TV Recap: "Only Murders in the Building" — "Flatbush" Brings Fires, Friends, and New Suspects

Homes are lost, friendships are tested, and enemies draw closer in Only Murders in the Building Season 5, Episode 6, “Flatbush." The trio’s investigation takes them from Brooklyn theaters to penthouse confrontations, ending with a terrifying realization: the killer may be much closer — and much more powerful — than they ever imagined.

Season 5, Episode 6: “Flatbush" - Written by John Ebom & Jake Schnesel

The episode opens with narration from Rainey (Dianne Wiest), reflecting on what makes a home. We see both hers and Sofia’s houses, filled with photos of their deceased husbands. “The first home you make for yourself becomes so much a part of your identity," she muses. “It makes you wonder, who are you without your home, and what would you do if it were gone?" Her words carry through as a fire breaks out in Loretta’s apartment, destroying her belongings — including a framed photo of her and Oliver.

Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) sits in his newly remodeled dining room, staring at the offer for his apartment, when his wife, Loretta Durkin (Meryl Streep), arrives in tears. “It’s all gone, everything," she says. She explains she was on set when she got the call and rushed to the airport, only to learn the fire was caused by a short in her electric tea kettle. Oliver comforts her as she sobs, reminding her that not everything was lost. But she lists the things that were most precious to her: her father’s dog tags, a few pictures of baby Dicky before she had to give him up, and all her treasured Playbills. Loretta laments that she’s lived in her apartment for 47 years. “I just feel like part of me is gone," she admits.

Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez) and Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin) arrive, rolling in the murder board with a new subtitle for Season 5: “Widow’s Peak." They console Loretta and rope her into helping make the narration sound “sexy." Talk turns to Sofia, who returned Charles’ phone without seeing him. He insists their brief romance is over. Mabel zeroes in on Rainey and her whereabouts on the night of the murders. Loretta wants to help, offering to go undercover as Emily Lawler, the detective she once played in an unaired episode of Law & Order: SVU. She borrows Oliver’s trenchcoat from Death Rattle Dazzle as a costume and asks him to take her to Brooklyn.

A knock interrupts: Detective Williams (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) arrives to collect the severed finger. The trio hands her a thermos of ice, but when she opens it, the finger is missing. “Someone fingered your finger," she deadpans. Back in Charles’ apartment, everything seems untouched — until he notices a skid mark on the kitchen floor and photographs it for his housekeeper. He realizes the finger had been in his freezer since last week, meaning it could have been stolen at any time. A ping from Last Gasp distracts him, but when he shows Mabel the message from a woman he’s flirting with named Priscilla, all he’s received is a picture of someone’s chin. She notices he’s wearing an earring to look hip, which Mabel insists her take off. Williams asks about security cameras, and Mabel suggests checking Howard’s robot in the lobby.

Meanwhile, Oliver and Loretta arrive in Brooklyn, the same neighborhood he spent formative years of his life in. He paints a happy picture of living with his second foster family, and Loretta wishes she could’ve seen him playing ball games in the streets with the other children. But Oliver’s memories appear like ghosts, suggesting a boy who didn’t fit in with his peers.

As Charles, Mabel, and Williams wait for the elevator, the doors open to reveal THÉ (Beanie Feldstein) dancing to her own song, “Wish That You Were Me." Mabel is surprised when Williams and Charles join in, singing along. Curious, THÉ excitedly asks if they’re on a case. When the trio mentions a break-in, THÉ recalls seeing a strange light from the 14th floor of the East Tower while she was on shrooms. She and her guest, Seth Rogen, wandered to apartment 14C, where light flickered under the door. Mabel finds the story unbelievable. Even more annoying is the presence of a fan waiting for THÉ’s autograph in the lobby. Williams accurately inferred the history between Mabel and THÉ during the elevator ride, asking her to dig deeper into what her former friend knows.

Loretta and Oliver separately attend an open house run by a coughing, smoking Realtor (John Leaone). Upstairs, Loretta hears opera music — “Tosca: Vissi d’arte" — from an off-limits room. She opens the door and finds Rainey emerging from the bathroom with a dagger, startling her. Loretta disarms her, saying she couldn’t resist entering when she heard Tosca, bragging about playing Floria Tosca in college. Loretta recognizes the dagger, and Rainey confirms that it was used by Maria Casca during her final performance at The Met, a gift from Rainey’s late husband. Rainey shares that her husband died last month, and Loretta disarms the widow by sharing that she recently lost everything, too. Rainey shows framed photos of Lester, reminiscing: “He fell into the fountain of the courtyard where we married." She reveals she’s even selling the dagger, hoping to get $500 for it on eBay, and offering it to Loretta.

Meanwhile, Oliver tours the space with the realtor, who shows him pine crown molding before stepping aside when he, once again, begins choking on his own cigar. Oliver snoops through a cupboard full of handbags, looking for one full of money. A memory surfaces of his foster parents, Sue (Andrea Bianchi) and Al (Jim O’Hare), refusing to let him join a play and forcing him back to work at their store.

