In season 2 episode 7 of Only Murders in the Building, Mabel dives into her past to get some much-needed answers in the present. The episode is now streaming on Hulu.
Recap
Mabel looks back at her past. She had always enjoyed solving puzzles because it was something that she and her Dad did together.
She wakes up with no recollection of the previous day. Running into Theo, she assumes he is up to no good but he claims to want to help her, reminding Mabel of her encounter with the killer in the Subway.
Meanwhile, Detective Williams pays Oliver and Charles a visit to get some clues about the case.
Mabel still hasn’t forgiven Theo for Zoe’s death. After finding that the matchbook with prints of the killer is missing, she communicates with Theo.
He saw her being attacked by the killer in the Subway. She stabbed him in self-defense and ran away. The killer took her bag, but dropped an important clue; a security card for Coney Island.
Mabel rushes to find him. Theo manages to convince her to drive her there, willing to help as he still feels guilty about what happened to Zoe.
Oliver and Charles consider what to do with the bloody knife that was planted to frame them.
Mabel and Theo arrive at Coney Island but don’t find anything substantial. Instead, Mabel introduces him to games he never played because he never visited the place.
In the past, Mabel’s father had started to ditch their plans, claiming he had a packed schedule.
When Theo wins a ring similar to the one from season 1, he confides in Mabel that he still cannot remember if Zoe slipped or he pushed her. In turn, she confesses that she is afraid that she could be Bunny’s killer as she does not remember the night.
After Oliver helps Williams with the baby she brought along, she urges them that she isn’t looking to put Mabel behind bars and they should help her with the investigation.
Back in the past, Mabel’s father continues to not spend time with her and began to grow frustrated with this.
Mabel finds the killer at Coney Island and hides. As he is about to find her, she ambushes him, takes her bag, and drives away with Theo.
Oliver and Charles tell her they’re in the Pickle Diner but she makes a startling discovery in the bag, along with finding that the matchbook is still missing.
Before joining the two, Mabel reveals she couldn’t cope with her father’s cancer and decided to ‘flip the pieces’ like a puzzle and forget it altogether as he taught her.
She had done it all her life when an incident was too much to cope with. She decides it’s now time to flip the pieces and remember the incident with Bunny.
Remembering the entire course of events, she is relieved to remember that she was not the one to kill her. Looking at him avoiding his father’s calls, Mabel advises Theo to not brush away everything as it never worked out for her.
Moved by her words, Theo decides to video call his father and talk to him. Mabel joins Oliver and Charles at the diner with a big smile on her face after realising she is innocent.
The discovery she made was that the killer was in possession of a photograph of Charles and Lucy. Startled by this, Charles calls her. Lucy reveals that she is in his apartment but before he can warn her, the city faces a blackout.
Review
- One of the best episodes of the season, there’s so much happening in every scene. Right from the first moment, it builds up intrigue.
- Mabel and Theo’s dynamic changes as the episode progresses, showing that they’re more similar than they realised, which builds up the narrative well.
- Charles, Oliver and Willams’ scenes are humorous and progress the story, although not as engaging as the track with Mabel and Theo.
- The episode ends on a cliffhanger and sets up the next one. The season has picked up quite the pace.
Rating: 4.5/5
Also Read: Only Murders in the Building season 2 episode 6 recap & review: Performance Review