NOTE: this post contains spoilers for Only Murders in the Building season 3 episode 6, "Ghost Light."
Ben Glenroy (Paul Rudd) died in the Arconia, but the Goosebury Theater is the scene of an earlier attempt on his life, and it still holds many secrets. With plenty of shadowy corners to explore, Howard (Michael Cyril Creighton) takes center stage as he explains how the spirits of this venue might have cursed Death Rattle. Meanwhile, Oliver (Martin Short) contends with an awful truth and is conflicted about what to do next.
Ghost story
Ghosts and superstitions go hand in hand with the theater. The Goosebury is named after the actor Gideon Goosebury, who died mid-performance in 1919 when a sandbag fell from the rafters. Howard's voiceover says productions tht don’t sweep Gideon's energy from the very stage can be cursed. While Goosebury is fictitious, Only Murders is nodding to the famed Belasco Theater and its resident spirit, David Belasco.
Howard arrives in shock at Mabel's (Selena Gomez) apartment and tells the three podcasters that he killed Ben. Okay, he didn’t actually kill Ben, but he didn't complete the ritual on opening night and now thinks the production is cursed. When Howard went to get the broom out of KT's (Allison Guinn) office, it was locked, and he heard a strange noise coming from within. An encounter with Gideon's spectral form earlier that day adds to Howard's panic.
Howard describes Gideon's signature flat cap and red coat and mentions he spoke to the spirit. Charles (Steve Martin) doesn’t believe in ghosts but is surprised when Tobert (Jesse Williams) enters the room wearing just a tank top and towel to counter this opinion.
Charles and Oliver are unhappy when Mabel says she showed Tobert their investigation board, but she complains they've been busy — as evidence Oliver's new temporary gold tooth and Charles' update that Joy (Andrea Martin) left him. However, she agrees that only the three of them will accompany Howard to look into his ghost claims.
Searching the Goosebury
At the Goosebury, the ghost light is shining on the stage. Charles explains it's an old theater tradition and it "never ever goes out." On cue, it immediately turns off. Two sandbags drop perilously close to Charles. Maybe Howard's theory about Gideon is correct.
Despite agreeing to stay together, everyone soon ventures off alone. It doesn't help that Mabel and Charles share some hurtful words about Tobert's involvement and the podcast trio's lack of collaboration. Oliver is also preoccupied with thoughts of Loretta (Meryl Streep) and the Ben scrapbook he swiped from her apartment. It reveals Loretta's handwriting matches the "F***ING PIG" message on Ben's mirror. Oliver doesn't want anyone else to make this connection, so he searches the theater alone and stumbles upon an old friend masquerading as Gideon.
Jerry (Peter Bartlett) is a fellow director who's been secretly living in the attic since Donna (Linda Emond) fired him from a production over a year ago. He pretended to be Gideon and released the sandbags to scare them away and keep his living arrangement under wraps. He also witnessed the fight between Loretta and Ben on opening night, as well as Charles punching Ben. Jerry isn't entirely reliable, but this matches the version Charles told Joy. What is Oliver going to do with this information?
"Only wrong choice is no choice. Indecision is death," is something Oliver once advised Jerry about directing. Now these words are coming back to haunt (or maybe help) him.
Elsewhere, Charles gets trapped in the prop cupboard with his pet fish, President McKinley, where he rapidly spirals about being alone. Elsewhere, Mabel runs into Tobert. The documentarian says he was following Jonathan (Jason Veasey). The pair confront Ben's understudy about the bag of pills he is holding. Dr. C prescribed a "leading man cocktail" similar to the drugs he gave Ben. Turns out Jonathan is anxiety-ridden about his starring role. This is not a man who would kill to be a star.
Inviting Gideon into the company
On the stage, Howard and KT continue bickering about pretty much everything. Howard says her office door was locked on opening night, which KT denies. She laughs when he mentions the Gideon curse and how he blames himself. She has done 43 shows in this building, it isn't about getting rid of the deceased actor's energy, but inviting him to participate.
The two start to bond, with Howard revealing he always wanted to be an actor, but his mother's overly critical notes about a high school performance cut this dream short. KT dreams of being a director, and the two find common ground. The stage manager directs Howard through the ritual of reading Gideon's monologue to invite him in, causing the ghost light turns back on. It is a lovely moment uniting the former enemies.
The trio split
Unfortunately, this collaborative energy is lacking backstage. Mabel and Charles discover Oliver wiping the lipstick off the mirror. He tells them he is "making a choice," picking love and his musical over justice. Oliver also confronts Charles about the opening night punch-up, which worsens the mood as each says cruel comments brewing over the season. Oliver and Charles get into a spat about whose career is dead, causing Charles to quit the play. Oliver brings up Mabel's lack of an adult job, and in return, she drops the Cinda Canning (Tina Fey) podcast team-up offer bombshell.
Mabel doesn't mince her words: "All I do is put up with your self-involved insanity — the musical, the white room, the proposal. But a man is dead, a man who actually meant something to me. And I'm going to figure out who did it, whether the two of you give a s*** or not. I'm done!”
For now, the trio is no more, but can they solve this case or experience happiness without each other?
New episodes of Only Murders in the Building season 3 release Tuesdays on Hulu in the US and Disney Plus in the UK.
More on Only Murders in the Building season 3
- Only Murders in the Building season 3 episode 1 recap
- Only Murders in the Building season 3 episode 2 recap
- Only Murders in the Building season 3 episode 3 recap
- Only Murders in the Building season 3 episode 4 recap
- Only Murders in the Building season 3 episode 5 recap
- Only Murders in the Building season 3 suspects ranked
