Only Murders In The Building Season 2 Review – I Love This Building

I find it refreshing that in a world where revivals, sequel series, and “big blockbuster” movies and series are meant to be all we have and are “supposed to enjoy,” a show that that is none of those things is honestly one of the best parts of the streaming world right now. I found out about Only Murders In The Building by accident. I truly can’t fully recall how I heard about it, but I knew it had Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez in her big return to TV. Something she very much wanted. I waited for Season 1 to be done, binged it, and loved it. I couldn’t wait for what came next. Fast forward to now, and as this Only Murders In The Building Season 2 Review will show you, they kept the magic going.

Easily one of the first things I loved about this season was that it really did pick up with where Season 1 left off. Mable has been accused of murdering Bunny (the Board President of the Arconia Hotel), Charles and Oliver were arrested too, as they were there at the crime scene when the arrest was made, and the question becomes…what the heck happened that night? Oh, and “who killed Bunny?” of course.

One of the biggest reasons this series works as a whole is how Martin Short, Steve Martin, and Selena Gomez perfectly portray their characters. Just watch the first episode and see how they react to the murder and what it means to them, and it’s perfect. Oliver is loving it because it’s getting him attention (and he’s mad at times because he’s not “suspected” like the other two), Charles is trying to lean on his past experience as Brazzos to play it cool, and Mable knows how to shut down the cops and get the heat off of her for the time being. It’s all very well handled.

As was the immediate aftermath where two of them wanted to investigate, but Mable wanted to be done with it. As she noted, she’s been “surrounded by death” and tragedy most of her life. She needed a break from it. But, when they do go full force with it, it’s believable, and as they note, they’re not doing the podcast’s second season for fun or glory; they’re doing it to prove their innocence.

…which is pretty hard to do when someone is trying everything out there to frame you for murder. Oh, did I forget to mention that? …as Oliver would say, “that’s a good line, I need to record that.”

You see, if there were a “subplot” in Only Murders In The Building Season 2, it would be not just “how well do you know your neighbors?”. It would be, “How well do you know the place you live in?” Because, as we find out through several episodes, the Arconia is a bit creepier than you would expect. The architect of the building was not only Bunny’s direct relative but one who had a nasty habit of making a bunch of secret compartments, and areas that went all throughout the building. Including into the rooms of our three heroes, where all sorts of evidence is being planted to try and make sure they get framed for murder.

Not the least of which is a supposedly million-dollar painting, a bloody knife, and so on. So, who did it this time and why? Well…that’s not so easy this go around. Not that it was easy before, mind you.

The series showed in its first season that it’s as much a parody of these kinds of shows as it is a reference to them. There are numerous references by the three of this being their “second season”, or how their fans are “demanding better content” or even things like “filler episodes”. Heck, in the season finale, Oliver says, “man, this doesn’t feel like a finale.” They get pretty meta and pretty funny.

This especially happens with the main three characters and the supporting cast, who get a bit more fleshed out with new characters and new looks at old ones. Not the least of which is the “super celebrity playing themselves” via Amy Schumer. I’ll…get to her later, ok?

Mainly because I don’t want to take away from the journeys of our three main characters. As all of them go through some great arcs this season in different ways.

For example, Charles finds out that a perk of being a “person of interest” is that your old show is going to bring you back to life. Yeah, Brazzos is back, kind of? I don’t want to spoil all of it. But let’s just say he gets a second chance at acting…but it’s not exactly what he wants at first because of how many people see him and his character. I’ll spoil one hilarious thing, instead of looking him up…the people behind the series thought he was dead! Ouch.

Another key aspect for him is that we meet Lucy, who perfectly fits in with the three and honestly feels like she’s been there the whole time. She and Charles have some really touching scenes, and I hope we get even more of her in Season 3.

Oliver, meanwhile, starts out like before, but then goes through a true crisis when he learns that his son…might not be his son. The conversations he has with others about this are both funny and heartbreaking, right up until the end. I’m glad that they went this angle with him because, I won’t lie, Oliver can be a bit much at times.

As for Mable, you just can’t help but feel sorry for her. She’s been through SO MUCH, and yet life just keeps throwing things at her. She keeps having blackouts during key events, she gets a new relationship (via none other than Cara Delevingne) that doesn’t go as planned in various ways, and more. You feel so happy for her when she’s able to cope with things and push through her pain to get to a better place.

I seriously could talk all day about the chemistry and comedy of the two Martin and Selena (get the joke?) because when they’re on screen together, it’s magic. Seriously, there were so many scenes here in season 2 where I was laughing out loud because of what they did or said. Like when Oliver and Charles went “old guy mode” and Mable had to call out how old they sounded or that she straight-up “didn’t care” about the history lesson she was getting.

