In this golden age of true crime documentaries and podcasts, it should come as no surprise that mystery comedy Only Murders in the Building has been a massive breakout hit.
The show capitalises on the success of programmes like Unsolved Mysteries by challenging viewers to piece together the clues and come up with their own theories on what happened.
And Only Murders can offer some definitive answers to the questions it raises, with the season 2 finale pulling together two years of mayhem in New York City apartment building the Arconia.
If you’re yet to watch the Only Murders in the Building season 2 finale, be warned that this article contains full spoilers as we chat to the killer themselves about the shock ending.
Only Murders in the Building season 2 ending explained
Only Murders in the Building season 2 reveals that Becky Butler (formerly known by the fake name Poppy White) is the person responsible for Bunny Folger’s death and for planting evidence on Charles, Oliver and Mabel. In the penultimate episode, we had learnt of Becky’s true identity as the subject of Cinda Canning’s breakout podcast All is Not OK in Oklahoma, who chose to leave her old life behind to pursue something greater.
Indeed, there was nothing tying her to the city of Chickasha besides a home she shared with her abusive father and a job working for a creepy local mayor, both of which she was more than happy to abandon. Becky approached podcast extraordinaire Cinda under the pseudonym Poppy White, informing her of a young woman’s disappearance (i.e., her own) that would later grip the entire country, although Becky herself would receive none of the credit. She later recounts this story to Charles, Oliver and Mabel over lunch, warning them that Cinda is dangerous.
Later, in Poirot-esque fashion, the podcasting trio summon all of their suspects to the Arconia for an elaborate outing of the killer. After first accusing Cinda, Mabel then makes a faux accusation against ex-lover Alice, who puts on quite a show pretending to be the real culprit. In an orchestrated moment after Alice is restrained, Cinda hails Mabel’s detective skills and tells her that she’d love to make her a podcast star – which pushes Becky over the edge.
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Her facade slips as she goes on a huge rant about the total lack of recognition she has received for Cinda’s success. She also begins sneezing in the same way the killer did on the night that Lucy encountered them in the secret corridor. One by one, the carefully constructed lies that Becky had crafted begin to crumble and it becomes apparent this entire meeting has been designed to make her snap, with all of the attendees in on the act.
The trio reveal that they had figured everything out from the DNA of a supposedly deceased Oklahoma resident being found on the murder weapon, and Becky’s unusual order at their lunchtime meeting: A liverwurst and marmalade sandwich. On the menu of Bunny’s favourite restaurant, it is listed as “#14 Sandwich”, which was also her final words to Mabel (who had thought she was saying “14 savage”).
In an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com, Adina Verson (who plays Becky Butler/Poppy White) explained what she feels motivated her character to commit such a terrible crime.
She began: “The more I thought about it, the more I felt like when you’re living in secret, you’re not really experiencing the consequences of your actions. And so it can kind of create this false idea that you don’t have to live by the same moral code as everybody else. In a way, it almost made me think of addiction; how when somebody is an addict, being secretive about it can kind of fuel the addiction. And once you drag it out into the daylight, it has less power.
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“And so, I feel like she’s been festering in secrecy and doesn’t feel the moral repercussions of what she’s doing, which maybe makes it easier for her to do something that’s so horrific,” continued Verson. “And I think that once it’s revealed, even though she’s in a way getting what she wants – which is recognition for what she’s done – she also no longer has the exoskeleton that was keeping her safe emotionally.”
Verson went on to draw a parallel between her murderous character and this season’s victim, former apartment board president Bunny Folger (Jayne Houdyshell), who stepped into a more sympathetic light in a heartbreaking flashback episode. It ends with Charles Haden-Savage concluding: “We didn’t kill Bunny Folger but we could have saved her with an act of kindness”. Verson applies the same logic here.
“That really hit me when I finally watched it [because] it’s the same with Poppy [AKA Becky]; they could have saved Poppy with an act of kindness or Cinda acting kindly towards her could have saved her from committing this horrible act,” she said. “And I think it’s really kind of beautiful that the victim and the murderer both could have been saved with kindness.”
Only Murders in the Building season 2 cliffhanger explained: Who killed Paul Rudd’s character?
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Only Murders in the Building season 2 actually has a double ending, with the second part serving as an epilogue that sets up a potential third season of the show (still to be confirmed). In a time-jump, the story moves to the opening night of Oliver Putnam’s Broadway comeback show, which stars high-profile actor Ben Glenroy (Paul Rudd) in the lead role. He dies on stage under suspicious circumstances, meaning the trio have another case to solve – and one that, yet again, intimately involves themselves.
Having been in a killer’s mindset throughout season 2, we asked Verson if she had an inkling on which other characters could be capable of murder. However, she feels the show’s Reddit page proves there are “theories that justify everybody’s motive”. Verson did, however, offer an interesting insight into the cliffhanger ending, revealing that all of the key characters were initially planned to be in the audience of the show, so not to rule anyone out as a suspect in this latest crime.
“I think it was supposed to be everybody [in the cast] but some people just weren’t available and some people, I think, had gotten COVID, so not everybody was there,” she revealed. “So I’m really curious to see what the writers come up with as to excuses why certain people weren’t in the audience and if that will play into it at all – when it was really just a logistical thing.”
Only Murders in the Building is available to stream on Disney Plus – sign up to Disney Plus now for £79.90 for a year or £7.99 a month. Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.
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