Spoiler alert: This article contains major spoilers for Only Murders in the Building season 2 finale.Fans didn't have to wait any longer for the explosive season 2 finale of Only Murders in the Building, which had everything: fake blood, romance, Paul Rudd, a truly hysterical slow-motion gag, and a Killer Reveal Party. Most importantly, Bunny Folger's killer was finally unmasked, as Charlie, Oliver, and Mabel finally cracked another case and cleared their names.
After numerous red herrings and misdirections, it's natural to think back over the season for clues that might have indicated the big reveal. These are just a few pieces of evidence that added up to the discovery of Bunny's killer: Poppy White.
A Dead Woman's DNA
The smoking gun in Poppy's guilt is the DNA evidence on the murder weapon. After testing, Detective Williams is shocked to find the DNA of a young, out-of-state woman who's supposed to be dead: Becky Butler. Perhaps because Mabel has shown her a modicum of kindness this season, Poppy has already divulged the crucial clue that she is the presumed-dead Oklahoma woman.
Only Murders cleverly waits until Mabel, Oliver, and Charles have already zeroed in on another suspect, Cinda Canning, for their criminal mastermind. Fortunately, they've done enough legwork to put the final piece of the puzzle in place when the DNA results arrive.
The Parenthood Theme
After season 1 aired, showrunner John Hoffman explained the writers' plot twist to make Jan the murderer of Tim Kono. "One of the biggest themes about our show is loneliness and connection," he says (via The Wrap), and Jan was the suspect who most embodied that theme by exploiting Tim's loneliness, then Charles.
It stands to reason that season 2's killer should also somehow be connected to the theme; the most potent theme this season revolves around parents and children (particularly fathers and sons). In flashbacks, Becky Butler/Poppy White is shown to have an ordinary, if miserable life, as her father's sole caretaker. Meanwhile, she has a twisted mentor/mentee relationship with Cinda Canning, which suggests she seeks the approval of a parental figure. Thus, Poppy has a connection, though at first concealed, to the show's most important season 2 takeaways.
Brown Hair And Glasses
While explaining the background behind another Only Murders season 2 plot twist - that Leonora Folger is, in fact, the missing painter Rose Cooper - Rose and Charles discuss the unnamed woman who came sniffing around for the priceless "Savage" painting.
Rose describes the woman as having brown hair and glasses, and naturally, Charles - and many viewers - assumed this was supposed to be Cinda Canning. In hindsight, it's clear that Poppy, who also has dark hair and glasses (plus a demonstrated interest in the painter's story) was the suspicious art enthusiast.
Poppy's Podcast Ambitions
Emerging from her sidelined role as Cinda's mistreated assistant, Poppy is the narrator of the episode "Performance Review." The audience learns that she's in the trade because of her own podcasting ambitions.
Ironically, Poppy's motive for killing Bunny is the driving force that's proposed when Cinda is the prime suspect since it's all about crafting the perfect story for a true-crime podcast. Poppy's interests lie in the disappearance of Rose Cooper, and she thinks the story could make her the new true crime queen.
Selling Out Cinda
Fans latched onto Poppy's confessions about Cinda Canning's hidden nature. After several episodes illustrate the toxic dynamics of her working relationship with Cinda, audiences pitied her and interpreted Poppy's admissions as clues to Cinda's involvement in Bunny's death.
In retrospect, Poppy's eagerness to cast aspersion on her unpleasant boss was all an attempt to redirect suspicion from herself. Taking advantage of Mabel's sympathy, she teases Cinda's ruthlessness and criminal tendencies, but Poppy shows her hand when she reveals her true identity.
Sniffing Around Bunny's Apartment
Before it's discovered that Detective Kreps was in cahoots with the All Is Not OK in Oklahoma podcast team, Kreps calls Charles, Oliver, and Mabel to Bunny's apartment. Suspiciously, Cinda and Poppy are also at the apartment, carrying their audio equipment.
The whole interaction is highly suspect, with Kreps claiming he called them both to the victim's residence to beg them to call off their unauthorized investigations. The scene was probably intended to direct the audience's suspicion toward Kreps and Cinda, while Poppy's narration and situation cultivated empathy. More likely, it indicated Poppy and Kreps' plans to frame the trio with the missing Rose Cooper painting.
Bird Allergy
Only Murders season 2 featured plenty of alternate suspects and red herrings. Based on Lucy's testimony, all the trio knows about the person creeping through the secret passageways on the night of the murder is that they sneezed; Howard's new love interest, Jonathan, disclosed his allergy to cats in the same episode.
At the Killer Reveal Party, however, the puzzle pieces fell into place. A sneeze can be innocuous - everybody does it - but alongside the growing mountain of evidence, Poppy's bird allergy gives away the fact that she was in the passageways that night. It turns out Mrs. Gambolini was essential to solving the crime after all.
Mystery Woman At The Chicken Chug
Detective Kreps let too much slip during his sparring session with Mabel, including his confession that he's dating "the smartest woman on the planet." While the episode led viewers to believe he was referring to Cinda Canning, he was actually talking about his partner in crime Becky Butler/Poppy White.
Looking closely at the same Chicken Chug scene, in which Cinda Canning smiles at the lovestruck Kreps, viewers can see a long-haired brunette woman with her back turned on the right side of the frame. It's only during Poppy's confession that she shows her face in the scene, but eagle-eyed viewers will have noticed the mystery woman.
Fourteen Savage
Charles, Oliver, and Mabel spend all ten episodes of season 2, puzzling over the meaning of Bunny's last words, "Fourteen. Savage." It variously implicates Charles, suggests a connection to the Rose Cooper painting, and completely confounds the trio.
The season's final moments reveal that Bunny's last words were, in fact, "Fourteen Sandwich," indicating her distaste for an item on the Pickle Diner's menu. She associates the foul menu item, a liverwurst and marmalade sandwich, with Poppy, who must have ordered it during their rendezvous about the painting.
The Butler Did It
With the revelation of Poppy White's true identity, Only Murders beautiful satirized a trope that's endlessly popular in murder mysteries: the "butler did it" cliché.
In a very literal sense, Becky Butler did it. Given that Only Murders in the Building loves to reference pop culture and send up the conventions of theater, true crime, and classic whodunits, this is a delightfully tongue-in-cheek reveal.