Or my personal favorite is when Mable starts emulating the two in ways like recording great “one-liners,” and she admitted, “I need to get a life.” Yet, they were also able to pull off some beautiful scenes that couldn’t be ignored. Like when Mable was caught up in another incident, and both Charles and Oliver were worried sick, to the point that when she showed up, they hugged, which was so beautiful. Or when Charles helped calm down a certain person in labor with something that felt so beautiful that even Oliver was moved and praised the “performance”. It’s really on point at times, and it’s hard to miss.

Easily one of my favorite arcs with the best ending was that of Charles still having feelings for Jan. You know, the woman who was the killer last go-round? She still loved him, and you could understand why Charles couldn’t and wouldn’t let go at first. That was serious…then…

…they end it by bringing back his “stuntman” in Jane Lynch to do a “line read” of the breakup to Jan. It’s the most hilarious thing ever! I could not stop laughing there. Seriously.

Getting back to the murder, the season did a LOT of twists and turns. Including making you think that three different people (legitimate people, not just wild guesses) might have killed Bunny. Then, right when you think they have solved it, they pull one of the best feints, and everything can be seen in a new light.

Especially with the character of Poppy, whom we only saw a bit in Season 1, but is easily one of the best new parts of the season in terms of how she’s portrayed, and who she became over the course of the season. It was really well handled.

All this while showing true respect for the victim in Bunny, seeing how her death was honestly preventable, and how she wasn’t as bad as people thought. She was just someone who wanted to be appreciated by others for all she did, and have more of a legacy than what she got.

I seriously didn’t see the final episode twists that they did, including a certain stabbing where I went, “No, wait, they didn’t really do that,” because of how well it was all shot and done.

That being said…it wasn’t all perfect…it wouldn’t be an Only Murders In The Building Season 2 Review without noting some of its flaws, right?

Because while the mystery was good, especially at the beginning and the end, the middle parts really dragged at key sections. Certain episodes like “Hello Darkness” kept things fresh with essential drama and setpieces like New York being in a true blackout (and everyone singing “Sound of Silence”, which was great). Other episodes, though…not so much. Especially when they went through a whole episode with no real progress. They even referenced this via the “fans” in the show and that was a bit too meta for me.

Another thing was that while we did get some cool new characters in the show, and some key insights into certain characters’ backstories, some of it didn’t really land. I enjoyed Cara Delevingne’s character at first, as she seemed like someone who would “get Mable” and at first, she did. But then it turned out she was into Mable for not altruistic reasons, and it only got weirder during a “recreation” scene that I honestly still have no clue about what it was supposed to be. Also, going “meta” again, the fans noted that it was “progressive’ for Mable to be Bi, which it was…and then they ended it because of the “recreation” scene and so that’s not exactly being progressive, now is it?

Furthermore, while we did get some new insights into the “classic neighbors”, including some villains who got new light shined upon them, others just…didn’t feel necessary.

Like Howard, the “cat guy” got a LOT of screen time, and it…really didn’t work for me. It might work for you, but he was on the screen way too much. Also, we met Nina, who was Bunny’s replacement, and we’re told she’s “very mean” but never really got to know why. Then she does a 180 during the blackout, and I was supposed to feel great, but…I didn’t, I honestly didn’t care that much.

Adding to the issues, there were some key inconsistencies at times that stood out. Such as how a returning Theo Dimas noted he “can only read about 1/3 of what people are saying” from lip reading, yet we saw him do it with 100% accuracy in a key episode of Season 1. Also, when confronting “Glitter Guy” (the glitter bomb scene was great for the record), Mable straight-up stabs him in front of people and then runs away.  People posted it online and everything…yet Mable wasn’t arrested again. Sure, you could say because “there was no victim”, but she wasn’t even brought in for questioning? That was odd.

Also, as per the norm with things like this, the comedy can be hit or miss or just bad. Such as with the “super celebrity guest” this season…Amy Schumer. I’m not sure what they were going for here…but I was glad when she disappeared after a few episodes. Seriously, that was bad. Worse than her take on the animation industry…

Finally, and I’ll admit this is more a “me problem” than a general problem at points, there was a LOT of language in this show. I know it was there last season, but at times it was just over the top and too much. Like a threat monologue with the F-word in it like 30 times. Did we really need that? Do we really need such profanity to be menacing? I don’t think so.

Even with that said, Only Murders In The Building Season 2 was a triumph because it kept the magic from the first season, boosted the main stars in great ways, and made a darn compelling sequel mystery. To the point where when all was said and done, and we got a “one year later” time skip to show everyone was fine without a murder (until you knew one was coming…) you felt really happy for them. Charles, Oliver, and Mabel are great characters played by three great actors. Season 3 is already confirmed, and I can’t wait to see the mystery they unravel next time.