This article contains spoilers
From birds to underground casinos, psychics to severed fingers, clues are the most essential aspect of any successful murder mystery show. And “Only Murders in the Building” (2021-) never ceases to incorporate creative indicators into its plots. With a star-studded cast, the Emmy award-winning show, which streams on Hulu, concluded its fifth season on Oct. 28.
The original premise of the show is simple enough: Three individuals bond over their love for murder podcasts and decide to create their own. The quirky Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin), the youthful yet realistic Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez) and the eccentric Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) join together to solve a murder in their apartment building, the Arconia, and create a subsequent podcast detailing their investigation. And five seasons later, the trio continues to investigate new Arconia-based crimes.
Self-aware characters in “Only Murders in the Building” often poke fun at the leading trio for bringing bad, murderous luck to the ancient and beloved Arconia. While some long-running shows fall victim to blatantly absurd, unrealistic plots in favor of innovation, the niche setting in “Only Murders in the Building” grounds the story. This ease, however, ultimately corrupts the season, making it boring and unmemorable.
This season’s initial murder is less exciting than previous ones, such as season four’s murder of famous movie star Ben Glenroy (Paul Rudd) or Mabel’s childhood friend, Tim Kono (Julian Cihi), in season one. Whereas the first season’s murder fostered emotional resonance and connection between the audience and the characters, season five kills off a beloved character, the doorman Lester (Teddy Coluca), for no apparent reason. This, along with the anticlimactic solution, leaves viewers more confused than satisfied. The killer’s motive is out of proportion to the crime, breaking viewers’ immersion and forcing them to confront how “Only Murders in the Building” is ultimately a TV show. A plot point should not exist solely because something needs to happen — for a show to be successful, multiple underlying factors must lead to each action, especially in the case of murder.
However, season five still sports a perfect cast, bringing back old characters while adding compelling new ones, such as the billionaire trio of Camila White (Renée Zellweger), Jay Pflug (Logan Lerman) and Bash Steed (Christoph Waltz), are the leading trio’s primary suspects throughout the season. This balance of new and old plays on the nostalgia and charm of the first season while leaving room for new plots and twists.
Oliver, Mabel and Charles’ successful podcast company attracts the interest of the billionaires, who purchase the company. However, the billionaires include a stipulation in their purchase: the trio can not discuss the new wealthy owners on their show. This agreement stifles the murder podcast, as they can no longer explore their prime suspects. While a refreshing sociopolitical statement on corporate censorship, the ensuing feud between the billionaires and the main cast diminishes the show's most fundamental plot point: Without podcasting, the characters — and viewers — are lost in how to approach the crime.
While season five plays with fun character dynamics and succeeds in its discussion of free speech, it also forces an unsuccessful conversation regarding artificial intelligence (AI) with the addition of LESTR, a robot doorman. Not every show set in the present day needs to focus on the controversies of contemporary life, and much like millennial characters using Gen Z slang, adding an AI character in a show about human loss and connection feels forced and unnecessary. This odd addition diminishes the overall quality of the ninth episode, told from the robot's perspective, as it lacks emotional resonance. In a stranger moment of the season, Oliver, Mabel and Charles go from good Samaritans to felons as they remove a dead body from its crime scene to perform an illegal autopsy on a kitchen table. Along with being outright illegal, the plot point is illogical, as the trio lacks the necessary medical knowledge to glean any insight into the method of the murderer. The entire scene is frustrating, weakening the episode and suggesting a lack of research on behalf of the show’s writers.
Despite its characteristic comedic moments, the fifth season of “Only Murders in the Building” falls into old patterns, with too much focus on quirky sideplots and not enough on building suspense and the murder investigation. By episode nine, the trio all but gives up on solving the crime, which makes the viewer want to give up, too. This season's corruption plot is a cliché, its relationships prove immature and its occasional humor does not make up for what the plot lacks. Unfortunately, this once-innovative and enthralling show misses the mark in its fifth season, leaving viewers with a worrisome feeling about its future seasons, as “Only Murders in the Building” was renewed on Oct. 28.
Amelia Bush (28C) is double-majoring in English and PPL (philosophy, politics and law). She is from Minneapolis, Minnesota, and enjoys walking around its many lakes. Outside of the Wheel, you can find her reading, scrapbooking, or attempting a New York Times crossword.
