On this week’s episode of Only Murders in the Building, the Arconia gang runs into some hitches during their date nights. Charles works through his anxieties about Joy with Sazz; Mabel and Tobert find some intriguing leads at the club; and Oliver discovers some disconcerting news about Loretta.
For this week’s episode, let’s go to the CableTV.com Only Murders in the Building Suspicion Power Rankings. As always, we’re ranking characters from most to least suspicious using two metrics:
- Who killed Ben Glenroy on Only Murders in the Building?
- Did they have something to do with the murder?
Who killed Ben Glenroy on Only Murders in the Building?
#1: Loretta
Oliver and Loretta finally go on their long-simmering first date, but hold off on figuring out a couple name-portmanteau (Loliver? Oletta?) for them—their relationship might not be long for this season. For as much as we’re here for Meryl Streep and Martin Short’s sweet chemistry (romantic lead Martin Short, folks!), Loretta drops a barrel of Ben-related red flags throughout their date.
At their dinner date in Loretta’s apartment, Loretta drops the same phrase about a pig that was written on Ben’s dressing room mirror. On the ferry, Loretta reveals that she and Ben had a physical altercation before opening night. Later, we learn that Charles was the one who punched Ben, which caused the bruise that Joy had to cover up.
Most significantly, the episode’s cliffhanger features Oliver discovering Loretta’s book filled with news clippings of Ben over the years. She’s been tracking him for a while, and you don’t maintain a stalking scrapbook if you don’t intend to do some stalking.
#2a: Jonathan
Firstly, a mea culpa: last week, we said we’d eat a shoe if Jonathan (Jason Veasey) was seriously involved with the case, but lo and behold—he’s now on our suspect board, and we’re watching Werner Herzog for shoe cooking tips.
At the piano bar, Jonathan maintains two side gigs: singing standards and meeting with the mysterious Dr. C, who was Ben’s celebrity doctor/prescription filler. After finishing his set, Jonathan met with Dr. C and paid him for a slip of paper.
With the season halfway over, we’re going to advance our first big theory: are we in a Murder on the Orient Express scenario this season? Spoilers ahead for an 89-year-old story, but in the Agatha Christie story, a criminal gets murdered on a train by a group of passengers who all had motives against him. Likewise, Loretta points out that everyone on the cast and crew hated Ben. Charles is (probably?) off the list, but if Jonathan can make it onto our suspect board, anyone else can.
#2b: Dr. C
We’ll take this blurb to advance another sub-theory: what if Ben’s dressing room argument wasn’t with a person, but a stack of cookies? In the season premiere, we see Ben’s weak spot for cookies during Death Rattle’s first table read. And we know that the suspect needed a vehicle to poison Ben during their first murder attempt.
#3: Kimber
Kimber (Ashley Park) didn’t pop up in this episode, but she’s still on the board for two reasons: her motive against Ben after he backtracked on the endorsement deal, and her possible rivalry with Loretta.
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Others receiving suspicious votes
- K.T. (the beleaguered production assistant)
- Dickie (the equally beleaguered manager/ex-personal assistant)
Off the board
- Cliff (the producer’s son)
- Joy (we’ll eat a tube of lipstick if she’s a culprit)
Playbill notes
- This week’s opening credits easter egg: smoke from the smokestack forming a heart. True love!
- Tracking Loretta’s audition beef history with other Broadway actresses: Ellen Greene (got the part over her) and Bernadette Peters (drugged her with a Valium-laced water bottle).
- Charles puts his foot in his mouth with Joy after revealing his hesitation over their proposal, and now he’s out a fiancee and a suit jacket. If there’s anything OMITB loves more than casting Broadway actors or Steve Martin and Martin Short schtick, it’s a good pun around a character name (i.e., season 2’s reveal that the Butler did it).
Eric Chiu is a CableTV.com senior writer who covers internet tech, entertainment, and sports news. He’s written about consumer technology for nearly a decade for outlets including CNN Underscored, Wirecutter, Newsweek Media Group and TopTenReviews/Future. In his free time, he enjoys playing any instrument he can find, rooting for the Michigan Wolverines, and hunting for the best hole-in-the-wall restaurants.
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