On this week’s episode of Only Murders in the Building, we finally reach the end of the road in the Ben Glenroy murder investigation. It’s opening night for Death Rattle Dazzle! But Charles, Mabel, and Oliver have to find the murderer at the Gooseberry Theater and ensure the show’s big night goes off without a hitch.
For this season-ending (and spoiler-filled!) edition of the CableTV.com Only Murders in the Building Suspicion Power Rankings, 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?
Off the board
- Jonathan (we cooked that shoe but did not eat it, he spends this episode high as a kite)
- Joy (safely single/macking with Scott Bakula)
- Kimber (finally off the board)
- Cinda Canning (she’s just popped in to tempt Mabel away from the Arconia, and Tina Fey was probably filming A Haunting In Venice at the same time.)
Who killed Ben Glenroy on Only Murders in the Building?
#4: Tobert
In last week’s recap, we asked a simple question: What was Tobert’s (Jesse Williams) deal anyway? He hung around with the Arconia crew, pitched in on the investigation, and got some bro time with Teddy, but he had to be working another angle, right?
Well, it turns out that he just wanted to feel included! (Thankfully, the show didn’t go back to the “partner’s a secret murderer” well twice.) In the office, Tobert helps the gang record The Poisoner’s confession while dressed up as a coat pole and gives Mabel the thumb drive with the audio recording. He also invites Mabel to come to Los Angeles with him, but she decides to stick around New York. So long, Tobert!
#3: Loretta and Dickie
The finale quickly takes Loretta off our suspect board as she redacts her confession offscreen and joins the Arconia gang to help them with their investigation. But after everything Loretta and Dickie went through, they get an overdue and deserved happy ending.
Coming off-stage after her song, Loretta starts to confess her past as Dickie’s (Jeremy Shamos) birth mother, but Dickie stops her: he knew the whole time, and they share a tearful embrace! Post-investigation, Dickie’s agent skills continue to pay off for Loretta—like Tobert, they’re headed to Los Angeles for new jobs, but Oliver happily sends them off to make up for lost time.
#2: Donna
Well, that was quick?
The Arconia gang lures Donna into the theater’s office to get her to confess, but she beats them to the punch: she tells everyone that she poisoned Ben Glenroy and pushed him down the elevator shaft. The rat poisoning was an accidental murder attempt—she didn’t want to kill Ben Glenroy, but after reading the bad opening night review, she needed to buy more time for Death Rattle.
As for the motive, Cliff’s (Wesley Taylor) first big musical would be Death Rattle, and Donna didn’t want her boy’s reputation to get ruined with an opening night flop. If that wasn’t enough, Donna confesses that she also has terminal lung cancer—careful viewers will recall her hurling in the theater bathroom before meeting with Loretta earlier this season. Considering Donna’s already on the way out, what’s another murder attempt among coworkers?
As a result, Donna strikes a deal with the Arconia gang: She’ll go quietly to the cops if they let Death Rattle’s opening night run as planned. But as the show progresses, Mabel realizes that Donna’s lipstick was on Ben’s bloody hankie, but the timeline for the hankie means she couldn’t have done the poisoning and the push! Of course, this leaves one more suspect on the board…
#1: Cliff
As Mabel confronts Cliff (Wesley Taylor) in the theater’s observatory room, the episode flashes back to the night of Ben’s murder.
Ben and Cliff run into each other upstairs after Death Rattle’s opening night party—Ben’s doctors mention that they found rat poison in his system, and he quickly pieces together that Donna’s cookie was dosed. At first, Cliff refuses to believe that Donna was behind Ben’s poisoning. But after Cliff and Ben exchange words, a shoving match ensues, ending with Cliff pushing Ben down the Arconia elevator shaft.
Cliff doesn’t take his confession well and tries to throw himself through the observatory room’s trap door. Charles and Oliver run up to try and stop Cliff, but he finally relents when Donna—seeing the commotion from the theater’s audience—comes up to rescue him. And once the curtain falls on Death Rattle, both Demeos are led away in handcuffs.
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Playbill notes
- This week’s opening credits easter egg: The Arconia gang’s curtain call for season 3 includes literal curtains on their windows.
- This isn’t Wesley Taylor’s first time playing a villain with a complex. He also portrayed Plankton in the Broadway SpongeBob SquarePants musical, which gives us an excuse to link to this song that includes a phenomenal pop-and-lock routine.
- Does it make sense that a theater director with no onstage experience could also handle the leading role in a Broadway musical? Not really! Will we ever complain when Martin Short gets to Martin Short it up onstage? Never!
- Poor darn Sazz (Jane Lynch), caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. (And what a cliffhanger!) In advance of next season, we’ll point out a few things that might come in handy next season: She was looking for Malbecita del Ceilo (one of the rarest wines in the world), she needed to talk to Charles in private, and she was writing something on the floor before she likely passed.