Description: A complete and in-depth recap of 'Only Murders in the Building' Season 5. This breakdown explores every episode, from Lester's and Nicky's murders to the trio's investigation into the billionaires and the final, shocking reveal.
Season 5 of Only Murders in the Building kicked off with a death that hit closer to home than ever before, striking at the very heart of the Arconia. Just days after Oliver's wedding, the building lost its soul: Lester, the doorman. While the official police report claimed it was a tragic accident, our favorite trio of podcasters knows that in this building, "accident" is just another word for "future podcast material." This season throws Charles, Mabel, and Oliver into their most complex and dangerous case yet, a dizzying world of wannabe mobsters, secretive billionaires, and a deep-seated conspiracy that goes to the very top of New York's power structure, threatening the Arconia itself.
Here is the complete, in-depth breakdown of Season 5, from the first grisly clue to the final, shocking reveal.
Episode 1: Nell and the Coffin
We open just four days after Oliver's beautiful, chaotic wedding. The trio is gathered, attempting to enjoy some leftover shrimp while Oliver, in classic form, tears apart Lester's less-than-stellar obituary. The official word is an "accident," but Mabel's gut feeling, which has proven itself time and again, isn't buying it for a second. She senses something is deeply wrong. Oliver, on the other hand, is basking in the newlywed glow, completely ready to pause the murder-solving and just be a happy husband. His bliss is short-lived. Mabel and Charles are forced to point out that he was just about to eat a severed finger that was found mixed in with the shrimp.
Just like that, the podcast is back in action.
The finger is gruesome, with a suspicious green fungus on the nail. Charles, drawing on his vast "experience" from Brazzos, suggests it's a mob-style message, like a horse's head in the bed. This immediately sparks a memory for Mabel: Sophia Ketchamilio, the mysterious woman from last season's finale who pleaded with them to help find her "missing" husband, Nicky.
A Funeral and a New Doorman
Down in the lobby, Lester is laid in state, fulfilling an odd request he had made to be memorialized in the building he loved. The atmosphere is thick with awkward grief. We meet Randall, the new, slightly-too-eager doorman, and Lester's wife, Lorraine, who is understandably devastated. The real surprise is the appearance of Mayor Tillman, who gives a polished, campaign-style speech despite clearly not knowing Lester at all. It's a blatant political move. Charles, meanwhile, is tasked with the grim mission of checking Lester's body for a missing finger. His awkward attempt at a discreet investigation is unfortunately spotted by the ever-watchful Uma, and the mission is a spectacular failure, drawing unwanted attention.
Back in Mabel's apartment, a frustrated Oliver pulls out a blurry wedding photo to remember Lester by. As she scans the photo, Mabel spots it: Lester, in the background, speaking with none other than Nicky Ketchamilio, the supposedly "missing" husband.
A Trip to Staten Island
A new working theory forms: Lester got mixed up with the mob boss Nicky, and it led to his death. This theory propels them on a road trip to Staten Island to confront Sophia and the Ketchamilio family. They pull up to a house straight out of The Godfather, bracing for danger, and meet a group of brothers—Johnny, Tony, Mikey, Vinnie, and Braylon—who do their best to intimidate the trio with tough-guy stories and veiled threats.
It's all an act. The "mobsters" are just wannabes, posers with their own true-crime podcast called "I'm Talking Here."
Sophia drops a bombshell that shatters their theory: the mob is dead. Nicky wasn't a criminal, at least not a successful one. He and Lester were just the co-owners of "Cleanups," the dry cleaning company in the Arconia's basement. Nicky, it turns out, was a failed mobster, a disappointment to his family, desperately trying to keep up the facade. Sophia claims the finger isn't her husband's. In a private conversation, a vulnerable Charles agrees to help find Nicky, and in return, she gives him a deck of cards Nicky always carried with him.
The Secret Casino
Back home, Charles investigates the cards and finds one is magnetic. It reveals a mysterious map of the Arconia, marked with the number 62400. Meanwhile, Mabel, sticking to her investigative guns, reviews the security footage of Lester's final moments. She notices his strange, furtive behavior and, more importantly, a missing chunk of footage right around the time of the incident. Someone with access has clearly tampered with the evidence.
The map, they realize, is a guide to the building's security camera blind spots. Following the path leads them to a hidden door in a closet, which opens into a dark, dusty underground tunnel. This tunnel leads them directly to an unbelievable discovery: a secret, vintage casino, hidden beneath the Arconia for decades. The number 62400 is the code to a hidden compartment in one of the tables, where they find an envelope—the very one they saw Nicky give Lester at the wedding.
While this is happening, Oliver, in a rare moment of sentimentality, decides to do a nice gesture and pick up Lester's uniform from the dry cleaners to have it preserved. As he makes his way into the dark, quiet "Cleanups," he discovers another dead body: Nicky Ketchamilio, murdered and left in his own shop. The season has its second victim.
Episode 2: After You
This episode takes a brilliant, heartfelt detour from the main mystery. It's not just a flashback but a genuine love letter to the heart and soul of the building, framed as a look back at Lester's 32-year story, told through a series of previously unseen interviews.
We learn Lester never planned this life of service; his original dream was to be a movie star. We flash back to his very first day, a young man getting the rundown from a seasoned, grizzled doorman named George. A younger, brasher Bunny even appears, trying to get lotto numbers from the new guy. George's most important lesson, the one that defines Lester's career, is to "always pay attention to the little things." He gives Lester the elevator crank, a tool of the trade, stressing its importance for the safety and well-being of everyone in the building. Throughout this poignant episode, we get brief, jarring flashes to the night of Lester's death, where we see him dropping that very same crank while trying to get away from an unseen pursuer.
A Tour Through the Past
This episode treats us to a whirlwind tour of the Arconia's history and the lives that passed through its lobby. It’s a treat for long-time fans, connecting dots we never knew existed. We meet:
Baby Mabel and her mother, visiting their aunt. We see the very first seeds of Mabel's connection to the building.
A young Teddy Dimas, already exuding the arrogance and power he would wield years later.
A younger Oliver, before he even moves in, trying (and failing) to pull a fast one on Lester with a fake slip-and-fall. In a later, telling scene, we see Lester agreeing to "see what he can do" to help Oliver get his apartment, confirming he's been looking out for the future director from the very start, despite Oliver's antics.
A younger Charles, at the absolute peak of his Brazzos fame, radiating confidence.
We also get to see the "meet-cute" between Lester and Lorraine, his future wife. Time passes, and we see a young, sad Mabel hiding in a closet, only to be found by Lester. He gently coaxes her out to help with the Arconia Christmas tree, showing the foundation of their deep, decades-long friendship. In a more sinister memory, we see George collecting an envelope of money from a young Nicky Ketchamilio. Lester sees this exchange, and his curiosity—and desire for a better life—is piqued. He wants in.
The Casino Connection
When new automated elevators are installed, George announces his retirement. He introduces Lester to Nicky, revealing the second, secret part of the doorman's job. Lester is to be his replacement not just at the front desk, but also as a discreet helper for Nicky's secret underground casino on Saturday nights. It's "easy money," George says.
More time passes. We see the kind-hearted Lester giving Charles some much-needed words of encouragement after a lost audition. In an even more generous moment, he quietly pays Charles's $400 cab tab when his show is canceled and he's broke. We also see him giving Charles a deck of cards, just like the one Sophia had—a small gift he gives to residents.
We cut to the events closer to Season 1. Lester, now a family man, wants a night off for his anniversary, but Nicky declines. It's Saturday night. Lester, weary of the double life, thinks it's time to retire from the casino job. Nicky coldly reminds him who's responsible for paying for his kids' college. He can't leave until Nicky says so. Lester is trapped.
The episode masterfully shows just how Lester was the building's true core, comforting Howard when his mother passed and giving Oliver a pep talk after his divorce. We even see him listening to the first-ever Only Murders podcast after Tim Kono's murder, visibly upset that a tenant was murdered on his watch.
We finally catch up to the present, with Lester hiring Randall. He gives Randall the same advice George gave him all those years ago, but adds a stark warning: avoid Nicky at all costs. He's desperately trying to protect the young man from the same trap he fell into.
As the episode closes, we flash back one last time to the night of Lester's death. He's running, panicked, from someone. He drops the elevator crank, looks up in terror, and appears to either slip or be pushed into the fountain.
The final shot is a chilling one: a mysterious gloved figure steps into the frame, calmly picks up the fallen elevator crank, and quietly walks away, leaving Lester for dead.
Episode 3: (Episode Title Not Mentioned)
This is a good old-fashioned, classic Only Murders episode, blending high-stakes mystery with laugh-out-loud comedy. It kicks off with a fascinating history lesson: the Arconia's original horse stables were rendered obsolete by the automobile, so in the 1910s, savvy mobsters turned the abandoned space into a secret casino.
Back in the present, Oliver fills the crew in on finding Nicky's body, complete with a cleaver through the chest. In true, frantic Oliver fashion, he accidentally sneezes all over the body. His panicked "solution"? Put the corpse in a laundry cart and wheel it directly into Charles's pristine apartment, much to Charles and Mabel's absolute horror.
Mabel's mind immediately pieces it together: whoever killed Nicky probably anticipated his body wouldn't be found until the cleaners opened in the morning. But why is the body so discolored and partially frozen? The immediate, grotesque mission is to get Oliver's DNA off the body and return it to the cleaners before they're discovered.
The First Autopsy
While grimly checking Nicky for missing fingers (he has all 10), they notice the same green substance under his nails from the finger in episode 1. Charles, with his oddly specific knowledge, identifies it as an F1 gray Lachlan felt, the kind used on high-end casino dealer tables. This sparks a critical theory: Did Nicky mess with the felt to cheat at cards, scam the wrong person, and pay the ultimate price?
The trio, now amateur coroners, conduct their first autopsy. They spot a strange white substance on his sleeve (not cocaine, Oliver, the self-proclaimed expert, confidently declares), rope marks on his wrist, and a particular burn behind his ear. The random suggestion of eating leftover freezer food gives Mabel a breakthrough: What if the burn was from a freezer? This would explain the discoloration and lack of decomposition. He was likely killed days ago, frozen, and only now thawing.
Mabel, emboldened, checks his mouth and finds a critical clue: a small, damp piece of paper with the building's ledger on it, which we now know came from Lester.
A New Friend and a New Lead
With morning approaching, they only have 14 minutes to ditch the body. It's a race against time. Oliver snatches the main ledger from a confused Randall, while Mabel and Charles deal with the grim task of moving the body. In the elevator, Mabel bumps into V (formerly Althea), an old friend she briefly saw in episode 2. V is now a successful musical artist who has just, in a massive power move, bought the penthouse. There's clear, unresolved bad blood between them.
