One of the things that makes Only Murders in the Building special is the cast of characters that constantly shake things up. Many of the people we’ve met in the past return to join in the crime-solving this week. And, in the appropriately titled episode ‘CoBro,’ we learn more than ever about Ben’s past.
The episode begins with a peek into Uma’s (Jackie Hoffman, Glass Onion) life. Charles is lonely without his best friends by his side, which is heartbreaking. The trio is the heart of this series, so whenever they’re on the outs, it feels like something is off. Still, Charles chats with Uma and learns that she took the hankie off of Ben’s dead body.
This could lead to more discoveries, but sadly Charles has no one to share this with, since Oliver is busy recasting Charles in his play and Mabel is snooping around without the guys.
Oliver starts off the episode frustrated, but finds a saving grace when Matthew Broderick (who plays himself) agrees to join the musical.
Meanwhile, Mabel is clue-hunting with Theo (James Caverly, Chicago Med). It’s nice to see the two of them together, having fun and snooping around like old times. They attend the CoBro auction and speak with Ben’s brother Dickie (Jeremy Samos, Better Call Saul), who is annoyed that they’re trying to get more clues on Ben’s murder when the killer is in jail.
Only, the real killer isn’t, which Mabel insists. Upon prying further, she finds out that Ben always set his watch to twenty minutes earlier to make sure he was always fashionably late (this episode will definitely make you laugh, too). This seems like nothing at first. But upon further investigation, that means that the broken watch in the photo of Ben’s dead body, indicating the time was 12:06 a.m., is inaccurate!
This is a pretty big clue, and definitely gets Ben’s currently jailed stalker in the clear. To make matters more interesting, Dickie was upset that Ben always got praise and respect even when he didn’t deserve it, especially when Dickie did everything. That includes inventing the CoBro franchise, Mabel discovers, which means the famed CoBro was really created by Ben’s bro. All of these new hints and leads? You can practically smell a podcast episode brewing!
But would it truly be a podcast without Mabel’s usual co-hosts? As for Oliver, his arrangement with Matthew turns sour fairly quickly, and he makes up with Charles by the end of the episode. Charles even agrees to do the play. However, it’s not a real trio with only two.
They seek out Mabel, only to find out she’s officially moved out of the Arconia. They also see an episode teaser pop up on their phones for the Only Murders in the Building podcast. Uh-oh. It seems like Mabel has really moved on to doing this podcast alone. While everyone has got to love #BloodyMabel, here’s hoping that the whole crew will make up, record the official full podcast episode, and mend their bond.
Though we have hints like seeing Dickie with a bloody handkerchief at the closing of the ‘CoBro,’ and Oliver showing Charles Loretta’s Ben book, the real answer still feels out of reach. If the true crime trio make up and finally release a podcast episode together, perhaps we’ll be closer than ever to the truth.