Only Murders in the Building season 5 is here and with a bang. This time, we’ve got two dead bodies, one belonging to a mobster, but does the mob still control NYC? On the other hand, the trio are each troubled with their own problems. Charles struggles with the idea that Oliver is married; he feels lonely and like he has nothing to do with his life on his own. On the other hand, Mabel finds an old friend returning to the Arconia. But is she a friend? Why is Mabel so upset? Season 5 has a lot going on, and we have 3 more characters joining the show in this episode. The excitement has only just begun, but when it’s 3 vs 3, who will have the upper hand? Will our humble podcasters have a chance against modern-day mobsters? What’s hidden in the basement of the Arconia? Let’s find out a little bit in episode 3.
Spoiler Alert
What Is The Velvet Room?
Only Murders in the Building episode 3 begins with a history lesson about the Arconia. Specifically about how, back in the 1900s, motorized vehicles took over and the horse carts were no longer required. At this time, the mobsters of New York found a new pastime: secret gaming rooms in the basements of old buildings, such as the Arconia. Apparently, some of the most important state affairs were conducted in these game rooms. Though times changed and the world changed with it, one thing remains constant: the mobs and their underground power play, even to this day in the Velvet Room. The show then returns to the present timeline, where Mabel and Charles have found the cash envelope Nicky gave Lester on the day of the wedding. What Charles doesn’t know is that Lester had once used this same money to pay for his 400-dollar cab ride. Charles?! 400 dollars from a doorman, jeez. Suddenly, while discussing their podcast, Mabel and Charles hear a sound from above them. This happens to be Oliver, who’s just found Nicky’s dead body at the dry cleaner’s. Oliver gets all of his DNA on his body since it’s fallen onto him from the rack. This leaves him worried, and he decides to take the body to the Arconia. Oh, and Nicky has all his fingers.
What Is In Nicky’s Mouth?
After a little bit of yelling around at Oliver, Oliver cleans off his DNA by using wet wipes from a specific wing’s place. But in the process, they notice something green under Nicky’s finger, just like the shrimp finger. The trio are suddenly excited because they have a body they can autopsy for their podcast. At first, this didn’t occur to me as strange at all, but then I realized these people are regular old people; in 4 seasons, they’re ready to really “look at” a dead body?! Kids these days. Also, Nicky’s body is talking to Charles (reminds you of Sazz’s ghost, eh?), so this man really needs therapy, but for the moment, he’s pretending he’s fine, I guess. It is, of course, all of his insecurities being projected onto him through a dead mobster.
The body has a meat cleaver in the chest, which is likely what killed the man. With their combined knowledge of dead bodies, they try to figure out what happened to Nicky. There’s also a white substance on his sleeve, which Oliver sniffs because he misses cocaine. But Charles deduces that it’s likely paint. Finally, Mabel finds a freeze burn under his ear. After all that, Mabel talks about how she feels like she’s in a really good place in her life right now. She’s fixing up her home, she’s got two besties, and the podcast is running smoothly (even if people had to die for that). But is Mabel really okay?
Oliver looks at the last messages he sent to Lester, and it’s him yelling about the shrimp that was supposed to be at the wedding. He feels bad thinking that’s the last thing Lester would’ve seen from him before he died. Oliver then asks Charles if he’s a narcissist, and both Mabel and he don’t hesitate to tell Oliver that he absolutely is. Charles gets all philosophical on Oliver and claims it happens every time there’s a dead body in his kitchen (yeah, we miss Sazz, too). Mabel comes to the conclusion that Nicky was likely frozen after he died and then thawed out and left at the dry cleaners. She tries to check his lips, but she finds a piece of paper in his mouth with the Arconia logo on it. It’s already morning, so the body needs to be taken back to the dry cleaners.
Where’s The Piece Of Paper From?
On the way back to the dry cleaners, Mabel notices that the paper they found in Nicky’s mouth matches the one in Lester’s ledger, which is now with Randall. Oliver smartly says he’ll get Ledger while the other two should get rid of the body (what a guy). Oliver literally yanks the book from Randall, and Mabel is distractedly grabbed by an old friend, leaving Oliver to do the body dumping by himself. Turns out, Mabel’s old friend Althea is now a famous pop star who goes by the name “The.” More importantly, she now lives in the penthouse, which makes Mabel very upset. Mabel seems to have beef with Althea, but we’re not yet sure why. However, she was present in a flashback in the previous episode when Mabel and her friends were partying at the Arconia.
Charles finds himself with a talking corpse and uses the dry cleaner’s plastic to make sure he doesn’t get his DNA on the body. Charles topples the body onto the ground and notices a tattoo that says “Death Alone” on Nicky’s shoulder. A Neruda poem. As Nicky recites this poem to Charles, the man hears sounds from outside and quickly hides. Two dirty cops show up and are surprised to see the body on the floor. They discuss how they need to write up exactly what’s been told to them. Charles narrowly escapes being caught by them, but he knows it’s a cover-up now. Charles comforts Mabel about the Althea situation because she’s got her entire life ahead of her, unlike Charles, who will likely experience “Death Alone.” Uff, the drama.
Mabel uses charcoal to find out what was written on the missing page. Charles quickly realizes that the bird names were codes for people Lester was keeping tabs on. The trio learns that there’s a game every Saturday at midnight. Mabel decides that they should go and hide in the game room until whoever might’ve killed Lester and Nicky shows up. Oliver returns the ledger to Randall and notices that he’s stressed out. He offers to help him out, but after a nap, since he’s got to be up at midnight, is Randall stressed about something more than just work?
At the end of Only Murders in the Building episode 3, at midnight, the trio makes their way to the basement and opens the velvet room door with a playing card as the key. As soon as they’re inside, they hear the door open again and hide behind the bar. The people who walk in, though, aren’t mobsters; they’re billionaires. First, there’s Sebastian “Bash” Steed, who is a tech billionaire and “longevity enthusiast.” Then there’s Jay Pflug, heir of a pharmaceutical magnate, and last but certainly not least, there’s Camila White, an entrepreneurial designer and hotel magnate. In conclusion, Oliver claims this is the new mob of New York. The mafia may be no more, but elitism remains. More importantly, Jay Phlug has a missing finger.
