There’s little reason to imagine that Pope Francis is aware of “Only Murders within the Constructing,” the quirky murder mystery/comedy that recently wrapped up its second season on Hulu. It’s much more improbable that he has watched any of it (especially given the incontrovertible fact that he made a vow to Our Lady of Mount Carmel 30 years ago to stop watching TV). Even when he by some means did come upon the show, among the language and situations may be tough to get past.
But “Only Murders,” starting with its three principal characters, played by two septuagenarians, Steve Martin and Martin Short, and a millennial, Selena Gomez, offers something Francis has talked about repeatedly during his pontificate: intergenerational friendships, in all their power and complexity.
“Only Murders within the Constructing” offers something Francis has talked about repeatedly during his pontificate: intergenerational friendships, in all their power and complexity.
Earlier this summer, Pope Francis—who freely describes himself as old—wrapped up a seriesofaddresses at his weekly audiences on the subject of old age. It’s a big topic, given the demographic changes in our world, and one which has been largely missed by theologians. While most reflections by popes at these audiences escape public notice, the subject of aging is one which deserves our attention as a church, for at the very least three reasons.
First, each in absolute and relative terms, the variety of older adults on the planet is large, growing rapidly and unlikely to say no. Second, because the Covid pandemic and our eagerness to maneuver past it have shown most vividly, a lot of us would relatively not think concerning the demands that an aging population places on our consciences. When “getting back to normal” has endangered older adults who’ve been at higher risk of hospitalization and death from Covid, the underlying sentiment has often gave the impression to be, “Well, they’re going to die anyway.” That is fundamentally at odds with Catholic social teaching on the sanctity of life and the essential dignity of all human beings. And third, when old people are considered within the church and in society, they are often within the West seen as burdens to be endured relatively than fellow actors to be included. We can have “care plans, yes; but not plans to allow them to live to the complete,” as Francis said in his first address.
This brings us to the Arconia, the fictional Manhattan apartment constructing during which “Only Murders” takes place. The characters at the middle of the show, Gomez’s artist, Mabel Mora, Short’s Broadway producer, Oliver Putnam, and Martin’s retired actor, Charles Haden-Savage, provide a remarkably complex treatment of how people might engage across generations. Within the series pilot, it’s immediately clear that each one three are lost, lacking energy, courage and/or focus to maneuver forward. The one thing they each have going for them is a passion for a similar true crime podcast, which they discover they share.
The characters at the middle of the show provide a remarkably complex treatment of how people might engage across generations.
When a childhood friend of Mabel’s is murdered, the three undertake their very own investigation (complete with their very own podcast). And every finds inspiration to maneuver forward from others of their shared sleuthing efforts. The young Mabel brings a spark to Charles’ weariness and a spotlight to Oliver’s scatteredness, just because the two elders bring some stability and connection to Mabel’s otherwise untethered life. While other characters within the show see the intergenerational team as an amusing oddity—and the writers occasionally fall back on age-stereotypical jokes within the trio’s banter—the depth of the show lies firmly in the flexibility of those three to cross generations to assist one another grow.
Among the show’s more touching moments come when one in all the trio speaks up about how much they’ve come to mean to one another. When Mabel’s mother attempts to bring their project to an end, Charles and Oliver explain how working along with Mabel has made them feel more alive than they’ve in years. Later, in a showdown with a killer, Charles attempts to supply his life for his friends because he doesn’t need to live in a world without them. In one other episode Mabel, talking to Charles’s stepdaughter, Lucy, confides that he reminds her of her own father.
Pope Francis exhorts elders to yield the role of protagonist to the supporting role of witness.
The series’s second season also contains a moving demonstration of Pope Francis’ most demanding prescription for thriving in old age. Within the third episode, “The Last Day of Bunny Folger,” Bunny, a lifelong resident of the Arconia and the longtime dictatorial ruler of the co-op board, is shown preparing her heir apparent, Nina, to be her successor. Unbeknownst to the audience or the principal characters prior to this episode, the imperious Bunny has a generous and sensitive side. She has been mentoring Nina not only by teaching her the ins and outs of the physical plant of their constructing, but by drilling Nina on the little details concerning the Arconia’s staff—who has kids, when their birthdays are and the like. Bunny shows herself to be as much a kindly mother-figure as she is an imperious monarch.
In several of his talks, Pope Francis exhorts elders to make the same shift, to yield the role of protagonist to the supporting role of witness, to just accept the peace of gratitude rather than the comfort of control. It’s a difficult lesson and, if we’re honest, one we confront long before we reach old age. But Francis (though himself still a protagonist, as a world leader and head of a worldwide church) believes firmly that it’s a vital transition that elders must make to ensure that them to play the role society needs of them.
It’s a transition Bunny beautifully prepares for, but ultimately refuses to make, with disastrous consequences. But even on this failure, the interplay between Bunny and Nina shows not only the probabilities for growth and wisdom that intergenerational friendships create, but additionally the challenges and sacrifices that such friendships require. Ultimately, a mentor needs to be willing to sacrifice her own need for agency to enable a mentee to flourish, just as a mentee needs to be willing to humble herself to just accept the mentor’s guidance.
No, Pope Francis is almost definitely not a fan of “Only Murders.” Basing his teaching on old age in biblical examples is unquestionably the richer and wiser selection. But when he’s on the lookout for some contemporary examples of the transition we must make as a society to totally include elders, he could do worse than enroll for a Hulu subscription and seek the show out.
