A Killer Return: Reviewing Jan Bellows' Return Appearance in "Here's Looking at You"

To say I love Hulu's Only Murders in the Building would be an understatement. I have been a religious watcher since the show's premiere last year, and I beamed when the show was renewed for a second season. Speaking of that magical "r" word, OMITB was received a third season on the same day that the episode, "Here's Looking at You," hit Hulu: July 11, 2022. The episode featured a few returns; one of them being Teddy Dimas (Nathan Lane) who was facing trial for his illegal jewelry business. Another returning character was Lucy (Zoe Coletti) who was the daughter of Charles Haden-Savage's ex-girlfriend, and the father-daughter bond was definitely there. The third return was the big one, as the episode ended with the reappearance of Jan Bellows, the villainess from Season One.

Let's rewind, shall we? It was in episode 1.03, "How Well Do You Know Your Neighbors?," that Jan first debuted; a humorously awkward encounter with Charles in the Arconia's elevator. Despite this, things blossomed between the out-of-work actor and the bassoonist, to the point where they had their first date in the following episode, "The Sting." All the while, Charles, Oliver Putnam, and Mabel Mora were working together to solve the season's main case: the murder of Arconia resident Tim Kono, who Mabel had known.

Jan ended up part of the case in episode 1.08, "Fan Fiction," which saw Teddy Dimas busted for his own actions, but also saw Jan attacked with a knife. Charles tended to Jan in the following episode, "Double Time," which later saw Charles attending Jan's recital, as he was excited to see her as first chair. However, there was a problem: Jan was not the first chair as she claimed, and upon seeing Charles in attendance, she gave a bit of a shameful glare.

Jan's deception underwent a villainous turn in the season finale, "Open and Shut," when Oliver and Mabel realized that the woman that Charles was seeing just happened to be a killer. Though Charles appeared to disagree with his cohorts' suspicions, a conversation with Jan revealed that he, too, had known the truth as well. After Charles ended up drugged, Jan (who had drugged Charles' handkerchief) revealed the entire dark truth: she dated Tim prior to dating Charles, but after Tim broke up with her, Jan drugged Tim's drink and later shot him to death. She posed Tim's murder as a suicide, and regarding the stabbing attack, that was also Jan--she did it to herself to ward suspicion.

Jan went to the basement to gas the entire building, only to end up confronted by Oliver, Mabel, and a wheelchair ridden/drugged up Charles. Charles' state provided enough of a distraction that Oliver and Mabel to subdue Jan, which resulted in the villainess' arrest. Though the trio solved one mystery, they ended up smack dab in a second, as the first season ended with Arconia board president Bunny Folger stabbed to death, and the trio arrested!

Jan's return was promoted during the trailer for Season Two, which premiered on June 28, 2022. Her brief appearance in the final moments of "Here's Looking at You," revealed that she had been contacting Charles, and he finally visited Jan to get some help regarding their current case. Amy Ryan plays Jan Bellows on the series, and I recall actually having her pegged as a villainess within a few episodes after her appearance. I just had that feeling, and she definitely delivered. Jan was definitely sweet-natured at first, but once the proverbial mask was removed, what was left was a sinister and ruthless villainess who pulled out all stops in her attempt to commit murder and get away with it. Her return was one of the many reasons why I was looking forward to Season Two, and it's clear that she'll return in the next episode.

What is Jan's endgame? Is she really going to help Charles and his friends clear their names? Or is she behind everything? Has Jan been masterminding a revenge plot from behind bars, and using people on the outside to enact her evil machinations? If so, then Jan's level of villainy has went up on an exponential level, but again, the next episode (and maybe beyond) will tell the tale.

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Check out Jan Bellows' profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!