With almost every lead blocking their investigation, Charles, Mabel, and Oliver are now at odds with how their crime-solving is faring in Only Murders in the Building season 5’s fifth episode, Tongue Tied.
Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers for Only Murders in the Building season 5 episode 5. Read at your own discretion.
In the previous Only Murders in the Building episodes, the Arconia trio was led to a handful of wrong turns and dead ends. Episode 5 is no different from its predecessors. With the billionaire suspects off the hook and a few key pieces of evidence missing, it’s no wonder the podcast detectives are desperate for clues to keep the ball rolling.
Also Read: Only Murders in the Building Season 5 Completes Filming
A Clean Cover-up
When there’s a murder in the building, who are you going to call? Of course, Detective Donna Williams (Da’Vine Joy Randolph). Detective Williams has been a mainstay throughout the seasons, begrudgingly helping Charles (Steve Martin), Mabel (Selena Gomez), and Oliver (Martin Short) with their sleuthing.
In an attempt to build a case against the suspects, the three summoned her to check the Velvet Room for traces of clues and proof that a grisly murder was committed in there. However, much to their surprise, the place was pristine—no cleaver marks, no envelopes and logs, nothing suspicious.
Determined to solve the case without ruffling any feathers, Detective Williams tipped the trio that the cover-up may be an inside job. Probably by someone who works in the Arconia?
Also Read: Pop Corner: Only Murders in the Building Season 5 is Finally Out! Here’s a Recap of Episode 1
Help From the Help
The job now required Oliver and Mabel to head downstairs and ask for help from the Arconia staff. At the same time, Charles was eager to meet with Sofia Caccimelio (Téa Leoni) for a few questions over dinner.
Their first stop was building manager Ursula’s (Vanessa Aspillaga) office. Though vague about what she heard from Lester’s Velvet Room ramblings, Ursula let a name slip: Tommy the Tongue. Who could Tommy the Tongue be? Another gangster out of the picture?
If evidence is missing, they’d probably end up in the trash, right? The next step was to go to the building’s garbage guy, who now happened to be Miller (David Patrick Kelly), Gary’s successor. Miller, an aloof character, apparently knows most of the Arconia tenants’ secrets. He even revealed that Oliver was offered a generous sum for his apartment and Charles was taking testosterone treatments (remember Dr. Tidyman’s trial group in episode 3?).
With no help from Miller about Tommy the Tongue, Charles and Mabel retreated to the staff locker rooms to sift through items that could point to the alias. Then they found “Die Lester Die” scribbled on the lunch table. Sounds ominous, right? But before they could pin Lester’s death to an Arconia staff, they were caught in the act by a bunch of them.
Guilty, Randall (Jermaine Fowler) admitted that he wrote it out of spite, but not for Lester. It’s for LESTR or the new Logic-Engineered Secure Tenant Robot (voiced by Paul Rudd). All of them believe that LESTR and his kind could be out to take their jobs soon. Talk about the rise of AI, even in hospitality.
Tongue in Cheek
To get in the good graces of the staff, Oliver arranged a building meeting to reject the use of any LESTRs in the Arconia. But the meeting quickly turned into arguments and disagreements over keeping LESTRs in the building. Then, a hungover Charles walked into the meeting, prompting the trio to exit before anything worse ensued.
So, how did it go with Charles and Sofia? Just a lot of kissing and unanswered questions. It turned out that Charles’s trial drug has taken over his senses, and he has completely forgotten about the real reason he’s out with Sofia.
With their attempts getting them nowhere, Mabel suddenly remembered that doorman Lester’s notes might have been uploaded into LESTR. The answers that they are looking for could be in that robot. But then, blam! Just as Mabel finished her sentence, LESTR was thrown out of a window, probably by an angry mob of employees.
Their last hope to recover Lester’s notes was literally shattered before them.
One Man’s Trash
Good thing Oliver’s plan worked after all. Miller may have a soft spot after all. The garbage guy presented an abstract portrait of Lester made of trash from the day he died as a gift of thanks for the trio’s support.
Meanwhile, Charles just realized he lost something apart from his train of thought. He might have left his phone in the back of her minivan. Mabel located Charles’s phone using her Find My Phone app and said it was on the move from Staten Island.
With no time to lose, the three decided to intercept Sofia as they hopped in Oliver’s car with Lester’s portrait in tow. As Oliver drives to where Charles’s phone was, Charles found receipts named to a “Tommy” on Lester’s portrait. Then, a call from Detective Williams made the drive more interesting. She just discovered that Tommy the Tongue was a cash-laden company, not an individual, which had recently emptied its bank account.
With Sofia’s minivan and Tommy the Tongue pointing to the same address, the gang waited across the 4712 Empire Boulevard only to find out Sofia and… Lorraine (yes, Lester’s widow played by Dianne Wiest) were secretly meeting with a big bag in hand.
What’s in store for Episode 6?
By the end of episode 5, our suspect list has added more characters to investigate. Who would’ve thought the sweet widows from the previous episodes were up to some shady deals? It wasn’t just recently that we were led to believe that their husbands were the ones who did the dirty work. In episode 6, Flatbush, we are teased with a trip down memory lane and a break-in.
Episode 6 is now availabke for streaming on Hulu and Disney+. Fans can also listen to Michael Cyril Creighton (Howard Morris from the show) dive into Episode 5: Tongue Tied’s details and more in the Only Murders in the Building Official Podcast, with special guests Jermaine Fowler, Don Darryl Rivera, and David Patrick Kelly:
Source: Hulu, @hulu (official Youtube channel)
