Mabel has no love story in ‘Only Murders In the Building’ Season 4, and it’s quietly revolutionary
Mabel Mora has always been something of a lone wolf. Played by Selena Gomez in Only Murders in the Building, the amateur sleuth tells Eva Longoria (playing a heightened version of herself) in Season 4, “Do you want to know about Mabel? Mabel works alone.” Although Mabel may be referring to her signature approach to investigations, the line pretty much sums up her arc this season: Mabel Mora is working on herself, by herself.
Yes, for the first time in the show’s history, our young heroine finds herself with no love interest in sight. Not only is it a breath of fresh air, it’s a quietly subversive move for a mainstream comedy.
Mabel’s romantic history is decidedly underwhelming.
First, a glimpse back over Mabel’s rather lukewarm romantic past. In the first season of the show, Mabel found herself reconnecting with Oscar Torres (Aaron Dominguez), an old friend and flame who was blamed for the death of their mutual “Hardy Boys” friend, Zoe (Olivia Reis). Oscar vanished from the show after just one season, with Mabel explaining his disappearance away, saying, “The trauma bond is strong but I think Oscar and I are just both waiting for the ‘let’s just be friends’ text.” Show creator John Hoffman later confirmed to Deadline: “We made a call that we didn’t want to see Mabel develop a relationship where the trauma bond is strong.”
In the second season, Mabel explored a connection with artist and gallerist Alice Banks (Cara Delevingne). Despite Gomez and Delevingne being longtime friends, the on-screen chemistry between the two actors was lacking. Although she ultimately posed as the killer to help the show’s core trio catch the real murderer, Alice was gone by the end of Season 2, with Mabel telling her she wouldn’t be a part of her mural.
Then came documentary filmmaker Tobert (Jesse Williams) in Season 3. They connected during the investigation into the death of Ben Glenroy (Paul Rudd), finding themselves stuck in a closet and discussing Tobert’s love of filming the animal world. They went on a sexy, boozy date. Then, they had a rather bland farewell in the season finale as Tobert set off for Los Angeles and Mabel unconvincingly promised to visit. The news that Tobert’s time was up came when Williams told People rather bluntly, “I’m not on that show anymore.”
But Mabel needs a love interest…right?
Mabel has had her fair share of romances, all conveniently within the walls of The Arconia, but none have been particularly gripping. They have always felt inevitable. After all, it is a truth universally acknowledged that a young single woman on TV must be in want of a love interest, right? In fact, aside perhaps from The Bear’s ambitious sous-chef, Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), it’s hard to find a character fitting this description who isn’t looking for love or caught in the middle of a long drawn out will-they-won’t-they dance toward Happily Ever After. Abbott Elementary, Emily In Paris, Sex Education, Fleabag, Sex and the City, Gilmore Girls, Friends, New Girl — the list goes on and on and on. For young female characters heading up TV shows, love has always been part and parcel of the gig, either because the show itself hinged around the characters’ romantic lives, or simply because the character was single and therefore had to have a little romance to keep things interesting. But in Season 4 of Only Murders In the Building, the tired, uninspiring parade of Mabel’s love interests seems to have come to a blissful end. So far, there is no sign of any romance for the show’s heroine. Nor has she or anyone else even so much as mentioned the idea.
Steering her journey away from romance is a quietly bold move on the part of the show’s writing team. For one thing, it reflects the reality of romance in her own generation. After all, many young people have chosen to embrace being single, focusing on self-love and single positivity. And the movement isn’t new — it has a long history. In recent years, the number of young people having sex has begun to decline, with a quarter of Gen Z American women in 2021 claiming to have had no sex the previous year. A recent survey found that almost half (47.5 percent) of adolescents aged 13-24 think sex and sexual content isn’t necessary for the plot of most TV shows and movies, while 44.3 percent believe romance is overused in media. Mabel’s new story arc shows that TV is perhaps beginning to catch up to the single and powerful movement.
Plus, with no love interest to flirt with or go on dates with, Mabel suddenly has screen time for in-depth character development — and so far, her journey in Season 4 has been wonderfully nuanced.
Mabel is taking a good, long look at herself — or rather, at her double.
The fourth season of Only Murders in the Building sees Mabel, Charles (Steve Martin), and Oliver (Martin Short) investigating the murder of Sazz (Jane Lynch), Charles’ long-time friend and stunt double. Meanwhile, they are also working with a team of Hollywood filmmakers as their podcast is set to be turned into a film.
Themes of doubles and twins are found everywhere this season. There’s Sazz and her life as a stunt double. Then, there’s the Hollywood actors — Longoria, Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis as Mabel, Charles, and Oliver, respectively — who are tasked with stepping into the shoes of the main trio for the adaptation. For our core three, these doppelgängers naturally lead to some self-reflection as their onscreen counterparts become walking, talking mirrors offering a new perspective of themselves. Charles is confronted with a neurotic worrier. Oliver finds in his double a needy narcissist. Funnily enough, Mabel is confronted with everything she is not. Her counterpart, Longoria, has decided to play Mabel a little differently, even changing her “old person name” to “Mabelle.”
Longoria’s “Mabelle” is “bold, she pops, she sells t-shirts.” In other words, she knocks back wine at 10 a.m. and has no qualms about bursting into a suspect’s home and accusing them of murder. And this is exactly what Longoria does.
Although the suspect in question was, in fact, not the murderer, Mabel is surprised to see how her own cautious, measured approach to detective work (and, we must presume, to life in general) sometimes leaves her a little stuck. “Maybe your Mabel’s approach isn’t that bad,” she confesses.
As Mabel tries to take a bolder, more committed approach to life, she starts making real, tangible career moves. In the past, she’s always been something of a millennial drifter, unsure of what she really wants to do or how she’ll get there, even when offered major opportunities in Season 2 in the form of Cinda Canning’s podcast. Now, she’s finally brave enough to tackle her imposter syndrome and give herself an actual job title: podcast producer. Watching Mabel recognize and own her worth is far more rewarding than yet another mediocre love story.
Only Murders hasn’t given up on love altogether.
Of course, this isn’t to say that romantic love can’t be an interesting theme. While Only Murders hasn’t found a satisfying love interest for Mabel, or, for that matter, for Charles, who fell for Season 1’s murderer, Jan (Amy Ryan), it has found a long-term romance worth focusing on in Oliver and Loretta (Meryl Streep). Loretta joined the narrative in Season 3 as an experienced actor who never had her big break. Cast in the production of Death Rattle/Death Rattle Dazzle!, Oliver recognised her talent while she recognised his. They fell in love while championing each other’s work and it was utterly beautiful to watch.
Streep is back this season as Oliver and Loretta’s love story continues. After Loretta leaves New York for a TV job in LA, Oliver finds himself struggling with jealousy and insecurity. Their entire love story has been treated with the sincerity and gravitas of a love story between younger characters, from their timid first attraction to each other’s talent, to their painfully awkward, bumbling first date, to their communication issues this season. Now, theirs is the only main romance on the show — a bold reminder that TV shows can and should expand their criteria of what makes a good and worthwhile love story.
This season, we have a young heroine who isn’t even thinking of romance. Meanwhile, we have an older couple tackling the same relationship problems many couples face in their 20s. Only Murders in the Building is pushing the boundaries of what love on TV looks like — and it’s high time someone did.
Only Murders in the Building Season 4 is now streaming on Hulu, with a new episode every Tuesday.
