‘Only Murders in the Building’: Jan’s Return Was Inspired by Pennsylvania’s Parkour Prisoner Escape

Note: This story contains spoilers from “Only Murders in the Building” Season 4, Episode 2.

The latest episode of “Only Murders in the Building” saw the surprise return of Amy Ryan as Jan Bellows, Charles’ ex-girlfriend and Tim Kono’s murderer, who visited the grief-stricken true-crime podcaster’s apartment fresh out of prison — and she wasn’t released for good behavior.

Bellows, who emerged from Charles’ closet, revealed that she was able to break out by using parkour taught to her by Sazz combined with “psychosexual manipulation.”

Showrunner John Hoffman revealed that the idea of Jan’s escape was inspired by the real-life manhunt for Pennsylvania prisoner Danelo Canevale last September.

“We were right around the time that the writer’s room was [running] when there was an escape from prison, where the guy was parkouring up the walls, and he got out and there was a chase going on,” Hoffman told TheWrap. “I was like, ‘Well, escapes from prison happen but you have to be really adept. And Jan was dating a stunt double who probably knew a little bit about parkour.’ So it felt like a perfect opportunity.

He added, “I also love that she ends up in that closet because of the help she got from the podcast in Season 2, [revealing] those passageways.”

Instead of coming to kill Charles, Jan told him that she’s worried about Sazz, who called her upset while she was in prison. She was immediately interrupted by Charles’ phone, which is sitting in the queue to call 9-1-1 to report Sazz’s murder.

Upon learning of Sazz’s fate, Jan admitted to Charles that she loved her and that Sazz was the reason that she hadn’t tried to kill him — despite “hours of fantasizing” about it. She then revealed that Sazz was worried there might be another murderer in the Arconia who was targeting Charles, and she was poking around to figure out who. After borrowing clothes from Charles, Jan warned that the police will be after her and quickly departed by going back into the secret passageway hidden in his closet.

“We’ve established that Sazz was having an ongoing, interpersonal relationship with Jan in prison in the previous season,” showrunner John Hoffman told TheWrap. “So if Sazz shows up the victim of something terrible, then there’s no way around not having Jan be a suspect in that now.”

While Charles laid low in his apartment, Mabel and Oliver headed to the West Side of the Arconia to find out where the sniper bullet hole in the window may have come from, only to discover an apartment equipped with a lockbox — which they later learned was owned by someone named Dudanoff, who was mentioned in a note left by Sazz.

The duo was able to get access to the vacant apartment after meeting the Westies — a quirky group of residents from the Arconia’s West tower played by Richard Kind, Desmin Borges, Lilian Rebelo and Daphne Rubin-Vega — who revealed that they’ve previously watched the trio through their windows.

“I think everyone has this voyeuristic side to them potentially. You can’t help it if you’re up against a building and there’s 18 windows [to look into]… You catch these moments of people’s life going on, but some you might become more fascinated with,” Hoffman said. “What happens if you actually meet that person? How do you now have to reframe? How do you hide the fact that you watch them and can watch them? All of these things are really interesting to me to explore about New York living.”

Later in the episode, Detective Donna Williams (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) burst into Charles’ apartment with a group of police officers, and warned him about Jan’s escape. Charles accidentally confirmed in front of Williams that Jan was in the apartment. And just as he does, 9-1-1 finally answered the phone and he was able to report Sazz’s murder.

Throughout the episode, Charles was visited by Sazz in ghost form as he tried to process his grief.

“I think going into that relationship, which Charles may have taken a bit for granted, and the idea that she could have been mistaken for him. That adds to the weight of it all that he can’t really look at,” Hoffman said. “The only way to process it is with his friend that’s not there anymore. It keeps it light and is beautifully profound, hopefully.”

Hoffman went on to praise Lynch for her performance throughout Season 4.

“When I talked to Jane Lynch about this terrible turn that was going to happen at the end of Season 3 for Sazz, she lit up. God love her. She just lit up,” he said. “Wait until you see what’s coming. I just think she’s magnificent in this season. She kills me and is funny but I think she’s doing some of the best work I’ve ever seen her do.”

New episodes of “Only Murders in the Building” Season 4 drop every Tuesday on Hulu.

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