Meanwhile, Charles clumsily returns Nicky's body to the cleaners' storage, just as the police arrive. It's immediately clear they were sent there. One officer tells the other, "Just write it up like they said." This confirms Mabel's early suspicions of crooked police and a cover-up, and it casts even more doubt on the "accidental" death report for Lester.
Back in Mabel's apartment, they examine the missing ledger page. It shows money accounts and a series of strange code names of birds: Brown Headed Cowbirds (described as parasites and killers), Eurasian Jay (known imitators), Cockapoo (rare and heavy), and Bowerbirds (known for building elaborate "nests" to attract mates). It's clear: Lester was keeping detailed tabs on a high-stakes game. And, according to the ledger, a game is happening tonight.
The New Mob
The episode ends with the trio hiding, spying on the secret casino. The old-timers are gone. In walk the new players, the "new mob of New York":
Sebastian "Bash" Steed: A cold, calculating tech billionaire CEO.
Jay Flug: A young, charismatic pharmaceutical billionaire.
Camilla White: An imposing, impeccably dressed hotel empire titan.
And the final, spicy nugget that ties it all together: they notice Jay has a bandage on his hand. He's missing a finger.
Episode 4: (Episode Title Not Mentioned)
This episode was, in a word, brilliant. We kick off with a slick glimpse into the billionaires' world as they bask in their past victories, hinting at the moral ambiguity that got them to the top. A quick, clever detail in the opening credits: three birds are seen sitting on a window, a clear callback to the code names in Lester's ledger.
Mabel and Charles are now convinced they have their man, discussing the high probability that Jay's missing finger is the one from the shrimp. The cleaver found in Nicky's chest could have been the weapon used to cut it off, and Lester could have seen the whole thing, which would be the motive for his murder.
Their conversation is cut short by a bizarre introduction: the building has a new doorman, a robot named Lester. Howard, in his element, is tasked with training it, which he takes to with unsettling enthusiasm.
The Murder Board and a Dinner Invitation
Oliver, motivated by Charles and Mabel calling him a narcissist, has proudly made his very first murder board. The prime suspects are all there, linked to their feathered alter-egos from the ledger:
Jay: Eurasian Bird (the imitator)
Bash: Cockapoo (the rare one)
Camilla: Brower Bird (the nest builder)
Nicky: Brown Headed Cowbird (the parasite)
Per Lester's notes, the game last Saturday had only five "birds." Accounting for Nicky and the three billionaires, who was the mysterious fifth person at the table?
We also learn more about the billionaires' ruthless "evil deeds." Jay's family faucet business once gave an entire town lead poisoning, and they conveniently swooped in to sell them the "cure." Bash is a reclusive tech genius who "owns the internet," implying he can control information (and probably manipulate security camera footage). Camilla, the "queen of the core," makes beautiful "nests"—hotels so perfect, you never want to leave.
Mabel and Oliver run into V (who now insists on being called "Thee") in the hallway, just as Howard and Robot Lester appear. The robot scans V and her latest hit song starts blaring, prompting Howard's truly unforgettable, cringe-worthy dance moves. In a hilarious meta-moment, Robot Lester dryly mentions that the Only Murders podcast's ratings were 24% lower last season. V, unimpressed, suggests they need her publicist, who she jokes (or maybe not?) is a "hired assassin."
Mabel's insecurity around V's success sparks a deep dive into their past. They were each other's only friends in middle school. Mabel, she reveals, was much sunnier back then, but after Zoe's death (a key event from Season 1), she fell into a deep depression. It was then that V (then Althea) completely changed, turning everyone against Mabel. This emotional dump is cut short by a video message from Jay: "Heard your teaser... I'll be by at 7 to clear things up."
Dinner with the Billionaires
Jay arrives early, exuding charm. Soon after, Camilla and Bash arrive too, uninvited. The trio is now hosting all three highly suspicious billionaires. This interaction is a masterclass in tension and a highlight of the series. The billionaires are there for one reason: they don't want their high-profile names tied to secret card games and dead mobsters.
The trio, out of their depth, makes a rookie mistake: they mention details about Nicky's body they couldn't possibly know. The billionaires' eyes narrow. Sensing they're losing control, the trio pivots, deciding to split them up, a classic Brazzos move.
Charles and Bash bond awkwardly over technology, with Bash using his futuristic tech to save Charles's grandmother's legendary, long-lost recipe.
Oliver and Camilla trade thinly veiled, sneaky insults about Oliver's apartment decor, with Camilla clearly winning.
Mabel and Jay flirt. Jay talks about his deep trust issues, mirroring Mabel's own story from earlier. He claims he lost his finger "making a bad decision," but remains vague.
After the interactions, Mabel tells the crew she doesn't believe Jay is the murderer. He's "sweeter" than she expected. These billionaires seem... charming, almost misunderstood. But the joke's on them. Camilla, in a moment of supposed camaraderie, tells Oliver the "real" story: The night Lester died, Nicky showed up high on "Snow White" (cocaine), waving a cleaver, and in a fit of rage, chopped off Jay's finger. That's why they were in the velvet room—looking for it.
The trio, desperate for an answer, buys it. Case closed. But the most shocking moment of the night? Camilla, with terrifying efficiency, has her secret team completely remodel Oliver's dining room during dinner, without anyone noticing.
As the episode closes, Mabel gets a message from "Wondify" about signing their podcast. What a coincidence. They arrive at the sleek new studio, feeling on top of the world... until Mabel notices something in a photo. The missing finger was on Jay's other hand. He lied.
