Did Mabel, Oliver, And Charles Solve Ben’s Murder?

Oliver, Mabel, and Charles are back together and ready to solve a murder case as Only Murders In The Building arrives at its season three penultimate episode. After a long run of struggles and uncertainties, the group’s reunion allows for a solid motive to finally solve Ben’s murder, especially with the running clock that can save Loretta from prison.

The trio uses the recorded footage of the interviews to make a timeline of who saw Ben in what order as they try to narrow down how Death Rattle’s opening night had played out and who had killed Ben.

“Thirty” uses a delightful approach, and rather than just showing Mabel, Oliver, and Charles watching the footage and speaking about it, they place them within the flashbacks, allowing them to watch the events and conversations unfold around them while using guesses and imagination to fill in the blanks.

Eventually, after listening to Oliver speak to the food, Mabel realizes that Ben’s discussion with someone was actually about something. Ben’s recorded emotional speech was to a cookie and not to a person.

But that brings the trio to realize that Death Rattle producer Donna DeMeo had been responsible for poisoning Ben on opening night.

Donna had made a comment to Loretta previously about being willing to do whatever it took to protect one’s child, and Death Rattle was not Donna’s production but her son’s. Donna and Cliff have been shown to be very close, and Donna’s motive of reading the Broadway show’s review, which could kill Cliff’s aspiring career, is a solid reason for going after Ben, who had been named the weak link.

Removing Ben from the show could save Cliff’s career. However, if Oliver, Charles, and Mabel are right about Donna poisoning Ben, that does not mean she tried again later that night. Oliver’s recollection of Donna coming and going from the party all night teases that she and Ben could have been gone simultaneously. However, that does not mean she was the one to push Ben down the elevator shaft.

While their investigation and potential suspect may be enough to create doubt and help free Loretta, Charles, Mabel, and Oliver’s investigation only covered leading up to Ben’s poisoning, but they never reached flashbacks to their time in the Arconia when Ben was killed.

Does that mean that Only Murders In The Building has enough twists up its sleeve? What other motives would someone have to kill Ben? Did Donna try a second time at the Arconia? Was Ben’s death just a tragic accident?