Warning — spoilers ahead

Another tragic murder has been solved at the seemingly haunted Arconia apartment building in the latest mystifying season of “Only Murders in the Building.” The Hulu comedy brought another mystery to life while embracing themes of loyalty and growth. The fun-loving relationship between the main cast made the show fun and engaging for audiences. However, the season seemed to follow a routine, predictable plot like it did in past seasons, making it a mundane watch.

Season five welcomes the return of the iconic podcast trio, Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez), Charles Haden-Savage (Steve Martin) and Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) — this time investigating the death of their building’s doorman, Lester, who has been a recurring character in previous seasons. Early on, several potential suspects emerge, including a mob family, a trio of billionaires and new residents of the Arconia. The show leads audiences along a trail of clues, positioning multiple characters as suspects. While each episode brings the viewers closer to solving the crime, it is not until the finale that we learn who is responsible for Lester’s death — a shocking reveal that left me on the edge of my seat.

The best part of the season was seeing our favorite trio back in action and continuing their endearing friendship. The chemistry between the main characters is unmatched, and their ability to make jokes and poke fun at one another while still creating comforting, feel-good moments makes their grouping wholesome and relatable. Each episode sees the characters grow as people, creating a welcoming storyline set alongside the investigation plot.

This season touches on a range of themes that brought a warm, endearing side to the murder mystery. There is a major theme of growth in each of the characters’ development — whether it be Oliver’s recent marriage or Charles’ loneliness. In this season, we get to see the characters express vulnerability with each other and become better people as a result. Community and loyalty were other major themes — shown through Lester’s “dying” love for his doorman job and the main cast’s appreciation for the building that brought them together when they learn it is being bought out.

Speaking of the Arconia, I really enjoyed getting to see the characters spend the majority of their time there this season. The last two seasons seemed to stray away from the infamous apartment building that gave the series its name, so it was refreshing to see the trio discover new areas and stories within the building’s walls. With this season’s victim being Lester, it was fun to see the Arconia take a center role this season. 

This season thrived on the twists and turns of each episode. One of the biggest twists this season was the reveal that there were actually two different murders that happened within the span of 24 hours. This set the rest of the season up with many unanswered questions and was cause for even more investigation than in previous seasons. The show handled the two murders well, as they were clearly related but still had their own nuance and plot structures. The secondary murder plot even led to a more exciting reveal than the initial murder of Lester.

While the unraveling of two murder cases was interesting to watch, the show suffered with its implementation of a larger cast. This season introduced multiple new characters including the cunning, money-thirsty trio of billionaires, an old mob family, a new mayor, and a new doorman — among others. The cast of new characters made it hard to keep track of certain plot points and made it difficult to remember each character’s role. 

Another flaw in this season was its repetitive nature in contrast with the show’s other seasons. While the first two seasons produced unexpected twists, the following seasons feel lackluster in comparison. It feels as though the series is getting stuck in the same pattern it follows every season — someone dies, the trio investigates different suspects, they make several breakthroughs which end up failing to prove anything, they consider giving up, new evidence comes out in the final moments and the killer is revealed.

While the specifics have changed each season, it feels like the same idea is being recycled to fit the newest plot. There are still shocking moments, but I don’t feel as blown away as I did while watching the first two seasons. This season, I was able to correctly guess the killer before the final episode, something I had previously been unable to do, showing the show’s growing lack of originality.

The final moments did manage to bring audiences to the edge of their seats, ending like every other season has with the newest victim dying in the building and setting up a new murder for the podcasters to investigate. “Only Murders in the Building” has been renewed for a sixth season and will explore the death of a familiar character with the possibility of the trio heading to London. If the show can remember its roots and bring something new and surprising to the plot, we should be in for a treat.