Spoiler Alert: This article contains details from ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 5
The murders are back where they belong, inside the Arconia. But for earlier seasons of ‘Only Murders in the Building,’ the show drifted into Broadway rehearsals, film sets, and guest stars who popped in and out of the building. But season 5 changes that. This time, the mystery is tied directly to the Arconia’s history, and the victim is Lester – the building’s longtime doorman.
At the end of Season 4, we got to know about Lester’s shocking death when Mabel discovered his body in the fountain. And now, Season 5 is back with three episodes to find the murderer and answer all our questions. Did they finally find the culprit? Well, we have got some mystery there.
The Mob Comes Into Play In ‘Only Murders In The Building’ Season 5
The trio’s first instinct is to suspect the mob. And, we can’t really blame the trio here, given the clues. Charles and Mabel were approached by Sofia Caccimelio on Oliver’s wedding day to find her missing husband, Nicky. Things only got weirder after that. Oliver ends up with a real human finger in his leftover shrimp platter from the wedding. What added more fuel to the fire was when they spotted one of Oliver’s wedding photos with Nicky and Lester deep in conversation. And, it starts to feel like Lester must have been pulled into something he couldn’t control.
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Honestly, when have things been so smooth in ‘Only Murders in the Building‘? When the trio travels to Nicky’s Staten Island home (yes, the same house from ‘The Godfather‘), they are as surprised as we are. There, they meet Nicky’s five sons, who are far more interested in recording their mob history podcast than organizing any real crime. And, their panic at the finger only makes the doubt obvious.
Finally, when everything starts to feel like a dead-end, Sofia comes into the scene again. Before leaving, she hands a stack of cards to the trio, which her husband used to carry everywhere. And who could have thought that these cards would leave all of us shocked to the core? Back at the Arconia, Charles studies the cards and notices something unusual; the designs on the backs line up to form a map.
Following the pattern leads him and Mabel straight to a secret poker room hidden in the building. Bam! That’s not all. Inside, they find an envelope stuffed with cash, the same type seen in the wedding photo when Nicky handed something to Lester. So, was Lester a part of this whole mob group?
Lester’s History Comes Into Focus
While Charles and Mabel uncover that clue, Oliver is off doing his own investigating. He sneaks into the Caccimelio family’s dry cleaning shop and makes a gruesome discovery: Nicky’s body, strung up among the clothing racks. The missing husband is officially dead, and once again the path circles back to the Arconia.
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Soon, we are transported back in a flashback episode, which introduces us to a young Lester, starting his career as a doorman. Through a retiring colleague, he’s introduced to Nicky, who runs secret poker nights in the Arconia’s basement. At first, Lester plays along. It’s easy money, and he convinces himself it’s harmless. But years later, when he tries to step away, Nicky shuts the door.
Back in the present day, Oliver takes another reckless step by dragging Nicky’s body to Charles’ apartment. The trio attempts a do-it-yourself autopsy overnight, and while it’s both messy and awkward, they manage to uncover an important clue: bits of green felt under Nicky’s fingernails, pointing back to the poker tables hidden in the Arconia’s basement. That discovery leads them to spy on one of the games in progress. And what they see changes everything.
The players gathered around the table aren’t mobsters. They’re billionaires. There’s Sebastian Steed, Jay Pflug, and Camila White. And, they’re powerful enough to bury secrets that could ruin anyone. Then comes the detail that ties it all together. Jay Pflug is missing a finger. The same finger that ended up in Oliver’s shrimp order.
By the end of Episode 3, the season has already shown why fans are calling it a return to form. With three episodes down, the season has set up more questions than answers. Who killed Lester, and why strike now? Was Nicky punished for trying to leave the poker world? And just how far will the billionaire players go to protect their secrets?
