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The following story contains spoilers for the Only murders in the building season 4 finale, “My Best Friend’s Wedding”.

WHILE ONLY MURDERS in the building season 4 has certainly been filled with diversions – which, in a way, the whole “Westies” and Professor Dudenoff subplot turned out to be – it could also be argued that this has been the strongest season of the series to date. Now that Charles, Oliver, and Mabel (Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez) have both been friends and mystery-solving partners for a few years, the three have real, believable on-screen chemistry, and we’ve really gotten together. also feel connected to them as characters.

On top of all that, Season 4’s mystery – avenging Charles’ close and longtime friend in his understudy, Sazz Pataki (Jane Lynch) – was very well structured, allowing the series to include a number of guest stars and red herrings throughout the series. in a way that never felt laborious or frustrating. For example, look, if you want to twist a subplot like the “Westies” story, it definitely helps to have guest stars like Griffin Dunne, Kumail Nanjianiand Richard Kind in the lead, right?

But back to our main scenario. Charles, Oliver and Mabel survived a full season of chaotic film production, confusing phone calls from Oliver’s beloved girlfriend Loretta (Meryl Streep), and much more, eventually landing in a place where – you guessed it! – they found out who killed Sazz and why they did it.

If you’re looking for an explanation for all of this (and a preview of the many mysteries already set up for next season), don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

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Who killed Sazz Pataki in Only murders in the building season 4?

THE Only murders in the building The season 4 finale, “My Best Friend’s Wedding”, confirmed that Marshall P. Pope, also known as Rex Bailey, killed Sazz and acted alone.

This reveal breaks slightly from how past seasons of Only murders I left; In previous seasons, the person we were led to believe was guilty at the end of the penultimate episode was actually just the precursor to another twist in the season finale. But in Season 4, the finale spends a lot of time telling us about Marshall/Rex’s background, how and why he had the skills to commit Sazz’s murder, and how and why he ultimately did it. And at the end of the day, Marshall/Rex was probably the most evil killer that ever lived. Only murders has had so far – he was responsible for not only Sazz’s death, but Glen’s as well, and was willing to kill even more to cover it all up.

Ultimately, however, the deal was this: Rex was raised as a hunter and sniper by a strict father, but he always dreamed of becoming a writer. He moved to Hollywood and, as we saw in the previous episode, discovered that becoming Sazz’s stunt protégé could be his ticket to show business – and it paid off, as he quickly found on film sets with legends like Ron Howard. But it was ruined when he didn’t follow safety protocols properly and caused a major fire (and burned Ron Howard’s eyebrows) during his first major job.

Rex was desperate, but still remained close to Sazz; she was inspired, wanting to write about the murder-solving adventures of her friend Charles and turn it into a book Only Murders in the Building: The Movie scenario; she wanted to eventually sell her screenplay and fund the stunt school of her dreams. She trusted Rex and asked him to proofread it and give notes.

When Rex read it, he was shocked and jealous of the quality of the book. Instead of being a good friend, he told Sazz that it was bad and that he would try to help him rewrite it; instead, he stole it, taking the pseudonym Marshall P. Pope, putting a fake beard on his face, and putting his own name on the script. When the script made its way to Hollywood and into the quick, illuminating hands of Bev Mellon (Molly Shannon), Marshall sold it. But Sazz quickly figured it out and invited Rex/Marshall over to tell him it was over; he was stealing her dream, and he wasn’t going to let her get away with it.

(Special thanks here to Jin Ha and Jane Lynch, who do a really solid job here; Lynch in particular does a great job in his final scenes and moments.)

Rex/Marshall then sprang into action. He didn’t consider himself a killer, but he wasn’t going to let that get away from him. He used a sniper rifle from Dudenoff’s empty apartment and, as we saw in the Season 3 finale, took out Sazz; since he is a stuntman (and this is how Oliver and Charles understood that Rex/Marshall were acting alone), he was able to scale the building and cross the street to quickly dispose of Sazz’s body. Luckily, as Sazz was dying, she wrote “Tap in” on the ground, beckoning Charles and letting Rex/Marshall know that his old boyfriend would find out.

