Summary
This is a perfect opening that sets up the whole season nicely—the stellar cast return in fine form, with some witty writing and gallons of potential. I’m hooked!
This recap of the Hulu series Only Murders in the Building season 2, episode 1, “Persons of Interest,” contains spoilers.
Read the recap of the season 1 finale.
The critically acclaimed Only Murders in the Building is back for a second series with our trio of true crime enthusiasts discovering they are intrinsically linked to the murder of the Arconia’s board president Bunny. We’re thrown straight into the action with the podcast creators finding themselves interrogated separately about the night in question. Mabel (Selena Gomez) is suspect number one. She was found holding the bloody corpse in her open arms, with her very own knitting needle as the murder weapon of choice, sticking out of the victim’s chest. The season premiere, “Persons of Interest” focuses on the aftermath of this brutal act and our trio’s plans to prove their innocence.
Only Murders in the Building season 2, episode 1 recap
The police use the suspect’s own podcast against them, playing Mabel the clip where she talks about a recurring dream of hers. In this dream she is attacked by a mysterious man and stabs him with her knitting needle. The evidence is piling up against the trio and their motives are undeniable. They all hated Bunny, who wanted them evicted from the building. Mabel says what we’re all thinking, that they’ve been framed. The police ask Mabel where she’s hiding the murder weapon, inferring that a knife was actually used, alongside the knitting needle. The gang are quickly discharged, no longer suspects, but are instead labelled as persons of interest in the case. They’re practically ordered to find a new hobby. No more investigating and no more podcasts. Hmm let’s see how long that lasts.
All three head back to their apartments. The older gents are dying to get back on the podcast horse, with a hotly anticipated sequel. Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin) and Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) are clearly blinded by the limelight, desperate to continue building on their current success. Mabel has had enough of all the death though and is happy to be boring for a change. Whilst in her empty flat, she has flashbacks to Bunny’s traumatic murder, evidently she cannot escape this troubling life and moving on will be difficult.
Now that they are the talk of the town, Charles and Mabel find themselves inundated with renewed popularity. Charles is informed that they want to reboot his nineties crime show Brazzos, with Charles playing the Uncle this time around. Whereas Mabel is headhunted by artist Alice (Cara Delevingne), who loves her mural piece. Both socialize with these new acquaintances, happy to have some positive attention for a change. Meanwhile, Oliver meets Amy Schumer (playing a manic version of herself) in the lift of all places, who is taking over Sting’s vacant apartment. Amy gushes about the podcast and pitches the idea to Oliver of buying the rights to their work in order to make her own series adaptation. Things are looking up for our enthralling leads it would seem.
Rival true crime podcaster Cinda Canning (Tina Fey) trash talks the trio in her latest episode, where she announces that she is starting her own investigation into the suspicious murder of Bunny Folger. It’s a great setup for the series, with the gang desperate to clear their names. They meet up to discuss Cinda’s verbal assault and agree to defend themselves and prove their innocence, what with their lives finally on the up and a legacy to uphold.
Hearing Bunny’s voice through the vents, the trio decide to break into Bunny’s apartment to inspect this oddity. The voice turns out to just be her pet bird’s and they seize this opportunity as a chance to snoop around, hoping to find some fresh evidence and dispose of any incriminating notes they may have left behind. Oliver is particularly worried about some death threats he sent her.
Whilst perusing the flat, two Arconia residents enter the apartment, up to their own criminal activities. Uma and Howard are after an erotic painting that is valued at around one million dollars, supposedly placed above Bunny’s bed. The trio hide in Bunny’s closet and manage to avoid detection. Uma screams when she sees that the painting is missing, then the gang find a hidden elevator that takes them to the ground floor.
In the final scenes, Mabel has a flashback to Bunny’s murder once again, but this time the victim’s last words to her are very clearly ‘Savage’ not ‘fourteen’, as she stated earlier. Charles then finds the erotic painting hanging from his wall in his apartment. How did it get there? Someone is obviously trying to frame the actor or maybe he is actually the murderer all along. It’s a tantalizing climax to a great first instalment.
What did you think of the Hulu series Only Murders in the Building season 2, episode 1? Comment below.
You can watch this series with a subscription to Hulu.
