TL;DR: The Only Murders in the Building Season 5 finale delivers everything you want from this series: sharp twists, big laughs, a heartfelt farewell to Lester, and a shocking final twist that kills off a fan-favorite. It’s a perfect blend of humor, heart, and high-stakes hijinks — proving this cozy murder show still has plenty of blood left in it.
Only Murders in the Building
If you’ve been following Only Murders in the Building since its humble “three New Yorkers and a podcast” beginnings, then you know one truth by now: this show always saves its most delicious chaos for the finale. Season 5’s closer, “The House Always…,” is no exception — it’s a dizzying cocktail of mob drama, comedy, heartbreak, and one surprisingly emotional goodbye to a beloved OG character. Oh, and the final 60 seconds? Let’s just say we’re heading to London, baby!
The Arconia’s walls have witnessed a lot of suspicious deaths over the years — actors, producers, stalkers, birds, you name it — but this time, the victim is someone who’s been with us since the pilot: Lester the doorman. The man who handed everyone their packages and existential crises is gone, and the trio is determined to find out who killed him. What follows is a finale so twisty, so absurdly Only Murders, it somehow manages to outdo a mafia plotline involving fake fingers, billionaires, and Keegan-Michael Key in full villain mode.
The episode opens on a flashback that screams Scorsese-lite: a young, lovestruck Nicky Caccimelio (Bobby Cannavale) reciting bad poetry and vowing murder. It’s artfully ridiculous, and honestly, a solid metaphor for this show — melodrama wrapped in self-aware camp.
In the present, our beloved podcasting trio — Mabel (Selena Gomez, delivering eye rolls that deserve an Emmy), Oliver (Martin Short, still powered entirely by neurosis), and Charles (Steve Martin, mastering the “clueless grandpa with a gun” aesthetic) — are closing in on the truth. The billionaires are back in play: Camilla (Renée Zellweger), Bash (Christoph Waltz), and Jay (Logan Lerman). Each one’s suspiciously missing a body part, and all three are just sketchy enough to be suspects.
Cue the Velvet Room showdown — a cross between Clue, Goodfellas, and an awkward improv class. The trio, cosplaying as mobsters with accents so bad they could get arrested by the Italian consulate, invites everyone for a fake casino bid reveal. Things spiral from “mildly threatening” to “Mabel wielding a cleaver,” and honestly, this is peak Season 5 energy.
Turns out, the missing finger that’s haunted us all season belongs to none other than Mayor Beau Tillman (Keegan-Michael Key), who — surprise! — was having an affair with Sofia (Téa Leoni). Yes, the Arconia now officially has a murder mystery, a mobster ex-husband, and political corruption. HBO wishes it had this range.
As Mabel connects the dots (in true detective-podcast fashion), we flash back to the night everything went wrong. Lester, our sweet, long-suffering doorman, stumbled into a poker game gone bad — a seedy mix of billionaires, mobsters, and blow. When Nicky found out about Sofia’s affair with Tillman, things got violent fast.
Lester, bless his cardigan-wearing heart, tried to stop the madness and accidentally set off a chain reaction that ended with Nicky impaling himself. Tillman panicked. The billionaires covered it up. And poor Lester — just trying to do the right thing — ended up dead, drowned in the Arconia fountain after one final, tragic act of loyalty.
It’s one of the show’s most emotionally resonant reveals to date. After five seasons of comic murders and celebrity cameos, Only Murders finally kills someone we genuinely care about. And in doing so, it reclaims the show’s original charm: the idea that even in a building full of eccentrics and egos, community still matters.
Naturally, no Only Murders finale would be complete without our heroes being held hostage in some implausible way. This time, it’s crooked cops in a secret Velvet Room dungeon (because of course the Arconia has one). Phones are smashed, chains are involved, and Charles decides to “shimmy” up a pole using the sheer power of dad bod determination.
Meanwhile, Beanie Feldstein’s THÉ (a name that continues to feel like a Wi-Fi password) hijacks Camilla’s press conference upstairs with a spontaneous farewell concert — because if you’re going down, go down singing. The scene plays out like a fever dream of Broadway chaos, podcast conspiracy, and emotional closure.
By the time the trio bursts out of their chains to accuse Tillman of murder in front of a room full of reporters, you can’t help but cheer. It’s Scooby-Doo meets Succession, and the payoff feels earned.
Tillman’s taken down, the billionaire mobsters are exposed, and the Arconia is saved from demolition. In classic Only Murders fashion, justice comes not from forensic brilliance, but sheer chaotic persistence — and a well-timed flock of birds.
Just when it seems like we might actually end on a hopeful note — Lester’s widow moving into the Arconia, Howard finding love, Oliver maybe finally relaxing — the show drops one of its wildest cliffhangers yet.
Cinda Canning (Tina Fey), true-crime queen and professional manipulator, is back. Her new podcast, narrated in ominous tones, tells the story of a red-haired woman accused of killing a member of the Royal Family. We see that woman, bloodied and desperate, running through New York before collapsing outside… you guessed it… the Arconia.
Everyone gathers around the body, debating the semantics of “in” versus “just outside” the building (meta humor remains undefeated). Then the woman turns over — and it’s Cinda herself, gasping her last breath, blood on her lips.
Cue Mabel’s stunned silence, Oliver’s existential panic, and Charles probably wondering if it’s too late to retire to Florida.
Roll credits.
Let’s be honest — Only Murders stumbled a bit in Season 4. Too many celebrity cameos, not enough Arconia charm. But Season 5 is a full creative revival. The writing is sharper, the mystery tighter, and the emotional beats hit hard without losing that signature screwball flavor.
Selena Gomez, in particular, feels reinvigorated. Mabel’s growth from snarky loner to the group’s emotional anchor has been one of the show’s most satisfying arcs. And Steve Martin and Martin Short continue to prove that comedy veterans can still deliver gold when the material matches their madness.
Lester’s death might sting, but it gives the season real weight — a reminder that this show’s heart isn’t just in the jokes; it’s in the relationships that make the madness matter.
Season 5 of Only Murders in the Building ends on a high — a funny, heartfelt, and shockingly tense finale that balances big reveals with genuine emotion. The mystery wraps up neatly, the character arcs land, and that final twist guarantees we’ll be obsessing over Cinda Canning’s demise until Season 6 drops.
If you’ve stuck with this show since day one, this episode rewards your loyalty. If you’re new, well — start from Season 1, and prepare to fall in love with the weirdest building in New York.
