Good evening, dear listeners! Meryl Streep in the new season of 'Only Murders in the Building' once again proves she can do anything. In this episode, you'll find crab people, a closet hangout, stories about baby elephants, and much more!
Previous recaps:
Warning: the following text contains spoilers for the series 'Only Murders in the Building'
Hey, Oliver!
So, Oliver (Martin Short) decided to turn 'Death Rattle' into a musical. We wholeheartedly support him, while also worrying about his health.
The other members of the 'Only Murders in the Building' podcast, Charles (Steve Martin) and Mabel (Selena Gomez), because of the above, are forced to investigate the murder of movie star Ben Glenroy (Paul Rudd) without the help of their director friend. Charles takes it so badly that he even asks Mabel to be Oliver for a bit, just to boost his spirits.
Yes, we love Oliver too, Charles. We do.
After spending an entire night trying to write something, Oliver presents the musical idea to the producers of 'Death Rattle', Donna (Linda Emond) and Cliff (Wesley Taylor). And while Cliff is charmed by the prospect, Donna has doubts. So she sets Oliver a task – write a hit song around which the musical will be built, in three days.
The Investigation Continues
Meanwhile, 'Only Murders in the Building', according to old tradition, discusses potential suspects against the backdrop of a board with photos and possible motivations. At this stage, no one can be ruled out, so Charles and Mabel decide to start their search by finding out which of the cast members no longer has their handkerchief.
Recall – Ben gave these very handkerchiefs to his colleagues, and one of them was found clutched in his fist at the moment of death. It logically follows that this handkerchief belonged to the person who pushed the actor down the elevator shaft. So, throughout the entire episode, Charles will awkwardly try to trick the other characters into showing their ill-fated handkerchiefs.
His next opportunity comes at a rehearsal, when Oliver announces his intention to turn 'Death Rattle' into a musical. Oliver's main discovery, Loretta (Meryl Streep), turns out to be one of the few who truly supports him. She also shares that she will be auditioning for a small role in a TV series – meaning she's furthering her career.
The result of the rehearsal – a terribly awkward song about crab people, leaving the entire cast bewildered. While Charles advises expressing their protest through a joint action requiring the presence of handkerchiefs (clever, Charles), all the other actors choose Charles as their intermediary with the director, to convey that no one wants to be in such a musical.
But Where's Narnia?
The investigation of the 'Only Murders in the Building' podcasters is progressing: in search of clues, Mabel decides to visit Glenroy's penthouse, where she runs into Ben's cameraman, Tobert (Jesse Williams), who is also clearly up to something. As a result of a chain of certain events, both amateur detectives end up stuck together in a closet, where Tobert tells Mabel the story of how, during filming, he once helped a baby elephant in Botswana escape from a mud trap.
The closet ambush pays off – Tobert opens up about his motivation to make a film about the incident, which led him to the penthouse. Somewhere among the deceased's belongings is a camera hard drive that might have recorded Ben's dressing room on the day of his death.
Well, and the leading questions about the baby elephant story were enough of a distraction for Mabel to secretly pocket the found disk.
'Only Murders in the Building', Drama and Betrayal
At rehearsal, an extremely sweet scene occurs between Oliver and Loretta, where Loretta pulls a lullaby written by Putnam for her character from a pile of sheet music. But they don't have time to say what they wanted to each other, because Dickie (Jeremy Shamos), the deceased's brother, the unwitting cause of Mabel and Tobert's closet hangout, and Loretta's new agent, brings her news – Loretta successfully passed her auditions.
Oliver, initially happy for the actress, quickly realizes that the shooting schedules conflict with preparations for 'Death Rattle'. So he has to resort to virtual blackmail – the contract Loretta signed obliges her to turn down the TV role.
Mabel and Tobert cross paths again because Mabel needs the password for the hard drive. Tobert also reveals that he didn't actually help the baby elephant back then; he just sat aside and watched as its mother saved it. And now he no longer wants to sit on the sidelines, but wants to help – accordingly, he provides the 'Only Murders in the Building' podcast with access to his materials.
At this same time, Charles informs Oliver that the actors don't want to participate in his musical. Oliver quickly adapts and asks Loretta for a favor: to perform the nanny's lullaby – after which he will gladly let her go film the series.
Tension Mounts
And Loretta performs the lullaby 'Look for the Light'. And oh my goodness, what a magical song it turned out to be (our generous compliments to the authors, Sara Bareilles and the duo 'Pasek and Paul'). At this point, Donna has nothing to say to her son, who simply fell in love with the song and the idea of producing the musical. So, Oliver's production is given the green light – and Loretta decides to stay and help him. The couple finally begins a romantic relationship (which we are incredibly happy about).
But the 'Only Murders in the Building' investigation is also not standing still – Mabel and Tobert see on the recording how Ben was talking loudly to someone shortly before his death. Charles also gets a lead – because actress Kimber (Ashley Park), who joined Loretta during the song as a second voice, admitted to losing her handkerchief. And she was also looking at Loretta afterwards with extremely envious eyes.
So, our guesses. The fact that no one responded to Ben on the video recording suggests to us that he was actually talking to his own reflection in the mirror or something clearly inanimate. As for the blatantly obvious attempts to set Kimber up as a suspect, they're likely just meant to entertain us mid-season. In any case, we can't wait for the continuation!
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