In the words of Mabel Mora… “well, sh*t.”
Only Murders in the Building concluded its second season with a few satisfying twists, including a killer cliffhanger!
The murderer was revealed, though, it likely wasn’t the person you suspected all along. Or, maybe it was, and in that case, you’re a much better detective than our trio of podcasters.
Upon getting a call from Detective Williams, who got a positive DNA hit on the knife used to stab poor Bunny Folger, Mabel, Charles, and Oliver were finally able to piece it all together. And the evidence did not point back to Cinda Canning, as we all previously believed, or, as Poppy, aka Becky, wanted us to believe.
It surprisingly also didn’t lead back to Alice. While Mabel’s theory at the killer reveal party (a killer party where they revealed the killer on a live stream) declaring Alice as the mastermind was well-executed, it was, as Poppy herself pointed out, missing a motive. Nothing connected the “Australian girl” to Bunny. And in that revelation, Poppy gave herself away as the culprit instead. Then, she solidified it with a handful of sneezes—just like the killer.
In simple terms, she slipped up.
Earlier in the day, Mabel, Charles, and Oliver realized that Poppy’s desire to be acknowledged, respected, and recognized would be her demise. After they staged the reveal that made Alice the scapegoat, Cinda was so impressed that she offered Mabel a job and her own podcast, two things that Poppy has been desperately seeking from Cinda this whole time.
Once she realized that she was being undervalued yet again, she started unraveling like a sweater until she was in handcuffs.
Bunny was, unfortunately, an innocent bystander in Poppy’s quest to matter and become the best podcaster in the world.
She murdered Bunny in order to provide a good story for her podcast, working simultaneously with Kreps—the corrupt cop we initially thought was sleeping with Cinda—in order to get away with it.
It was truly a great twist, proving that the series excels at modern-day murder mysteries. Even if the whole plot wasn’t as clean as the Tim Kono murder investigation, it was a still a fun ride across 10 episodes that gave us a deeper look at the protagonists we’ve come to love.
Poppy was definitely top of mind on the suspect’s list, but since we didn’t know her backstory until the beginning of the episode, there wasn’t anything connecting her to it. Once fans realized that she faked her own death because she was miserable working for a misogynistic mayor and taking care of a drunk father, while also being the one to suggest diving into the mystery of Rose Cooper for a podcast, it became clear that there were just too many things linking back to Poppy.
It was enjoyable to see everyone at the Arconia involved in the final chapter of the murder mystery as they all loved Bunny and deserved to be part of this journey. Even though their roles are minimal, they are all such well-developed characters who contribute to the hilarity with witty one-liners. I was fully expecting Nina and Amy Schumer to make an appearance, and I’m kind of disappointed the latter was just added for the sake of uplifting the Arconia as “the spot” to be.
Once Poppy and Kreps were behind bars, the trio could breathe a sigh of relief. And it was understandable that they were all eager to put solving murders behind them. The success of the podcast, and the unlikely collaboration with Cinda, propelled Charles and Oliver back into the spotlight as one landed a much bigger role on the Brazzos spinoff, while the other got a job directing on Broadway. Their dreams are coming true! Oliver also told Will that he wasn’t his biological father, but not only did Will already know (he knows his father’s tells), he didn’t care.
Meanwhile, Mabel decided it was time to stop being defined by her sad past, so she remodeled her Arconia apartment (yep, she painted over that incredible mural) with Alice’s help.
And then, the series did a time jump one year into the future, which was unexpected but necessary as it allowed the characters to grow into their new lives, which are about to be derailed by yet another murder.
This time, the murder happened to the star of Oliver’s Broadway play and Charles’ co-star/ enemy, Ben (played by Paul Rudd!), who was poisoned just as he took the stage for his big moment.
As Oliver, Charles, and Mabel watched on in horror, they simply couldn’t believe that they were the center of yet another murder mystery.
And this time, Charles definitely looked guilty as there was clearly some beef between the actors right before Ben’s death.
But while Bunny’s death was a great cliffhanger, I’m even more intrigued now to see how these new, more successful, and self-confident, versions of our trio take on this new mystery.
Not to mention that the new murder setting—the theater— will undoubtedly provide us with new opportunities and new suspects, which is an exciting change of pace.
The third time’s the charm, right?
What did you think of the Only Murders in the Building season 2 finale? Did you like the season? Were you surprised by who the murderer ended up being?