As the second episode of Murderville begins, Detective Terry Seattle (Will Arnett) enters the police station while saying death is a part of the job and you learn to live with it. When someone close to you dies, you remember death is a part of life and not just the job. Detective Darren ‘Daz’ Phillips (Philip Smithey) notices the urn and asks Terry about it. Terry says he has suffered a loss. Death comes for them all and it finally came for his great-aunt Vivian. Chief Rhonda Jenkins-Seattle (Haneefah Wood) enters and realizes that the urn is for Vivian Larson who died a long time ago. Terry argues 2009 isn’t that long ago though. Rhonda remembers going up to the coast to scatter her ashes when Terry crashed his Camaro trying to Tokyo Drift. They debate whether he actually drifted with Terry claiming he was too good at it.

He admits the urn was wedged under the front seat for the last 12 years. He found her when he was cleaning out the Camaro for the scrap metal guy earlier. Rhonda reveals she has a new partner for him and that should take his mind off Aunt Vivian. Marshawn Lynch (Marshawn Lynch) is promptly introduced to Terry after he enters the room. Lynch learns that Terry has or had a Camaro. He is handed the urn and told to follow Terry. They sit down in Terry’s office before Terry asks if he wants to be a detective. Lynch says yes although he doesn’t know whether he’ll be good at it. After Terry says everyone will eventually turn into a pile of dust like Vivian, Marshawn reveals he wants to change his name. Terry believes he can help and learns that Marshawn wants to be called Detective Bagabitch. Marshawn explains his reasoning as Terry picks up the phone to contact Carol at the city hall.

Terry is told he is putting too much emphasis on the “itch” part of the name since it is French. Once the call ends, Terry asks Bagabitch how it feels to hold a human life in his hands. Then, he encourages him to talk to Vivian and promise he’ll avenge her. Terry finds Marshawn’s expletive-filled speech emotional. Marshawn hands Terry the urn so he can have a go with it. Rhonda enters and reminds Terry that Viv died in her sleep at 102. She has a dead old lady for them in the form of an 84-year-old who was bludgeoned to death in her mansion. She emphasizes the importance of not screwing up since the victim was some sort of big shot and tells Marshawn good luck. Marshawn learns about their upcoming divorce. Once Terry asks him how much homicide investigative training he has, Marshawn says he watched Training Day. They head to the city morgue to examine the body. They go inside where they speak to Amber Kang (Lilan Bowden).

Since it is his first murder case, Amber surprises him by opening one of the doors and releasing balloons. She sings and dances for a few minutes before pulling out the dead body. Amber says the cause of death is blunt force trauma to the right temple. Based on the way she fell, she was facing her killer who was likely left-handed. She has a top hat-shaped dent in her skull so they believe the murder weapon was a Tommy Tuxedo doll. Marshawn says it is just a Chucky doll with a suit on him. Amber explains the victim designed Tommy Tuxedo and modeled him after her own sons. With over 50 million sold worldwide, the family is worth a fortune. Regardless, Marshawn calls it some sick stuff. Terry’s mother couldn’t afford a Tommy Tuxedo so his mom got him a knockoff called Oscar Overalls. They also learn that the killer spray painted a message on the wall. It reads, “How much do you love him, Mom?” They realize it has to be one of the sons and a bad speller.

Amber shows them security camera footage of the killer leaving the house. When Terry sees his face, he believes they’ve already found their suspect. The problem is that Cora’s sons were identical triplets. They go back to the station to question the first son Charles Worthington (Rob Huebel) who had been running the Tommy Tuxedo business since Cora was murdered. Terry says they have a two-way mirror so they can see Charles, but he won’t be able to see them. Daz enters and tells them that they had to replace the mirror so there isn’t one right now. Once Daz leaves, Terry instructs Marshawn to emulate Charles’s moves when he comes in.

Terry quickly hides as Charles enters the interrogation room and tries to keep himself calm. When another officer enters, Terry stands up and emulates his moves. The officer ridicules his appearance and Charles says he looks like a guy who got kicked out of a sex cult only to be let back in and kicked out again. Terry loses his cool and breaks character. They climb through the window and the interview ends moments later. Marshawn is allowed to ask Charles a few questions. He starts by asking who would want to harm his mother. Charles says literally everyone because Cora was a mean old woman. He reveals he last saw his mother two days ago when she rejected his ideas for the redesign of Tommy Tuxedo. Terry argues they can’t change Tommy, but Charles calls him a boomer and says change is coming anyway. He shows them a model of the redesigned doll while saying he is the CEO and in charge of creativity now.

