What does Mrs. Gambolini know and when did she know it? At the end of last week’s episode of Only Murders in the Building, Bunny’s parrot said “I know who did it,” leaving Charles, Oliver, and Mabel in shock. Here’s a recap of Season 2, Episode 3, titled “The Last Day of Bunny Folger,” in which we find out exactly what Mrs. Gambolini was quoting.
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Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) announces to podcast listeners that they have an exclusive witness to the death of Bunny Folger. He’s referring to her parrot, Mrs. Gambolini, whom he received in the deceased’s will, but all the parrot will respond with are offensive expletives. As Oliver gets frustrated with Bunny’s bird, Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin) finds himself suddenly protective of his potential half-sister, after learning that his father had an affair with Bunny’s mother. Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez) suggests that they try to talk to Mrs. Gambolini in Bunny’s voice while she looks through the papers they took from her apartment. She finds a receipt dated March 12th, the day Bunny died. Oliver begins to walk through what they know about Bunny’s final day.
It’s the morning of March 12th and Mrs. Gambolini announces for Bunny to wake up. “I can’t believe this is my last day,” she starts to say, continuing after a beat with “As board president.” As she gets ready, we see that the Rose Cooper painting is on the wall. While listening to the radio, the announcer complaining about how much New York City has changed, we see Bunny contemplating a pamphlet for Boca Raton. She rehearses a speech about stepping down from her position, getting misty-eyed and promising Mrs. Gambolini that she won’t let them see her cry. She is interrupted by music coming through the air vent that connects her apartment to Mabel’s bathroom. “I guess quiet time is over,” she tells Mrs. Gambolini.
Bunny goes to her closet, puts on a fur coat, and takes her secret elevator down. She goes about her errands with a push cart, returning to the courtyard of The Arconia with two big floral arrangements. She finds employees Lester (Teddy Coluca) and Ursula (Vanessa Aspillaga) enjoying cake, with paper plates on the ground. That leads her eyes to a gathering – Charles, Oliver, and Mabel being celebrated by fans of the podcast on the almost one-week anniversary of solving Tim Kono’s death. Oliver offers Bunny a slice, but she responds that it’s against policy to hold a gathering of more than 12 people without prior board approval. Realizing one of the fans is selling merchandise, she cites that as another mark against building policies. Nina Lin (Christine Ko) steps in behind her to add that the penalty for this crime is a $20 fine and a public flogging (the rule was written in 1912).
Bunny and Nina walk away together, with Bunny saying “They’re gonna be your problem tomorrow.” Nina takes the flowers and finishes every sentence Bunny tries to start about what needs to be done around The Arconia. A man named Nick walks by and Bunny warns Nina that he's a compulsive liar and to be careful of him. Similarly, when a woman named Sonia passes, she warns Nina not to ever ask about the men in her life when she brings them up. “You know everything about everyone,” Nina comments. “That’s the job,” Bunny replies. Nina gets up and takes the flowers to put them in the lobby, telling Bunny she will see her at the board meeting.
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On her way to lunch, Bunny walks with Uma Heller (Jackie Hoffman) and tells her she’s considering becoming a snowbird in Florida. Uma thinks it’s a terrible idea, but mentions that she will use her key to sneak into Bunny’s apartment and borrow clothes while she’s away. After they part, Bunny gets a phone call: “No, I do not want to talk about the painting. Stop calling!” She goes to The Pickle Diner and sits in her usual booth where her regular waiter Ivan (Ariel Shafir) asks if the friend she was with yesterday will be joining her. He was off that day, but his colleague mentioned it to him. “No, not coming and not my friend,” Bunny corrects him. In the background, Oliver is picking up food with his son Will Putnam (Ryan Broussard), who is directing his child’s school play. Oliver introduces Bunny to Will, who remembers him. Will notices her brochure and mentions how he would love to live somewhere warm. Oliver laughs, saying Bunny is a lifer at The Arconia and will probably be buried there. When they leave, Ivan brings the bill and Bunny hands him an envelope of cash, saying “I went over 20%.” He initially refuses the generous tip, but she tells him nobody else needs it and that he should get the DJ equipment he wants. “Make me a promise,” she tells him. “Don’t let yourself only love one thing because if you only love one thing and then that one thing goes away, then you’re left with nothing and that sucks.”
