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This recap of Only Murders in the Building contains spoilers for seasons 1, 2, and 3.
It’s starting to get fairly difficult keeping track of all the bloody chaos that happens in the Arconia. As soon as the true crime podcasting trio of Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short), and Mabel (Selena Gomez) solve one murder, a second pops up. At least in the third season the characters had almost a year before The Arconia claimed its next victim.
But since it’s been a year for the viewers of Only Murders, it’s time to jog those memories with a refresher on season 3.
The Show Must Go On
After wrapping their sophomore case, Charles, Oliver, and Mabel have reason to celebrate, not simply because they solved the murder of tenant Bunny Folger (Jayne Houdyshell), but that Mabel has been cleared of that murder as well. As if that weren’t enough, Oliver receives a phone call from producer Donna DeMeo (Linda Emond) who has a massive offer for the eccentric stagesmith. She wants him to direct her next big production entitled “Death Rattle.”
Flash forward several months, and the excitement and opening night jitters are palpable. Oliver tries to coax his principal actor, Ben Glenroy (Paul Rudd) out of his dressing room. Visibly distraught and brimming with a diva-like attitude, Ben dismisses Oliver and gets into his opening position.
As the curtain rises, the leading man falls. Ben has been poisoned, and while he leaves the stage pulseless, Ben’s death may also have killed the heartbeat of Death Rattle.
But The Murder Wasn’t In The Building…?
Like Prison Break before, Only Murders in the Building suffers from “Oddly Specific Premise In The Title” syndrome, which means that every season they had to find a new prison to break out of… or murder in the building. Which brings the audience the first big twist of season 3 – Ben is in fact, not dead.
As Oliver tries to rally the troops (and his career), he invites everyone back to his apartment in the infamous Arconia building for what would have been the opening night party. As the cast and crew gather, they take the opportunity to mourn the loss of Ben. Until he shows up to the party.
Turns out, yes, the star was clinically dead for almost an hour (which Ben’s doctors revealed was a new record) but after they pumped his stomach, he miraculously recovered.
After his near death experience, Ben promises to be a better friend, costar, and all around human being as he goes around the party apologizing to his cast and crew for a series of Hollywood douchebag moves on his part. One by one, it’s revealed how everyone has at least some reason to despise Ben and his behavior. Shockingly, the most venomous exchange with Ben comes from Charles, who was seen earlier featuring with Ben on opening night, and Loretta (Meryl Streep), one of Ben’s prominent costars.
After a half-hearted group apology, Ben takes a long trip up to his penthouse, but a quick trip back down. Charles, Oliver and Mabel, unwinding after the events of the evening, are about to go out for a late night snack when Ben’s corpse (confirmed this time) comes crashing through the roof of the elevator.
Strained Relationships
One of the manners in which season 3 reinvents what was a successful format is it challenges the bond of the iconic trio.
Due to the ongoing stress of his Broadway comeback being killed in every manner possible, Oliver suffers a heart attack. During his brief rest period, he decides to reinvent the show as “Death Rattle Dazzle” and make it a musical.
Since he and Charles then have to focus all their energy on making this newly formatted spectacle a success, Mabel begins to feel left out, and the trio drift apart. Mabel, along with Ben’s documentarian, Tobert (Jesse Williams) begin to work together to try and solve Ben’s murder, and begin to fall for one another. Eventually, to the dismay of Oliver and Charles, Mabel goes solo and produces an episode of their podcast without them.
In the meantime, Oliver and Charles have romance issues of their own. Charles, who seemed to be happy with girlfriend, Joy (Andrea Martin) begins to feel like they’re going too fast, predominantly because any time they begin to get close, Charles blacks out (or whites out) and is no longer in control of his actions for a few moments.