They're ready to run to their new studio and record the truth, but it's too late. The contract they just signed explicitly prohibits them from discussing company management. And the new stakeholders who just bought Wondify? Jay, Camilla, and Bash. Their new bosses are now their prime suspects, and they've been legally silenced.
Episode 5: Tongue Tied
We open with Detective Williams back on the scene. She theorizes that someone paid by the billionaires has been cleaning up their messes—a "fixer" who likely lives right there in the building. The trio gives her a tour of the now-pristine velvet room. It's been professionally wiped clean. The money, the blood, the cleaver marks in the table—all gone.
Oliver discovers a single, lone shrimp tail under a table, which he believes is from his wedding batch—the same one the finger was in. Back at Charles's, they discover he's on a senior dating app called "Last Gas," a source of great amusement for Oliver and Mabel. He's also signed up for a mysterious testosterone trial, desperate to feel young again. The side effects? A consistent taste of pennies in his mouth and, bizarrely, attracting stray cats.
Questioning the Staff
Mabel and Oliver decide to investigate Williams's "fixer" theory and head down to the staff level. They run into Randall (who is, as usual, clueless) and then Ursula, the building manager and our favorite gut-milk-peddler. For the price of some new-and-improved (and likely toxic) gut milk, she provides a name: "Tommy the Tum," the only person known to do "off-book" service work in that room.
Next, they meet Miller, the building's trash man for the last three years. He's a walking database of secrets, casually mentioning he's got dirt on everyone, including the fact that Oliver has a pending offer on his apartment—something Oliver hadn't told anyone. The mere mention of "Tommy the Tum," however, makes Miller visibly angry, and he kicks them out.
Charles and Sophia's "Date"
Charles, powered by his new (and questionable) testosterone, meets Sophia at a lively hibachi restaurant, under strict instructions from Mabel to question her about Tommy. It's a family affair, and to Charles's dismay, Mayor Tillman is there again, still relentlessly fishing for a podcast invite.
Sophia, batting her eyelashes, claims she was completely unaware of her husband's involvement in the velvet room and is far more interested in Charles. She plays the "femme fatale" widow role to perfection, sharing how Nikki was a shy poet before her overbearing mother forced him into the mobster lifestyle, after which he began to lie and cheat. This shared experience with "bad mothers" leads to an inevitable kiss, and they head back to her minivan for... "dessert."
This raises a crazy theory: Could Sophia's mother, the one who allegedly pushed Nicky into the mob, be the real brains behind this whole operation?
A Staff Room Discovery
Mabel and Oliver, clue-hunting in the staff locker room, find a disturbing carving that says "Die Lester Die." Just as they're processing this, Randall appears and thankfully clears the air: it was about Robot Lester, which showed up unannounced on his first week. The staff, it turns out, is terrified of being replaced by machines. Oliver, ever the opportunist, cleverly jumps on this anti-robot bandwagon, hoping to build solidarity and get info on Tommy.
The next morning, at a building meeting (which Oliver dubs "Arconia-Con," complete with no snacks), Oliver tries to advocate for the human staff. But the residents, including Uma, like the robot: no small talk, no tipping. The tension boils over, and Ursula drops an ultimatum: the robot goes, or they all quit. The staff then unexpectedly turns on Oliver, blaming the trio for turning the Arconia into the "Murder Building" in the first place.
Amidst all this commotion, Robot Lester disappears, heavily implied to be the staff's doing. Mabel, frustrated, gets a lightbulb idea: they can just ask the all-seeing Robot Lester about Tommy. But just as she says it, Robot Lester falls from an upper floor, crashing to its death by the fountain. Two dead doormen, both with the same name, both meeting their end at the same spot.
As the episode ends, Miller confesses to "killing" the robot and thanks Oliver with a bizarre, grotesque gift: a portrait of the human Lester, made entirely from actual garbage sorted from the night of his death.
Charles, returning from his "date," realizes he's lost his phone—which has their entire murder board and photos of Nicky's dead body—at Sophia's. Mabel uses "Find My iPhone" to track it. On the way, Charles finds an invoice from Lester's death night, made out to "Tommy" at a specific address. At that exact moment, Detective Williams calls: "Tommy" isn't a person, it's a massive shell company whose accounts were completely drained that morning. The address? It's the same one they're headed to.
They arrive at the address, a mysterious building, and watch as Sophia is welcomed inside... by Lorraine, Lester's grieving wife.
Episode 6: Flatbush
This episode sees the welcome return of Loretta, but under grim circumstances. Her apartment has just... burnt down. The cause is supposedly a faulty tea kettle, but the timing is incredibly suspicious. Was it an accident, or on purpose?
She arrives, distraught, at Oliver's, just as he's looking over a "best and final offer" for his apartment from a mysterious anonymous buyer, represented by "S. Pow." With Loretta's place gone, she's homeless and eager to join the investigation. The new prime suspects on the board: "The Widows Peak," Lorraine and Sophia.
Detective Williams arrives to collect the finger for lab testing, but it's gone. Someone stole it from Charles's refrigerator. They spot some unfamiliar dirt by the fridge, which Charles initially blames on his maid.
A Trip to Oliver's Past
The trio tasks Oliver with investigating Lorraine in her home turf of Flatbush. Loretta, ever the actress and now embodying a new character named "Emily," volunteers to join her husband.
