Summary
Episode 4 is fast-paced, funny, and maintains the emotional depth to remain entertaining.
Only Murders in the Building Season 4 passes the halfway stage, and in Episode 5, “Adaptation,” the attention moves to the production studio behind the OMITB Movie. The opening is narrated by Marshall, the writer of the movie. A man who wears a fake beard and glasses, inspired by the great Charlie Kaufman. His script for the film caught the eye of Studio Head Bev Melon.
The only problem is that Marshall has a high dose of Imposter Syndrome, a strong theme in Episode 5. Imposter syndrome is the psychological experience of feeling like a fake or a phony despite any genuine success you have achieved (Verywell Mind). Mabel also suffers from this, as we’ve sensed throughout Season 4.
When Mabel receives her first paycheck for the movie, she doesn’t feel she deserves it. Bev Melon lavishes her with compliments and believes she can have more ideas for a new podcast, which seemingly freaks her out. She underestimates her talents. Selena Gomez’s Mabel has shown plenty of emotional depth in Season 4.
Following Episode 4, the podcast trio finds a threatening Bev Melon with a gun at the Future Home of The Sazz Pataki Impact Academy. When Bev realizes it is the podcast trio, she lowers the weapon she claimed she found in the building. She believes someone involved with the OMITB Movie may have killed Sazz Pataki.
Of course, the podcast trio is suspicious of Bev, but she shows them a strong alibi. She also shares with them a voicemail Sazz left her before she died; Sazz raised how she felt there was a problem with the movie and wanted to talk to Bev about it. That conversation never happened.
To continue their investigation, the true crime podcasters hand the gun to Detective Donna Williams, hoping she can find information on the weapon. They then head to the movie production office to investigate further.
Mabel is suffering from Imposter Syndrome (Credit – Hulu)
Initially, it’s difficult to gauge anything for their investigation as everyone looks suspicious, but they do see writer Marshall, who seems incredibly nervous. He’s honored to be a suspect and enjoys being interviewed by the trio.
Marshall has an alibi, too; he was doing a stand-up set that night Sazz was murdered. Mabel notices his beard is fake, so Marshall confesses that he has Imposter Syndrome. Mabel relates, of course.
Marshall finds flaws in Charles’ murder board and explains how the time of the murder of Sazz and her body being incinerated is too much of a small window that does not seem possible unless someone was highly fit and athletic. Oliver, feeling insecure that his girlfriend Loretta has a new love interest in her show called Jack Jonk, a man with incredible athletic ability, decides to test the small window and reenact the crime scene to prove his fitness.
Of course, he fails, and the podcast trio feels that their murder board and timeline are wrong.
Mabel has another idea for solving the murder. In earlier episodes, they noticed a footprint in Dudenoff’s apartment, so she suggests they return to the movie production office to track a similar footprint and attend the photoshoot.
The trio’s counterparts are there, and Eva Longoria helps Mabel lay out fake tacky maps so people can stand on them and catch footprints. Charles suddenly has an epiphany—what if two people were involved in Sazz’s murder?
Eventually, they find a matching footprint. It matches the shoes of the Trina Brothers (who are sisters—confusing, I know), who are doing the photoshoot. Charles and Mabel lose one of the sisters, and then suddenly, a gunshot is heard, and the screen fades to black. This is high drama to end a brilliant episode of Only Murders in the Building.
Read More: Only Murders in the Building Season 4, Episode 6 Recap
