Once Upon a Time in the West

What a wonderful episode, for one side we get some break, a holiday, from all the murders and the mysteries, which was refreshing, but at the same time, the mystery is still lurking around the corner.

I don't understand the complaints about the cameos of celebrities, Only Murders was always about Hollywood and Celebrities, finally, Hollywood is part of the story and they criticize it and belittling it, which was a blast to watch.

It's such a blast to see Meryl Steep back for another season, she was wonderful last season and I hope we will see her character having a good storyline this season.

Just watched the first episode of this, but before that, I want to let you know my thoughts on the previous seasons. In the first season, I only liked the last episode; the rest were average or below average. In the second season, I enjoyed all the episodes except the last one, and I fully loved the third season. So, I had high expectations for this, and here's my review of the first episode:

Positives: In the earlier seasons, the trio just comes across a dead body and starts investigating it, but this time they showed it differently, which I liked.

The writing is still sharp. I don't know how they are able to show us a new season so quickly while keeping the writing great and the show funny.

The ending was good, making you wish they had released all the episodes on the same day or at least two episodes together. But, the first episode is about 40 minutes long, so that's a positive.

I loved Eva in Land of Women and liked Eugene's character in Schitt's Creek, so I'm glad to see them in this as well. Plus, there are so many other awesome actors.

Negatives: The scenes of going to Hollywood and their first meeting with the producers and staff felt a bit nonsensical. Not just that, but many of the scenes felt unrealistic. The good part is that they show it in a funny way, so most viewers won't mind.

It's also silly that in every season, the dead person's family, friends, police, and investigation agencies don't participate much in the investigation. Only the three podcasters are shown as the best crime solvers, while the police are only good for putting people in jail after the crime is already solved. I think it will be the same in this season.

Overall: They did it again for me! My ranking till now is Season 3 > Season 2 > Season 1. I believe this time they went for more comedy than logical elements, which I personally don't mind as long as they keep it entertaining. The star-studded cast will definitely improve the experience. So far, Season 3 is better than this season quality-wise, but this season might turn out to be more entertaining. 3.5/5.

It's 2024 and screen writing has gone down the drain. All TV writing? Well one show manages to hold off cliché story telling and disneyesque predictability with the magic potion of - sticking to its guns. Last season ended with a cliffhanger, most shows would jump right into its exposition. "Only Murders" doesn't. It builds a frame for this season - the team possibly relocating to LA for a movie adaptation of their podcast - while slowly building on the actual mystery that will be the central theme. And they're brazenly referencing "One upon a Time in the West" both in the title and the plot, basically saying "let other people hurry, we're gonna lay out our mystery as slowly as we please".

It's not going to work for everyone - I personally love pop cultural references (I opened this review with one), but not everyone will recognize Sazz's LA apartment (it's from a famous film but I'm not gonna say which one). Gen Z could find Sergio Leone movies almost impossible to sit through - nothing happens for 15 minutes! When will they finally shoot each other? But for Gen X people and nerds starving for well written content, this opener is a reason to hope that the creative ebb in screen writing may end.

Once again this show delivers layers and depth way beyond what it needs too. There is so much detail and cleverness going on but it's not delivered in a hey look how clever I am way. It's delivered as if the writers expect this standard of everyone including themselves.

They only had a year since the last series but they had another good idea in the chamber and are not resting on their laurels in any way.

To be fair Selena Gomez is still an awkward fit and the weak link in the chain but the strength of the other factors keeps it together strongly.

There is a love and respect of the craft of cinema and storytelling going on here and the team are not taking the success of the show lightly. It's great to see a show go above and beyond and actually raise the benchmark for everyone.

The final episode of season three ended with Sazz getting shot in Charles' apartment.

The first episode begins without anyone knowing about Sazz's death. Instead Oliver's musical has closed to bad reviews.

Another failure that Oliver has racked up. The good news is the trio are off to Hollywood as Paramount wants to make a movie of their podcast. They have even got two well known actors to play them. Oliver thinks his double was the little boy from Home Alone as he fails to recognise Zack Galifianakis.

Just like the movie, Once Upon a Time in the West. This is a slow burn opener. Unlike the previous season openers, no one leaps into action to investigate a murder. The trio do not even realise there has been a death until much later.

There are references to Hollywood movies. That New York street scene in the studio lot might have been a tribute to Do the Right Thing.

There was comedy but also darkness as Charles realises what occurred to Sazz.

There was cleverness by referencing Sergio Leone's movie to the title of the episode. To me not that clever but I hope the rest of the series throws a few more curveballs.