On the way, we learn a new, sad piece of Oliver's backstory: he was a foster kid in Flatbush from ages 9-12. They arrive at Lorraine's house to find an open house in full swing. "Emily" (Loretta) sneaks upstairs into an off-limits room and is immediately met by Lorraine holding a menacing dagger. The tension breaks instantly when they discover a shared, passionate love for Maria Callas. Lorraine explains the dagger was an anniversary gift from Lester, and she's only selling the house because she can't bear being there without him—and, more practically, she can't afford it.
Oliver, meanwhile, is adrift in his own past, flashing back to his childhood, where his cold foster parents completely ignored his burgeoning interest in theater. Loretta, unconvinced Lorraine is a killer, spots her outside exchanging another mysterious bag with Sophia. The suspicion is immediately back on, and they follow the pair.
They lose the duo after being distracted by a man petitioning against the first casino coming to New York. Could this be the billionaires' new venture? Or perhaps something Mayor Tillman is pushing?
Oliver spots his old childhood theater, now derelict. He and Loretta go inside, and he has another, more powerful flashback, this time to finding his first true "family" on stage with the other kids in the theater program. This, he realizes, is why he's so afraid to leave the Arconia—it and the stage are the only two places he's ever felt safe. Loretta, understanding him perfectly, has him run lines from a play he never got to be in. They share a beautiful, intimate, and deeply therapeutic moment... which is promptly interrupted by a standing ovation from their audience: Sophia and Lorraine.
The Wives' Story
The wives finally explain everything. It's not what it looks like. Nikki was running shady businesses out of the building, and Lester was involved. Sophia was simply giving Lorraine Lester's "cut" of the profits. They aren't killers; they're just two widows trying to survive. Lorraine is now running the old theater, and the money from Lester's "work" is what's keeping the lights on. We also learn Lester's heartbreakingly sweet motivation: he worked for Nicky all those years not just for his kids, but to save up and buy his wife their dream home... an apartment in the Arconia.
As a gesture of goodwill, Lorraine gives Oliver the bird whistle Lester had on him the night he died.
The Footage and the Hacker
Back at the Arconia, they meet the new, replacement Robot Lester, who gives them the security footage V mentioned. Someone was in Charles's apartment—the dirt by the fridge proves it—but the footage from that time is conveniently tampered with. This points directly to the one person they know can do it: the tech-savvy Bash.
Mabel goes to apologize to V. After a comical, tension-breaking moment of throwing shoes at each other, they finally, truly make up. They realize the years of beef weren't about high school drama, but about their shared, unresolved grief over losing their friend. In a shocking twist, V admits she was jealous of Mabel the whole time.
Back at Oliver's, he finally breaks the news to Mabel: he accepted the offer on his apartment. As they process this, they review the courtyard footage, which confirms Lester wasn't alone when he died. Charles then has a sudden realization: the dating app he was on, "Last Gas," shares the exact same logo as the one on the tampered security footage.
The episode ends with a chilling shot: a camera is watching Oliver and Loretta in the elevator. It has the same logo. It's revealed to be owned by Bash, who has been catfishing Charles as "Priscilla" and is the prime suspect who messed with the footage and stole the finger.
Episode 7: Silver Alert
This episode takes us out of the city and into the eerie quiet of the country. We open with a new, folksy couple receiving a Silver Alert on their phone for a missing, endangered elderly person: Oliver Putnam.
Flashback to 9 hours earlier. The trio is at Oliver's, trying to crack the case on Bash, their current prime suspect. They're preparing for a fluff interview with Mayor Tillman, but their new Wondify contract prevents them from discussing their new boss and suspect.
The Mayor arrives, all smiles. As soon as his assistant (Romy) is out of earshot, his demeanor changes. He tells the trio, point-blank: Bash is the murderer. He explains Romy is a forced hire, a "nepotism" case, who is actually a spy placed by Bash to keep tabs on him. Bash helped Tillman get elected and now, Tillman claims, operates completely above the law. He gives them a hot tip: Bash is at a secret, high-stakes meeting right now in rural Connecticut.
The Lion's Den
The trio heads to "Bash's lion's den." On the ride, Oliver, ever the drama queen, texts Loretta, dramatically claiming he's been "taken against his will." Thanks to the spotty rural service, he can't send a follow-up "just kidding" text, a mistake that will have major consequences.
Outside the creepy, isolated estate, they meet Algie, Bash's unnerving son, who is casually whittling with a large knife. He mentions he's not allowed to interrupt the "games" or he'll be "sent to the cellar."
This sparks a crazy theory: We know Bash is a reclusive tech genius obsessed with longevity. What if Algie isn't a human child, but a hyper-realistic AI robot? Bash calls his creations his "children," and the "cellar" could be where he charges them. This would explain the boy's strange, affectless behavior.
Inside, they find the three billionaires... playing the board game Operation. They're caught. Apparently, the billionaires just have regular game nights to unwind. The trio, playing along, decides to stay and observe, splitting up once again.
Camilla and Oliver: She learns he's selling his place and seems suspiciously involved, noting that her "remodel" was to make his apartment more attractive to the mysterious new buyer. She gets aggressive when he doesn't thank her, threatening to "cut off your balls," but quickly blames it on the alcohol.
Charles and Bash: Charles, still smarting from the rejection, confronts Bash about the catfishing. Bash completely ignores it but denies being a killer, claiming he's obsessed with staying youthful for his son, Algie, whom he wants to be around for "forever."
Mabel and Jay: Jay, the charmer, lays on the flirtation, but then he lets something crucial slip: he was, in fact, there "the night that Lester died."