Outside, Loretta kisses Oliver through tears, saying she’s glad he’s in her life. Rainey’s conversation had an emotional toll on her, and she shows him the dagger she bought from her. “That woman didn’t kill her husband, she’s barely hanging on," Loretta shares. But when they see Rainey and Sofia Caccimelio (Téa Leonii) walking away together, Loretta feels betrayed. They decide to follow them.

Back at The Arconia, Charles and Mabel access lobby footage with the new LESTR — which Howard Morris (Michael Cyril Creighton) has dressed up with a doorman hat. They request security footage of Charles’ front door from 2:30 am, the time when THÉ claims to have visited with Seth Rogan wearing a feathered outfit. Mabel accuses THÉ of lying when she doesn’t appear on screen, and the pop star storms away upset. But Charles and Williams notice a glitch — feathers on the footage, followed by a jump cut. The footage has been tampered with, proving THÉ told the truth. Williams encourages Mabel to apologize.

Loretta and Oliver follow Rainey and Sofia, but lose track of them when a Petitioner (Theo Stockman) hassles them with questions. Serendipitously, they’re standing outside of a building with blue doors that drum up another childhood memory for Oliver — the Mycyn Theatre, where Oliver first fell in love with theater as a child. He recalls finding a community of kids there that encouraged shy young Oliver to come out of his shell. He was cast in a small one-line role as an orphan in Oliver!, a part he never got to play because his foster parents forbade it. “My whole life, I’ve only really felt like myself in two places," he admits: the stage and The Arconia. That’s why the big offer on his apartment feels so difficult.

Loretta pulls him onto the stage to finally deliver his lost line. “I refuse to let you think there’s any place on Earth you can’t be happy, starting right here," she encourages him. He agrees, but only if she performs her Emily Lawler monologue first. After her dramatic delivery, Oliver recites, “Hey, Fagin! These sausages are moldy!" To their surprise, applause comes from the balcony — Rainey and Sofia. They join them on stage.

Sofia explains she was bringing Rainey Lester’s cut of the money. Oliver accuses them of killing their husbands for the money, but Rainey insists her husband’s death was an accident. She’s shocked that they think he was murdered, and when Oliver mentions that Lester was working for Nicky the night he died, too, Rainey informs him that Lester took that night off to attend Oliver’s wedding. She would’ve been there as his date if she didn’t have to work, teaching musical theater to kids at this very theater. The money from Sophia was going to help keep the theater’s lights on.

Rainey shows Loretta the last photo Lester sent her — the decorated fountain from their wedding day. She tells them that her husband’s dream was to become a resident of The Arconia. Oliver asks Sofia why she’s there. She pulls out a gun, but it’s revealed to be a prop from Rainey’s production of Newsies. A group of students shuffle in for rehearsal, and Sofia empties her purse, which was full of prop newspapers for the production. Rainey hands Oliver one of Lester’s bird whistles, found on his body when he died, in case it helps with the investigation.

Up in the penthouse, Mabel enters THÉ’s apartment, finding the door ajar. “Althea?" she calls. THÉ hurls shoes at her, furious for calling her by her real name. Mabel throws one back, knocking down a silver record. The two hash out their falling out: Mabel admits THÉ made her afraid to be herself, while THÉ confesses she thought Mabel had ghosted her. The silver record’s title, “Wish That You Were Me," was written about Mabel. “You’re wrong, I never wished I was you," Mabel says. “I know that, because I wished I was you," Althea replies. After heartfelt apologies, THÉ offers her a pair of pink boots, and the two agree to start over.

Back at Oliver’s apartment, Charles and Detective Williams sit down at his laptop while Mabel lingers nearby. Oliver notices her new pink boots and compliments them, learning that she and THÉ have reconciled. He admits he wanted Mabel to be the first to know something important: he’s planning to leave The Arconia. “Not far," he assures her, but the revelation hangs heavy. Loretta interrupts, calling Oliver to help her in another room.

Mabel rejoins Charles and Williams just as Charles bursts into giggles over a message from Priscilla. He confesses that he told her about the break-in. Williams is furious that he shared case details with someone unverified. She warns him that he’s being catfished as she plays back the footage of Lester’s death, and together they watch as Lester falls into the courtyard fountain. A glitch interrupts the footage, just like the exterior of Charles’ apartment. And Charles notices another thing — a watermark logo of a peach that looks like the app icon for Last Gasp! Williams digs deeper and confirms that both Last Gasp and the company tied to the security system belong to the same man. She shows Mabel the connection.

Meanwhile, Oliver and Loretta ride the elevator, talking about finding their style as a couple together in their new apartment. We see security footage of their lobby walk before we see the camera that captured that tender moment. On the side of the camera is the same peach logo.

Mabel and Williams confront Charles with the evidence: Bash (Christoph Waltz) owns both companies. They piece it together — he’s been behind the catfishing messages, the looped footage, and possibly Lester’s death. As if on cue, another message from “Priscilla" flashes across Charles’ screen: “You’re such a smarty pants. Now I need to come hunt you down." Is Bash watching them right now?

To be continued in “Silver Alert," streaming October 7th on Hulu.

Songs Featured in this Episode: