‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 3, Episode 5 Recap: Is Meryl Streep the Killer?

Only Murders in the Building begins this week’s episode by confronting the fact that the details of the case are starting to resemble those of the first killing the central trio investigated. Charles’ (Steve Martin) love interest cannot be the murderer again. In the first season, Jan (Amy Ryan) was guilty. Now, everyone suspects his fiancée, Joy (Andrea Martin), may be a killer. But Charles persists: Joy is not another Jan.

Charles is, however, having some doubts about marrying Joy. These hesitations are unrelated to her potential involvement in Ben’s (Paul Rudd) murder, but rather in the fact that he never meant to propose to Joy. Oh, well. There’s not much Charles can do about it now that Joy is already tasting cakes. Luckily, his trusty stunt double Saz (Jane Lynch) makes an appearance this week to run Charles through his relationship struggles.

Meanwhile, Charles’ partners in crime, Mabel (Selena Gomez) and Oliver (Martin Short), both have their own romantic escapades to worry about. Mabel plans to investigate the murder case (or rather, her sexual tension) with Tobert (Jesse Williams) over a cocktail. Oliver is going over to Loretta’s (Meryl Streep) for dinner, sporting a new hairstyle to win her over: “Is it giving Karen or Cary Grant?” he asks his confidantes.

Tobert convinces Mabel to have drinks at a cabaret by promising to share a new lead on Ben’s murder. Alas, when Mabel arrives and demands to talk shop, Tobert changes the subject. He wants to know her favorite season, liquor of choice, and what type of New York weather he prefers. In short, this is a date, not an opportunity to talk about the murder. Tobert lied. But is that so bad? Mabel could use a new romantic interest.

On the other side of town, Loretta and Oliver are definitively on a date. Loretta is cooking up some pork chops while Oliver tries his best at flirting. Both fail at their respective jobs. Loretta cooks the meat so long that it becomes as tough as wood, and Oliver breaks a tooth trying to take a bite. Loretta has a better idea than dinner at home. She takes him to the New York water taxi—or rather, the “tooth ferry”—to smoke some weed.

Joy refuses to be interrogated, so she forces Charles to battle his demons with Saz back at the apartment. Saz quizzes him on his anxieties in their relationship. Ultimately, Saz diagnoses Charles with fear of lower-case “j” joy, not upper-case “J” Joy, his fiancée. His last relationship has left him thinking that he can’t be happy, because being content is dangerous in a killer building like the Arconia.

Plus, Charles doesn’t even understand why Joy likes him in the first place. She’s done his makeup for nearly four decades, and even after seeing his face spurt more and more wrinkles, Joy still finds Charles attractive. There’s just no way! When Charles tries to voice his concerns to Joy, she grows infuriated and ends things between them. In doing so, she also explains that she dropped her tube of lipstick in Ben’s dressing room the night he died, clearing her name of any association with his murder.

But because this is Only Murders, and there’s never a time without a single suspect, two more folks enter the picture as potential killer candidates. As Tobert and Mabel near the end of their date, they spy Jonathan (Jason Veasey)—is he cheating on Howard (Michael Cyril Creighton)? No, he’s doing something worse: handing an envelope to a villainous looking older gentleman. Gasp!

In the end, though, it’s Loretta who really has some explaining to do. After she and Oliver sleep together, he goes piecing through the bookshelves in her home to find a photo book full of news clippings of Ben. Even though Loretta has expressed how much she hates Ben, for some reason, she has some sort of obsession with the late actor. But is the obsession positive, or does she hate him so much she’s been stalking him for decades, waiting for the chance to finally do him in? Death Rattle may have given her that opportunity.

Clues From the Crime Scene

-This isn’t a clue, but rather an observation: Tobert’s interrogation of Mabel feels a little fishy. He wants to know everything about how she and the guys solve crimes together. Something doesn’t feel right—which kind of stinks, because Gomez and Williams have impeccable chemistry!

-Loretta compliments Oliver’s laugh on their date: “I love that little snort you do. You’re like an adorable little piglet.” Not-so-casually, she changes the conversation topic to Ben: “You know who was a real fucking pig? Ben Glenroy.” This exact quote (“fucking pig”) was written in lipstick on Charles’ mirror last week, the same lipstick they found at the scene of Ben’s death.

-Joy recalls cleaning Ben’s face after he had been hit. Cut to: Earlier in the day, Ben and Loretta had been fighting on stage about his hatred of her. Was she the one who hit Ben?

-No, Charles takes the blame for the hit. But something’s still awry. Why were Ben and Loretta fighting, other than because of their pent up tension? Did he have two red marks on his face?

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