Only Murders in the Building season 5’s finale is the answer to all our problems. To be honest, I had no idea THAT person killed Lester, but I’m super sad to see the beloved doorman gone. I’m not going to lie, I did tear up a little bit when we saw how he died. But that’s a chapter that’s already been closed (we’ll get into it in a bit); now it’s time to focus on what’s coming next, and it seems to be quite exciting. The season ends on a happy note until it doesn’t. There are loads of openings for everything that can go down in season 6, and here I’m going to try and explore some of them. But anyway, what did you think of this season of Only Murders in the Building? I’ll never get over these two old men being besties with a millennial; it’s just the best part of this show for me, and if that means we’ll be getting more seasons with more murders, I’m kind of okay with it. With that said, though, let’s jump straight into the ending of season 5.
Spoiler Alert
Who Killed Lester?
It’s revealed in the final episode of season 5 that it was actually the mayor, Beau Tillman, who killed Lester. Lester wanted to save the Arconia, which was his building, but ultimately, he lost his life for it. However, the gang honors him well at the end of episode 10 by saving the building. Beau isn’t the only person involved in murder, though. His finger, the big topic of this season, which nobody saw coming, was chopped off by Nicky in a jealous fit. Turns out his wife, Sofia, was seeing Beau, and Nicky was obviously furious. All Lester wanted to do was stop Nicky from ruining his building. He used the opportunity of Nicky swinging around a cleaver to make sure the billionaires and Beau knew that he would do anything to save the building, but unfortunately, he ended up becoming collateral damage himself. Nicky died almost accidentally, but the billionaires were responsible for hiding his body and agreeing to do the mayor’s bidding, which led to them getting arrested, too. They were technically accomplices.
With the mayor arrested and out of the picture, there’s a chance the next mayor will try to get into the gang’s good graces. Only Murders in the Building has never shied away from a bit of real-world satire, and the hilariously corrupt Mayor Tillman may have been partly based on the current Mayor Adams, who is no stranger to controversy. This current NYC mayoral election may be the most talked-about one in recent memory, owing to social media involvement. It remains to be seen if the show will address the mayoral question and continue bringing in real life parallels, but if any show could do it well, it’s OMITB.
What Is The Gang Going To Do Now?
Anyway, in the end, Sofia wonders if Charles wants to go with her to Italy, but he turns down a dangerous woman for the first time in his life (dang shame). To be honest, I think it would’ve been interesting to see him go on a break and come back; he’s still young in spirit, eh? On the other hand, Oliver and Loretta need to make more appearances in the next season together. There’s a chance they’re going to move out, but if they don’t, there’s still room for them to decorate together and give Oliver’s place a Loretta glow-up. We were worried this felt like the end, but it’s not. Now, Mabel is back to being alone again, and Pflug has been arrested, but the guy is still cute (thanks, Logan!). Anyway, there’s a chance Pflug will come back out, considering the lawyers they can afford, and they might still have a chance together. That is, of course, wishful thinking, or is it? I don’t know; you tell me.
What Will Happen to the Arconia?
Here’s the thing: we know that the gang saved the Arconia for now, but it’s a building that many people probably have their eyes on. It’s quite an idealistic world considering all the billionaires got arrested, but what about their wealth, eh? I think the fight for the Arconia is going to be a recurring theme, and my big question is, where will Oliver end up after all this? Is he going to come back? Is he going to move out anyway? What about Loretta? Will she be okay coming back to the Arconia? Man, I missed her in the finale. At least for the time being, Mabel’s worries have been dealt with, but the girl is still lonely.
Who’s The Murder Victim In The End?
It’s been a running gag so far how unlikely it is that a podcast limited exclusively to murders that happen on the premises of one residential building will continue to find fresh content. Somehow or other, though, more murders keep happening at the Arconia, to the point some of the residents have almost blamed the gang for muddying the building’s reputation. To unwind after finally solving Lester’s murder, Mabel, Charles, and Oliver get together and decide to listen to the new podcast from their favorite old creator, Cinda, whose true crime podcast they first bonded over almost 5 years ago to the day. It sets up an exciting premise about a falsely accused victim who has to be transported from the streets of London to the US for the sake of her own safety.
As this voiceover plays out, we see a figure with stunning red curls stumbling her way through the streets of New York City, leaving bloody handprints on the walls and bumping into people as she staggers her way to the Arconia. Finally, with her dying gasp, she collapses onto the sidewalk in front of the building, leading Howard to be upset about the fact that she died just outside the gate, hence not being murdered “in” the building. This leads to an extended argument about what qualifies as valid grounds for their podcast until Howard proclaims that as long as the body is inside the gate, it counts. A sudden death spasm leads the victim to reach out towards the gate and grasp it, and with her fingertips just about inside the Arconia, the gang is on the case.
They turn the woman over, only to discover that the victim is none other than Cinda herself, leaving them stunned. It seems certain the next season will see them first trying to solve the case Cinda herself was working on to find out who could have wanted her dead. This will probably lead to them crossing the Atlantic to check out what went down in the UK, the furthest they’ve ever been from home together, LA being the previous record. We can expect to see Charles putting on a bad Cockney accent, Oliver fawning over Andrew Lloyd Webber and other British musical theatre greats, and Mabel simply being iconic. Alternatively, it’s also possible that Cinda isn’t actually dead and this is just an exciting setup for the next season to draw us in.
