Since the very beginning of Only Murders in the Building season 3, Mabel, Charles, and Oliver have been trying to find out who pushed Ben Glenroy from the shaft, and it was not until the previous episode that they finally found a motive that they believed could lead them to the killer. According to the trio, it was Donna who had pushed Ben, but they were still not very sure as they didn’t have anything to link her to the murder. They had a probable theory in mind, just like they had for the other members of the cast earlier. Every time their speculations were proved wrong, but this time Mabel had a hunch that she had the right person. But now, before claiming anything, she needed to find evidence against Donna, and she knew that was going to be a tough task. Mabel, Oliver, and Charles wanted Donna to come and confess to her crimes, but they didn’t know how they could coerce her to do that. So let’s find out what happened in the Only Murders in the Building season finale and if Donna was actually the killer, or if, once again, the trio had made the wrong assumption.
Spoiler Alert
Why Did Donna Confess To Having Killed Ben?
Loretta did not confess in court, as Oliver, Charles, and Mabel had reached out to her just in time and told her that Dickie was not the murderer. All of them came back to Arconia, and that’s when Loretta gave the blood-stained handkerchief to the trio, which actually belonged to Donna. Loretta hadn’t told anybody about it because Dickie had asked her not to, as he felt that it would make her a suspect. But now that Donna’s motives were known to all, Loretta gave that handkerchief, and seeing the lipstick mark on it, Mabel, Charles, and Oliver realized that finally, they had the incriminating evidence that they needed and that now they should go and confront Donna. They called Donna to the green room, and they told her that they knew that she had poisoned Ben Glenroy and then later pushed him down the shaft.
Donna agreed to have mixed the poison in Ben’s cookie, but she said that she was not the one who had pushed him down the shaft. That’s when Mabel showed her the blood-stained handkerchief, and something went through Donna’s mind, and she ended up confessing to the crime. Mabel found this sudden change of heart a bit mysterious, but she didn’t say anything as of then. Donna told everybody that she was suffering from lung cancer, and because she didn’t have a lot of time she wanted to make sure that her son’s career was on the right track. She was very protective towards Cliff, and she told everybody how happy she was the day he was born. Donna had produced 34 Broadway shows, but nothing gave her more happiness than seeing her son prosper and progress in life. Her protective nature made her take steps that she didn’t want to, but she just couldn’t let Ben Glenroy destroy the first production of her son.
Amidst all the hullabaloo, the play started, and Donna told Cliff everything while sitting in the auditorium. Mabel was seeing both of them backstage, and she knew that Cliff was not going to take it very well. Meanwhile, Jonathan Bridgecroft got all stressed, and he ended up taking more pills than he should have. Just moments before the play was about to start, Oliver realized that his lead actor was not in a condition to go on stage. That’s when Oliver Putnam decided that he would play the role of the detective because he knew the lines by heart and didn’t have enough faith in Howard, who was ready to go on stage.
What Did Mabel Find Out About Cliff?
Now, Mabel had met Donna and Cliff just before they interrogated them, and she noticed something that Donna did which made her realize who the real killer was. Donna kissed Cliff’s handkerchief and kept it in his pocket, and that’s when Mabel connected the dots and came to the realization that it was not Donna but Cliff who had pushed Ben Glenroy. In the Only Murders in the Building season finale, Mabel realizes that Donna is just trying to save her son like Loretta had before. She went to meet Cliff, who was watching the play from the rafters. Mabel told him that she knew that the handkerchief belonged to him and that he had killed Ben Glenroy. Cliff confessed to his crimes, and he told Mabel that he never had the intention of killing Ben and it was one big accident.
Ben and Cliff had met after the former learned that he had ingested rat poison. After talking to Cliff, Ben realized that it was Donna who had put that cookie in his room and that she probably wanted to kill him. Ben told Cliff that he was going to call the police and get his mother arrested and that’s when Cliff lost his temper, and he had an altercation of sorts with Ben. Accidentally, he pushed him down the shaft, and Ben died on the spot due to the fall. Cliff knew that he had committed a blunder, and he kept it a secret, not even telling his mother about it. But now Mabel had caught him, and he knew that his secret would be revealed and he would be put behind bars.
What Happened To Cliff And Donna?
Cliff wanted to jump on the stage from the rafter and sacrifice his life because he was ashamed of what he had done, and he didn’t want his mother to take the fall for him. Mabel started convincing Cliff not to jump, but he was just not ready to listen to anyone. The play finished, and that’s when Donna, Oliver, and Charles also rushed upstairs to see what was happening. Just when Cliff was about to jump, his mother, Donna, held his hand and asked him to come up. Cliff broke down in front of his mother and told her that he had never intended to kill Ben Glenroy. Donna hugged her boy, and she told him that taking his own life was not an option and that he needed to face the consequences of his actions and try to redeem himself. The police arrived, and they took Donna and Cliff into custody. The show was a success at last, and Maxine wrote how brilliant Oliver Putnam’s latest creation was. Loretta was also able to finally tell Dickie that he was her son. Dickie said that he always had a hunch that Loretta was his mother, but he had chosen to never speak about it. Things went back to normal, or at least that is what Oliver, Charles, and Mabel thought before another tragedy came knocking at their door.
Will there be season 4?
The mystery had finally been solved, and the play, too, was a success, and Oliver was quick to take all the credit for it without any sort of hesitation. Sazz Pataki, Charles’ stunt double, who had also helped him earlier in Only Murders in the Building season 3 to sort out his issues with Joy, came to Arconia to join the party. Joy also messaged Charles around the time, and he was pleasantly surprised to see that she finally wanted to mend things between them. Oliver had found the love of his life in Loretta, and he was ready to keep visiting her in Los Angeles if she decided to take up the roles that she was being offered. Mabel decided that she was not going to move to Los Angeles with Tobert, as she wanted to be in New York, though she did tell him that she would keep visiting him there. Charles wanted everybody to have the 1966 Argentinian Malbec that he had been saving for the special day. But Charles didn’t go to bring the bottle from his apartment, and Sazz went instead.
As soon as Sazz entered Charles’ apartment, someone shot at her from the window. Sazz fell on the floor, and we believe that she probably succumbed to her injuries during Only Murders in the Building Season 3’s ending. We believe that the target was not Sazz, but whoever the killer was, they wanted to take down Charles for reasons unknown up until then. Sazz and Charles were wearing the exact same attire and the same hat, so it could have been possible that the killer wasn’t able to figure out who it was from a distance. So, season 3 leaves us on this cliffhanger, and our trio will most probably be back with another season of Only Murders in the Building and try to solve this mystery at hand and get to know who hated Charles so much that they were ready to kill him.
