The Hollywood actors visit the Arconia in Only Murders in the Building Season 4, Episode 3, titled “Two for the Road.” With a whole West Tower to investigate, this episode pairs each podcaster with their actor as they divide up the leads. Who killed Sazz Patacki? Was someone actually trying to murder Charles-Haden Savage? What’s with all the ham? Those are the questions leading into this week’s recap.
(Disney/Patrick Harbron)
Episode 3: “Two for the Road” – Written by Ben Smith & Pete Swanson
This episode’s narration comes from Zach Galifianakis, who is playing Oliver Putnam in the film adaptation of Season 1 of the Only Murders in the Building podcast. He compares the job of an actor to being a detective, having to ask questions and seek answers to help build a character.
Detective Williams (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) comes to Charles’ apartment to tell the trio that the feds have taken over the case and she won’t be involved. She feeds them some information about the case. The suspect was an expert shooter, and the bullet was fired from the Arconia West Tower in apartment 14F, belonging to “M. Dudenoff,” who is a retired professor living in Portugal. The weapon was a Winchester 300 magnum from the 1960s. The only West Tower resident who didn’t hear the gunshot is Christmas superfan Rudy Thurber, who was out that night. Sazz’s phone has been turned off. Lastly, Detective Williams says that Sazz wasn’t the likely target. “I’m tapping in,” Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin) says, echoing the phrase Sazz wrote on his kitchen floor in blood before she died.
(Disney/Patrick Harbron)
The briefing is interrupted when actors Zach Galifianakis, Eugene Levy, and Eva Longoria arrive in costume to shadow Oliver, Charles, and Mabel for the day. Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) is upset that Zach Galifianakis doesn’t seem excited to play him, especially compared to how eager Eugene Levy is to step into Charles’ shoes. Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez) tells the actors this isn’t the best time as they’re in the middle of solving a murder, something that Eva Longoria is overeager to help with. Mabel wants them to leave, but Oliver convinces her that this is important, adding that the first 24 hours of character study are the most important. He hopes to get Zach Galifianakis to fall in love with playing him by the end of the day.
The actors watch as Charles, Oliver, and Mabel review the case at their murder board. Eva Longoria gets overzealous, declaring Vince Fish the murderer when Charles suspects that his eye patch could be covering up a bruise from the force of the gunshot, then switching to convicting Rudy Thurber over the silver strand of tinsel and Oliver’s anecdote about how Charles got the Arconia to ban real Christmas trees. Charles points out that Rudy was reportedly out that night, but Mabel says that could have been an alibi. They decide to split up. Charles and Eugene Levy will go see Vince, while Mabel and Eva Longoria will talk to Rudy. Meanwhile, Oliver will take Zach Galifianakis to his apartment with the ham radio.
Investigation: Vince Fish
Charles and Eugene Levy visit the apartment of Vince Fish (Richard Kind), with a plan to get him to remove his eye patch so they can see if it’s bruised. Charles and Eugene are both wearing eye patches when Vince invites them in, saying they both have a bad case of pink eye, but that they have new eye drops that haven’t been approved by the FDA yet. They convince Vince to try them, but they’re shagrined when he takes the drops to the bathroom rather than using the product in front of them.
(Disney/Patrick Harbron)
They resort to their backup plan, an “accidental” spit take. Eugene Levy is the one to spit water on Vince’s face in hopes that he will take off his eye patch as he wipes his face dry. Eugene gets punched in the face for it, but the plan works. Vince takes off his patch, confirming that it’s just an extreme case of antibiotic resistant conjunctivitis. Vince apologizes for punching Eugene Levy, and he and Charles come clean about their real intentions. Vince says he can’t even kill pinkeye, let alone a person. As Charles and Vince hug, Eugene points to a framed photo of “The Westies” that includes Vince, Rudy, Inez, Alfonso, and Ana. Someone else is in the photo, and they’re holding the baby pig Mabel found in 14F. Their face has been blacked out by a marker.
Investigation: Rudy Thurber
Eva Longoria has a lot of ideas for her portrayal of Mabel, daydrinking and proposing a more exciting pronunciation of the name – “Mah-bell.” Mabel gets upset and tells Eva Longoria that she works alone. She goes to the West Tower and knocks on apartment H, surprised when the door opens and Eva Longoria is already inside. Rudy Thurber (Kumail Nanjiani) serves them both his protein eggnog recipe, and Mabel is frustrated that Eva told him they’re investigating a murder. Mabel looks around the decorated apartment for signs of tinsel, not seeing any. They’re interrupted by "Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now" (the Perfect Strangers theme song), which causes Rudy to grab his handheld ham radio and dart out of the room to answer the call.
