Only Murders in the Building: Top 10 Foreshadowing Details You Missed

As our three detectives slash podcasters celebrate near the end of the season’s final episode, they run out of champagne. Not wanting to let their rooftop party end, Mabel heads to get more bubbly stuff. Soon after, Charles and Oliver receive a mysterious text telling them to get out of the building now. Of course, neither is willing to leave Mabel behind, so they rush to find her. When they do, Mabel is covered in blood and clutching someone in a tie-dye hoodie. However, this scene really shouldn’t come as a surprise since the first episode opened with the same sequence. While this cold open was easy to misinterpret, it undoubtedly holds many clues about the first season, and possibly the second one too.

Early on, Tim Kono seems like a loner. By season’s end, we have a much different picture of the victim. As an adult, Tim had a passionate relationship with Jan, an older woman in the Arconia, an apartment building in New York where most of our story takes place. Jan murdered Tim because she thought he left her for another woman, though later the murderess suspects she made a mistake. Yet, it’s possible the killer bassoonist wasn’t wrong, and Tim actually did have another honey. The strongest evidence supporting this theory is an engagement ring Tim ordered that was accidentally delivered to Bunny. Whether Tim’s second mystery lover is a suspect or witness, this is likely one plot thread we haven’t heard the last of.

Murdering jaded New Yorkers is one thing, but rubbing out innocent animals is a whole other level of dastardly. While many aspects of the Kono case were wrapped up at the end of season one, the person who poisoned Oliver’s bulldog Winnie remains at large. At one point, our triumvirate of trackers suspect international rockstar Sting, though he’s soon revealed to be a red herring. Winnie eventually recovers, but sadly the cat Evelyn wasn’t as lucky. The homicidal maniac Jan theorized the cat died due to drinking poisoned blood, but she never fessed up to poisoning the lovable bulldog. Since Winnie's would-be whacker remains at large, you can bet your bottom dollar the show hasn’t forgotten about this aspiring canine killer.

Our true crime nuts turned true detectives initially bond over their mutual love of podcasts when the Arconia is evacuated. Upon returning to the building, they start sleuthing before getting chewed out by an actual police detective. Following this, each team member returns to their normal life. For Charles, that means whipping up an omelette. Curiously, he soon tosses the cooked eggs into the trash uneaten. This detail teases the emptiness in Charles’s life. A few episodes later, we learn Charles used to cook this dish for his ex-girlfriend's daughter, a sorely-missed human connection. By season’s end, he reconnects with his surrogate daughter by text, meaning this plot thread will likely be further explored in future seasons.

In a flashback, we see a young Mabel and Tim meet for the first time in the Arconia’s courtyard. Tiny Tim asks who Mini Mabel is, as he’s never seen her around the building before. Mabel answers that she’s visiting her aunt, who lives in apartment 12a. However, in the present, Mabel’s aunt seems to have moved to 12e, one unit over. The mystery is further compounded when we learn Bunny — the cruel leader of the apartment’s board — currently resides in 12a. Since Bunny turns up dead in the season finale, the story behind this residential version of musical chairs will likely play a big role in next season’s plot.

Each of our three main characters introduce themselves via a montage and monologue. Charles waxes poetic about life in the city while Oliver describes a dance performance about the futility of human striving. Still, it’s Mabel’s story that steals the show. Instead of sentimental blather, the youngest member of the group recounts a violent recurring dream. In the nocturnal vision, a male intruder attacks Mabel in bed. Never a blushing violet, she turns the tables on her attacker, stabbing him repeatedly with knitting needles. This foreshadows both Mabel’s near stabbing of tie-dye guy, as well as teasing Bunny’s murder. It’s a great example of the show’s strong writing, especially since this scene and the cold open together serve as both clues and red herrings.

When our greenhorn gumshoes head to a public mourning event for building residents, they learn Tim Kono didn’t have many friends at the Arconia. Bunny brusquely asks if anyone has a memory to share. The only response is a question about fireplaces. Tim had asthma, which is why no one could make the most of their mantles. Now that he’s dead, all the residents can think of is warming their hearths and not hearts. At the time, this seemed to be nothing more than a device to show Tim’s low standing with his neighbors. By the season finale, the exchange takes on a new significance when Jan reveals her plan to gas the building’s residents using the now open fireplaces.

The beautifully animated opening credits of this show change a little in each episode. These variations tease details about the show’s plot and are just one more example of the creators’ cleverness. In the first episode, a literal Easter egg can be seen at the apex of the building’s front archway. In the second, flashlight beams illuminate the side of the building as the show’s title appears, a reference to Mabel and Tim solving mysteries as kids. The next episode features a buzzing insect outside the window of Charles, a nod to the rockstar Sting, who plays himself in the show. A tie-dyed celestial body, hula-dancer figurine, angel’s shadow and other clues appear throughout the rest of the season’s opening credits.

Our three detectives-to-be first meet on an awkward elevator ride that also happens to include Tim Kono. The walking dead man talks on the phone and clutches a trash bag as his eventual avengers stand quietly behind him. Thus, it’s pretty ironic they end up missing this huge clue, which was literally right under their noses. Fortunately, a fan of their podcast points out the bag and its significance in episode eight. Another hot lead hidden in plain sight is Jan and the murderer having the same handwriting. Jan’s jays eventually help the man who played Brazzos connect the dots in another moment of wonderful narrative payoff.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Where's the Ring?
Many Plot Twists & Turns Revolve Around This Seemingly Cursed Jewelry Item

The Air Duct into Bunny's Apartment
This Connection Between Apartments Will Likely Come into Play Next Season

Scuttled Police Investigation
Suspicious Lapses in the Investigation Suggest Something Fishy Is Going on at the NYPD

Cinda Canning on the Scene
When Our Heroes Get Nabbed by the Fuzz, a Famous Podcaster Watches from the Crowd

With Tim’s apartment slated to be cleaned out, Charles, Oliver and Mabel break in to search for clues. They soon discover a box of the deceased man's bedroom toys. Among the interesting items inside is something that looks a little like a cat toy, but which is eventually revealed to be a tool for cleaning bassoons. This strongly implicates the bassoonist Jan, something musicians likely picked up on before everyone else. Jan’s guiltiness doesn’t come totally out of the blue, as she revealed her jealous nature on her first date with Charles. Her sob story about always playing second fiddle certainly tugs on heartstrings, but it also clearly foreshadows her eventual heel turn.