The 'Only Murders in the Building' S3 Finale Is Delightful Madness
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
This story contains spoilers for the Season Three finale of Only Murders in the Building.
“You idiots got me,” says Donna in the Season Three finale of Only Murders in the Building. It’s not the kind of insult you’d want to hear after solving a murder, but she’s right. Somehow, after ten episodes worth of faulty investigating, Mable, Charles, and Oliver (sort of) cracked the case. At that moment, the podcasting trio believed they caught another killer—to be fair, she confessed!—but they didn’t have the full story. Donna was guilty, sure. She just wasn’t the only person at fault.
Let’s backtrack a bit. Season Three of Only Murders in the Building traded the Arconia for Broadway. We were introduced to Oliver's new production—cheekily titled Death Rattle—and it was meant to revive his career. However, Oliver’s time in the limelight was stilted when his lead actor, Ben Glenroy, died on stage. Instead of ceasing operations, Oliver reworked the show as a musical under a very Putnamian name: Death Razzle Dazzle. He recast Ben’s role and scheduled a new opening date.
As they say, the show must go on. But how exactly do you produce a show amid a murder investigation? Is there really time to run rehearsals and track down a vicious killer? Only in the world of this show, apparently. The only person committed to the investigation was Mable, who made it her mission to find Ben's killer. Meanwhile, Charles was too busy flirting with Ben’s castmate, Loretta (played by the indomitable Meryl Streep), to truly pay attention. And Oliver? Well, he was too engrossed in the show to participate—and when he did, it caused two-stress induced heart attacks.
There was a lot going on in Season Three. Sometimes, even too much. Though the trio of podcasters eventually solved the murder, Donna was right to point out their shoddy detective work. Before she confessed, the crew spent the bulk of the season accusing random cast members, while balancing their own storylines—which ranged from endearing (Oliver and Loretta's romance) to where-are-they-going-with-this (Charles's proposal-gone-wrong and subsequent enlightenment). Even beyond the main characters' misadventures, Only Murders still suffered from the case of the never-ending subplots. Like last season, this year's mystery was interrupted by a surplus of random distractions. There was Ben’s stalker, Mable’s eviction, two lovers' quarrels, and an ongoing cameo from Matthew Broderick. If not for her transparent interest in the case, Mable would have never solved Ben’s murder.
Still, Season Three had many bright moments. A personal favorite was the creation of Death Rattle Dazzle. Setting up a murder-mystery within a murder-mystery—with a hilarious tune like "Which of the Pickwick Triplets Did It?" embedded within—is the type of meta-madness that I love. Plus, Meryl Streep and Paul Rudd gave vintage Meryl Streep and Paul Rudd performances.
Let's get back to Donna. As the producer of Death Rattle, she had a special interest in its success, but Mable eventually realized Donna’s obsession was actually a motive. Prior to Ben’s (first) death, Donna read a scathing review of the play that said he was the weakest link—so she covered a cookie in rat poison and left it in his dressing room. Ben devoured the treat, and moments later, he dropped “dead” on stage. Could she have fired him instead? Yes, absolutely. But then we wouldn’t have a TV show, people!
Later on, when Mable confronts Donna, she’s amazingly cavalier about the whole thing. Donna insists that she didn’t mean to kill Ben—she just wanted to “knock him on his ass.” As for the final blow? According to Donna, she panicked when Ben reappeared and decided to finish the job. Well, not true at all. We see a flashback where Ben reviews his toxicology report. At the same time, he runs into Cliff, and suddenly, everything clicks. “Holy shit,” he says. “Your mom poisoned me.” The accusation inevitably leads to a fight. In a fit of rage, Cliff pushes Ben to his (second) death.
So why did Donna lie? It’s unclear if she knew her son was the real killer, but either way, she wanted to protect his reputation. Cliff was listed as a co-producer of Death Rattle—if it failed, she thought he wouldn’t have a proper career. So, she poisoned Ben’s cookies and confessed to his murder to keep Cliff safe. It's a clever parallel to Loretta's false confession, which was also made in the name of saving a son.
But things only grew weirder from there. In the episode's final moments, Cliff confesses to the crime and tries to take his own life. Then, Donna stops him and they’re both arrested. Shortly after, Mable, Charles, and Oliver decide to celebrate—but mid-toast (surprise!), another mystery begins. While the podcasters are on cloud nine, Charles' dear friend and stunt double, Sazz Pataki, is fatally shot in his apartment.
Hulu just ordered Season Four of the series , so we’ll find out what happens next soon enough. All I know is that Mable, Charles, and Oliver are going to have to step things up. As Donna so dutifully pointed out, they were nearly too disconnected to function this year. If they want to avenge Sazz (which we know they will!) the Only Murders crew will need to be on their A-game. No distractions allowed.
You Might Also Like
