Only Murders in the Building’s latest installment explores a theme that has been the undercurrent of the show for four seasons: found family. In “Lifeboat,” we see the strength of the bonds between all of the characters, and we reevaluate what is next for all of them, especially after Dudenoff’s killer is finally unmasked.
When we left our trio last time, they had just realized the Westies might be behind Dudenoff’s murder because they’ve been cashing his social security checks at the bodega. In order to fully explore this theory, Mabel suggests they all gather for a big, celebrity-studded game of Oh Hell at Oliver’s apartment. Of course, that means the actors playing the true crime trio in the film adaptation are invited.
Throughout the episode, we see Eugene Levy trying to get Charles to be in touch with his emotions rather than suppress them, while Zach Galifianakis tries to convince Oliver to have a huge wedding celebration with Loretta, despite Oliver’s protests. These subplots are a nice break from the thick of the episode, which is mostly the Westies explaining themselves at Oliver’s apartment.
It’s one big murder party, and the Westies are ready to spill their guts. They admit they know Mabel, Charles, and Oliver are onto them, so they reveal how they all met Dudenoff at different points in their lives. The one thing that connected them was how Dudenoff wanted to make their dreams of living in NYC and pursuing their many passions a reality. That’s how they all wound up living in the Arconia, bonding with Dudenoff – and each other.
But it wouldn’t be a true murder party without an uninvited guest! Rudy’s (Kumail Nanjiani, The Big Sick) supposed ex-girlfriend Helga (Alexandra Templer, When They See Us) is in the building, and she’s ready to tell her truth. She met Dudenoff because of her locksmith job, and he welcomed her with open arms as they got to chatting and found they had much more in common than meets the eye. The others were just as close with her up until Dudenoff’s death, after which she suspected they were the killers and knew it was time to move out.
So, are the Westies really the killers? On the night of Dudenoff’s death, they received a mystery note from Dudenoff himself, telling them to come to the basement and watch his death. It turns out, Dudenoff was sick, and he had a bigger dream than going to Portugal – to help the Westies by allowing them to continue living in his apartment and cashing his checks while he pretended to go to Portugal. Instead, he orchestrated his own death right then and there, and his body was put into the incinerator. Dudenoff also recorded a message to give to Helga if she ever found out (and he didn’t invite her to his death, as he didn’t want to bring more loss into her life).
This whole event is upsetting, but it’s no murder. Though the Westies may have been the ones to burn Dudenoff’s body, Dudenoff’s death wasn’t an unexplainable mystery, just another secret hidden by the Westies. They even lied about Helga being Rudy’s ex, and covered up the truth of Dudenoff’s death so Helga wouldn’t find out. But upon watching the video Dudenoff left for Helga, it all adds up.
It’s slightly disappointing this plot wrapped up this way, because the trio chased this whole thread to the end, only for it to be unrelated to Sazz, and for the suspicious Westies to be innocent after all. Although, this reviewer still thinks there is something up with them – at the very least, a connection of some kind – but it may just be their odd behavior and the introduction of Helga at the very last minute.
Helga does have another secret up her own sleeve, however. It turns out that she was in contact with Sazz, who revealed via ham radio that a stuntman was harassing her. A stuntman, you say? Hmm…that sounds awfully familiar. Yup, you guessed it – it’s Paul Rudd’s Glen Stubbins. Did Glen kill Sazz? It might stem into another huge reveal, but we’ll have to wait until next week to hear it from the man himself. And even though we discover what happened to Dudenoff, Sazz’s murder is still one big question mark.
Amidst the chaos of the Westies’ confession, Eva Longoria also records their big reveal, but Mabel says they won’t be using it for the podcast. The Westies are just another found family living in the Arconia – not so different from our beloved true crime trio. It’s a heartwarming moment that reminds us how this message is at the show’s very core. At the end of the day, we’re just watching three, podcast-loving weirdos who found each other through their passion for mystery solving and sleuthing. It wouldn’t be right to expose the Westies and break their own little family apart. After all, that’s something that keeps us coming back week after week: the lovable characters and the wonderful connections they’ve formed, even in the face of so many murders in the building.
