.
One thing this show does well is shining a spotlight on all of the unique characters. In this episode, that spotlight hovers over Sazz until it focuses on Jan. Jan, who might be a murderer and might have gotten involved with this investigation (and possibly with Charles) just to cover up her role in all of it. Every episode only reveals more and more about who Tim Kono really was and how he died. Another question arises, though: did Jan threaten and stab herself at the end of the last episode, then? It’s hard to wait a full week for the answers, but knowing we just might get them in the next episode makes it all worth it.
Only Murders in the Building Episode 9, ‘Double Trouble’ is now streaming on Hulu.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-V1rQdXXXyI&t=4s
