Charles, Oliver and Mabel are whisked to Los Angeles where a legendary film studio intends to adapt their podcast. However, Hollywood's glitz is overshadowed by a stunning clue about Charles' stunt double and friend Sazz Pataki.
Every season has expanded the world inhabited by Charles, Oliver and Mabel. The podcast revitalized Charles and Oliver's careers in the entertainment industry. The trio did the work to address the traumas that lingered throughout their lives. They aspire for more now. The world is providing them with those opportunities. And yet, the narrative can never stray too far from what was the central focus in the beginning. It was all about these three friends investigating murders that happened in their building. The audience already knows what the focus of the fourth season is going to be. Sazz was killed in Charles' apartment. She had something important to tell him. She never got to deliver her message. The trio don't find the body either. Instead, the crime scene has been cleaned up except for the broken window and some blood on the oven. It's cute when the friends tease each other about what comes next for their careers. They actively wish for a murder to take place right in front of them. However, the actual reveal is more devastating than they could have expected.
Charles, Oliver and Mabel are quickly on a plane to Hollywood to sign away their life rights to the film adaptation of their podcast. Signals pointed the characters out west during the conclusion of the third season. They each have a home in New York. They are connected to the Arconia. They can never leave that place. Yet they were making plans to further expand their lives. It no longer had to be confined. They are still struggling with what that's like in practice. Oliver is devastated by the news his musical has ended after one night. It was a chaotic opening night full of last second recasting and a confrontation with a killer. It only ends because the money is gone and the reviews were middling overall. Oliver paid so much attention to impressing one critic that he didn't care what everyone else was saying. He always gets obsessed with one aspect of the industry only to mess things up the way he always does. He still has plenty of success. He's also always left desperate for the next project to hit big and provide prosperity for his life.
Loretta's life has changed since moving to Hollywood to star in a Grey's Anatomy spinoff. She wants to welcome Oliver into her new life. He's not against the idea. He hasn't made a decision either. Right now, his focus is on getting Mabel to sign onto the film. The development process is much further along than the podcast team thought. Production is getting ready to start in a few weeks. A script has been delivered. Directors have signed on. The central roles have been cast. The characters of Charles, Oliver and Mabel are broken down into archetypes that fit neatly within a sentence. They don't believe they can be summarized in that way. They are eager to prove producer Bev Melon wrong. And yet, they do fit into those roles. They can't linger on the perceptions others have of them because they have to worry about Sazz. No one can afford to be distracted by the glitz and glamor of Hollywood. They can't reminisce over the past. They have a new mystery to solve.
Charles is haunted by whistling. It lingers. He didn't realize his window had a bullet hole in it. That produced the sound. He still forged a connection between it and Sazz. He had her on his mind constantly. He needed to check in to see that she was okay. He gets no confirmation until he learns the Arconia has been struck by death once more. It takes the length of the premiere for the team to deduce what happened. They remark how strange Sazz's disappearance was. That isn't out of the ordinary for her. She always breezes into Charles' life when he has a big project to do. Their friendship is exciting and endearing. Their bond has lasted longer than any other relationship he has had. She stood by him after Brazzos ended. She always protected him. She was looking out for him even now. She believes he was being targeted. She was killed to prevent her from sharing what she discovered. The only thing left behind was the shoulder joint from Bulgaria she had replaced after breaking her bone doing the work she loved.
Silence lingers over the trio as they realize the next story of their podcast. The show pays homage to the 1968 film Once Upon a Time in the West. It memorably uses sound to convey so much meaning about its setting, tone and characters. That sequence plays in parallel to the reveal Charles, Oliver and Mabel make. Of course, much of the information is already known to the audience. As such, some of the surprise is lacking. It's still completely devastating when everything leads to the incinerator. When it was powered up, the whole building experienced a power outage. Charles and Oliver even remarked how that used to happen frequently because of the machine. That forgotten part of the building was activated once more. It was used to destroy all traces of Sazz. Only the artificial parts remain. That's what Charles discovers of his friend. He tries to present himself as fun. In the end though, he's devastated once more by the shocking loss of someone he cared about. Oliver and Mabel support him. They endure the creative endeavors alongside him. This is much more personal. That catharsis is needed too. That's what is communicated in the final moments. The comedy comes from the absurdity of the film production. What actually matters is how everyone continues to cope in the Arconia with every tragic murder that occurs there. It's cool having Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis, Eva Longoria and Scott Bakula playing themselves. That brings out new energy in the comparisons and inferences to Charles, Oliver and Mabel. Ultimately though, the central trio still holds the most connection and meaning no matter what is thrown at them.
