In Death Rattle newborn triplets are the main suspects in a crime for no apparent reason. The nanny gives herself up to protect them, and before the detective reveals the real culprit, he falls dead on stage. This is how the third season of Only Murders in the Building opens, or rather, this is how the second season ended. And in episode 9, traditionally the one that ties together the victim’s trajectory and reveals the culprit, we will finally know “which of the triplets killed”, as Charles’ (Steve Martin) song suggests.

First, the plot. By the way, first the SPOILER warning. I sang the culprit(s) almost at the beginning, I almost said it because I changed my mind a little along the way and now I have confirmed the suspicion. Especially since the soundtrack’s track titles also give it away, or confirm it. We will get there.

We start with Mabel (Selena Gomez) and the most unnecessary nightmare of being a mother of twins, triplets, Charles, Oliver (Martin Short), and the podcast. It wasn’t remotely funny to have Martin Short and Steve Martin‘s faces on the babies’ heads. Ugh. It was disturbing, but we survived it. So did Oliver to his heart attack by having a stent fitted and is released home, where the trio records the podcast and deciphers the real culprit behind Ben Glenroy’s (Paul Rudd) death. They know that Loretta (Meryl Streep) claimed she committed the crime to protect her son, Dickie (Jeremy Shamos) and they want to save her, but they are out of time because five days have passed and it is time to sentence her.

In the race against time, the three rescue the timeline of Ben’s last steps, a figure so far described as narcissistic, insensitive, and even aggressive. So, friends, and fans can congratulate each other. Almost all the theories that were going around on social media are true. The video of Ben talking to himself was of him resisting the cookie (poisoned), it was Ben himself who wrote on the mirror that he was a f* pig. But the following tips are the most revealing and are in line with my revised guess from last week.

By contextualizing every step of the actor’s final hours, the podcasters humanize Ben, who was under pressure, on a strict diet, and knowing he was unwell as the detective in Death Rattle. The critics would destroy it, but, as the main name of the cast, it would also destroy the season. As Donna (Linda Edmond) didn’t want Cliff’s (Wesley Taylor) first investment to go wrong, she poisoned the cookies to kill Ben. A mother protecting her son, as the season’s opening monologue warned. But she has a catch!!

Well, as we know, Ben didn’t die because of the poison, but because he was pushed into the broken elevator shaft. So the killer was at the party, yes, but I don’t think it was Donna. Cliff argued with Ben and made the move that accidentally (?) ended the life of the star of his play. When Oliver rescues the production and turns it into a musical, now creating a potential success, Donna is initially against it, but she can never say no to her son who embarked on his dream of being a successful Broadway producer.

Even removing the possibility, which partly repeats a line from the first season, the conclusion of Only Murders in the Building will be satisfactory. The season was stunningly fun and intelligent, with beautiful music and great acting. The writers’ narrative creativity takes my breath away, whether it’s the “deaf” episode of the first season or the metalanguage of the third. A series that only has one problem destroying Arconia’s real estate value with no less than three murders in a row at the same address. What to do? Everyone loves true crime, at this point, the fourth season (hopefully they confirm it!) will certainly address the unintentional publicity of the macabre Upper West address. We hope Mabel living there!

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