Only Murders in the Building season 3 episode 7 recap

Selena Gomez in Only Murders in the Building (Image credit: Patrick Harbron/Hulu)

NOTE: this post contains spoilers for Only Murders in the Building season 3 episode 7, "CoBro."

After Charles (Steve Martin) quit the musical and Mabel (Selena Gomez) chose to go it alone with the investigation, the trio are now dealing with the reality of their friendship breakup with varying levels of denial. Oliver (Martin Short) holds auditions to recast the role Charles has left vacant, Mabel teams up with some familiar faces and Charles briefly finds a new person to eat breakfast with. Plus, new clues throw the suspect spotlight on a figure close to the deceased.

Diner pals

Straight-talking Arconia resident Uma (Jackie Hoffman) was Bunny Folger's (Jayne Houdyshell) best friend, and she has not forgotten her murdered confidant. During Uma's voiceover observations, Bunny briefly appears, illustrating why Uma trusts objects more than people, as "things" don't suddenly leave her. Her closet is packed with seemingly random items she has found and taken.

In the Pickle Diner, she used to split a sandwich with Bunny but now eats alone. Charles is now facing the same solo scenario.

"So, where are your friends?" Uma asks before giving him some hard truths about not wasting time to make up with them. She also lets slip she has the bloody hanky Ben (Paul Rudd) was holding when he died, as she couldn't resist adding this trinket to her collection. If Charles can get this piece of evidence, he might be able to use it as a peace offering to Mabel and Oliver.

The silent auction

James Caverly in Only Murders in the Building (Image credit: Patrick Harbron/Hulu)

Back at the Arconia, Mabel boxes up her worldly possessions with the help of Theo (James Caverly). "I don’t need them," she unconvincingly says about Charles and Oliver.

Theo proves to be a great source of information when he suggests Mabel attend the silent auction Dickie (Jeremy Shamos) is hosting in Ben's apartment later that day. This will give Mabel a chance to ask Dickie some questions about the phone call Ben took before he died.

As a CoBro fan, Theo's knowledge of the franchise includes how Ben conceived this story as a child; his original drawing is on sale. Mabel tries to make small talk with Dickie before asking more specific questions about the case, but he sees right through her intentions. Anger bubbles to the surface as he thinks Mabel is trying to make a quick buck off his brother's murder.

All it takes for Mabel to get Dickie to open up is a sincere apology. Dickie apologizes for his hostile reaction too. He's always been his younger brother's protector from when they were children to his manager role, covering up his many misdemeanors (including salacious text messages). Dickie also mentions some pertinent details, like the fact he was adopted when his parents didn't think they could conceive a child. Ben proved they could have children, and his stardom took pride of place. Ben always got the credit and Dickie was the one who had to clean up his mess.

Despite this, Dickie's grief is palpable. He mentions little things he misses like Ben setting his clocks 20 minutes early so he can be fashionably late.

Mabel tells Dickie she doesn't think stalker Greg (Adrian Martinez) should be in jail for committing this crime, but Dickie is adamant that the evidence is there, as Greg was seen leaving the building shortly after Ben died.

Recasting Charles

Auditions to replace Charles for Death Rattle Dazzle are going poorly until producer Cliff (Wesley Taylor) realizes he can call in a favor with a big-name Broadway star. Following in the footsteps of Sting and Amy Schumer, Matthew Broderick plays a heightened version of himself. Instead of moving into the penthouse, he saves Oliver's musical. Or so it seems.

Matthew immediately nails the patter song Charles struggled with and has already dissected the text. Unfortunately, this level of preparedness takes a turn for the method acting extreme when he insists on preparation, causing Oliver to panic and FaceTime the legendary Mel Brooks (also playing himself). Mel asks Oliver if he told Matthew that he is open to his ideas, and when Oliver confirms he did, Mel exclaims, "You're f***ed!"

There are only two weeks until they open, but that doesn't mean an all-night session is necessary, and Oliver finally loses it about Matthew's process. Upon throwing him out of his apartment, Oliver finds Charles lurking. Immediately, their argument is forgotten (as Uma said it would be earlier on). Oliver fires Matthew and rehires his friend.

New clues and the podcast returns

Martin Short in Only Murders in the Building (Image credit: Patrick Harbron/Hulu)

After the auction, Mabel and Theo continue packing her apartment, including her investigation board. When she sees the watch on Ben's hand that gave his time of death, Mabel realizes that he died 20 minutes after the police thought; therefore, Greg was not in the building.

More clues fall into place when Theo suggests it was Dickie that did the CoBro drawing as a child and Ben took the credit, noticing that the "B" in "B. Glenroy" on th drawing may have been changed from an "R" for Richard, aka Dickie.

Tobert (Jessie Williams) joins the alternative investigation team, but his fancy equipment and cringey The Bloody Mabel podcast artwork don't sit well with Mabel. Instead she uses her phone. "I can't figure her out either," Theo communicates to Tobert.

Clues make great peace offerings, and while Charles couldn't get the hanky from Uma as she sold it to someone at the auction for $7,000 (we discover it was Dickie), Oliver does show Charles the Ben-filled scrapbook he took from Loretta (Meryl Streep). When they go to Mabel's place to make up with her, they discover the new buyer has moved in. Not only that, but she has dropped a new solo episode of the podcast.

This doesn't go unnoticed by the police, and Detective Biswas (Gerrard Lobo) is reopening the case.

New episodes of Only Murders in the Building season 3 release Tuesdays on Hulu in the US and Disney Plus in the UK.

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Emma Fraser spends most of her time writing about TV, fashion, and costume design; Dana Scully is the reason she loves a pantsuit. Words can also be found at Vulture, Elle, Primetimer, Collider, Little White Lies, Observer, and Girls on Tops. Emma has a Master’s in Film and Television, started a (defunct) blog that mainly focused on Mad Men in 2010, and has been getting paid to write about TV since 2015. It goes back way further as she got her big start making observations in her diary about My So-Called Life’s Angela Chase (and her style) at 14.