TV Recap: "Tongue Tied" Uncovers New Suspects on "Only Murders in the Building"

The double-murder mystery at The Arconia only deepens in Only Murders in the Building Season 5, Episode 5. After last week’s billionaire dinner left the trio with more questions than answers, “Tongue Tied" shifts focus back to Lester’s legacy, a new robot doorman, and Charles’ budding romance with Sofia. But as secrets unravel, the investigation points to suspects hiding in plain sight.

Season 5, Episode 5: “Tongue Tied" - Written by J.J. Philbin

Episode 5 opens with narration from Detective Williams (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), posing a pointed question: “Do you know what real money buys? Silence." Detective Randalph joins Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short), and Mabel (Selena Gomez) in the Velvet Room. The damaged card table has been repaired, leaving little of the crime scene for Williams to see. She’s incredulous that the trio never knew this legendary mob hangout existed under their building. She thinks whoever cleaned up after Nicky’s murder is still inside The Arconia. “When you’re dealing with rich people, you don’t ask them questions; You ask the help," she advises.

Charles points to the two suspicious cops he saw at Clean-Ups, but Williams shuts him down; The last whistleblower against dirty officers had to flee to Florida. Oliver pushes her about running tests on the severed finger, but Williams has to go pick up her child from preschool.

Alone in the Velvet Room, Mabel theorizes that Nicky’s wife, Sofia, could be involved. “If she has anything to say, she’ll say it to me," Charles brags, reminiscing about their flirtatious banter. Oliver finds a shrimp tail on the floor, questioning if one of his missing catered shrimp orders ended up there the night Lester died.

Back upstairs, Charles is distracted by swiping through “Last Gasp," a dating app for men of a certain age. His profile includes a signed Brazos headshot and accidentally lists him as “bicurious" (he thought it said “bicoastal"). Charles preens in front of his friends, and Mabel, grossed out, excuses herself. Privately, Charles tells Oliver that he’s part of a trial for a new testosterone medication that is boosting his energy and pheromones. “I’m being followed by cats," he reveals, pointing out his window where two felines have been drawn. To prove his vigor, he scoops Oliver off the ground and spins him around.

In the lobby, Mabel and Oliver spot Randall (Jermaine Fowler) about to make deliveries, only to find that the robot LESTR has done them all, with Howard (Michael Cyril Creighton) tagging along. They go to Ursula (Vanessa Aspillaga), who is hawking her latest product, gut milk pellets. Oliver slips her some cash and asks about the Velvet Room. Ursula scoffs: “Worst-kept secret in the building." She drops a name: Tommy the Tongue. But she also blames the sleuths for ruining The Arconia’s reputation. Tenants are moving out, tips are down, and robots are replacing the workers.

Hoping to learn more, Mabel and Oliver head to the trash room. Gary, the longtime trash man, has retired, replaced by Miller (David Patrick Kelly), a wiry figure who greets them while pulling a ukulele out of a garbage bag. He knows who they are, and he knows a lot about them through browsing their trash. He outs Charles’ testosterone use to Mabel, and mentions a generous offer that Oliver got on his apartment. Mabel presses about Tommy the Tongue, but Miller bristles: “I don’t share my trash, not with upstairs folk."

Meanwhile, Charles meets Sofia (Téa Leoni) at a Japanese hibachi restaurant, discovering that she brought her adult sons, who sit at a separate booth, celebrating Mikey’s (Cory Jeacoma) 36th birthday. Mayor Tilman (Keegan-Michael Key) barges over to offer condolences for Nicky and, once again, to pitch himself for the podcast, this time suggesting he do sound effects.

Charles and Sofia flirt as they catch food flung at them by the Hibachi chef. Charles asks about the Velvet Room and the magnetic key hidden in Nicky’s deck of cards. Sofia insists she knew nothing about it. She describes Nicky not as a thug but as a sensitive man from a dry-cleaning family who wrote her poetry. But her mother, she sighs, transformed Nicky into a brute like all the men she knew growing up. Charles relates, sharing his own mother issues. Sparks fly, and by the end of the night, Sofia kisses him. She invites him to ride back with her in the minivan, telling her sons to take the bus.

