Only Murders in the Building Season 5 Episode 6 Recap and Spoiler Review — Who Killed Lester?

In Only Murders in the Building season 5, episode 6, the story turns to the group’s personal struggles. Oliver (Martin Short) receives notices about his newly furnished apartment and may have to move. This unsettles Mabel (Selena Gomez), already on edge from Althea’s (Beanie Feldstein) presence, as the two stopped being best friends back in middle school.

Once again in Only Murders in the Building, a big-name guest star returns, and the episode is forced to revolve around their appearance. It may tie into Oliver’s housing troubles, which would make sense, but it still feels contrived. The plot point centers on a friend’s apartment burning down and on evidence that has mysteriously gone missing.

Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building Season 5 Episode 6: Who is Loretta Durkin?

Loretta Durkin (Meryl Streep), Oliver’s partner, returns from her acting gig after her beloved apartment burns to the ground. The scene plays ominously, as if the fire were intentional. Loretta dominates much of the episode by repeatedly talking about her home, which feels distracting and repetitive, pulling focus from the main plot.

Loretta accompanies Oliver visits Lester’s home to investigate. There, she finds the widow Lorraine (Mayor of Kingstown’s Dianne Wiest), who’s holding a dagger. However, she explains it was a gift from Lester from a famous Broadway production, used in the final performance of Tosca at the Met. Loretta says the widow isn’t a killer, but they see her meet Sofia shortly after, handing her a heavy bag.

Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building Season 5 Episode 6: How did Charles lose a finger?

Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez in Only Murders in the Building (2021) | Image via Hulu

Da’Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers) returns as Detective Donna Williams after Charles calls her to examine the dismembered finger. When they check the tumbler of ice, the finger is revealed to be missing entirely. Later, they run into Althea in the elevator, where she joins the conversation and mentions seeing lights on in Charles’s apartment early that morning.

They go to the lobby and have Howard pull up the security footage on AI Lester. They saw between one and three in the morning, and the digital recording was erased. Meanwhile, Loretta and Oliver follow Sofia and Lorraine to a theater from the latter’s childhood. They confront both of them, who deny that they murdered their husbands. Oliver believes them.

Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building Season 5 Episode 6 Ending Explained: Who Killed Lester?

Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez in Only Murders in the Building (2021) | Image via Hulu

We do not know for sure, but Only Murders in the Building Season 5 episode 6 ends with Detective Williams, Mabel, and Charles thinking that Bash Steed (Christoph Waltz) killed Lester. Why? Charles is texting Priscilla on the Last Gasp dating app, telling her everything about the case. Williams tells Charles he is being catfished. They download the video of Lester in the courtyard.

The group watches as Lester falls backward into the fountain—but a jump glitch on the screen makes them suspect the footage has been doctored. Charles notices a peach icon on both the dating website and the security software, which also appears on all the building’s cameras. After some digging, they discover the company is owned by Bash.

You can stream Only Murders in the Building season 5 only on Hulu starting September 9th. A new episode will be released every week until October 30th!