Only Murders in The Building (Season 2), Episode 5 Recap and Ending Explained: Welcome back to The Arconia. Last week’s episode of Only Murders in The Building provided us with the opportunity to explore the arcatacombs, learn that the killer used them and that Lucy was mere yards away from the assailant. Further things left were Teddy Dimas’ promise to Oliver and how he would carry it out. Perhaps the soft side of Teddy would emerge after Theo Dimas left, or it could have even spurred him to get revenge on Putnam? On the Mabel front, some viewers may have been keen to see Alice re-appear. Meanwhile, the promise of Jan, which served as last week’s cliffhanger, proved to be the hook to tune into this week’s offering.
We got Alice, a bit of Jan, and a rather surprising revelation on the Oliver front. The costume design and timing of events in The Tell pointed the needle of suspicion in at least two if not more directions.
Only Murders in The Building (Season 2) Episode 5 “The Tell” Recap:
The Tell began with Will Putnam narrating a story of his father’s past. In the 70s, Oliver Putnam would host lavish parties and play a game called Son of Sam. He was skilled at it and had an incredible ability to detect a lie. Putnam’s claim was that every individual had a tell.
Charles Haden Savage’s conversation with Jan provided some insights into insanity and mirrors how she behaved in Season 1. Only Murders in the Building is expanding on and explaining some of their creative decisions from the past with a play on how the killer will want to stay close to their work. The secret is that it will be someone new, who will never finish their work in the middle and be present till the end. Sound like Jan? Right? The clincher here is that said person would be a new entry into the life of a particular person. Right at that moment, the episode cuts to Mabel striding within the Arcatacombs whilst in conversation with a returning Alice.
Cara Delevingne’s character is throwing a party and drives towards hosting it at Mabel’s “palatial apartment.” After Mabel climbs through a vent into her apartment, she consents to the social gathering and finds a matchbook with a red stain.
Meanwhile, Oliver is at Will’s school play session where he learns his son undertook an ancestry test for Henry’s science fair project. Is this even relevant? Yes!
Once the trio convenes at the murder scene (Mabel’s apartment – how is this even open?) we get the usual Charles vs Oliver rant that Mabel dismisses. This time, though, it started off with some wonderful sentences. (Memory can contain objective reality and subjective perception and the difference between hearing something and assuming one has heard something). Could Bunny’s “savage” have actually meant “passage?” Mabel still says that the details from the night of the incident are blurry, so one can’t rule out something new coming out on that front.
Subsequently, they decide that it would be best to head to the diner from where the matchbook came from. No prizes for guessing which diner it is.
Once there, they run into their fans with even more suspects emerging as one listener admits to cleaning the catacombs. Interesting indeed, and it does solve one mystery. How that place isn’t dusty. While Charles raised the point of the killer being someone new who wants to stay close, audiences were presented with yet another convenient glimpse of Alice.
This sequence was fun as it was a diegetic critique of the progression of the show’s sophomore season. It also showed that the trio has realized that meetings within The Arconia aren’t safe as anyone could be within the Arcatacombs.
At the party, Oliver recreated Son of Saul’ with a marvelous production and costume design, allowing the audience to switch back and forth between the past and the present. This game saw the septuagenarian duo try to break Alice’s cover and expose her lies through ‘tell’ identification. This sees Mabel not like what happened and Charles also distances himself from Putnam.
Later, he sees Ivan slip an envelope with a wad of cash beneath Bunny’s door. Why though? Who would pick it up? Oliver follows Ivan to the diner and learns about Bunny’s frequent trips to the diner and tips to the employee. Ivan then responds to Oliver’s plea for help by pointing at a CCTV. How didn’t anyone spot this before? Well, it’s a good take on amateur sleuths as they overlooked something that was so in their face. Putnam takes a recording and sends it to his fellow podcast hosts, along with an apology.
We see Mabel in bed with Alice after their talk of no more secrets. Charles and Jan have a chat on the phone where we realize that ‘Brazzos’ is still a bit naïve. Or is leading the audience on as he has paid heed to Lucy’s advice?
The ending saw Will tell his father that half of his genes match his mother, but he doesn’t have any Irish genes (per that ancestry test). Instead, he is 50% Greek… the flashback hints at it being Teddy Dimas, i.e. a Greek neighbor at The Arconia.
Only Murders in The Building (Season 2) Episode 5 “The Tell” Ending Explained:
Will potentially being Teddy’s offspring could take the show down a new path. If Teddy knew about this (the episode suggests that he does), it could explain why he consented to fund Only Murders in the Building in season 1. This mention of genes could also imply that the Dimas family has something running in their blood. Teddy and Theo were implicated for their crimes in season 1, and a potential suspect (Will) could have been looking to end Bunny for his ‘father.’
This is all just speculation, but there is no other Greek around except for the Dimas family.
Will’s overcoat is quite similar to the one worn by the individual in the poor-resolution CCTV footage. How can we be sure? Well, said figure did pick up a matchbook from the counter. It could be anyone, though. But the coincidences of Bunny’s visitor at the diner, the matchbook, and finding a bloodied one in Mabel’s flat (the room where Bunny breathed her last) are too many of them.
Why isn’t it Will? With five episodes left, and with the knowledge of Only Murders in the Building’s red herrings and smokescreens, it seems far-fetched that they would present someone as the prime suspect so early into the season. From Howard to Ursula, and Nina to the Dimas’ to Will, slowly but surely everyone is the ‘Son of Saul’. The show has teased, or cast doubts over at least 5 individuals, with even more yet to be in the spotlight. Considering the knowledge of the Hulu Original, it wouldn’t be problematic to rule out Alice and Will as Bunny’s murderer. Yes, they fit the bill, but they didn’t before The Tell aired.
Will episode 6 expand on the established suspects? Or present new ones? We do want our sleuths to sink their teeth into things and investigate what’s there rather than have new information dumped on them. A game of cat and mouse is what Only Murders in the Building needs.
The Tell sets up a thrilling back five episodes as we wait to see who killed Bunny Folger and who stole the painting. Is it two mysteries? Or just one?
