Only Murders in the Building season 3 episode 9 recap & review: Thirty

In episode 9 of Only Murders in the Building season 3, Charles, Mable, and Oliver compile all of the evidence they have to deduce who the killer is. The episode is streaming on Hulu.

Recap

Mabel has a dream that she’s giving birth to triplets, with the babies turning out to be Charles, and Oliver, and a huge microphone. Oliver wakes her up to say that he’s been cleared to be discharged from the hospital.

They head back to Charles’ apartment to go over the murder board and try to prove that Loretta is not the killer before her 5 p.m. arraignment. Charles gets a delivery and when he opens the box, he sees Joy’s wedding dress that she was planning on wearing.

They first speak with Dickie to get his alibi but Dickie says that her got wasted and went to a place on Broadway because Ben would go there often to meet with his five favorite hookers.

The trio decides to check the place out and find a fabric store called “Snitches Get Stitches”. When they go to the back room of this place, they are confused to find 5 elderly women knitting.

The women reveal that Ben met them every Thursday for their weekly knitting circle and they were the ones who helped him knit the handkerchiefs. One of them plays a voicemail that Ben sent moments before the curtain in which he sounded very distressed.

To figure out what happened between the time Ben arrived at the theatre and the curtain call, they check out the recorded interrogations and come up with a timeline.

Ben reached the theatre late and was scolded by KT, the stage manager. He was then tempted by cookies that Cliff brought for him as an opening night treat, but Ben said he was fasting that evening.

Meanwhile, Loretta was convincing Dickie to leave Ben when Ben walks up to them on stage. He sees the letter Dickie had written and the two brothers get into an argument.

He is then supposed to rehearse a scene with Loretta but instead warns her not to come between him and his brother. That is when Charles punches him and Ben goes back to his dressing room to get a touch-up from Joy.

Donna sees him on his way back and gives him some words of encouragement before Ben runs into Tobert right as he enters his dressing room. Mabel shows them the video of him talking to someone passionately, but they cannot figure out who it is.

While they are sitting around trying to figure out that last piece of the puzzle, Mabel mentions that it is her 30th birthday and she feels disappointed at the fact that she hasn’t figured her life out yet.

Howard shows up with the document that was shredded and Oliver takes one look before noticing that it is a negative review of the play which is criticizing Ben’s performance.

Oliver grabs some dip and puts a candle in it so that they can sing for Mabel. He then sits down and talks intimately with the dip, helping Mabel realize who Ben was talking to.

Ben had a tumultuous half an hour before the show and returns to his dressing room to find his ultimate weakness, one of those cookies that he loves. Oliver points out that Donna was the one who bought the cookies.

They conclude that Donna must have read the review and to save her son’s reputation decided to get rid of Ben so that the play could be a success. They wonder how they can rush to he courthouse and save Loretta, and Mabel says that no one stops a bride.

She puts on Joy’s wedding dress and the trio rush to the courthouse right before Loretta’s arraignment. Oliver tells her that she must not plead guilty because they know who killed Ben. They turn around to see Donna in the audience and are shocked by this development.

Review

• What a brilliant penultimate episode that has it all. No amount of praise is enough for writing that is clever, humorous, and truly exceptional. The “Father of the Bride” joke is just one great moment of the episode.
• The entire sequence recreating Ben’s timeline before the show as the trio watches it unfold is brilliant. It paints a clear picture of the events that led to Ben’s poisoning and builds up to reveal the alleged killer.
• Paul Rudd’s performance in this episode is also a standout, especially his conversation with himself in front of the mirror. His change in tone and facial expressions are fantastic.
• Another very cool, minor meta moment is the scene right before the opening credits where Mabel welcomes everyone to the episode. Even the little things create much joy.

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Also Read: Only Murders in the Building season 3 episode 8 recap & review: Sitzprobe