Adaptation

I might be jumping to conclusions here, but I wanted to share my feelings towards this season after finishing this episode. I recently re-watched the previous seasons to remember some past moments of the show and, yes, we all know there are ridiculous moments in here, sometimes the characters and the story don't take themselves too seriously, which was a good thing to break those tension moments we had, the same can't be said about this season.

So this season feels conflictual ,which doesn't mean previous seasons didn't have below average episodes or that they wouldn't instigate some conflict into the viewer as in "where are they going with this?" but not in a good way. Yet, those previous moments were (mostly) entertaining to watch.

Now the show feels like a parody of itself, previously all the "seasoning" was well-balanced, we had the thriller, the drama, the comedy, were all mixed and each moment had its special flavour. At the moment, the shows feels like a caricature, almost as if someone that isn't supposed to meddle with the writing is trying to say what the audience wants.

Hopefully I am wrong, like how Amy Schumer dragged down season 2 whenever she was in scene, but the season got better after she was gone.

This is a hard review to write. Reading others responses, I can see that I'm not alone. I love this show. It's one of my all-time favourites and feel good spending time with the cast every week. However, this season something seems very off. I don't know what is wrong, what might be happening behind the scenes, that is making it so difficult for them to bring the magic back.

The best way to explain this is that it feels like a parody of the show we love. Steve Martin and Martin Short's chemistry also seems forced and not natural this season. I hope the final episodes make a huge jump in quality.

The season of Only Murders In The Building has seen a significant improvement over the previous season, but it still lacks the highs of season 2. The overarching theme seems to change with each episode, and Sazz Pataki is not as engaging as Bunny. Episode 5 doesn't immediately pick up where episode 4 ended, as the trio encounters Paramount executive Bev (Molly Shannon) at the location Sazz wanted to turn into a stunt academy. Marshall, the writer of the movie adaptation, is seen trying to glue a fake beard on himself to fit in, suffering from impostor syndrome. Episode 4 introduces Bev, who is also scared and found the gun presumably belonging to Sazz. It's established that someone working on the movie is behind the murder, adding more suspects to go through. Marshall and Mabel find common ground with their feelings of not belonging and fighting impostor syndrome. Mabel becomes this season's emotional pillar, helping the season "in" to the narrative and larger themes. Episode 5 marks the halfway point of the season, with the comedy being on point, particularly in a funny sequence where Oliver tries to nail the killer's timeline of shooting Sazz and making it all the way to Charles' apartment to clean it up. However, there is a worry that the guest stars are overshadowing Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez, who are all fantastic this season. Although episode 5 presents potential suspects, there is no clear killer for Sazz Pataki, unlike previous seasons. This is exciting but also frustrating, as by the halfway mark, there should be more suspects, backstories, and meat on the bones of the narrative. In the latest installment of Only Murders In The Building, Molly Shannon delivers a memorable line, "The Jonk jonk'd my jonk till I jonk'd," while Martin Short looks on aghast. The case of Sazz's murder is finally brought into focus in "Adaptation," with the action picking up and a nod to early OMITB. The show begins its puzzle pieces at season-four midpoint, with a cliffhanger ending. The episode begins with Bev pointing a gun at the trio, who are still at Sazz's "poverty cottage" in Paradise, New Jersey. Bev explains that Sazz called Bev about a problem with the OMITB movie, and she thinks Sazz's killer might be working on it now. This information expands the suspect list, but the production office has set up shop in Arconia, giving Charles, Mabel, and Oliver easy access to potential murderers. The number-one suspect is the shifty Marshall B. Pope (Pachinko's Jin Ha), the movie's writer, not the twin directors, as the trio believe. Marshall suffers from imposter syndrome and wears a fake beard and glasses to appear more worldly but not self-important. He can quote both David Foster Wallace and Ace Ventura, but his actions may be a fraud. Bev keeps giving Marshall notes, which unnerves him. When Mabel, Charles, and Oliver approach him, they want to talk about why Marshall is acting suspiciously around them and what he's observed so far. The show continues to build suspense and mystery throughout the season.

Adaptation is the name of a Charlie Kaufman movie. Marshall P Pope (Jin Ha) is a wannabe writer but his script idea has been picked up by Paramount.

Now he feels like a fraud. Marshall even dons a disguise. His movie is about the podcasters for Only Murders in the Building.

Although to Marshall's surprise. His weird behaviour and disguise, makes him a suspect to the trio.

Charles, Oliver and Mabel wonder how could the murderer had shot Chazz and cleaned up the crime scene so quickly.

It leads Charles to have a eureka moment. They are still not close to find the culprit.

The fourth episode started strongly. This was a swerve, rather self indulgent. Funny in places but it really does not fit in well.

Still chock full of clever details the show keeps delivering. I'm still chuckling at the Brother Sisters gag. And now they communicate with eye movements.

There are twists and turns like there have been for the 3 previous series, and side characters take turns to become center characters. This episode was the writer and we get a dive into writer based details, with nods to legendary writers in the not well hidden Charlie Kaufman as indicated from the title.

There's still a lot going on and I have faith that all the threads will weave together to reveal a satisfying solution. There is strong talent behind the screen as well as on it and I don't take that miracle for granted. We are blessed with this fine series.