As Bunny returns to The Arconia, Charles and Mabel join her in the elevator. Mabel picked up some champagne to celebrate and Charles realizes that since it's not actually from the Champagne wine region in France, it's not real champagne. The elevator malfunctions and Charles begins to panic and hyperventilate. Bunny uses her key to open the elevator panel, fix the fan, and get it back up and running. “My God, what would we do without you?”, Charles asks. As Bunny gets out of the elevator, she realizes out loud that she hates the heat.
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Bunny is not pleased to be greeted by a surprise party when she opens the door to her apartment, a banner declaring “It’s over” and a party hat saying “You’re done.” Bunny starts to talk business, but Nina tells her all of that can wait for the next meeting and they should just celebrate her. Bunny eventually snaps, saying “I’ve changed my mind, I’m not stepping down.” Nina is upset and she asks Howard Morris (Michael Cyril Creighton) to read from the November minutes during which Bunny said she will step down and nominates Nina to replace her. Bunny argues that The Arconia still needs her. “No, you still need it,” Nina snaps. “But we can’t afford to wait, the Arconia needs to be brought into the 21st century.” Nina has a vision to make the building more modern which is in direct opposition to Bunny’s wishes to preserve it as it always was. Bunny calls Nina “ungrateful” and “power-hungry,” Nina says that nepotism is the only reason Bunny became Board President in the first place, calling her “a relic.” “You have no idea what this job takes,” Bunny warns Nina. “The pressures I endure on a daily basis. I’m not going to let you get away with this.” Nina gives Bunny a cold stare, saying “I’m not going to let you stop me.”
In a break from the flashback, we see Mabel tacking items on the new suspect board in Charle’s apartment. Among the suspects are the podcast fans Bunny upset, Bunny’s mystery dining partner, and Nina, who is placed in the prime suspect spot.
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Bunny cleans up from the surprise party she didn’t want, asking Mrs. Gambolini if she thinks of her as a stubborn relic too. Music from Mabel’s apartment once again prompts Bunny to stop what she’s doing. This time, she goes over to the door with a bottle of real champagne, greeted by Mabel, Charles, and Oliver as they celebrate. In a rare moment of kindness, Bunny also thanks them for saving The Arconia. Thinking fast, Oliver gives Bunny a souvenir tie-dye hoodie with the podcast logo on it, encouraging her to try it on, which she does. Oliver tells her to get home safe and closes the door in her face. The scene is awkward as they realize that Bunny probably was hoping to be invited in. Sure enough, Mabel looks through the peephole and sees Bunny begin to cry. They turn into sobs and wails as they debate about opening the door or not. When Mabel finally does, the hallway is empty. The trio decides to take their party to the roof in case Bunny comes back. We see them all get into one side of the elevator. As their door closes, the other elevator opens.
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“We at Only Murders did not kill Bunny Folger, but there’s a chance we could’ve saved her life with a simple act of kindness,” Charles’ podcast narration says. We see black shoes step out of the elevator, the cuffs of what look like grey work pants. Bunny is in her apartment watching a black and white movie that she knows well enough to quote along with. “I just got off the phone with Jimmy down at the dock,” a man says. “I know who did it.” Bunny repeats the line – “I know who did it.” Mrs. Gambolini sits next to Bunny and also repeats the phrase – “I know who did it.” Someone knocks at the door and Bunny assumes it’s the podcast crew, hollering “Too late, I don’t wanna hang out.” A more forceful knock causes her to get up and answer the door. Hands in black rubber gloves reach for her neck. We see Mrs. Gambolini watching as shadows on the wall reveal a struggle.
Up on the roof, Mabel questions if they tied up all the loose ends on the Tim Kono case. They run out of champagne and she goes back to her apartment to get the other bottle. Entering, she takes off her coat and sets down her keys. She turns around the corner and gasps. That’s where the episode ends, the moment Mabel found Bunny stumbling to her death inside her apartment.
Does Mrs. Gambolini have any more helpful information to reveal, or was she just a red herring? Maybe we will find out on July 12th in the next episode, titled “Here’s Looking at You….”
Charles, Oliver and Mabel welcome an unexpected young visitor who reveals hidden secrets about the inner workings of the Arconia. We also discover Charles once recorded a hit single that was huge in Germany.