Back at The Arconia, Mabel and Oliver sneak through the staff locker room. They discover “Putnam Sucks" scratched into a table, but then a more concerning etching: “Die Lester Die." The staff catches them, and Randall admits that he wrote that threat, but he meant it about the robot. The staff are all concerned that they will lose their job to a robot. Oliver promises to be an ally for them with the other tenants, suggesting that he organize the first meeting where employees join the tenants.

As tenants gather in the lobby, Howard and LESTR arrive. Howard reveals that the robot has a tenant ranking system based on Lester’s imported records and its own machine learning. Mabel ranks #4, Oliver a dismal #237.

At the heated gathering, tenants and staff clash over whether LESTR should stay. Uma (Jackie Hoffman) likes skipping small talk. Dr. Stanley (Russell G. Jones) likes no tipping. Vince (Richard Kind) wants to limit his exposure to pink eye, which he has come down with again. Ursula threatens that the staff will walk out unless the robot goes. Oliver delivers a rousing speech about keeping humans employed, with Mabel backing him up.

Just as the debate peaks, Charles stumbles in, drunk, missing a shoe, bragging about his tryst with Sofia. While everyone argues, Miller quietly approaches LESTR from behind. When the conversation dies down, Howard gasps: the robot is gone!

Mabel helps Charles back to his apartment. He’s euphoric about making out in a minivan with Sofia; Mabel scolds him for fraternizing with a suspect. He didn’t find anything out about Sofia, other than she’s good at catching food with her mouth, which he adds to the case board. “I just wish we could ask Lester," Charles laments about having no leads on Tommy the Tongue. But that gives Mabel an idea. If LESTR has all of Lester’s paperwork uploaded, it might be able to answer the question! But just then, they hear a robotic “Oh no" from outside the window, followed by a crashing sound. Looking down, they see LESTR broken into pieces by the courtyard fountain where Lester was found dead. “Two doormen in two weeks," Charles shakes his head.

Once the news of LESTR’s demise has spread, the trio meets in Oliver’s apartment, where Howard is sprawled on the couch in grief. He insists that LESTR was his best friend, and now that Sevelyn and Gravy have kicked him out of bed, he’s been relegated to the sofa. His mourning is interrupted by a text message: a brand-new LESTR unit is already on its way, so he rushes off to prepare the docking station.

Miller enters soon after, thanking the trio for the meeting. He appreciates that “upstairs people" stood up for the staff. “On the plus side, I got to kill a robot and go above ground," he brags. Miller shows them a portrait of Lester he’s made entirely out of trash from the night of Lester’s death. “Don’t throw it out," he warns. “I’ll know."

As Miller lingers in the doorway, Oliver asks if he still has the offer. Miller pulls it out of his breast pocket, and Mabel overhears Oliver softly say, “Maybe a fresh start would be good."

Charles reveals he can’t find his phone and thinks he may have left it in Sofia’s minivan. When Mabel presses, he reveals the phone has photos of Nicky’s body, plus shots of the murder board. He’s also shared his passcode with her. Mabel uses Find My Phone and sees Charles’ device is on the move. She tells Oliver to grab his car so they can follow, bringing along Miller’s trash portrait of Lester.

As Oliver drives, Mabel rides in the passenger seat while Charles sits in back, sorting through the garbage. Mabel asks Oliver about getting the offer back. He admits he’s just entertaining the idea, adding that he thinks Mabel would forget about him in a couple of weeks. She assures him that she wouldn’t.

Charles finds a piece of Lester’s handwriting, invoices from the night of the murder. Every item is made out to “Tommy" at the address 4712 Empire Blvd. That’s exactly where Charles’ phone seems to be heading.

Detective Williams calls as they drive, telling them she risked her life to dig up more intel. Tommy the Tongue is not a person but a company worth a lot of money. Large sums have been withdrawn recently, but no names are attached, only a Staten Island address - 4712 Empire Blvd! When they explain they’re almost there, she warns them not to go inside.

Arriving at the location, they see Sofia’s minivan parked out front. She gets out and walks toward the door. “Who would want the money so bad to kill those dudes?" Detective Williams asks as they see who opens the door -  Lester’s widow, Lorraine (Dianne Wiest)! “Their wives," Mabel answers the question.

To be continued in “Flatbush," streaming September 30th on Hulu.

The investigation takes Oliver and Loretta back to the streets of his childhood, where buried memories surface and secrets about Lester and Nicky’s widows emerge. Mabel and Charles follow leads after a break-in.