Summary
The hit whodunit presents more clever metaphors and some nifty plotting, while Martin Short astounds as the bumbling eccentric in the show’s best episode yet.
This recap of the Hulu series Only Murders in the Building season 2, episode 7, ”Flipping the Pieces,” contains spoilers.
Read the recap of the previous episode.
Episode seven marks a season’s best, with some smartly written metaphors, bags of humor and an in-depth look at Mabel’s sorrowful upbringing. “Flipping the Pieces” proves why this series has already been renewed for a third outing, with this joyous cast and an addictive murder mystery leaving viewers desperate for more.
Only Murders in the Building season 2, episode 7 recap
Mabel (Selena Gomez) takes center stage in the latest instalment after last week’s shocking finale. She was filmed stabbing a stranger on the subway and wakes to find herself in Theo’s apartment. The deaf criminal returns home and Mabel whacks him over the head with a lampshade. He explains via sign language how he witnessed the attack and now wants to help her. Theo shows Mabel the video and she assures him that she has no recollection of these events.
The current timeline is intercut with flashbacks of Mabel’s youth. Here she spends her weekends with her father after her parents divorced. The dad loves puzzles and together they complete jigsaws in ever more complex ways, before moving onto even more elaborate puzzles, like the weekly mysteries on The X-Files. Unfortunately her father became unwell and died suddenly when Mabel was only seven.
Mabel tries to piece together this latest puzzle and ponders whether she actually killed Bunny. If she has no memory of either stabbing, does that prove innocence or guilt? Theo recounts what he saw, Mabel being attack by a hooded man, then exiting the train. The hooded man stole her bag and fled the scene, dropping a security badge in the process. Theo took Mabel home, whilst she was in a state of shock, which accounts for the blackout. He shows her the security badge and Mabel is eager to follow this first clue.
Meanwhile, Oliver and Charles worry about Mabel’s unknown whereabouts. They’re visited by Detective Williams with her adorable baby. She wants answers and pressures the gents into confessing to the location of the missing knife. It’s another comical scene, with Martin Short delivering a hilarious turn as the bumbling eccentric. She takes the evidence with her, but thankfully sides with them before leaving, accepting the idea that they are being framed and are in fact telling the truth.
The ending
Theo and Mabel track down the security guard to Coney Island and an abandoned amusement park. Their perusing uncovers no hard leads, but Mabel finds red glitter in the toilet sink. She follows this to a locker room, where she nabs her bag, although the killer returns and chases after her. Theo and Mabel manage to escape and head back into the city unscathed.
As the unlikely duo say their goodbyes, Mabel admits to blocking out painful memories from her past on purpose, such as Bunny’s murder and her father’s passing. She talks of flipping the pieces to hide their truths, but must now flip them back over and look at the full picture. Mabel relives the night of Bunny’s death and sees snippets of clues that were missed before. She returns to her podcasting trio and shows Charles an unfortunate piece of new evidence in the case. The killer had a photograph of Lucy on them. Charles quickly calls her up and finds out she is residing at his apartment, but then the line cuts out and a classic blackout begins. Is Lucy safe? Did Mabel encounter the real murderer? Is he after Lucy? Tune in next week to find out more.
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