As we approach the final two episodes of Only Murders in the Building Season 4, the mysteries that have kept fans on edge are starting to reveal themselves.
While there are still questions surrounding the biggest puzzle — the death of Sazz (Jane Lynch) — a secondary mystery has been running parallel, one that has captured the curiosity of both the characters and viewers: the peculiar residents of the West Tower, known as “the Westies.”
Episode 8, titled “Lifeboat,” finally provides us with the backstory of these enigmatic residents and their connection to the larger mystery. We also learn more about Dudenoff (Griffin Dunne), whose life and mysterious departure from the building have played a crucial role in this season’s narrative.
The Introduction of the Westies: A Quirky Group of Suspects
We were first introduced to the Westies early in Season 4, when Mabel (Selena Gomez), Charles (Steve Martin), and Oliver (Martin Short) began investigating potential suspects in Sazz’s murder.
The trio had their hands full, especially after Charles’s near-death experience, and the Westies quickly became persons of interest due to their strange behavior and close proximity to the crime scene.
Backed by their Hollywood counterparts, who refused to stay out of the investigation, Mabel, Charles, and Oliver set their sights on learning more about the Westies. To do this, they devise a clever plan to gather all of them in one place: a friendly game of Oh Hell at Oliver’s apartment.
Oh Hell, a card game, becomes the perfect cover to lure the Westies into a relaxed, social setting where the trio hopes they’ll let some crucial details slip. Their strategy is simple: get the Westies comfortable enough to talk and possibly reveal their involvement in any suspicious activities. However, the situation quickly takes a dangerous turn.
The Westies, initially appearing friendly and harmless, soon drop their cheerful demeanor and pull weapons on the trio. They reveal that they know Mabel, Charles, and Oliver have been spying on them and accuse them of prying into their personal lives.
The Westies are fully aware that the trio has caught them cashing Dudenoff’s checks, which they try to explain. As tensions rise, the Westies become defensive, especially when Mabel and the group accuse them of being involved in Dudenoff’s death.
They adamantly deny these accusations, but their explanations soon lead to deeper reveals of who they really are and how they ended up in their current situation.
The Westies Share Their Stories: Personal Connections to Dudenoff
As the Westies sit down one by one to share their personal stories, we learn how each of them became intertwined with Dudenoff’s life. Alfonso (Desmin Borges), a member of the Sauce Family, is the first to speak. Alfonso reveals that Dudenoff and his wife used to be regulars at their restaurant, coming in frequently to enjoy meals together.
After Dudenoff’s wife passed away, he became reclusive and began ordering takeout instead of dining at the restaurant. Alfonso and his family, wanting to maintain the relationship they had with Dudenoff, would personally deliver his meals, often stopping by his apartment on their way home.
It was during these deliveries that Alfonso and his family began spending more time with Dudenoff, eventually playing cards with him — specifically, Oh Hell — on Friday nights.
The game became a regular event, and their bond with Dudenoff deepened. Alfonso is adamant that they had nothing to do with Dudenoff’s death, insisting that they loved him and saw him as a member of their family.
Next, the spotlight shifts to Rudy (Kumail Nanjiani), another Westie who shares his story of how he met Dudenoff. Rudy, an aspiring actor, first encountered Dudenoff when he decided to take one of Dudenoff’s acting classes. In a bid to impress Dudenoff, Rudy memorized a monologue from A Few Good Men, one of Dudenoff’s favorite films.
During class, Rudy performed the monologue and caught Dudenoff’s attention, leading to a growing relationship between them. Dudenoff was impressed by Rudy’s talent and invited him to his apartment, where they bonded further over their shared love of movies.
Rudy, like Alfonso, denies having any involvement in Dudenoff’s death, insisting that their connection was purely based on friendship and mutual admiration.
The final Westie to share his story is Vince (Richard Kind), who had a similarly close relationship with Dudenoff. Vince, a widower, explains that after his wife passed away, he promised her that he wouldn’t become a lonely, eccentric old man. He struggled to keep that promise, often feeling lost without her.
One day, Vince stumbled upon Dudenoff’s class and saw it as a sign — a way to reconnect with the world and keep his wife’s memory alive. Vince, a lover of classic films, found solace in Dudenoff’s appreciation for old movies, and the two of them bonded over their shared passion for cinema.
They spent hours discussing films, and Dudenoff even invited Vince to join his card games with the rest of the Westies. Vince insists that Dudenoff was a dear friend, and he never would have harmed him.
Dudenoff’s Legacy: How the Westies Came to Live in the West Tower
After sharing their individual stories, the Westies collectively explain how they ended up living in the West Tower under Dudenoff’s name. As it turns out, Dudenoff’s wife had been a music teacher, and when apartments in the West Tower became available at a low price, the couple began purchasing units.
They used the extra apartments to host music lessons or offer a place for people to stay. After his wife’s death, Dudenoff found himself alone, living in a nearly empty hallway. Rather than sell the apartments, he decided to allow the Westies to live there, both as a way to stave off his own loneliness and to help his friends.