He begins accepting recommendations from them. Once Marshawn says he needs to dab, Charles asks how to spell that because he can’t spell for crap. Marshawn goes on a rant about Harlem Nights and space pimping. They continue conjuring up ideas until the interview ends. Then, they travel 200 feet underground to visit Chester Worthington who is a doomsday prepper. Once they enter his bunker, Chester rushes toward them with a baseball bat and gas mask. As the alarm sounds, Marshawn quickly disarms Chester before they make him turn the alarm off. Chester hasn’t had visitors in a long time so they freaked him out. When his mom’s murder is mentioned, Chester admits that cut him real deep. Chester claims he has started his own country called Chester World so they don’t have jurisdiction down there. Marshawn and Terry wonder if Chester is not right in the head. He agrees to answer any questions they have, but he wants help from them first.

Chester shows them the currency he has been making with “one doller” written at the bottom of it. He is going to create a million buck bill and wants someone cool like Marshawn to be on it. As they begin taking pictures of him, Marshawn asks Chester about his relationship with his mother. Chester says there was no relationship because his mom and brothers took their eyes off the big picture that the world was ending. He last saw his mother in court when she was suing him to get him evicted from the bunker. He doesn’t think you can sue someone just because you built a bunker on their property. Chester asks Marshawn if he’d take a few personal shots like Marilyn Monroe just for him. Marshawn refuses as Chester goes to another room to print the pictures. Terry tells Marshawn that Chester likes and trusts him. He wants Marshawn to ask him for a few of those Chester bucks although Marshawn says they’re not real.

Chester returns and shows them the money, but he says he can’t give them any. Terry creates a distraction before Marshawn steals the money and they run from the bunker. After that, they decide to track down their last suspect. They go to the Chateau Magnifique Hotel where they’ll meet with Chadd who is a failed influencer. Once they enter the motel, Terry says Chadd was cut off from the family money, but he is about to get a chunk of the inheritance. Marshawn is going to go undercover in one of Chadd’s weekly blackjack games. He puts on an earpiece and agrees to do and say whatever Terry tells him. He promises he’d never do anything to surprise him. However, he lies. He knocks on Chadd’s room and makes a run for it. Marshawn goes into the room and says the original dealer was picked for a movie musical. He says he plays Tommy Tune who is going to tap his way all over the canoe. Chadd doesn’t trust people unless they take shots.

Terry tells him to take a shot of warm gin and a splash of root beer. Chadd toasts to his mother and says she can RIP once she gives him some of that money. Marshawn comments that he seems pretty happy that his mother is dead. He doesn’t respond. Marshawn takes the shot before he reveals his name is Octavius Shitwagon. Terry says he is coming in because he needs his help. When Terry enters the room, he pretends to be a noted influencer by the name of Toby Porkman. Chadd tells Octavius to give Toby 50 thousand. Once the cards a dealt, Chadd gets upset and punches the wall with his right hand. They calm him down and convince him to play another hand. Terry makes a mistake when he tries to grab some red chips. Chadd realizes he doesn’t know him and that he doesn’t know how to play blackjack. He also wonders how Terry knows Octavius’s name.

Terry screams that they’re homicide detectives. They grab some of the fedora hats nearby and use them as collateral to escape the room. Next, the three suspects are lured to Cora’s mansion so Marshawn can decide who the killer is. He believes Charles is the killer. When Rhonda enters, Marshawn says it was Charles because he is wearing the same hoodie as the guy in the video and he can’t spell for crap. Rhonda tells Marshawn that is 100% incorrect because the killer was Chester. She explains that Chester called Cora mom, had the hoodie in his bunker, and was a terrible speller. He also swung the bat left-handed. Once Chester is led out, Rhonda fires Marshawn. He apologizes to Terry for letting him down, but Terry says he didn’t let him down. Terry admits he is one of the best partners he ever had because he always had his back.

 

Murderville Review

After watching the first two episodes of Murderville, I am starting to worry that the show is going to repeat the same formula for each episode. It starts with Terry showing up at the police station and talking to Rhonda about something or another. He is introduced to his celebrity partner before they learn about the murder victim and suspects. Some suspects are interviewed and the celebrity guest goes undercover if you can call it that.

Finally, the suspects are brought together and the guest picks the person they believe is the killer. The first episode was practically identical to the first besides a few different people being involved. Ultimately, Marshawn Lynch tried to be fun and it worked at times, but the episode felt a bit uneven too. The suspect interviews are so messy that it is difficult to really focus on the dialogue. Suffice to say, spotting potential clues isn’t easy either.

It makes sense when you watch the episode twice, but the first time isn’t always coherent. I think it might’ve been better if the show had taken itself a bit more seriously. It is still interesting and some will likely find the show humorous. For me, it has been okay although I think it could’ve been a lot better. The second episode scores a 5.5 out of 10. Murderville recaps can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support the Reel Mockery project here.