It all happened so fast, didn't it? One minute, Ben Glenroy is collapsing on stage during the opening night of Oliver Putnam's Broadway play, "Death Rattle." The next, after a shocking resurrection at the afterparty, he's plummeting through the Arconia elevator shaft, leaving a trail of blood and unanswered questions.
For fans of "Only Murders in the Building," the central mystery of Season 3 was clear: who killed Ben Glenroy? And as is often the case with this trio of true-crime podcasters, the answer wasn't as straightforward as it first appeared.
Let's rewind a bit. The initial shock was Ben's poisoning. It turns out Donna DeMeo, the producer, was the one who sprinkled rat poison on a cookie meant for Ben. Her intention, however, wasn't outright murder. She simply wanted to make him sick enough to prevent him from further damaging the play's reputation. A desperate move, perhaps, but not a killer's.
So, if Donna didn't succeed in her initial attempt, who was responsible for Ben's final, fatal fall? The investigation, as always, led our intrepid detectives down a rabbit hole of suspects.
There was Loretta Durkin, played with such compelling intensity by Meryl Streep. Her initial excitement about working with Ben quickly soured when he revealed himself to be, well, a bit of a snake. He hissed at her, calling her out, and later, her deep-seated anger stemmed from how Ben treated her son, Dickie. While her feelings were certainly strong, the evidence pointed away from her being the actual killer.
Then there's Howard. He confessed, didn't he? But as we learned, his confession was more about a perceived supernatural element – that by not sweeping the floor properly, he allowed Gideon's ghost to re-emerge and take Ben. It's a fun thought, but not the reality of Season 3's plot.
Kimber, the aspiring entrepreneur, also had her moment in the spotlight of suspicion. Her connection to Ben was primarily business-related, hoping for an endorsement for her anti-aging serum. Once that was cleared up, and it was revealed she wasn't even in Ben's dressing room before the play, she faded as a prime suspect.
Even Jonathan, Ben's understudy, had a brief stint on the suspect list. However, his frantic search for anxiety medication from Ben's doctor painted him more as a nervous actor than a murderer.
And what about Tobert? The documentary filmmaker seemed to be getting closer to Mabel, but his role in Ben's death remained elusive. The narrative kept him on the periphery of the direct act of murder.
Ultimately, the truth, as revealed in the season's conclusion, was a bit of a tangled web. While Donna's poisoning attempt set the stage, Ben's actual death was a result of him being pushed down the elevator shaft. The 'who' and 'why' of that final act were the pieces that finally clicked into place, bringing a close to this particular chapter of the Arconia's mysteries.