Vince reveals that after a while, Dudenoff moved to Portugal, leaving behind the apartments for the Westies to manage. They hadn’t seen or heard from him since his departure, but they continued cashing his checks and taking care of the building. However, it becomes clear that their situation is more complicated than it seems.
The Introduction of Helga: Another Piece of the Puzzle
Just when the Westies think they’ve cleared their names, Mabel pulls a “Ding Dong,” a phrase she learned from Eva Longoria earlier in the season, which refers to a “sexy surprise.”
The surprise in this case is the arrival of Helga (Alexandra Templer), the mysterious voice the group had previously heard on the HAM radio. Helga, with her no-nonsense demeanor, walks into the apartment and announces that she’s ready to tell the truth, much to the shock of the Westies.
Helga, we learn, is a locksmith by trade, having inherited her father’s locksmith business after his passing. She met Dudenoff through her work, as he frequently lost his keys and often called her to unlock his door. In a flashback, we see Helga installing a keypad on Dudenoff’s door.
When she asks him what he wants the code to be, he replies with “Oh Hell,” a reference to the card game he loved so much. Helga recognizes the reference, telling Dudenoff that she and her father used to play the game regularly before her father’s death.
This shared connection leads to Dudenoff inviting Helga to join the Friday night card games, and she eventually becomes a regular participant, as well as a resident of the West Tower.
Helga’s involvement in the mystery deepens when she reveals a strange event that occurred shortly before Dudenoff’s departure. One day, Helga came home to find a note from Dudenoff taped to her door. The note explained that he had to leave suddenly, but gave little explanation beyond that.
As she was reading the note, there was a power surge in the building, something that Helga found odd. She knew that the power only surged when the incinerator was in use, leading her to suspect that something unusual was happening.
As Mabel, Charles, and Oliver began investigating Sazz’s murder and digging into the secrets of the West Tower, Helga started piecing together the strange occurrences she had noticed, which led her to become more suspicious of Dudenoff’s departure.
The Truth About Dudenoff: A Dark Secret Revealed
After Helga shares her side of the story, Vince takes the group to his apartment, where he pulls up a floorboard and reveals a hidden roll of film. This film contains the final piece of the puzzle regarding Dudenoff’s fate. Vince explains that the Westies each received a note from Dudenoff on the same night — the night he disappeared.
The note invited them to his funeral, which naturally confused them, as Dudenoff was still very much alive. They followed his instructions and met him in the incinerator room, hoping to get some answers.
Once they arrived, Dudenoff explained that he had received devastating medical news: he had only a few months left to live. Rather than face the slow decline of his health, Dudenoff had decided to take matters into his own hands.
He revealed that he had taken a large number of pills and that he planned to have the Westies dispose of his body in the incinerator after he passed. His reasoning was simple: he didn’t want his apartments to be repossessed by the bank, and he didn’t want anyone to know that he had died.
To maintain the illusion that he was still alive, he asked the Westies to continue cashing his Social Security checks and tell everyone that he had moved to Portugal. He had chosen not to tell Helga about his plan, fearing that the truth would break her heart.
Instead, he promised to record a video for her, explaining everything and offering her closure. Vince plays the video, and the group watches as Dudenoff calmly explains his decision to Helga.
A New Lead in Sazz’s Murder: The Stuntman Who Knew Too Much
With the Westies cleared of any wrongdoing, the focus shifts back to Sazz’s murder. Mabel, Charles, and Oliver regroup to discuss their next move, unsure of where to go from here. Without the Westies’ story, their podcast lacks a solid narrative. However, Helga provides a crucial clue.
She reveals that Sazz had been using the HAM radio to investigate inconsistencies in the podcast. During one of their conversations, Sazz mentioned a stuntman she had worked with on a movie called “Project Ronkonkoma.”
According to Sazz, this stuntman had been her protégé, but after a particularly disastrous stunt gone wrong, he began harassing her. Sazz had mentioned to Helga that she felt unsafe around him, even telling her, “He’s dangerous and is gonna be the death of me.”
With this new information in hand, Mabel pulls up IMDb and begins searching for the stuntman. She soon finds a name that rings a bell: Glen Stubbins (Paul Rudd), who is currently unconscious in the hospital. Could Glen hold the key to solving Sazz’s murder?
As the trio prepares for the final episodes, the pieces of the puzzle are beginning to fall into place, but the answers remain just out of reach.
In Episode 8 of Only Murders in the Building Season 4, the long-standing mysteries surrounding the Westies and Dudenoff finally come into focus. We now understand how the quirky residents of the West Tower became tied to Dudenoff’s life and his shocking request for them to cover up his death.
Their motivations, driven by loyalty and friendship, show that the group is more complex than just suspects in a murder case. With their names cleared, attention shifts back to the central mystery — the death of Sazz.
Helga’s revelation about the dangerous stuntman, Glen Stubbins, provides a crucial lead, positioning him as a key figure in solving the case.
As the final two episodes approach, the trio faces a race against time to uncover the truth about Sazz’s death and tie together the various threads of this season’s mystery.
With Glen unconscious and questions still swirling, the stage is set for a thrilling conclusion that promises more twists and surprises. Only Murders in the Building continues to deliver suspense and humor, keeping viewers hooked until the last reveal.
