Only Murders in the Building’s latest episode, “The White Room,” brings on some new changes for the crew – some that will undoubtedly bring on some unwanted tension.
The episode kicks off with Kimber (Ashley Park, Emily in Paris) under suspicion, since it was revealed that she lost her hankie. Charles, Oliver, and Mabel suspect it was her viral anti-aging serum, sponsored by none other than Ben of course, that secretly held the poison that led to Ben’s undoing.
When investigating this lead further, the trio stumble upon Kimber in her dressing room (eager to dish about her serum, TikTok, and Ben). Mabel chats with her about the night Ben died while the guys snoop through Ben’s dressing room, and find a cryptic message written on his mirror in lipstick.
Mabel finds out from Kimber that someone else entered Ben’s dressing room the night he died, to help fix a mark that got on his face. Kimber isn’t sure who it is, but by this point, the clues are beginning to click in our own heads, and we begin to see that perhaps Kimber isn’t the mastermind behind this murder.
If we think about it, a huge development in Charles’ life is his girlfriend Joy (Andrea Martin, My Big Fat Greek Wedding) moving in. Joy is a makeup artist, so this could spell trouble considering the lipstick on the mirror…
She is his new roommate, and Charles is struggling with this shift after living alone for so long. This causes him to go to “the white room” when he is trying to rehearse his song for the musical. The white room is what many stage actors refer to as “blanking” in the middle of a performance. Basically, when an actor blanks out and goes to “the white room” in their mind, they also typically cause a rather horrific scene in real life since they have no idea what they’re doing and aren’t in control of their actions.
This leads to some ridiculous sequences of Charles entering “the white room” and coming back to reality a whole mess, not knowing what he did in those few moments where he blanked out. Of course, since it’s Only Murders in the Building, they are able to pull it off with humor and leave us wanting to see what happens next.
However, it’s far from the only problem facing the cast. While Charles deals with the white room, Oliver worries over his first date with Loretta, stressed about how to properly deal with his new found love. This causes both of the guys to be distracted, while Mabel eagerly focuses on solving the crime. Because both Charles and Oliver are so distracted and never pay attention to Mabel, or the case, it’s slightly easier for Cinda Canning (Tina Fey, 30 Rock) to wedge her way into Mabel’s schedule and ask Mabel to join her podcast as her true-crime podcast partner.
The deal is appealing, with tons of zeroes on the paycheck, but – for now – Mabel refuses. Time will tell if Mabel takes the offer, but it wouldn’t be surprising if she did for maybe an episode or so. After all, Charles and Oliver have been distracted all season, and it’s about time we see some podcast action. Then again, Mabel would never truly leave her friends for Cinda, especially after all Cinda has done, so the trio will likely find their way to each other, and their beloved podcast, soon enough.
Now, back to Charles and his suspicious girlfriend. He blanks out again towards the end of the episode, accidentally proposing to her instead of asking her to move out. That very moment, we also find out the lipstick that was all over the mirror actually belongs to Joy.
This could be a classic case of framing someone, but Joy would have a motive (since Ben and Charles never got along). It’s very likely that she’s the one Kimber heard went into Ben’s dressing room the night he fell on stage – a makeup artist is the perfect person to touch up Ben’s face and make sure he’s good to go for opening night.
Is it Joy? Did she poison Ben, and then later, finish the job? Did she just do the first part, and could there be a second killer we’re dealing with, who pushed Ben down the elevator shaft? With every passing episode, we only have more and more questions. And with Mabel’s uncertainty surrounding their podcast, Oliver wrapped up in the play, and Charles having a fresh marriage proposal on his hands, the group have a lot to sort through before they can even begin to answer them.
