Only Murders In The Building “Sparring Partners”

Mabel manages to track down Detective Kreps to his favorite gym, one set up for boxers, and the name is “Excessive Force”.

Is that this show’s idea of low-key idea for social satire?  Because that’s what it feels like by saying a cop likes a place called “excessive force”.

Mabel’s plot line is basically the one that actually advances the murder mystery.  Go confront the suspicious cop, try to get him to admit to something since he is clearly not the mastermind behind it all.  That’s Mabel’s plan, and it largely works even if Kreps says it doesn’t, but there’s still one episode left to this season, so I figure that’s one more red herring to toss off.

But then there’s the Oliver and Charles plot lines, and those two seem to be working off a small sub-theme for the last two episodes, and that’s something to do with fatherhood.  Oliver knows he isn’t Will’s biological father, and he confronts Teddy about it in an elevator.  He does so by wrapping his hands around Teddy’s neck, and considering Oliver was shaking in terror of this man only a couple episodes ago, that’s a remarkable change in the least threatening of a trio of podcasters.  I mean, Charles can at least act tough.  Mabel can throw a punch or two from the looks of things here as she literally and figuratively spars with Kreps.  Who in their right mind would be physically afraid of Oliver Putnam?

Meanwhile, Charles tracks down the reclusive artist Rose Cooper.  The original painting of Charles’s father and Rose was hidden under the birdcage for Bunny’s parrot, and it turns out that Rose was the woman posing as Bunny’s mother.  Charles goes to see her because, well, he didn’t know his father and she did.

That also means the feisty and mean Leonora was all an act so I don’t get more of that this episode.  Bummer.

Anyway, it turns out Charles’s father got a second painting done, this one with young Charles, and it was hidden behind Bunny’s painting.

And Teddy has to say that Oliver was a much better father than he was since Oliver didn’t get his son involved in a shady family business or try to cover up a death the boy may or may not have caused on purpose.

You know, I like Nathan Lane and all, but he never struck me as the great seducer of women for some reason.  Then again, he makes a reasonable tough guy in this series, so I should probably never underestimate a good actor.

Regardless, the bottom line for me is Oliver realizes what kind of father he’s been and Charles realizes what kind of father he had.  Both are touched by the revelations, and maybe Teddy won’t kill Oliver now since the two seem to be square after all that.

Oh, and one more red herring, but since I figure it’s a red herring, I don’t foresee that Cinda Canning is going to be the murderer after all.