Summary
Things get a little crazy and chaotic in the seventh episode of OMITB Season 4, which provides plenty of amusing distractions for the viewer.
Only Murders in the Building is never short of craziness and chaos. Season 4, Episode 7, aptly titled “Valley of the Dolls,” may have gotten the podcast trio closer to the answer of who killed Sazz Pataki and now Dudenoff. Still, it’s difficult as an audience member to believe anything at this stage.
At the start of the seventh chapter, the trio flees the city after receiving escalating threats to their lives at the end of Episode 6. They need a safe house, so Charles suggests they go to his sister’s (Doreen, played by Melissa McCarthy) house.
The Safe House
(When they arrive, it’s established that Doreen is aggrieved that she has not seen her brother in a while and is obviously lonely – the house is filled with dolls. She’s quite the character).
You’d think that after finding a safe house, the podcast trio would be…safe. But Howard has a big mouth and tells anyone of interest where they are. The first character to pull up is Studio Executive Bev Melon, who is absolutely on edge, fearing the OMITB movie is going to be pulled due to recent events.
The counterpart actors (Eva Longoria, Zach Galifianakis, Eugene Levy) then arrive, and they fear for their lives, too.
Amongst all the chaos and concern, a heartbroken Oliver opens up to the vulnerable Doreen about his break-up, not realizing that the woman he’s speaking to is intensely interested in him romantically.
This brief yet intense moment between them is ruined when Loretta, Oliver’s girlfriend, turns up. She’s heartbroken that Oliver ended their relationship over messages. Of course, Oliver has overreacted, and through communication, they resolve matters.
But Oliver trips himself up and reveals to Loretta that her friend Ronnie, on social media, is a fake account. He was pretending to be Ronnie to find information about her during moments of paranoia. Loretta is dismayed, but before she can address it, Doreen fights her over Oliver in a rage of jealousy. Luckily for Loretta, she’s good at fighting back.
Loretta (played by Meryl Streep) makes a welcome return in ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 4, Episode 7 (Credit – Hulu)
Healing Relationships and Marriage Proposals
Domestics later turns to the family in the episode as Doreen tells Charles that she’d love him to visit more. She admits his podcast made her feel even lonelier, so the siblings agree to stay in touch.
(Yes, as a character, Doreen is here for the comedy, but her story is quite sad. You can feel her anxiety surrounding her feelings of loneliness. Melissa McCarthy has done an excellent job here).
If anything, Season 4, Episode 7 resolved relationship problems more than anything; Oliver, knowing Loretta is angry at him for his strange, stalker-like behavior, tells her that she can leave him if it would be best for her.
Loretta decides to stay with Oliver despite his craziness and, in the process, proposes to him (what a turnaround! But my main advice is – never stalk!).
Back To The Murder Investigation
As the episode draws closer to its conclusion, conversations turn back to the murder investigations, but there’s a twist that involves the start of the series…
Eva Longoria, Zach Galifianakis, and Eugene Levy criticize the podcast trio’s previous murder investigations. After looking at all prior evidence, they have concluded that Jan is possibly innocent and that their murderer has still been active since Season 1. Sazz knew this but did not get the chance to tell them.
(I told you this story is never short of craziness and chaos).
Season 4, Episode 6, ends with another twist. Doreen’s husband turns up (yes, she has a husband) and passes on Howard’s messages to the podcast trio; he has discovered who killed Dudenoff – there were multiple people cashing Dudenoff’s checks, but only with one phone number.
When Howard called the number, Vince answered, pretending to be Dudenoff. When the phone was put down, Vince turned to the other Westies and said, “They know.”
(What Vince is implying is not revealed at the end of the episode. What he thinks the podcast trio knows is left purposefully vague.)
But either way, the attention is back on the Westies as Episode 7 draws to a close.
