“My mom told me to read about the Tree of Life. Always trying to find a way to recreate the Hardy Boys’ magic, she only let herself grieve through her art, like the tree in her bedroom. Mabel never fully grieved the loss of her friend Zoe and the life she could have had with Oscar all these years because she never let go of the past. “When they don’t submit something, that means they want all hands off,” Dee says.Īmid Dee’s discovery that a case she assumed was simple might be more sinister and that she can and should rely on others for help, the three friends-plus - Mabel, Oliver, and Charles and Oscar - go on an emotional journey that pushes them to realize they’re not alone, either. The (slightly illegal) investigation and findings she hears about on the podcast convince her to anonymously send Tim Kono’s phone, which never made it to IT, to Mabel. This leads to the discovery that Tim Kono’s toxicology report was not submitted, convincing Dee to listen to Only Murders in the Building. Dee (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), the detective who is (fairly) skeptical of true-crime podcasts and last seen in the first episode, finds out about the Only Murders in the Building podcast through her wife, who found out about it through the Yard Dogs.
“To Protect and Serve” opens with an unfamiliar voice telling us that we’re born alone and we die alone.
It’s fitting - and likely very intentional - that the news that Only Murders in the Building was picked up for a second season (!!!) was announced the week leading up to its best, most emotional, most eventful, and most meta episode yet.