Oliver makes Loretta his leading lady both on and off the stage, as the two have been fostering a secret relationship for quite some time. When Ben had appeared to die (the first time) the two even seemed relieved in a sense, as they could finally put professionalism aside and pursue their love with the show canceled. But of course, one of the staples ever since season 1 when Charles discovered his girlfriend Jan (Amy Ryan) was the first murderer, it’s evident the show’s heroes can’t always listen to their heart. Tobert, Joy, and Loretta at any given point seem untrustworthy, all three have secrets, and occasionally specific evidence even points directly to them being the killer.
Which of the Pickwick Triplets Did It?
As mentioned, if this show or the Scream movies taught us anything, it’s the fact you can never trust the love interest.
Was it Joy? Why was her lipstick used to write an intimidating message on Ben’s dressing room mirror? Did she threaten Ben because of the tension between him and Charles?
Was it Loretta? Was she protecting her biological son, Dickie (Jeremy Shamos) from Ben, who was Dickie’s adoptive brother and abuser?
Or Kimber (played by Ashley Park and yes, like Tobert, Kimber is an actual name). She and Ben had an inappropriate and flirtatious relationship. Was she a woman scorned?
Who Were The Killer(s) in Only Murders in the Building Season 3?
In fact there were several people throughout the season who threatened Ben, attempted to kill him or got arrested for the crime, but as the dust of misdirection cleared, it was revealed that Donna was the one who poisoned Ben in the first place.
Donna found an unreleased draft of a review panning the original production which gave her the idea. She went so far as to poison Ben’s cookie so that her son Cliff (Wesley Taylor) wouldn’t suffer the humiliation of a failing show on his first Broadway production.
While Donna admitted to poisoning Ben, she told the podcasting trio she never tried to actually kill him at that time. That is until the trio corners her with the handkerchief that Ben grasped in his final moments. The lipstick found on the handkerchief matches Donna’s perfectly, and before the curtain rises, she admits to pushing Ben.
But as Mabel witnesses a heartfelt bond between a mother and son as Loretta reveals to Dickie she is his biological mother, she figures it out. It was Donna’s darling boy, Cliff, who shoved Ben down the elevator shaft. After the opening night disaster, and his “apology,” turns out Ben never made it to his penthouse. Cliff bumps into the Hollywood Bro just as Ben’s getting off the phone. The call was from his doctor, who revealed Ben had rat poison in his system. He quickly realized the only thing he ate that fateful night was the cookie that Donna gave him, and gleaned that she tried to get him out of the way of the success of the show. The angry Ben, about to call the police, continued to push Cliff’s buttons about his mom, eventually pushing too far, until Cliff got the final push.
What Will Happen In Only Murders in the Building Season 4?
Is it possible there could be a fourth murder in the same building in such a short period of time? Even for a fictional New York, that seems to be overly fictional.
But yes, it’s true, there’s been another murder, and the victim this time is a beloved fan-favorite and integral part of Charles’ life. After a rousing opening night performance, and both DeMeos going to prison, the gang celebrate properly this time with all of their colleagues, friends, and family at Oliver’s apartment. Sazz (Jane Lynch), Charles’ stunt-double, confidante, and arguably best friend, leaves the party to go grab a bottle of wine from Charles’ place. Up there, she’s unexpectedly and inexplicably shot through his kitchen window. Inexplicably because Charles’ place is several floors up, and the bullet came from outside the apartment, across the atrium.
Ironically, Sazz even recognized the danger of the Arconia in the fifth episode of season 3, laughing at the “abnormal amount of death in this place.” Sadly, Sazz now lies on Charles’ kitchen floor, and as she’s fading, begins to write something in her own blood, leaving audiences and the Arconia with a mystery once again.
Who shot Sazz, and how are they such a proficient sniper? Were they after her or Charles? What did Sazz’s message say?
As improbable as it may seem, the premise remains intact. The property value of the Arconia may not stay the same with four murders in just as many years, but at least the podcast, and the show, are safe.
Only Murders in the Building season 4 premieres August 27 on Hulu.
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