(Disney/Patrick Harbron)
Mabel takes the opportunity to investigate, but she gets caught with her hand in one of Rudy’s desk drawers when he re-enters the living room. Eva Longoria, who has dinner plans, decides to try and provoke a reaction out of Rudy, breaking a snowglobe and an ornament as she accuses him of murder. She takes a rifle off the wall above the fireplace and shoots it at an animated twerking Santa doll, discovering that it’s just a dart gun. It forces Rudy to come clean: He hates Christmas. He’s a fitness influencer who made one Christmas-themed post that went viral, and now the only content that does well is his holiday-themed videos, even selling his abs for fans to have their name added to the naughty list. Mabel asks about the tinsel, showing him the silver strand from 14F. He lights a flame under it, declaring it to not be tinsel since it didn’t light up.
As Mabel and Eva Longoria leave Rudy’s apartment, mabel apologizes to Eva, saying she was actually helpful. Her tactics likely saved time investigating an innocent suspect. She says she’s going to take a page out of Eva’s playbook. Instead of leaving the West Tower, Mabel pulls the caution tape off of apartment 14F, entering the code and going inside. Mabel opens her phone and looks up squatter’s rights in New York City. A squatter can be considered a legal tenant within 30 days if no action is taken by the property owner.
Investigation: Ham Radio
The ham radio wasn’t Oliver Putnam’s goal, getting Zach Galifianakis to love playing him was. He delegates the task of listening to the radio to Howard Morris (Michael Cyril Creighton), who is also now looking after the pig Mabel found in apartment 4F. He tests out celebrity names on the pig, including Natalie Porkman and Kristin Piig. Meanwhile, Oliver tries to win over Galifianakis
Bringing out a rolling closet full of jackets, the theater director tells the comedy star that he likes to work from the outside in. Dressing Zach Galifianakis in one of his jacket and scarves, and giving his face a temporary spray tan, we see them go about town in a montage set to "Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now." Oliver also gives Zach the formula for one of his legendary stories: a celebrity who is still alive against the odds + a nightclub that’s now an Applebees + a drug that no longer exists. The day seems like a success to Oliver when he and Zach return to the apartment. However, when Zach steps into the next room to take a call from his agent, Oliver hears him ranting about having to play a “one dimensional narcissist” and saying he wants to try something new, like a psycosexual character. Howards steps in to defend Oliver, saying he’s his hero for getting back up every time he fails. Howard ends up being the breakthrough for Galifianakis, who realizes that Oliver Putnam isn’t the court jester he thought he was assigned, but King Lear. “I will immortalize you, Oliver,” Galifianakis vows, “the real, tragic, heartbreaking, lonely, pathetic you.”
Howard kept a detailed journal of everything he heard on the ham radio while Oliver was out. Most of the conversations were about weather, and he had to hear the theme song to Perfect Strangers too many times.
Reunited
Mabel calls Charles and Oliver over to apartment 14F, and they bring her some household essentials, including a dog bed for the pig, who is staying with her now. She tells them she doesn’t believe Dudenoff is really in Portugal and she hopes to draw him out of hiding to evict her. She also says they can keep an eye on each other this way, since she and Charles can see each other’s apartments from across the towers.
Breaking a moment of silence, Mabel starts to sing “Standing Tall” and Oliver says that it was in Howard’s ham radio journal, which he brought over with him. He opens the book and reads the log. “Meet me at 445,” reads one of the transcriptions, which Oliver now assumes isn’t a time, but a radio frequency. They go to the ham radio in the apartment and spin the dial to 445. “Hello?” they ask, with a woman’s voice responding. They ask who Dudenoff is and what’s with all the ham. “The last person who asked those questions got killed,” the voice warns them. The pig lets out a squeal. “I love you, Hammy Faye Bakker,” the woman says, giving one final warning before disconnecting: “Drop this, or you’ll be next.”
Only Murders in the Building returns next Tuesday, September 17th, with the fourth episode of Season 4, titled “The Stunt Man.”
Charles, Oliver & Mabel delve into the particular universe of stunt people. They encounter a suspect with an incredibly… familiar… face.