Now that we’re on the second half of Only Murders in the Building’s fifth season, Episode 6: Flatbush is naturally packed with disguises, break-ins, and… evil AI?
Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers for Only Murders in the Building season 5 episode 6. Read at your own discretion.
With Only Murders in the Building season 5 episode 5’s ending leading us to believe that Lorraine (Dianne Wiest) and Sofia (Téa Leoni) were up to no good, it’s only a matter of time before our three amateur detectives uncover the truth. However, the events in episode 6 may be heading into something more sinister than two “vengeful” widows.
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Settling in Takes Time
What does “home” really mean? For Loretta (Meryl Streep), home is a collection of memories after another. The actress considered her home a significant part of her life, which was why she felt helpless when it went up in flames the day before, after 47 good years. Loretta, now Mrs. Oliver Putnam, lamented the loss of her Flatbush apartment after a break-in occurred while she was away filming a movie in New Zealand.
Having to move in with Oliver (Martin Short) at the Arconia for a while, Loretta reassured herself that, although meaningful, the material things she lost were far less important than her relationship with Oliver. Oliver, on the other hand, was still contemplating the “generous” offer he received for his apartment. Maybe it’s already time for that fresh start he’s been longing for with Loretta.
Not long after, Mabel (Selena Gomez) interrupted the couple’s reunion by suggesting that Oliver should investigate Lorraine in Flatbush, given that he’s familiar with the area from growing up there. This made Oliver feel uneasy as he recounted memories of being a foster kid in a dysfunctional home, who was always the odd one out. However, Loretta was all in, leaving Oliver with no choice.
Meanwhile, Detective Donna Williams (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) was back at Charles’s (Steve Martin) apartment to collect the severed finger they hid in the freezer as police evidence. To their surprise, the finger was already gone, leaving just the red Stanley Cup in Charles’s fridge.
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Lost Footage and a Finger
Since episode 5, Charles has been busy with whatever his heightened testosterone levels command him to do. That includes swiping left and right in dating apps like “Last Gasp,” specially designed for flirty senior citizens like him. Spending time tinkering with his phone definitely took most of Charles’s attention away from the case. Hence, the missing finger from his home.
At the elevator, Mabel, Charles, and Detective Williams bump into Althea or THĒ (Beanie Feldstein), a rising pop star and Mabel’s condescending ex-best friend. Althea then casually shared that she was high on shrooms with Lady Gaga and Seth Rogen the night before and saw a flickering light on the East Tower’s 14th floor. Curious about the light, the celebrities were led to apartment 14C (yes, Charles’s apartment).
Believing that it might lead them to the finger thief, the three, now accompanied by Althea, went to Howard (Michael Cyril Creighton) and LESTR, the robot doorman, to review the footage from that night. Tired of Althea’s blabbing, Mabel accused her of trying to be the center of everyone’s attention and prompted her just to walk away. Now that LESTR tried to rewind the footage, the three could only see apparent glitches by 14C that could indicate someone messing with LESTR’s feed.
Open House
Back in Flatbush, Oliver and Loretta discovered that Lorraine and Lester’s (Teddy Coluca) house is already on the market. Disguised as interested buyers, the couple attended the open house to search for clues that could link Lorraine and Sofia to the crimes.
Lorraine caught Loretta sneaking into a restricted room upstairs, which made Loretta burst into an impromptu character (her “Emily Lawler” character with a Cajun drawl) to lower Lorraine’s suspicions. But the widow just suddenly broke down and confessed that she was still deep in her loss of Lester and struggling with keeping the home. That’s why she’s selling it not long after Lester’s death.
Moved by Lorraine, Loretta deduced she couldn’t do her husband wrong. However, the mood quickly changed when Loretta and Oliver saw Lorraine and Sofia meeting on the street. Now, they were following the two widows when they lost them after a few distractions, including stumbling upon Oliver’s old theater.
Recalling fond memories of falling in love with theater and acting in his pre-teen years, Oliver shared with Loretta his struggles of fitting in and finding a place he could call home. As Oliver told her his apartment woes, Loretta hugged him. Their tender moment onstage was interrupted by Lorraine and Sofia, who finally admitted what they were doing with Tommy the Tongue’s money.
It turned out that Lorraine and Sofia would be using the money, Lester’s final pay, to fund the Mycyn Theater’s production, which Lorraine oversees. Lorraine was also shocked to learn that Lester may have been murdered and didn’t die accidentally. This revelation may have removed them from the suspect list… for now.
At the Arconia, Mabel finally came to her senses and decided to apologize to Althea. The two quickly reconciled and shrugged off their petty misgivings against each other. Friendship restored!
Everything is Just Peachy
Now that Lorraine and Sofia are off the hook, the trio with Detective Williams gathers at Oliver’s to see the courtyard footage from the night Lester died. The gang still could see the same glitches from the 14C footage in the courtyard video. Recently chatty as ever, Charles might have disclosed details about the case to his Last Gasp match, Priscilla. Showing just a few bits of appearances and never her whole face, Mabel guessed that Priscilla might have been catfishing Charles from the start.
Charles, shaken into his senses, realized that the Last Gasp and LESTR’s footage share the same uncanny logo: a peach. A quick search led our main trio to discover that the peach logo (maybe a parody of Apple) belongs to a company owned by none other than tech billionaire Bash Steed (Christoph Waltz). “Priscilla” shortly sent Charles an unnerving message: “You’re such a smartypants. Now I need to come hunt you down.” Probably the mastermind behind it all, Bash is one cunning guy.
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What’s in store for Episode 7?
Mabel, Oliver, and Charles’s suspicions about the billionaires from Episode 4: Dirty Birds never waned, and rightfully so. Priscilla, er, Bash’s message sounded ominous and could lead our trio into something sinister in the next episodes. In episode 7, Silver Alert, Keegan-Michael Key’s Mayor Tillman is set to help with the investigation, with hints of Oliver getting in trouble.
Episode 7 will be out on October 7, 2025, on Hulu and Disney+. You still have time to dissect episode 6 with Michael Cyril Creighton and special guests, show creator John Hoffman, production assistant Bernardo Sciortino, and THĒ herself, Beanie Feldstein, in the Only Murders in the Building Official Podcast:
Source: Hulu, @hulu (official YouTube channel), @onlymurdershulu (official Instagram)
