The Tell

The Tell
Season	2
Episode	5
Air date	July 19, 2022
Writer	Matteo Borghese Rob Turbovsky
Director	Cherien Dabis
Episode guide
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The Tell is the fifth episode of the second season of Only Murders in the Building and the fifteenth episode overall. It aired July 19, 2022.

Synopsis

Mabel hosts a party for an eclectic art crowd which also serves a double purpose for smoking out a liar in the trio’s midst.

Plot

A flashback shows a younger Oliver in the 1970s. Will narrates, and explains that Oliver always enjoyed a party and solving mysteries, even before the podcast. Oliver would play the mystery game "Son of Sam", in which the aim of the game is to spot the killer in a room full of innocent "blondes". Will further explains that Oliver has a unique gift of telling when someone is lying as they have a "tell".

Meanwhile, Charles and Jan have kept in regular contact since he visited her in prison previously. Charles brings Jan up to date with everything going on in the murder investigation in the hopes that she can help him narrow down the suspects in Bunny Folger's murder investigation. Jan doesn't seem appreciative of the notion that Nina Lin could be responsible for Bunny's death, and explains that the murderer is a storyteller and an artist. She gives Charles one last piece of advice before he parts: look for anyone new that has grown close to the three investigators or Bunny prior to her death.

Alice and Mabel call whilst Mabel explores the tunnels and passageways connecting the rooms of the Arconia together. Alice tells Mabel that she is hosting an art gathering later that night, but that her apartment ceiling has begun leaking therefore it cannot be held there. She asks Mabel if possible, they can host the art gallery at her apartment. Mabel is hesitant at first, but comes around when she realises that one of the tunnels leads to her bedroom. Mabel becomes afraid at this, and agrees to host the art gathering at her apartment. Seconds later, she finds a matchbook in the tunnel directly below her room, and realises that the killer must've dropped this whilst making their escape from her apartment.

Mabel alerts Charles and Oliver to her new discovery, and Charles wonders if Bunny's last words were actually "passage" instead of "savage". At the diner, the trio ask Ivan, the waiter, for a list of regulars to the diner given Bunny was a regular here. A table of podcast fans begin listening to the trio talk and begin to ask for information about the investigation. Mabel becomes distracted, however, when she receives a text message from Alice, and Charles begins getting suspicious, believing that Alice could be the suspect that they are looking for.

At the art gathering, Charles and Oliver are introduced to Alice. Believing that this is the prime time to test Alice, Oliver suggests that they should play a game of Son of Sam; this way, he can deduce if Alice is responsible for Bunny's murder. The game goes well, but eventually ends in an altercation when Oliver outright accuses Alice of being the killer. It turns out that she lied about her history and her education, and isn't wealthy at all. Alice is humbled and humiliated and all of the guests leave.

As the day draws to a close, Ivan invites Oliver back to the diner where he shows him CCTV footage of Bunny's meeting with an unknown person. The CCTV is too grainy to see a face, but Oliver does see the assailant pick up the matchbook and therefore, they believe they have connected the meeting and the murderer together. Meanwhile, Charles meets with Jan again and it seems as though they are growing closer once more.

Will comes over to his father's apartment to thank him, but ends up telling him that the DNA results came back and he is half Greek, not Irish. Will is confused, but Oliver quickly realises that he isn't Will's actual father — it could be Teddy Dimas.

Cast

Main Cast

• Steve Martin as Charles-Haden Savage
• Martin Short as Oliver Putnam
• Selena Gomez as Mabel Mora
• Cara Delevingne as Alice Banks

Guest starring

• Ryan Broussard as Will Putnam
• Jayne Houdyshell as Bunny Folger
• Nathan Lane as Teddy Dimas
• Daniel Oreskes as Marv
• Amy Ryan as Jan
• Ariel Shafir as Ivan
• Ali Stroker as Paulette
• Jaboukie Young-White as Sam
• Samuel Farnsworth as Young Oliver
• Oliver Fequiere as Henry Putnam
• Carter Harris as Young Will
• Orson Hong as Superfan Grant
• Martin Landry as Borgir
• Dave Marr as Young Teddy
• ChaCha Shen as Little Dorothy
• Everett Sobers as Little Lion
• Marie-Françoise Theodore as Roberta Putnam
• Abey Xashi as Partygoer
• Joshua Perez as Diner Patron

Trivia

• The episode title, "The Tell" is in reference to the idea that Oliver Putnam has a gift of spotting a persons "tell" — that being the thing that shows that they are lying.
  • Alice Banks' tell is revealed to be that she plays with her hair when she is lying.

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