'Only Murders in the Building' lost some of its spark

For the past few days I have been quite addicted to a show that suddenly caught my attention. I mentioned the other day that I'm no way a fan of true crime or typically murder related shows and films, but the main appeal for me was this lighthearted comedy featuring the aged Steve Martin and Martin Short, both performing wonderfully together. This show has been a rare case for me, something that I have actively binged through and thoroughly enjoyed. This doesn't happen to me often, but when it does it's like discovering a new world. So, while the title may seem relatively negative, I still highly enjoy Only Murders in the Building. Don't get me wrong, I'm still watching it. Still enjoying the episodes. And still very interested to see where it goes. With three seasons, I'm now almost done with the second season.

But I can't help but feel that going into this second season, the show has somewhat lost some of its charm. While much of the charm comes on the atmosphere it created, the music and the style, some of it has been lost with the introduction of new characters, ones that just don't seem to suit the show and its story. Removing some of that wonderful charm that made it so fun and engaging. Only Murders in the Building prioritised itself around a number of different characters in the first season, some of which were people you may have seen before, others you likely haven't heard of. And it was this variety that made it fun. The twists and the turns it led you through felt more impactful due to this. As mentioned though, this show still does have a lot of the charm. But perhaps has lost some the spark in pursuit of, well, more sparkling actors.

Before I continue, I should warn you that this post will contain spoilers from the first and second seasons. If you are watching the show or might want to, then this post probably isn't for you.

Only Murders in the Building

Well, between the introduction of this post and the writing as of now, I have finished watching through season two. I do feel it redeemed itself based on many of those weaknesses, but that spark certainly got lost in the pursuit of upping the ante, a reason to continue creating seasons, essentially. Season two carries off from the first season, to which the original killer has been discovered and punished. What follows immediately is one of the podcast members being framed for a murder almost instantly. All signs point to one specific individual, where there is even damning evidence to be found in prior podcast episodes, where they describe those very acts down to the fine details. This places all of them as people of interest in the eyes of the law. And here the season tries to find ways to spread out the narrative as our main cast searches for clues that can help them secure their innocence.

I had no doubts that the season would differ from the first. It makes sense that it would take a slight step back from its main cast and introduce some side characters. After all, Only Murders in the Building is a show that mostly takes place in a large luxurious building in New York City. This building is full of life, many individuals and of course unique characters. The first season introduced a few that it utilised well in the story, but this second season tried to expand upon this; while I think that the decision to do so makes sense and gives more depth to the world the show has created, the problem sits in that the characters themselves don't seem believable at all. For the most part, the main cast are elderly individuals that have had their stories explained: workers in the arts that have earned their places in the building. As well as the younger character that was introduced but doesn't own the apartment. Much of the inhabitants of this building are naturally more on the older side. People that have lucked out on the purchase when real estate in New York City hadn't reached such insanity.

These characters felt real, with a bit of nepotism to them. But the newer side characters introduced felt incredibly bland, and perhaps with far too much of a focus on their sexuality than anything else. I don't think I really did learn much about these side characters other than that they're gay. And oddly, this was pretty much every side character that got introduced. I'm not sure what this decision was, but having the same story told for each character with a few extra spices added just didn't cut it for me. Especially with side characters that got introduced purely for a cameo before disappearing for the rest of the season. Amy Schumer? For what reason? Cara Delevingne? Is she even an actress? Her performance in the show certainly doesn't give off that feeling, though at least her character, despite being insufferably and poorly performed, actually had some connection to the story outside of just being gay. Now, I don't care one bit of the characters are gay, it's that they lack the extra depth to make them look like actual people. And so much of this was just overlooked, and with such focus for much of the season, shortly before realising it had wasted half of the season and needed to start telling the next murder mystery story.

And it was only when this happened, around episode six, that I felt the show managed to pull back much of that momentum it originally had and start being interesting again. As mentioned, I understand the importance of adding side characters and giving them their own histories and using them to perform various twists and turns within the whole mystery aspect, I love that, but surely they could've given us more to care about beyond their preferred relationships. Particularly when much of the season is about one of the main character's inability to accept his past relationship coming to and end and the struggles of loneliness via trusting people and getting hurt. While another explores the struggles of being a father, despite not really being the father, a discovery after many years of believing so. So the drama was there, the ability to tell heartfelt and real stories was there all along. Just none of it was given to the side characters at all.

To add to some of the disappointment in this season, none of the atmosphere and quality felt as if it had drastically suffered. The show still felt as if it had that appeal, the music that added to the gentle tone of the show, and the comedy which genuinely had me laughing at parts. Fortunately, this did save the season and the show for me. It still has me finishing it and curious as to where the third season may go. It's this directing and editing, as well as the humour, that lured me in in the first place. And fortunately very little of that felt as if it had been removed, even if the show did take more serious turns in all characters. Still, I'm curious as to where this third season will go. I suspect it'll be the final season, and my expectations are certainly much higher for some sort of decent story to tie things up. I doubt there is much more room for yet more chaotic deaths unfolding without it growing stale.

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