Who killed Ben Glenroy has been the mystery at the center of Only Murder in the Building season 3. The egotistical Hollywood star, played by Paul Rudd, was killed on opening night of Oliver's (Martin Short) return to Broadway, and just about everyone in the show was a viable suspect. We now have that answer and are ready to clear up any confusion with this Only Murders in the Building season 3 ending breakdown (spoilers ahead).
Over the course of season 3, we saw this case push Oliver, Charles (Steve Martin) and Mabel (Selena Gomez) to difficult places. Their friendship and duty to the podcast were challenged by Oliver's desire to keep his show afloat and pursue a romantic relationship with his new starlet Loretta (Meryl Streep). But in the end, the podcast trio could not help themselves when it came to solving a murder.
If you need to freshen up on any plot details from the previous episodes, check out our Only Murders in the Building season 3 recaps.
Read on to get a full detailed explanation for the Only Murders in the Building season 3 ending, including what the show does to set up an, as of publication, unconfirmed Only Murders in the Building season 4.
Who killed Ben Glenroy?
Loretta may have confessed to murdering Ben in episode 8, but Charles, Mabel and Oliver believed it was an effort to protect Dickie (Jeremy Shamos), who they learned was her son that she gave up for adoption at a young age. But when they learned Dickie had an alibi for the time Ben was pushed down the elevator, they had to focus somewhere else.
Using the taped interrogation footage, they learned Ben arrived at the theater on opening night 30 minutes before he collapsed on stage. He was greeted by Cliff (Wesley Taylor), who gave him a box of cookies as a gift, though Ben said he didn't want them because he was fasting until after the show. We then see many of the events that we were previously told about — Ben and Loretta getting into a fight, then Charles punching Ben in the face. Added to Ben's nerves, this all got him extremely upset. Donna (Linda Emond) talked with him and told him to go to his dressing room and be "nice to Ben." He's then not seen until Oliver comes and gets him.
However, Mabel is able to figure out that the footage of Ben talking about someone being bad for him was actually something — the cookie. They theorize in his state he ate the cookie for comfort, but it must have been poisoned. But by who?
Howard (Michael Cyril Creighton) arrives with the pieced-together paper strands from the paper shredder. Oliver immediately recognizes it as the bad review the show got. This is the final piece of the puzzle: Donna, having read the review that panned Ben, wanted to protect Cliff's first big show. She poisoned the cookie and left it for Ben to eat. When that didn't work, she pushed him down the elevator. They still need the final pieces to prove it though.
After getting Loretta to plead not guilty and get her out on bail, she confirms the idea that Donna, as a mother, would have done anything to protect her son, plus adds to key bits of info: Donna is sick and Loretta has the hankie found on Ben, with what they believe is Donna's lipstick on it.
On opening night, Mabel gives Donna a note letting her know a new review is waiting for her in K.T.'s office. Before she goes, she does her little ritual with Cliff, a kiss on the lips and one on the heart.
In the office, Donna is ambushed by the podcasters, who hope to get a confession out of her. She openly admits she poisoned Ben, but just wanted him incapacitated, not dead. However, when they show her the hankie with her lipstick, Donna confesses to pushing Ben down the elevator. She asks them not to call the police yet, saying she is not a flight risk because she has Stage 4 cancer.
So the show goes on, but from backstage Mabel spots Donna whispering something to Cliff that upsets him. He storms off and Mabel follows him up into the rafters where she has an epiphany. Cliff has a hankie in his pocket that Donna had kissed and left a lipstick smudge on — her kiss on the heart. She did the same thing on opening night, meaning he had the hankie and pushed Ben.
We then see the scene. Ben got a call from his doctor revealing it was rat poison in his system, which he realized must have come from the cookie. He blames Donna and Cliff, though he only calls Cliff "boy." This agitates Cliff, who reveals he never wanted Ben in the show, believing he wasn't cut out for Broadway. They get into a scuffle and Ben falls down the elevator shaft.
Cliff isn't willing to go to jail. He threatens to throw himself off the rafters if Mabel doesn't back off. As the play wraps up, Charles and Oliver notice what is going on and rush to the rafters to try and help, but Cliff is hanging on with one hand. Donna arrives and stops him, pulling him back up and having them accept their fate and be arrested.
Who died in the Only Murders in the Building season 3 finale?
After the arrests and opening night, the cast of Death Rattle Dazzle celebrates at Oliver's, especially after the show gets positive reviews. It's goodbye for some, though, as Loretta has multiple opportunities in Los Angeles and Tobert (Jesse Williams) has been offered to work on an independent movie there. Oliver and Mabel tell their potential love interests they’d be open to visiting, as they enjoy LA in small doses.
Charles' love life isn't looking too good either, as Joy texts him "Scott Bakula says hi," a dig. But he does have some company, as Sazz (Jane Lynch) shows up to celebrate with the group, dressed almost identical to Charles as always. To keep the night going, Charles mentions he should go get a nice bottle of wine from his apartment.
In the dark apartment, we see someone go to get the wine, but before they can a shot comes through the window and hits them.
At Oliver's, Mabel is asking if anyone has seen Charles since he mentioned the wine. On cue, he pops up behind them, saying Sazz opted to get the wine.
The episode ends as Sazz lies dying. But before she does, she starts to write something on the floor using her own blood, possibly a clue to who presumably was trying to kill Charles.
All Only Murders in the Building episodes are available to stream on Hulu in the US and Disney Plus in the UK.
