Only Murders in the Building – Valley of the Dolls

By: Sammi Turano

 Mabel (Selena Gomez), Oliver (Martin Short) and Charles (Steve Martin) are leaving the city while someone narrates about life in NYC. Oliver is trying to break up with Loretta, but Mabel chastises him for being bad at being in a happy relationship.

The trio figure out where to go and decide on Charles’s sister Doreen’s house. Mabel calls Howard to tell him where they are going and to tell him to check out who is cashing the Dudenoff’s checks. Charles makes them all shut off their phones in case they are being tracked.

They arrive at Doreen’s (Melissa McCarthy), who says that they arrived for Thanksgiving in April.

Everyone settles in awkwardly, surrounded by Doreen’s collection of dolls, which she is more than happy to discuss in favor of her kids. Oliver questions her about this and she tells him he is quite intuitive and takes a liking to him.

Charles asks about Big Mike the cop, but Doreen says she kicked him out and he is living in a boat outside the house. She also discusses him going to Can Can aka “Hooters for Butts.” They continue to awkwardly discuss how Charles injured Doreen as a child, causing her to lose her spleen.

Later on, the trio go into the bedroom to discuss their next plan of action. Charles gives them towels to shower and then goes to talk to Big Mike…only to be tracked down by Bev Melon (Molly Shannon). She tells him Howard told her where they are and asks if the Brothers sisters are the killers. If yes, she has to kill them, if no or unsure, it is a grey area. He tells her there is a 60% chance they are innocent, which she relays to someone named Monica who thinks that is not enough. She tells this Monica that 50% was enough on margarita night, which caused her to go wild.

Mabel is surprised to see Bev, who is stressed over the movie, murders and the possibility of the project being shelved. She goes to look for food.

Doreen and Oliver drink and flirt. He opens up about Loretta when the doorbell rings. Eva Longoria, Zach Galifianakis  and Eugene Levy are there, upset they were left behind. They argue about the situation, but Mabel allows them to stay and takes their phones.

Oliver and Doreen continue to get cozy and cuddly when Loretta (Meryl Streep) arrives, heartbroken by what she sees. She flew over to see him to figure out why he broke up with her over text. They discuss their last conversation and it turns out he was talking to her stand in, leading to the misunderstanding. They make up, but she wonders if she should be worried about Doreen. He says everyone should be worried about her.

Doreen and Charles talk about the spleen incident, which leads to them bonding over happier moments of their childhoods, particularly her seeing him in his first play. He is too busy nailing the window because he is worried about his loved ones and those who died, which leads to another fight.

Eugene, Zach and Eva want to help with the case, but Mabel vetoes this idea. Loretta walks in and recognizes Eugene from another project. He has no idea who she is, so she fangirls over Zach while Eva feels left out.

Mabel tells Loretta to keep the actors distracted so she can work, but she tells her they can be helpful. Mabel then asks a drunk Bev for help, but all she does is insult and cuss at everyone. She leaves dramatically as the actors wonder what her problem is….single mom, middle child or thyroid issue. Mabel then reluctantly has everyone help.

Howard (Michael Cyril Creighton) goes to investigate the Dudenoff case and bribes the clerk (Alberto Bonilla) by having his cat on his podcast. The clerk lets him look at the papers, which show different signatures for Dudenoff. Howard calls Mabel, who doesn’t answer since she is working on investigating with the actors. She tells them to get a room while she finds another one.

Doreen tries to flirt with Oliver some more, upsetting Loretta. Oliver tries to explain his relationship, but Doreen isn’t interested and has a meltdown, storming off. Loretta understands since Oliver is a magnet.

Loretta and Oliver play the piano and talk about what he said to the stand in when he thought it was her. He finally admits he was trying to propose, which leads to him admitting to the fake Instagram account. Loretta us upset about his trickery and runs off.

Doreen and Loretta talk about Oliver and his actions, causing them to argue. Loretta tries to calm her down, leading to them getting into a physical fight. Everyone walks in, with Eugene recognizing Loretta, Eva offering fighting pointers and the trio trying to break it up.

Later on, Charles tries to help Doreen clean up her wounds and tells her he was worried about her. They talk about the spleen incident and open up about their childhoods and how Doreen feels lonely. She also admits she is jealous about his bond with Oliver and Mabel due to the podcast. They decide to keep in touch and make up.

Bev comes in after the best nap ever and says she cares so much because the movies are her passion. The movie is back on and it is back to business.

Oliver and Loretta continue to talk things out and get engaged, thanks to her proposal. He accepts as they seal the deal with a kiss.

Eva wakes everyone up the next morning so the actors can show off their own murder board. They point out this all began way before Sazz’s murder….and instead began during season one of the podcast with the notes, Winnie’s poisoning and how Jan wasn’t left handed, making her less involved. However, Sazz knew everything that was going on since season one, figured out who was doing it and this is what led to the murder.

Mabel and Charles are upset by the actors beating them at their own game, but Oliver is happy about his engagement.

Everyone enjoys pizza on the boat, courtesy of Big Mike (Jason Kravitz). He tells them Howard called and knows who killed Dudenoff and five people could be involved.

Howard and the clerk watch the video, which shows the Westies forging the signature and call the number listed on the paper. Vince (Richard Kind) answers and pretends to be Dudenoff. He realizes that they have been caught as the episode comes to an end.