And that’s what he did at the end of the season. Rex/Marshall went absolutely crazy, holding Mabel hostage (because she discovered that the beer Sazz brought contained the script with her name on it and not Marshall’s) and threatening to kill her. Charles and Oliver crossed the street thanks to their own stunts, but were ultimately saved by a total Deus Ex Machina (albeit delightful one) when Jan – who lived within Charles’s walls and the secret passages of Arconia – brought out Rex/Marshall with his own sniper rifle from Charles’ apartment.

How’s that for a…happy…ending?

What is the problem between Téa Leoni’s character, Sofia Caccimelio, and her missing husband, Nicky?

Towards the end of the season 4 finale, just after Oliver and Loretta’s wedding, a new character appears in Arconia and reunites with Charles and Mabel. Her name is Sofia Caccimelio, she is looking for her husband, Nicky Caccimelio, who is missing (and perhaps dead?), and she is played by the great Téa Leoni.

Charles and Mabel don’t know Sofia, but she does and she wants to hire them (and pay handsomely) to find her husband. The “Previously On” segment of the episode actually did a wonderful job of reminding us that when Mabel was in the hospital right after Glen Stubbins (Paul Rudd) died, there was a TV news report mentioning that Nicky Caccimelio was gone, so we know. doesn’t come completely out of nowhere.

Charles and Mabel both say that they only investigate things that are a) murders and b) that take place in their building. “It’s right there, on our behalf.”

To which Sofia suggests something quite disturbing and interesting: “What happened to Nicky All to do with this building.”

Charles and Mabel are not interested and quickly fire Sofia; she expresses her disappointment, lets them know that the police have not been helpful and that whatever she asks for their help is not safe for her. She leaves Charles with her card, telling him to call if they change their minds.

“She’s quite a lady,” Charles said after she left. It is above all a joke which suggests a somewhat immediate attraction of Charles to Sofia, and also a sly foreshadowing of what we can only assume to be a black detective style storyline for season 5. We don’t know much about Sofia Caccimelio yet, but she certainly has all the makings of a classic film noir femme fatale.

But what about Lester the doorman?

In a suspenseful ending that is actually extremely upsetting, Charles, Oliver and Mabel cross the courtyard of Arconia and discover, to their horror, that Lester the porter has died in the fountain. (It looks like the blood comes out where the water usually comes out, but that’s because the fountains recirculate the same water.)

This is especially upsetting because throughout the show’s four seasons, Lester always seemed like a nice, happy-go-lucky guy who the trio never really gave too many hours of the day to. We have absolutely no idea why Lester would be dead (or who would want him dead), but we can look at a few clues throughout the episode.

In the previous scene, Sofia told Charles and Mabel that no doorman was on duty, so what happened to Lester was at least a good part before they found him outside (the water of blood circulating in the fountain also suggests this).

However, in an earlier scene we saw Lester and got a nice little story out of him that might tell us… something? about why he ended up dying.

As Charles and Oliver ran across the street to Vince’s (Richard Kind) apartment to try to get to where Marshall was holding Mabel hostage, they ran into Lester, to whom they basically told to take over with the whole set up for Oliver’s impending. marriage to Loretta. At this point, Lester shares one of his own personal stories.

“I got married in this courtyard, you know. In the middle of the night, with just the stars and the fountain as witnesses,” he said. “I think it’s luck.”

Charles, frustrated and in a hurry, dismisses Lester, telling him that he “doesn’t really do anecdotes” but that he wants him to have a good day regardless. “We’re getting married, it’s going to be a good day!” Lester said.

Obviously, from the reference to the fountain to the insinuation of a good day, it’s pretty tragic. But we can at least say that Lester’s marriage story – or perhaps something that happened in that court, at some point – is what led to his untimely death.

You’ll just have to wait for season 5 of Only murders in the building to find out.

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