Only Murders in the Building season 2 episode 3 recap & review: Grab Your Hankies

Open Go TV / August 16, 2023 / Reviews

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In episode 3 of Only Murders in the Building season 3, Oliver sets upon writing his new musical to convince his producers that it deserves a shot. The episode is streaming on Hulu.

Recap:

Oliver is working on the new musical all night with Howard and Jonathan giving their feedback. Mabel and Charles are going over the potential suspect list and Mabel says they need to find out who is missing the handkerchief Ben gave them.

Donna and Cliff arrive but Oliver doesn’t have a presentation ready. Donna gives him three days to come up with a showstopping number that will ensure this musical goes down in history.

Oliver calls the entire cast to his apartment for rehearsals and Mabel decides to snoop around Ben’s apartment. Charles is trying to find something in common with the other cast members but struggles.

Oliver puts across his pitch for “Death Rattle Jazz” and Mabel runs into Tobert the documentarian in the elevator. He says that he has to pick up something at Ben’s apartment and lets her in with his set of keys.

Loretta arrives just as the cast finishes practicing the showstopper. She tells Oliver that Dickie took her on as a client and got her an audition for a television drama.

Tobert knows that Mabel is looking for clues and Mabel deduces the same about him. He says that Ben took his camera on the night that he died and he was still recording after he took it to his dressing room.

Dickie enters the apartment and the two of them sneak into a cupboard to hide. Oliver isn’t happy with the cast’s performance and the others criticize Oliver. Charles sees this as his chance to fit in with the group and invites them to his place.

They put down Oliver’s idea and Charles uses it to bring up the hankies once again but Kimber says that they refuse to do the musical entirely and asks Charles to share the message.

While they’re in the cupboard, Tobert tells Mabel about his time documenting a herd of elephants in Botswana. He believes that there is a story behind Ben’s death which is why he’s searching for his camera.

He does find it but Mabel swipes it off him as he’s leaving. Dickie gets a call and leaves moments earlier to meet with Loretta at Oliver’s apartment. She and Oliver discuss his work and bond with each other.

Dickie shows up and tells Loretta that she got the part and has to show up at set the following week. Oliver needs her for the musical and enforces the contract that she is still under.

Mabel meets Tobert the following day and asks for the password to the camera memory. They look at the footage together and see Ben talking to someone else very passionately.

Oliver invites everyone to observe along with Donna and Cliff, and then asks Loretta to perform the lullaby he wrote for the musical rather than the showstopper. Loretta performs a beautiful number and Kimber eventually joins in as everyone enjoys the performance.

Donna isn’t sure but Cliff says he’s willing to produce it. Charles compliments Kimber on her singing and brings up the hankies again, to which Kimber says that she misplaced hers or gave it away to a better cause.

Review:

Meryl Streep’s musical number at the end of the episode is magnificent. The entire production from her performance to the lighting of the entire set piece makes it stage-worthy.
This episode shows both sides of Oliver and Martin Short portrays them wonderfully. The mad, creative genius during rehearsals and the softer side, when he’s with Loretta, are equally entertaining.
In fact, Short and Streep have great chemistry together and while this could be Oliver’s turn to date a potential suspect, it should be an intriguing journey along the way.