Let me start by saying Concussions is a great name for a bar in general, but especially for a regular hangout for stunt workers. Since 1964, this (sadly fictional) spot has “cater[ed] to lunatics who take a beating.” And in OMITB's fourth episode, the haven is intruded by three desperate podcast hosts. Charles, Oliver, and Mabel’s inquiry into Sazz’s regular bar leads to meeting many eccentric folks, including a Paul Rudd lookalike played by…Paul Rudd! They learn about Sazz’s last day, part of which she spent at the watering hole. Charles also helps her bar colleagues throw a traditional stuntman funeral, which involves bashing bottles and a brawl. The episode is a mixed bag, continuing OMITB season four’s trend of—dare I say it—being slightly lackluster. It’s not a bad half-hour, to be clear, as there are solid one-liners, and Steve Martin and Martin Short remain stellar. Yet the arcs don’t feel fun or suspenseful enough.
The installment’s strongest aspect is the internal and external ways in which Charles continues to handle his grief. Aside from the usual banter, it’s nice to see the three leads face the emotional ramifications of the crimes they talk about all day. This has happened before in the show, with how Mabel dealt with her old Arconia friends’ deaths in season one and the impacts of Bunny (Jayne Houdyshell) and Ben Glenroy’s (Rudd) murders. The trio is committed to the podcast, but this shit can get dark and affect their lives. It’s only natural even for OMITB, in its special comedic way, to display that. “The Stunt Man” delivers on this via Charles’ visions of Sazz, as well as his vigor in investigating. (He’s made a second murder board dedicated to her and everything.)
After seeing Sazz’s final Instagram post, the trio heads to Concussions and ends up meeting her chiropractor who, yes, works out of a secret room in the back. I choose to believe it’s the stunt community’s way of taking care of each other without having to pay hefty medical bills. Anyway, this doctor (described as an “exorcist who helps release pain demons”) agrees to talk to Charles only if she can work on his super tense body. Dr. Maggie then tells him Sazz was planning to retire. He’s surprised, but by the end of the episode, Charles figures out what Sazz’s potential plan for her future might’ve been. It all leads back to a conversation Charles and Sazz had years ago on the Brazzos set.
Charles keeps dreaming of Sazz in this episode. They’re both in a forest that she’s leading him through, except in each subsequent dream, she’s increasingly injured. He’s pointedly worried about this, but Sazz remains cheery as she takes him through the trees. At the end of “The Stunt Man,” Charles finally remembers what this place from his dream is: a toxic waste dump in Paradise, New Jersey, where Braazos used to film. This is the piece of land where Sazz suggested in the past that she’d like to open a training academy/trampoline park where kids can learn to fly and fall.
Charles takes Mabel and Oliver there in the present day to discover the government cleaned up the land—they can literally breathe easy now—but a single house remains on it. It’s a “spooky hideout,” the trio declares as they walk in. Except what’s awaiting them inside is Bev Melon (Molly Shannon) pointing a gun at their faces. I know a red herring when I see one, so I don’t think Bev is in the mood to kill the people whose lives she’s adapting into a movie. But it is weird that a Paramount studio rep is there. It wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility that she knew Sazz. Or is she location scouting for the film? Either way, I’m excited to see Shannon get more screen time.
Oliver’s quite excited to see someone from showbiz though. That’s because his only interaction with Hollywood in this episode is with his girlfriend, Loretta. Okay, fine, it’s not an interaction as much as cyberstalking. He makes up a “finsta” under the name Ronnie to spy on his long-distance girlfriend after seeing Loretta post photos with a stranger’s muscular arm snaking around her. Instead of asking her about it directly, as Mabel suggests, he makes up a fake human to find out the details and bonds with Loretta over inspiring quotes. Oh, he’s in for some heartbreak. (Social-media snooping rarely ends well, Oliver, especially if, or rather when, Loretta finds out you don’t trust her!) What I loved is that the core of his insecurity doesn’t stem from jealousy alone. The root cause is what Howard said about him to Zach Galifianakis in episode three: Oliver is a failure.
His Broadway plays have flopped, as did his first marriage. So what if this relationship with Loretta is doomed, too? If he proposes, as he was about to do in L.A. in the season premiere, it could lead to another failed marriage. Maybe he isn’t equipped to emotionally deal with a beautiful partner who’s about to be a big-time TV actor. Oliver can’t even handle “killing” Ronnie’s Instagram account, so he gets Mabel to do it for him. Once again, Short imbues his character with such expressive vulnerability, masking it under a litany of wisecracks and grunts. He is giving my favorite performance of the season.
Mabel doesn’t get to do much in “The Stunt Man” besides avoiding helping Howard edit his new podcast. (It’s about animals who do jobs.) However, she discovers a huge secret about the Westies, who are currently freezing her out because they don’t approve of Mabel squatting at Dudenoff’s. Why would they when they’re paying a whole $200 more than her to live in the building? That’s right: The new crop of Arconia residents we meet aren’t in some weird cult. They’re part of a rent-control scheme, they tell Mabel. The Westies reveal that they’re illegally subletting the apartments that Dudenoff had rented. Don’t worry, they’re doing it with his permission. They send him the $200 rent checks every month while this seemingly kindly man lives out his retirement in Portugal. And they offer to let Mabel into this plan if she tells no one. She makes it clear she’s going to tell Oliver and Charles (cue the awws).
Okay, so do we believe the Westies? Is there such a generous landlord in New York City? I want to say no because it’s too convenient of a scheme to have gone on without anyone noticing. Then again, I support the scheme itself and don’t think the five Westies are the killers at all. But it is nice to see how the Arconia brought together another group of lonely folks and turned them into a found family, solidifying the emotional core of Only Murders In The Building.
Charles: “Yes, I’ve eaten at Oliver’s.”
