Only Murders In the Building Season 3 Episode 6 Review: Ghost Light
Denis Kimathi
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Even the closest people sometimes drift apart, mainly when whatever knits them together is no longer a priority.
Throughout Only Murders In the Building Season 3, the trio has been working on different goals, starkly contrasting the first two seasons.
On Only Murders In the Building Season 3 Episode 6, they reunited to examine new information related to Ben's murder, but it was a short-lived reunion as a blowout argument threatened to derail their friendships for good.
The reunion was driven by Howard's admission about Ben's death, but his explanation was too far-fetched for anyone to believe him, least of all us.
We figured Howard was the killer after Only Murders In the Building Season 3 Episode 3, but someone else rose to take his place on the list of suspects, even if we hadn't already ruled him out.
Having an episode focused was a surefire way to use the red sharpie and put a cross over his name.
Ghost stories. We've all heard of them, and Gooseberry Theatre had plenty as far as the person it was named after was concerned.
Most ghost stories arise because of specific occurrences, so shocking people can't help but attach a meaning to them.
A sandbag killing Gideon in the middle of his act was one such occurrence, and a story was born.
Howard has always had a flair for the dramatic, so it was no surprise he believed the ghost story.
The trio that had not worked on a case together for a while reconvened to try and see whether there was any merit to Howard's claims because even if everyone knew that ghosts weren't real, some information in his story raised some red flags.
But the reunion was nothing but smooth. Mabel, Oliver, and Charles did not know what they sought.
Mabel was too close to the case because she was a CoBro. Oliver's motivations were selfish because he wanted to prove that Loretta was not a killer, while Charles would do anything to escape the boredom that dominated his life after Joy's departure.
Even if they were destined for disaster, it was so good to have them back together. They gave the top three funniest moments, which we'll unveil soon.
A run-in with a colleague gave Oliver a different perspective on the issue, and instead of taking the Charles way, he prioritized his connection with Loretta.
Oliver has made plenty of mistakes but wasn't about to make another one. He needed everything with Loretta to proceed without a hitch because she was Death Razzle's star, and everything in his life was currently tied to the musical's success.
While he might genuinely like her, he also has self-preservation as a motive.
Hearing that Joy left Charles after the accusation was enough of a warning not to make that mistake.
The hour helped eliminate two suspects. Evidently, Howard was not the killer. He needed the play to work out because it was his only chance of proving that he had the chops for acting.
We had also considered Jonathan -- the understudy -- because he stood to gain everything if Ben died, but after hearing his struggles with being on the spotlight, there was no way he would want that kind of attention on himself.
Ben possibly having a drug problem could be the reason he collapsed on opening night.
He must have sniffed the cocktail to calm the nerves but overdosed while on stage. The doctors were able to revive him. It must have been embarrassing to admit that when he returned to the cast, but he brushed past it in true Ben fashion.
Only Murders In the Building Season 3 Episode 5 ended on a cliffhanger about Loretta and Ben's relationship, but this episode didn't offer much headway into what that was about. It must be huge if they're holding on to it this tightly.
The top three funniest moments were when the trio interacted with each other.
At number three was Charles explaining how to pronounce some French words where the last letter in a word, especially a "t," is never pronounced. That was a very specific observation because I honestly pronounced Tobert like it was in French. And it is just Robert with a T at the beginning.
Mabel: Tobert is not my boyfriend.
Charles: Oh, so you do pronounce the final T. It's not like a French cheese tobert ... garcon ... s'il vous plait.
At number two, Mabel corrected Charles about using common phrases to express shock. She did it with a deadpan look, which always gets me.
Charles: Spoiler alert!
Mabel: No, not the correct usage of that whatsoever.
Charles: Plot twist?
Mabel: Still not.
Number one is the exchange between Oliver and Charles. If Charles had missed Oliver's roasts and comebacks, I craved them. When Oliver snaps at Charles for going, of course, with his thoughts, it is top-notch comedy between the characters.
Charles, if the goal was to offer a more interesting anecdote, we're headed in the wrong direction.
Oliver
After that blowout in Loretta's dressing room, the episode teased a potential breakup between them.
Oliver: Well, I'm so, so sorry for trying to breathe life into your dead career by putting you on Broadway.
Charles: My career was not dead. Did you know that Brazos wanted to do burrito sots? 32nd bonus episodes available exclusively on the Chipotle app. But I said no because I wanted to do this, which I realize now was a huge mistake.
Oliver: Oh, it was, huh? Well, maybe I should have hired someone who could actually sing.
Charles: Well, maybe you should have because I quit.
If they genuinely break up, I'm afraid our show will end because there is no Only Murders In the Building without Mabel, Charles, and Oliver all working on the same thing.
"Ghost Light" made significant headway in the murder mystery while serving the thing that makes the show a joy -- the trio.
What did you think?
Has the show's charm worn out?
Chime in in the comments section.
Denis Kimathi was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He has watched more dramas and comedies than he cares to remember. Catch him on social media obsessing over [excellent] past, current, and upcoming shows or going off about the politics of representation on TV. Follow him on X.