Mabel, tired of the lies, proposes a high-stakes board game: the trio vs. the billionaires. If the trio wins, the billionaires tell them everything. If they lose, the investigation stops for good. The billionaires agree. Oliver, completely done with the danger and risking his new life with Loretta, stands up and walks out.
The Game
The game is naming celebrities. The billionaires, with their vast knowledge, score 5. Charles and Mabel are left with the final, deciding category: Broadway. Without Oliver, they're doomed.
But Mabel has a stroke of genius. She realizes that Oliver, in his endless ramblings, uses Broadway anecdotes for everything. She starts using those stories as clues ("The one who was married to the writer!"), Charles fires off the correct answers, and... they win.
The billionaires, trapped, reveal the truth. The night Lester died, they weren't playing for fun. They were playing for the biggest New York development contract since Grand Central: the sole ownership of New York's first-ever casino permit. The scrubbing of the footage? Pure vanity, Bash claims, to hide his location.
But as Mabel picks up the cheap plastic winner's trophy, she feels a weight inside and cracks it open. Inside is the prize that determines the real winner of their sick game: the missing, stolen finger.
Oliver, meanwhile, finally gets reception. His phone explodes with panicked texts from Loretta, who, thinking he was genuinely kidnapped, has reported him missing. He's "found" by the couple from the opening, who assume he's just a lost, delusional elderly man.
Back at the mansion, Jay tries to stop Mabel and Charles from leaving with the finger, saying it's the "key" to the whole deal and was "very expensive to get." Who would be so powerful that the billionaires would have to buy a severed finger from them?
The trio escapes on a tractor as the billionaires give chase. Back at Charles's, Camilla arrives, holding a small, elegant gun. She reveals the finger is the ultimate decider for the casino bid. She means business. The trio, outmatched, hands it over.
Camilla, feeling in control, explains her grand vision. She's the anonymous buyer ("S. Pow"? S. Power?) for Oliver's place and all the other vacant units. Her plan: to tear down the building and build the "Camilla Club Casino"... at the Arconia.
Episode 8: Cuckoo Chicks
We open with a flashback to two years ago. A glamorous Camilla pitches Nicky on a "ladies night" at the velvet room, strategically planting the seed for her larger plan. The air is thick with flirtatious vibes.
In the present, Mabel tells V about the casino takeover. V, now a "friend" again, invites Mabel as her plus-one to Camilla's exclusive ladies night. In the lobby, Charles and Oliver get devastating news from Randall: Camilla now owns 82 of the 165 units—she is one single unit away from a 51% controlling stake. Oliver is now in a moral dilemma: he doesn't want to sell, but he's afraid of disappointing Loretta.
Detective Williams, her flight conveniently canceled, joins the ladies' mission. She'll pose as a dealer and make Camilla go "on tilt" by forcing her to lose, hoping the frustration will make her loosen her tongue. In a hilarious and revealing moment, we get a critical Charles deep-cut: he used to help his con-artist mother cheat at card games. Williams instantly connects the dots: this explains his lifelong, traumatic addiction to "sexy villains."
Ladies Night
The ladies arrive, dressed to the nines, and find Lorraine crying in the lobby. She hasn't been able to sleep since learning her husband was murdered. They invite her to join.
The plan works at first. Williams, dealing, ensures Camilla is losing. But Lorraine, overpowered by grief and rage, loses her composure, reveals her hand, and threatens Camilla. Mabel has to escort the furious, sobbing Lorraine out to save the mission. Upstairs, Lorraine mentions the one item not in Lester's memorial case: the elevator crank he always carried. Mabel logs this.
Back in the casino, Loretta makes her own audacious audible. She loudly accuses Williams of double-dealing, getting her kicked out. This brilliant move gains Camilla's trust. Loretta, seizing the opening, offers her a "reading." With her "psychic powers" (and a lot of cold-reading), we get another flashback.
Camilla pitches Nicky on turning the velvet room into a full-scale casino, destroying Bash and Jay's competing venture. Nicky is upset, saying the casino is his wife's family legacy. He doesn't say no, but he doesn't say yes. Clearly, this didn't go as Camilla planned. A woman like her is not used to being told "no."
Another flashback: The week Nicky went missing, he was upset after apparently seeing Sophia having an affair. This discovery, this betrayal, is what led him to change his mind and join Camilla's casino plan. The plan was set: Nicky would set up a private game with Jay and Bash. This places all the suspects in the velvet room on the night of Lester's death.
The Guys' Night
Meanwhile, the guys are having a men's night, frantically banging on doors, trying to stop the last resident, Dr. Stanley the therapist, from selling his unit. He's their last hope. They agree to let Stanley be their therapist for the night in exchange for him hearing them out. The session is surprisingly effective, creating a breakthrough for both Charles (and his "mommy issues") and Oliver (and his fear of commitment). Stanley, moved, reconsiders selling... but it's too late. The clock strikes midnight. The deal is sealed. Camilla officially owns 51% of the building.
Back at ladies night, Loretta, deep in her "reading," finds the bloody elevator crank—the possible murder weapon—hidden in Nicky's old office.
As the episode ends, Lorraine and V arrive. Lester's favorite bird has recently appeared in the courtyard. The bird whistle Lorraine blew earlier activated a hidden camera V and Lester had set up to capture sightings of rare birds. They now have video footage from the night Lester died—footage that Bash couldn't have known about and couldn't have erased.
