Only Murders in the Building season 2 episode 9 recap & review: Sparring Partners

In season 2 episode 9 of the comedy murder-mystery show Only Murders in the Building, a number of secrets, related to various characters, come to light. The episode is now streaming on Hulu.

Recap

After the big reveal at the end of episode 8, Detective Kreps narrates how difficult it is for a cop to earn a living in New York City. He hints at carrying out odd jobs but doesn’t explicitly mention what he does.

Meanwhile, Mabel and Charles put Detective Kreps’ face to the Glitter Guy on their suspect list. But they do not believe he could carry out such an intricate plan without assistance.

They add a ‘criminal mastermind’ to the investigation board. There is also the loose end with Kreps’ bag that has a chicken logo, which feels familiar to Mabel.

Oliver tells them that the DNA test results have returned and he is definitely Will’s father. He tries to give Mrs. Gambolini, Bunny’s parrot, to Charles but they realise Rose Cooper’s real painting had been hidden below her cage.

Alice tries to mend her relationship with Mabel by giving her a puzzle. Even though she learned more about herself because of Alice, she tells her they can’t be together again because she does not trust her.

Oliver breaks the good news to Will. Charles realises the ‘Leonora Folger’ he met wasn’t the real one and was actually Rose Cooper. Mabel pays Kreps a visit at his gym.

When Teddy walks into the elevator, Oliver starts attacking him as he had been lying about Will’s true heritage. Teddy did not realise that his affair with Roberta had resulted in Will being born.

Looking at how hurt Oliver is, Teddy consoles him by stating that he is a fantastic father and that he wished he had the same relationship with Theo. Oliver requests that nobody ever tells Will the truth.

Rose Cooper tells Charles the entire truth. She disappeared because of her abusive husband and not Charles’ father. He wasn’t an entirely bad man, even asking Rose to sketch his dream of being a good father.

Mabel’s conversation in the boxing ring with Kreps gives her valuable hints. Getting agitated by Mabel’s remark that he isn’t smart, he accidentally gives away important details.

He claimed to be with the ‘smartest woman’ and mentioned Cinda Canning’s podcast. Mabel listens to Cinda’s podcast ‘All Is Not Ok In Oklahoma’ again and realises she mentioned the chicken logo on Kreps’ bag.

When she tries talking to Poppy about it, she warns her about Cinda. When Mabel probes further, Poppy reveals that she is Becky Butler, the woman who went missing in the podcast.

The moment from the start of the episode is visited, where Kreps mentioned meeting someone special in a bar. The person is revealed to be Cinda Canning herself. This strongly hints at them scheming the murder of Bunny Folger together, and the Beck Butler case previously.

Review

  • The episode flows smoothly as a number of essential details come to light. The truth about Will’s parentage, Cinda Canning’s true colours as well as Rose Cooper’s true identity.
  • The whole sparring sequence where Mabel gets information out of Kreps by hurting his ego is a well-executed plot point.
  • Rose Cooper’s twist as well as the conversation between Oliver and Teddy work quite well. The latter gives more depth to Teddy’s character as well.
  • Overall, an extremely strong episode as the season enters its final lap.

Also Read: Only Murders in the Building season 2 episode 8 recap & review: Hello, Darkness

More from The Envoy Web