The notion seemed like it was going to work, but Ben comes to find out that Donna stabbed him in the back, he tells Cliff he’s going to call the police on his mother when the epiphany hits. Cliff and Donna have an unhealthily tight mother-son bond, replete with mouth smooches and grand gestures of affection, so it’s easy to predict where this story is headed. Cliff gets in a physical altercation with Ben, one thing leads to another, and the flamboyant mama’s boy accidentally flings the cocky thespian to his demise. 

How Did Mabel Figure It Out?

The podcasting trio thinks that Donna is the slaughterer when they unearth the information about the toxic cookies, coercing an admittance of guilt out of her. Donna goes one step further and pleads guilty to shoving Ben down the elevator shaft, too, but something doesn’t seem right with this scenario. Mabel (Selena Gomez) has been the detective most in-tune with the case this season, so it’s only fair she has her antennas up yet again here. 

In the ninth episode of the season, “Thirty,” Loretta Durkin (Meryl Streep) falsely admits culpability to the crime when Mabel pins the murder on her son and Ben’s brother, Dickie Glenroy (Jeremy Shamos). Loretta would do whatever it takes to protect her son, something she insists any loving mother would do in her position. After Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short), and Mabel realize Loretta is lying about killing Ben due to their revelation about Donna, it becomes a moment of foreshadowing both for the audience and the podcast hosts. 

Mabel eavesdrops on an intimate conversation between Dickie and Loretta during opening night of the play, and she immediately understands the truth behind the season’s whodunit. It wasn’t Loretta and Dickie at the heart of the murder, but rather Donna and Cliff. The former duo simply served as a symbol of healthier maternal affection, and a reflection of the deep-seeded corruption hiding in the latter’s lives. Mabel confronts Cliff about his role in the murder, Cliff threatens to throw himself through the ceiling to avoid prison, and Donna swoops in to save him one more time. They get whisked off to jail together in their final scene, but knowing how tight their bond is, as long as they can rot away together everything will be okay. 

Could the Cast be Headed to Los Angeles? 

The epilogue of the episode sees some life-altering news for both Tobert (Jesse Williams) and Loretta. Mabel’s beau is headed off to Southern California and hopes Mabel will join him in a new adventure. Loretta’s performance on Broadway means she’s already received two new acting offers in the City of Angels, but leaving Oliver is something she has a hard time imagining at this point in her life. Even if the Only Murders in the Building crew can’t leave the Big Apple’s grip, setting is something the show never shies away from experimenting with. Could we be seeing a cameo from L.A. in season four? And will there be a malfeasance to expound once they hit the beaches of the western coast? 

Season 4’s Murder Victim

When the podcasting trio takes some time to relax and celebrate their opening night on Broadway and the solving of Ben Glenroy’s murder, it appears that Charles goes to his apartment to get another bottle of wine for the gang. With the lights turned out and the room’s silence deafening, a bullet careens through the glass window and strikes Charles right in the chest! For about 30 seconds, we wonder whether Only Murders in the Building would really do the unthinkable . . . kill off one of their three main superstars.

Danofgeek