The season 5 finale of Only Murders in the Building wrapped a tight, satisfying bow on an entertaining, sometimes chaotic season. The episode begins with the trio discovering that the missing finger belonged to Sofia’s lover. With the help of her sons, they lure the billionaires into the casino and discover that all three have all ten fingers–even Jay. Thanks to Howard’s phone autocorrecting “Beau Tillman” to “Beautiful,” Mabel deduces that Mayor Tillman was Lester’s killer. Mayor Tillman confesses, and the episode flashes back to Nicky discovering Sofia’s affair with Tillman, which spirals into his own death and Tillman murdering Lester. Lester, before dying, sends his wife a text, having the same autocorrect issue as Howard. A group of corrupt cops destroys the trio’s phones and ties them up in the secret room as Camila. Howard and Althea cause a distraction, and Charles helps free the trio. The trio reveals that they were secretly recording Tillman’s confession. He is arrested, along with the billionaires, as Jay confesses to their involvement as well. Mabel, Oliver, and Charles save the day and bring peace to the Arconia until three months later, when Cinda Canning dies at the gate. 

Above all, this episode balanced its cameo appearances with the main trio extremely well, delivering an engaging finale filled with smaller comedic highlights. For example, Sofia’s sons, Althea, and L.E.S.T.R. play vital roles in the comedy and plot of the finale without distracting from the main story. Hinging the main twist of the season on an autocorrect mistake was hilarious as well. Beyond smaller gimmicks, the payoff of Charles’s testosterone actually being a placebo was a great moment, and his shimmying up the pole and descending elegantly was the funniest scene in the episode. Various plot points towards the end were fairly predictable, such as the trio having secretly recorded Tillman’s confession and Jay’s turn against billionaires to kill the casino. However, the predictability of these plot points did not detract significantly from the episode, and the satisfaction of the trio saving the Arconia. 

Similarly, the main twist of the episode surrounding Mayor Tillman was great, but the reveal could have played out more creatively. That said, the formulaic flashback was helped by the content of the scene and managed to be engaging throughout. Ultimately, this was a very clean, safe episode, delivering exactly what it needed to in terms of character moments, plot, and comedic bits. It was a minor shame to see the unique, bittersweet atmosphere be completely contained to the previous episode to make room for over-the-top mafia jokes and an impromptu concert. Additionally, more time could have been spent in the secret room with the trio interacting, but the scene was still hilarious. Overall, the episode was undoubtedly satisfying and engaging from start to finish, leaving off with one of the most exciting cliffhangers in the series. 

Rating: 8/10