'Only Murders in the Building' Season 5 Episode 9 Recap: One of the Show's Most Unique Episodes Ends With a Major Breakthrough

Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for Only Murders in the Building Season 5 Episode 9.

Only Murders in the Building is only one week away from its big finale, and Episode 9 delivers some of the most exciting reveals thus far — plus a slew of cameos to amp up the nostalgia. Last week revealed that the nefarious Camilla White (Renée Zellweger) has finished purchasing the majority of the Arconia’s apartments, meaning she now owns 51% of the building and can turn it into the bespoke casino she has always wanted. Moreover, it was also revealed that she hatched a plan with Nicky (Bobby Cannavale) to pull the scheme off. For his part, Nicky learned his wife was cheating on him only days before his death.

More importantly, however, the trio learn that Randall (Jermaine Fowler) was there when Lester died and even took the elevator crank with which he was killed. Episode 9 is another of Only Murders‘ trademark episodes told from a different perspective, like Season 1’s “The Boy From 6B” or Season 4’s “Blow-Up.” This time, it’s from the perspective of L.E.S.T.R., the Arconia’s robotic doorman voiced by Paul Rudd.

‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 5 Episode 9 Puts the Spotlight on L.E.S.T.R.

Image via Hulu

The episode, appropriately titled “L.E.S.T.R.,” opens with Lester (Teddy Coluca) and Miller (David Patrick Kelly) opening a big package containing the robot. L.E.S.T.R. enthusiastically says he’s there to help and increase the building’s efficiency, although he can’t, as Miller says, print stuff out of his butt. Lester, however, is not having it and leaves L.E.S.T.R. to gather dust in the staff room. A voiceover by the robot says that, while people like to paint him as the bad guy, they are the ones who mess up and try to blame each other. “People make so many mistakes,” L.E.S.T.R. says as we see a montage of scenes, including Lester angrily declaring he’s been “looking the other way too long” to someone off-screen, and a scared Randall walking into the staff room with the bloody elevator crank.

In the present, Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short), and Mabel (Selena Gomez) confront Randall: It was you! At the fountain! With the elevator crank! Randall quickly runs away, and none of the three can chase after him: Mabel is wearing heels, Charles isn’t wearing underwear, and Oliver still has blisters from his Linda Lavin boots. Days later, Randall is still MIA, and everyone is getting ready to move (the episode is framed by L.E.S.T.R. announcing how many days until move-out; right now, it’s 19). Mabel also receives a flirty message from Pflug (Logan Lerman) asking her on a coffee date or a trip to the Maldives — whatever rocks her boat.

Now it’s 8 days until move-out. L.E.S.T.R. is picking up shoes for a tenant at Clean-Ups, which is now run by the Caccimelios’ six dumb sons and their overly rude Nonna (Elizabeth D’Onofrio). The trio tries to quiz the brothers about the last time they saw Randall, but the conversation quickly turns to one of them having popcorn with Sofia (Téa Leoni) late at night at the expense of the others.

‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 5 Episode 9 Sees the Trio Trying (and Failing) to Move On

Steve Martin and Martin Short in Only Murders Season 5 Episode 9

Now it’s one day until move-out. Charles is thinking of moving to a new place that turns out to be a nursing home, and Oliver leaves for New Zealand in two days. Mabel, as expected, has no plan. Randall suddenly posts about being in Cuba, which has no extradition, meaning the investigation seems to have reached an official dead end. A defeated Mabel leaves and stumbles into none other than Teddy Dimas (Nathan Lane) in the lobby. The two drink wine, and Teddy talks about how his time in jail changed him because of how lonely it is (on the plus side, he now speaks fluent Italian, so thanks, Duolingo). Vince (Richard Kind) is in the corner enjoying the last minutes of his Peloton before the buyer arrives, while Lester goes around telling people they can’t drink or exercise in the lobby. Poor Howard (Michael Cyril Creighton) also learns his retina no longer unlocks L.E.S.T.R. because the robot now belongs to Camilla’s VP of security.

At Charles’ apartment, Oliver suggests recreating The Last Supper (he loves a cheeky Bible reference), but Charles says he can’t make it because he’s meeting an old friend whom he once linked arms with in Hands Across America. See, now that he’s out of the building, he needs to see which friends he has in the outside world, much to Oliver’s chagrin. Mabel declares she’s done investigating, but Detective Williams (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) arrives and gives her a much-needed brand of tough love in the Velvet Room. Mabel suggests she might go with Pflug on a yacht adventure, but Williams is not having it. Mabel loves investigating, and unlike Charles and Oliver, she’s, you know, actually good at it (well, kinda). But Mabel says that Jay’s guru says that most problems in Western civilization come from a need to achieve.

Mabel notices a print near a wall in the Velvet Room pointing in their direction, meaning it came from behind the wall. Surely enough, there is a secret passage behind a large frame; screw the yacht, Mabel is back in business! She and Williams go into the room to discover blood splatter on the floor, plus white painting dots, suggesting that whoever killed Nicky dragged him out of the Velvet Room through there. Moreover, a staircase leads directly to Clean-Ups, where Nicky’s body was found. Lastly, there’s a painting that matches the background in Randall’s post. He’s not in Cuba — that SOB is still in the building!

‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 5 Episode 9 Plays Like a Trip Down Memory Lane

In the lobby, Howard laments how he used to grease L.E.S.T.R.’s wheels real well, Uma (Jackie Hoffman) laments how no one has greased her wheels in ages, and Teddy is just happy to be there. Mabel arrives with the new info, but Charles is still intent on going to meet his friend from Hands Across America, prompting Oliver to call him an “emotionless robot.” A delivery guy arrives with an order for 6C, which has been empty for weeks, per Howard. L.E.S.T.R. then casually mentions Randall is squatting in 6C, and when Mabel questions why he never told them, the robot answers that they never asked.

At 6C, the trio confronts Randall, who once again runs away. The incredibly slow trio chases after him, but Randall stumbles face-first into Theo (James Caverly), who’s arriving to pick up Teddy. Randall explains that Lester asked him not to tell anything to anyone, but no one believes him. However, L.E.S.T.R. was there (the original one that was thrown off the Arconia’s roof in Episode 5). L.E.S.T.R. then shows them a recording of the night Nicky died, showing Lester holding the bloody crank and giving Randall instructions about Oliver’s wedding. Randall asks who the blood is from, and Lester replies that he “couldn’t let that mobster take over my building” and how he’s been “looking the other way too long.” So one mystery solved: Lester killed Nicky with the elevator crank upon learning of his and Camilla’s plans to take over the Arconia and turn it into a casino. He saved the old Arconia with a piece of the old Arconia. Randall says Lester did it for everyone so that they wouldn’t lose their homes.

Lester killed Nicky, but who killed Lester? Randall doesn’t know. He came back from Oliver’s after delivering the shrimps, then found Lester dead in the courtyard. He didn’t want anyone to trace the crime back to Lester, so he picked up the bloody crank and put it in Nicky’s office. Oliver also summarizes that Lester wanted the trio to solve the murders, hence why he left the finger in the shrimps. At his place, he finally gets to reenact The Last Supper with eight apostles: Miller, Theo, Howard, Teddy, Uma, Vince, Randall, and Mabel (Mabel isn’t actually a part of the recreation per se, since she’s busy rearranging the murder board, but she’s there).

Howard and Charles have a heart-to-heart, where Howard reveals Jonathan broke up with him weeks ago, so he found solace in L.E.S.T.R. Charles reassures Howard, who finally breaks down. It’s a very lovely scene that smartly limits the humor to allow Howard, one of the show’s most underappreciated characters, to really express his feelings of loneliness. Pflug then arrives at the apartment to pick Mabel up and leave for the Maldives. She says she’s not going, despite previously sending him a text saying “I could be a boat b—h,” and chastizes him for his carefree attitude to the very real problems at hand. If Jay actually wants to make a better world, Mabel says, then he should stop making it worse.

In the kitchen, Charles and Oliver make up. See, Charles didn’t want to have a last supper because he didn’t want to say goodbye. It’s a plot we’ve seen a thousand times before, but if anyone can make it work, it’s Steve Martin. He also feels alone, an issue he’s been dealing with for most of the series. The two friends have an honest interaction where they reaffirm their friendship. Throughout both this and the Pflug interaction, L.E.S.T.R. watches with what I can only assume is curiosity, or at least the closest thing a robot can feel.

Teddy mocks the murder board (“Pictures of the floor? Really?”) and Randall says the scuff marks in Charles’ kitchen, left by whoever stole the finger in Episode 6, were from L.E.S.T.R. However, Howard says the scuff marks were actually left by a motorized chair like the one his mother had (the Pride Jazzy Elite HD, in lilac). Mabel, Charles, and Oliver then realize that the finger was stolen by the only person they know in a Jazzy scooter: Nonna! At Clean-Ups, Charles, Mabel, Oliver, Teddy, Howard, and L.E.S.T.R. confront Nonna and the idiot Caccimelio sons. The five siblings react aggressively, meaning they basically talk loudly over each other, but Nonna quiets them down, and realizing she’s been caught, can only muster “mannaggia.” In voiceover, L.E.S.T.R. says machines may be a threat, but they don’t act out malice; indeed, if there’s anything humans will always be better at, it’s evil.

Although a bit of a step-down from last week’s incredible episode, “L.E.S.T.R.” still includes some nice character moments, particularly for Charles and Oliver, welcomes back a slew of fan-favorites (here’s hoping for more of the Dimases in Season 6), and finally solves one of the season’s crucial mysteries. As to who killed Lester? My money is on Sofia, especially now that the Caccimelios are confirmed to be more involved than expected. We’ll find out next week when the highly anticipated finale of Only Murders in the Building Season 5 drops.

Release Date: August 31, 2021
Network: Hulu
Showrunner: John Hoffman

Pros & Cons

After taking a backseat last week, Charles and Oliver are back in the spotlight, and Martin and Short make every moment count.
Howard’s emotional scene with Charles was also sweet and a worthy showcase for the ever-underrated Michael Cyril Creighton.
L.E.S.T.R. has so much personality this episode, thanks in large part to Paul Rudd’s rather brilliant vocal performance (the writing on his narration is also on point).
It’s great to see the eccentric tenants of the Arconia coming together for one last supper (literally).