The first series of
Only Murders in the Building (2021) contained Episode 7, '
The Boy from 6B (2021)'. Told from the perspective of Theo Dimas (
James Caverly), a notable resident of the Arconia and a suspect at the time, it was an ambitious and fantastically delivered instalment that had almost no dialogue. Theo is, after all, deaf.
In this episode, 'Flipping Pieces', the younger Dimas is, once again, playing a prominent part - except the delivery is not to the previously established standard at all. Instead, his perspective is half-acknowledged, and Mabel, who shares scenes with Theo, spends a while talking at him. That does not work well in terms of logic; it works even less in terms of acting:
Selena Gomez is delightfully cynical when her lines are given in response to those spoken by
Steve Martin and
Martin Short. When left to carry the dialogue on her own, the actress's speech turns unmodulated and grating.
The story remains unconcerned with questions posed earlier: who is Will's biological father? Has Alice left Mabel's apartment - and do we care that the former is dangerously duplicitous and obsessed? When Detective Williams (
Da'Vine Joy Randolph) went on maternity leave, did she take the rest of NYPD with her, since the well-recorded and publicised stabbing on the subway has not prompted any arrests or questioning?
Instead, the episode introduced more questions. Such as: Why wouldn't you be wearing gloves when committing theft at winter-time? How many new products are in the Gut Milk line? And, at which point does the required suspension of disbelief become too great, and one has no choice but to treat the show as a melodrama? Asking for a friend.