They look at the footage. They can't see how Lester fell, but it's clear he used the whistle to ensure he was recorded. But there's more. The final, shocking shot: Randall pops into the frame, looks around, finds Lester dying in the fountain, and instead of helping, he picks up the elevator crank and walks away.
Episode 9: Lester
This brilliant episode is told entirely through the lens of the (annoying, yet observant) robot. We open with a flashback: Lester and Miller unwrapping the new robot doorman. Lester, a proud doorman of the old school, is not a fan and leaves it on sleep mode in a back room. While "asleep," the robot's audio protocols are still active, recording the staff walking by, complaining... and recording Lester telling Randall he's upset and "can't look away" anymore from working for Nicky.
Flash forward to the night of the murder. Randall is panicking, holding a bloody elevator crank. Robot Lester, now activated, observes. Randall, seeing the robot, gestures for it to keep this a secret.
In the present, with only 19 days before total building evacuation, the trio confronts Randall about the footage. He denies everything and bolts. The clock ticks down. 8 days left. Randall has vanished. The trio's paths are fracturing: Charles is grimly booking a nursing home, Oliver is preparing to move to New Zealand with Loretta, and Mabel is lost, unsure where to go. The final nail in the coffin: Randall posts on social media that he's in Cuba. Their last lead is gone.
A despondent Mabel runs into a fresh-out-of-jail Teddy. They share some non-toilet wine and bond over their shared troubles. Howard, meanwhile, has a heartbreaking "breakup" with Robot Lester. His retina scan is denied; Camilla's new security system has locked him out.
Mabel, at her absolute breaking point, announces she's quitting the investigation for good. Just then, Detective Williams arrives, not to arrest, but to mourn the end of the building. Charles, unable to face the emotional goodbye, makes plans to see a baseball game with an old friend, leaving Oliver heartbroken and alone.
The Secret Room
Down in the velvet room, a slightly tipsy Mabel and Williams are having one last drink. Mabel notices a strange half-a-flip-flop shoe print on the dusty floor, leading to a mystery hidden door they'd never seen. Inside, they find a dark passage with blood on the floor and traces of the same white substance found on Nicky's clothes. The passage leads directly into the back of the "Cleanups" dry cleaners. This is how Nicky's body was moved. Mabel also notices the backdrop Randall used for his "Cuba" picture. He's still in the building.
They find Randall squatting in a vacant unit. He runs, but is cornered and stopped by Theo. Randall finally tells the truth. He was following Lester's orders. Lester told him to keep quiet about the night of the murder for his own safety.
But how to verify this? The robot. The previous robot's files were all uploaded into the new model. They access the archive and play the full, unedited footage from that night.
It shows a breathless, frantic Lester telling Randall he needs help. He's holding the bloody crank. Lester says he "didn't mean to hurt anyone" but "couldn't let the mobster take down his building." He tells Randall to deliver the shrimp to Oliver—he put the finger in the shrimp intentionally, a grisly clue for the trio to find.
Lester says he did what he did to save the building, using "a piece of the building" (the crank) as a weapon.
As it stands, the shocking truth is revealed: Lester killed Nicky. He likely found out about Camilla and Nicky's partnership to turn the building into a casino and took matters into his own hands to stop them, to prevent the residents from losing their homes.
The Last Supper
This new discovery fuels the trio for one last push. At a "Last Supper" gathering for the remaining residents, Howard explains his heartbreak over the robot: he was recently dumped by Jonathan, and the robot, much like his mother, represented a safe, non-judgmental companion. He just lost it. This sparks Charles to abandon his baseball game and rejoin his friends.
Mabel confronts Jay, who shows up pleading, and definitively shuts the door on him. In the kitchen, Charles and Oliver have a beautiful moment, admitting their fears and appreciating their deep friendship.
The final scene: The crew figures out the flip-flop marks from the secret room came from someone with a motorized wheelchair. We know the only character this season who has one... Nona, the Ketchamilio grandmother. We flash back to the night the finger went missing. Nona and the boys were the ones who took it from Charles's fridge. The trio, with Howard and Teddy (who now speaks Italian), confronts them. Nona, caught, confirms it with a simple, chilling nod: she knows she's been caught.
Episode 10: The House Always...
The finale. We open with a flashback to Nicky's poet era, dreaming of escaping to Positano with Sophia. We cut to their relationship's breaking point. Sophia tells Nicky she's done. He immediately, wrongly, jumps to the toxic conclusion she's cheating and promises to find and kill her lover.
Back in the present, Nona confirms the finger belonged to Sophia's lover. Just as the trio pivots to this new, urgent question, they learn the building is scheduled for total destruction... starting now. The casino is moving forward.
The Final Interrogation
Oliver proposes a last-ditch, theatrical effort: summon the billionaires back to the velvet room for one final, mob-style interrogation. The stage is set. Oliver, Charles, and Mabel put on their best (worst) mob impressions, joined by the Ketchamilio boys for intimidation. They demand answers. Which of the billionaires was sleeping with Sophia?
The pressure, surprisingly, cracks Jay. He confesses: he was never missing a finger. He faked the injury, bandage and all, hoping it would make the search easier for the actual missing digit, which they all needed. Camilla and Bash also prove that their hands are perfectly intact.
They're back at square one... until Mayor Bo Tillman walks in, playing the innocent politician just checking on the building before the press conference. As he walks toward the table, Mabel gets a critical text message from Howard. She looks at the text, at the Mayor, and puts it all together. In a shocking, swift motion, she takes the prop cleaver and swiftly chops off the mayor's fake prosthetic finger. He was Sophia's lover. He killed Lester.
