Summary
“The Beat Goes On” continues the intriguing investigation of Ben’s murder. It includes some moving truths from our lead trio, as their own connections to Ben are explored in more depth. And as always, the show is brimming with more of that stylized, hilarious humor and wit.
We recap the Hulu series Only Murders in the Building Season 3 Episode 2, “The Beat Goes On,” which contains spoilers.
Movie actor Ben Glenroy (Paul Rudd) was killed for a second time in the closing moments of the previous episode, falling to his death down an elevator shaft inside the Arconia apartment block.
In “The Beat Goes On,” podcasters Charles (Steve Martin) and Mabel (Selena Gomez) begin to investigate possible murder suspects at Ben’s funeral while Oliver (Martin Short) tries to save his dying play.
Only Murders in the Building Season 3 Episode 2 Recap
After Ben’s official death, the producers start to pull the plug on the production, dismantling Oliver’s set. Oliver can’t quite let go of his Broadway play, though. His Broadway career may have been cursed, but Oliver doesn’t want to quit just yet.
He phones his producers, but they are dodging his calls. Oliver hopes that he can speak with them in person at Ben’s funeral service instead. The theater director heads to the event with Charles and Mabel.
Everyone is grieving in different ways; Charles is still bitter about his unresolved rivalry with Ben, and Mabel has strong feelings toward the actor herself.
READ: Will there be a Season 4 of Only Murders in the Building?
Unfortunately, the trio aren’t high up on the guest list and are shoved into a room titled Overflow 3, where they can observe the funeral on a tiny TV screen.
Oliver feels slighted and decides to sneak out to venture into the real funeral inside the church.
Meanwhile, Mabel strikes up a conversation with Ben’s security guard, Gregg Rivera. They discuss possible suspects; both have their inklings, and neither trusts the police.
Gregg invites Mabel back to his apartment to discuss the case further.
Who is Gregg Rivera?
Charles thinks that Gregg is a psychopath but tags along anyway. Inside his apartment, Gregg has all of Ben’s merchandise and memorabilia laid out on display. He’s a super-fan, who has photoshopped Ben’s image into his own pictures, maybe he isn’t Ben’s security guard after all? Charles decides to leave, freaked out by Gregg’s apartment, but the stranger chloroforms the podcasters before they can escape.
They wake up in Gregg’s basement, handcuffed together. Charles thinks that Gregg is the killer, and he’s killing them off because they got too close. While they await their end, they make their own confessions about Ben.
Mabel says that she watched a lot of Girl Cop after her dad died. It helped her and her mom get through that tough time. Ben meant a lot to Mabel.
Why did Ben hate Charles?
Charles admits to the truth about his relationship with Ben as well. A flashback explains the origins of their rivalry. Ben confessed that he was cast as a series regular on Charles’ show Brazzos when he was only 8 years old. But Charles got him fired on his first day. This knocked Ben’s confidence and started his hatred towards Charles.
Before the kidnapper arrives, Charles admits that he never made things right with Ben, which he now regrets. Gregg then appears with an assortment of torture devices.
He thinks that Charles and Mabel killed Ben. They protest their innocence, but Gregg doesn’t believe them.
The police break into Gregg’s basement and arrest him on the spot, saving Charles and Mabel’s lives at the last minute. Detective Biswas informs them that Gregg wasn’t Ben’s security guard, but he was an obsessive super-fan who stalked the actor for years.
They have been tracking him for a few days now.
What did the critics think of Oliver’s play?
Elsewhere, Oliver bumps into theater critic Maxine on his way to the church service. Oliver is desperate to know what Maxine thought of the preview performance of his play. Maxine admits that she thought it was terrible. This shocking review leads to Oliver having a heart attack.
The doctor tells Oliver to change his diet and to reduce the stress in his life, or else he may have more frequent heart attacks. Oliver is then fitted with a heart monitor. He tries to calm himself, but he cannot stop thinking about the play.
Only Murders in the Building Season 3 Episode 2 Ending Explained
Maxine said that Oliver shouldn’t hold back. So, he decides to start the play all over again. This time he wants to make it into a musical, though. Oliver tells Charles and Mabel his big news. They have an announcement of their own.
Mabel discovered that Gregg had stolen one of Ben’s handkerchiefs, and the actor had gifted the whole cast and crew with these presents before the opening night show.
Mabel saw that Ben was holding one of these handkerchiefs at the crime scene. She proposes that he grabbed the killer’s handkerchief before he was pushed to his death.
She believes that the killer is within the cast and crew. Along with Charles, she suggests that they relaunch the podcast, investigating the murder of Ben Glenroy.
What did you think of Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building Season 3 Episode 2? Comment below.
