Warning: SPOILERS for Only Murders In The Building's season 1 ending.
The Only Murders In The Building season 1 ending confirmed the identity of Tim Kono's killer and set up a new murder mystery for season 2. The episode "Open and Shut" confirmed the theory teased by the final moments of the penultimate episode, that Charles-Haden Savage's new girlfriend Jan was a murderer and he was literally sleeping with the enemy. The episode also explained just how the murder was accomplished and why, while establishing more mysteries to investigate next season.
Only Murders In The Building has proven a triumphant return for writer/actor Steve Martin, who had largely quit acting in 2009 so that he could focus on other projects. While he had originally started off co-writing the series with screenwriter John Hoffman, Martin eventually realized that he wanted to play the role of Charles-Haden Savage, a formerly famous television actor who wound up taking on the role of detective for real after one of his neighbors was murdered. Savage formed an unlikely partnership with artist Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez) and fallen Broadway director Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) and the trio began exploring the violent death of Tim Kono (Julian Cihi) while producing a podcast based around their investigation.
Only Murders In The Building's cast colorful characters worthy of an Agatha Christie novel, offering the trio a number of likely suspects when it came to the question of who killed Tim Kono. In the end, the killer turned out to be closer to home than the detectives realized. However, based on the final moments of "Open and Shut," it seems that there's at least one more murderer in the Arconia apartment building, who will need to be brought to justice in season 2.
Why Jan Killed Tim Kono
The opening scene of "Open and Shut" confirmed through a flashback what Oliver and Mabel had deduced one episode earlier; that Tim Kono had a secret romance with Jan (Amy Ryan) and she was the noisy lover that Tim's next door neighbor complained about hearing all night. Jan confessed to Tim Kono's murder after Charles-Haden Savage confronted her and she admitted that it was a crime of passion, brought about by Tim's dumping her two days before she killed him. While Tim didn't give her a reason, she assumed that it was because he had found another woman, based on her discovery of an expensive ring in his mail. Ironically, this was the ring Tim had been trying to find to prove his friend Oscar Torres didn't kill his girlfriend, Zoe Cassidy.
All The Clues That Jan Was Tim Kono's Murderer
The clue which turned the case around was Oliver's discovery of what he thought was a sex toy made by a company called Exotic Instruments among Tim Kono's belongings. Mabel determined that Exotic Instruments was a music shop and the object was a cleaning swab for a bassoon. Given that Jan was a professional bassoon player, this seemed a clear indication that Jan was the killer of Tim Kono.
Charles-Haden Savage was tipped off to Jan's murderous secret when he examined a note she had left for him. He realized that the intricate letter J's she made were identical to the ones in the faked suicide notes they had found in Tim Kono's apartment. That, plus the discovery of Zoe's ring in Jan's apartment, confirmed that she was the killer they were searching for.
Who Did Tim Leave Jan For (& Are They In The Arconia?)
One question that Only Murders In The Building's ending leaves open is whether or not there was another woman responsible for ending Tim and Jan's romance. Jan admitted that the murder was ironic, having learned the real reason Tim had purchased the expensive emerald ring later. However, that doesn't mean that Tim didn't end their relationship to pursue someone else. This raises the questions of who the mystery lover is and if they also live in the Arconia.
Only Murders In The Building's Season 2 Mystery: Who Killed Bunny?
The closing moments of the Only Murders In The Building season 1 ending revealed that another murder had been committed in the Arconia. The victim this time was Bunny, the head of the Arconia's HOA, who had spent the better part of the season trying to evict the trio for disrupting the peace of the building with their investigation. Bunny was apparently stabbed with a knitting-needle while wearing one of the tie-dyed sweatshirts that Oliver had made to merchandise the podcast, having just enough time to stumble into Mabel's apartment before dying. This would undoubtedly become the focus of Only Murders In The Building season 2, which was ordered prior to the season 1 finale.
Who Texted Charles & Oliver To Get Out Of The Building?
While Mabel Mora was retrieving some more champagne as the three detectives celebrated their victory, Charles-Haden Savage got a text from an unknown number, which told him to "Get out of the building now!!!" Instead, Charles and Oliver ran to Mabel's apartment, discovering her kneeling over Bunny's body and soaked in blood, in a scene that was teased in the first episode of Only Murders In The Building. Mabel had just enough time to confirm the knitting needle was hers before the police stormed the apartment and arrested the trio. The text indicates that someone was trying to save Charles-Haden Savage and possibly Oliver Putnam from suspicion, but was that someone the killer? Or was it someone who was aware of what the killer was going to do?
Will Mabel Be Blamed For Bunny's Murder In OMITB Season 2?
It seems clear that whoever killed Bunny is trying to frame Mabel Mora for murder. The fact that Bunny was dressed in one of the sweatshirts Oliver Putnam had been selling to promote the podcast is also suspicious, as Bunny was definitely not a fan of the podcast and outright hated Oliver personally, trying to get him kicked out of his apartment even before he started investigating the murder of Tim Kono and irritating the rest of the tenants by interviewing them. This suggests the killer might have been trying to implicate Oliver as well. Coupled with the text that was sent to Charles-Haden Savage specifically, this suggests that the killer has a personal reason for wanting to end the podcast but that they wanted to keep Savage out of it for some reason. What these clues means is anybody's guess, but it promises that Only Murders In The Building season 2 will be as full of mystery and shocking twists as its freshman season was.