The text from Howard? It showed an auto-correct. The text Lester sent Lorraine just before he died wasn't "it's beautiful." It was "it's Bo Tillman."
The Full Confession: What Really Happened
We flash back to the night of the murders, seeing the full, tragic story.
The billionaires are with Lester in the velvet room, negotiating the casino deal.
Nicky, in his office, looks at photos sent to him revealing Sophia's affair with the Mayor. He is enraged.
The Mayor walks in, ready for his casino bribes from Nicky.
Fueled by cocaine and pure rage, Nicky takes a cleaver, walks toward the Mayor, and in one swing, chops off his finger.
As chaos erupts and the billionaires panic, Lester—already full of regret for his years of working with Nicky—tries to intervene, hitting Nicky over the head with his heavy elevator crank.
Disoriented, Nicky stumbles... and falls onto the cleaver still in his own hand, driving it deep into his chest.
So, Lester indirectly (and accidentally) killed Nicky.
As the billionaires freak out about the dead body, Lester, in shock, grabs the Mayor's severed finger and runs.
The final confrontation: Lester, having already given Randall the finger (in the shrimp), faces the Mayor by the fountain. The Mayor panics, looking for his finger. They scuffle.
The Mayor pushes Lester, who falls, hitting his head violently on the concrete fountain. He dies. Before he dies, as we know, he uses the bird whistle to set off the video camera.
Back in the velvet room, the Mayor is calm, but Romy arrives with the crooked cops. The trio is captured, their phones destroyed, and they are chained up in the hidden room, left to die as the building is demolished.
Charles, empowered by his season-long (and entirely placebo) confidence, uses his old magic tricks to impressively free them. Upstairs, Howard and V create a brilliant distraction at the press conference (V sings her hit song), and Miller finds the trio's discarded phones.
The trio, now free, returns to the velvet room and plays a secret recorder they had planted earlier, broadcasting the Mayor's full, bragging confession to the entire press conference. As he tries to escape, V releases a flurry of birds in Lester's honor, and he's arrested.
But the building is still slated for destruction. This is where Jay steps up. Inspired by Mabel's words, he grows a conscience. He confesses that he and the other billionaires were the ones who moved Nicky's body (using Camilla's "Snow White" paint tarps, explaining the "white substance"). This confession implicates Camilla as an accessory to a crime, halting the demolition and saving the building.
How It All Wrapped Up
Sophia admits to Charles she used him but also had genuine feelings. He, for the first time in his life, says no to a dangerous, beautiful woman.
Three months later, Sophia and Lorraine have bonded over their shared, complicated grief. Lorraine, with the "guilt" money Sophia gave her from the billionaires (for returning the finger), is now living her and Lester's dream: she's a resident of the Arconia.
Howard has found a new, and surprisingly sweet, relationship with Vinny (one of the Ketchamilio brothers).
The Trio celebrates their 5-year friendship anniversary, gathered around, listening to a new Cinda Canning podcast from the UK about a missing girl with red curly hair.
The Final Scene: A woman with red curly hair stumbles through New York, bleeding. She makes her way to the ArconIA's front gate, where Howard finds her. She appears dead... but is only inches away from the building's premises. She takes her last, gasping breath and reaches out, her hand touching the gate. This mystery woman is, of course, Cinda Canning. Season 6 is set: Who Killed Cinda?
Season 5 Final Thoughts: Was the Reveal Worth the Wait?
This finale had some genuinely good laughs and enjoyable, heartfelt moments, but overall, it's hard to feel completely satisfied. The answers to the season's core questions felt a bit underwhelming. The journey, filled with great character moments and sharp comedy, was fun, but the arrival at the destination wasn't as good as it was built up to be.
The central mystery around Nicky and the missing finger became less and less interesting as the story piled on new threads. Nicky, as a character, was a one-dimensional "failed mobster," making his death hard to invest in. The final reveal that the Mayor—a character who barely appeared all season—was the owner of the finger and Lester's killer felt lackluster and unearned. The murders themselves being accidental, a result of a scuffle and a fall, felt less satisfying than the intricate, envy-driven plots of past seasons. The affair between the Mayor and Sophia, the core motive for the entire chaotic night, felt tacked-on at the last minute with no real development.
Worse, many promising plot threads felt like empty, random distractions. What happened to Lester and Lorraine's kids, who were the reason he was trapped by Nicky? They never appeared. Loretta's apartment fire, which seemed so sinister, went nowhere. Bash's creepy "son" Algie? Meant nothing. The trio's high-stakes, restrictive podcast contract? It was resolved off-screen and forgotten.
The most jarring thread was the attempted Jay and Mabel romance. Jay lied all season, manipulated Mabel, and was an accessory to moving a dead body... yet the show still tried to frame him as a viable love interest. It felt particularly disrespectful to Mabel's character, especially given that the investigation was about Lester, who was her first true friend in the building. The show seemed to ignore this deep emotional connection, pushing a romance that felt forced, inauthentic, and frankly, a little insulting to Mabel's intelligence.
But despite these narrative flaws, the show thrives on what it does best: its lovable characters and its delightful, cozy charm. It’s a show that builds a community, both in the Arconia and for its audience. The ride was enjoyable, even if the meal at the end was a little undercooked. We're still here for the trio, and the setup for Season 6—investigating the murder of the woman who started it all—is packed with potential.
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