Only Murders in the Building Season 4 Episode 1 ending explained: Is Sazz dead?

After a long wait, one of television's funniest and most consistent shows, Only Murders in the Building Season 4 has returned with a fresh story and plenty of new things to look out for. Much like the premise of the previous seasons, this one picked up from where the third season finale left, but uncharacteristically, it is only at the end of the episode that our trio (Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, and Martin Short in their respective roles) find out who was murdered and where.

The premiere of the fourth season, titled Once Upon a Time in the West picked up with Sazz (Jane Lynch) getting shot, but it seems that the killer smartly cleaned up the scene before the podcaster trio noticed anything unusual. The episode went on to span a variety of intriguing plotlines, including a trip to Hollywood, littered with exciting cameos from actors like Eugene Levy, Eva Longoria, Scott Bakula, and Zach Galifianakis.

By the end, Charles' gut feeling about something being wrong with Sazz seemed to finally snap in place as the building security guard called to talk about the broken window at the Arconia. The trio went back to New York and discovered that the hole was actually a bullet hole, indicating someone was killed in the house.

Though viewers know exactly what happened, the three podcasters examined an apparently out-of-order incinerator, only to find Sazz's remains, kickstarting the murder mystery for this season.

So, Sazz is indeed dead and there is someone sinister behind all of it, as hinted by the final text from the killer, who also seemed to be in possession of Sazz's phone.

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Only Murders in the Building Season 4 Episode 1: How did Charles, Mabel, and Oliver decipher that Sazz was murdered?

The majority of the first episode of Only Murders in the Building Season 4 was geared towards Mabel, Oliver, and Charles's venture to Hollywood, where they were summoned by Paramount Pictures, who are trying to make a movie out of their podcasts, essentially asking them to sign off their life rights.

Between the gimmicks of Hollywood and the personal stories of the three protagonists, Charles's concern for Sazz grew to the point where they broke into Sazz's house, only to realize that she hadn't been home for days. In this sequence, the show incorporated the backstory of Sazz's multiple bone replacements, which she got from Bulgaria, according to Charles.

However, at this point, two simultaneous things happened. Mabel recalled that Howard's (Michael Cyril Creighton) new dog, Gravey, was barking towards the ceiling after Howard told her that Gravey used to be a cadaver dog before he was adopted. Meanwhile, Charles got a phone call from the building security about fixing his window, which he never asked for. On asking how big the hole was, Charles realized it was a bullet hole.

This probed the three of them to return to New York and investigate the matter. With the help of Gravey, they were led to the incinerator, where Charles found the ashes of Sazz. Charles could decipher this was Sazz because there were metal bone replacements in the ashes, and one of them had a marking that said "Bulgaria." This concluded Only Murders in the Building Season 4 Episode 1 on a big cliffhanger.

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The first episode ended with the beginning of a new mystery

With things seemingly going completely differently at the start of the episode, Only Murders in the Building Season 4 snapped back into its most alluring self with another murder mystery, and this time someone close to one of our protagonists.

This means that the rest of Only Murders in the Building Season 4 will follow the trio as they try to decipher another murder, while Hollywood keeps knocking at their doorsteps.

Only Murders in the Building Season 4 Episode 2 will continue the story when it airs on September 3, 2024.

Meanwhile, the first episode is currently streaming on Hulu. Stay tuned for more updates.