Why Jane Lynch’s character makes you care about ‘OMITB’ victims more than you expected
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: 'Only Murders in the Building' has been a fan-favorite show since its inception in 2021. With its smaller cast and comedic take on crime fiction, the show offers a refreshing perspective on the genre. The show continues to improve with each season, and Season 4 truly hits it out of the park by incorporating deep emotional richness.
'Only Murders in the Building' Season 4 revolves around the murder mystery of Sazz Pataki (Jane Lynch), who worked as Charles's (Steve Martin) bodydouble for most of her life. In Season 3's finale, she was shot by an unknown assassin at Charles's apartment and her remains were burnt in the building's incinerator.
Sazz Pataki's murder in 'Only Murders in the Building' is a personal loss for Charles
Sazz Pataki isn't just any other victim in the East Tower of Arconia, she has been Charles's friend and colleague for years. Her death has not only prompted the trio to solve the murder but it has put Charles on an emotional journey. Subconsciously, he can talk to Sazz, even though she is dead. When Oliver (Martin Short) and Mabel (Selena Gomez) suggest that this behavior isn’t healthy, Charles remains unfazed, as these conversations hold significant importance for him.
There are moments when Charles wishes to have known her better. Despite spending years together, he was unaware of her pain or her retirement plans. The show delves into the guilt one experiences after losing a loved one. Guilt doesn’t always come from doing something wrong, it could stem from the smallest of things—such as missing the opportunity for a proper goodbye or failing to listen to a loved one’s struggles while they were alive. He is unable to cope with the loss which leads him to introspect how he often took her presence for granted, in his career and life. However, Charles's guilt goes deeper than this. He believes that Sazz took the fall for him.
Since Sazz was shot in the dark, in Charles's apartment, he believes that the killer actually intended to kill him but accidentally killed her. Charles cannot come to terms that Sazz always did the deadly stuff for him on set and died doing the same, in real life too. In Season 4, Episode 2, we see him carefully keeping Sazz's ashes, indicating that he isn’t ready to let her go just yet.
'Only Murders in the Building' Season 4 raises the stakes
What complicates Sazz's murder mystery is that she has no known enemies. Six episodes in, and the trio has still not been able to narrow down a suspect list with clear motives. Sazz was adorable and the sorted person with no enemies.
Her murder further fuels the narrative as the trio feels that they are the actual target, making this season's investigation quirky. At one point Charles even says that they have to find his killer, meaning their task is to find people who could benefit from Charles's death. So this time, it's not their podcast they have to worry about but for their lives instead. Sazz's death will hopefully be a learning curve for the trio and for the viewers to start appreciating people when they are alive.
Hulu drops fresh episode of 'Only Murders in the Building' Season 4 every Tuesday