Only Murders in the Building Season 3 Episode 5 Review: Ah, Love
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.
Only Murders in the Building Season 3 Episode 5, “Ah, Love,” focuses on romance as each of our trio’s romantic endeavors take the spotlight. Through those separate storylines, we cross off one suspect and come up with a couple of new ones as well.
Loretta and Oliver are out on a date, getting high and throwing teeth overboard on a ferry. It’s not a normal night out by any means, but that’s what makes it all the more fun to watch.
We get more clues that Loretta could be the killer — that scrapbook is very stalker-y — but it still feels too predictable to have it be her. Meryl Streep is too famous to be the killer.
However, Loretta definitely comes across as unhinged. There’s something not right about her, which adds a bit of enjoyment to watching her scenes. You find yourself waiting for that glimpse of whatever she’s hiding to pop out.
If we’re being totally honest here, I’m never all that thrilled to see Sazz. The character lost its charm seasons ago, and yet we keep on bringing her back.
Admittedly, Sazz does do a good job at getting through to the root of Charles’ issue with both capital and lowercase joy.
It still would’ve been better if this came from anyone else. Oliver and Mabel could’ve gotten Charles to the same conclusion, once they set aside their murder suspect thoughts and had a real conversation with him about Joy.
Also, good for Joy. I’m proud of her for standing up for herself and telling Charles off. He deserves it. It’s like watching a car crash as Charles continued to keep saying the absolute wrong thing.
One thing this season really needs to work on is its follow-through.
Only Murders in the Building continues to drop a piece of news in one episode and then acts as if it never occurred in the next — Oliver’s heart attack, Mabel feeling left out, and Cinda Canning’s job offer to Mabel, as a couple of examples.
It could have been very easy to have Mabel talk about that offer, hint that things aren’t quite working as far as her investigation with Charles and Oliver is going, or share how she’s feeling distant from them recently.
Tobert already gets her talking about her friendship with them, and instead of using that moment to go a bit deeper, Only Murders in the Building opts to throw in a quip about Bluetooth.
There are so many moments that the show could dig into and explore, deepening relationships and creating some bigger character arcs. But it has failed to do so, which is disappointing.
Stray Thoughts
- I can’t decide which of Oliver’s quotes caught me more off guard: the quill and inkpot one or cozy wozy.
- Love a Rizzoli & Isles shoutout.
- Selena looks stunning in that dress.
- Mabel and Tobert are cute together.
What did you think of this episode of Only Murders in the Building? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Only Murders in the Building releases new episodes on Tuesdays on Hulu.
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Allison Nichols
Allison is in a love affair with television that doesn't seem to be letting up anytime soon. Slightly damaged fictional characters are her weakness. She loves to spend her free time curled up with a cat and a show to binge-watch. Allison is a Tomatometer-approved critic (Rotten Tomatoes).