How Well Do You Know Your Neighbors?

"How Well Do You Know Your Neighbors?"
"How Well Do You Know Your Neighbors?" title-card
Season	1
Episode	3
Director	Gillian Robespierre
Writer	Ben Smith
Editor	Matthew Barbato
Production code	1DWB03
Original air date	August 31, 2021
Running time	35 minutes
Episode chronology
← Previous	"Who Is Tim Kono?"
Next →	"The Sting"

"How Well Do You Know Your Neighbors?" is the third episode of the first season of Only Murders in the Building. It originally aired on August 31, 2021, on Hulu and Disney+, alongside the series first and second episodes.

Short Summary

Oliver employs his theater director skills to analyze the case. Charles and Mabel question an obsessive cat lover.

Full Summary

Oliver pitches Splash! The Musical. Teddy says Oliver said this was a social dinner. Oliver says dinner's over because he has a new idea for the set. One of the investors reminds him he already built the set while the other tells him he's already $4 million over budget. He wants a pier high above the stage and a pool built into the floor. Oliver has Teddy look at Roberta. He tells the story of how he met Roberta and taking his shot with her. She shot him down, but he tried again and she agreed. He married way above his league and lives four floors above Teddy. He wants Teddy to go all in with him. Teddy agrees.

Mabel draws a portrait of Bunny on the wall. Next to her is Ndidi Idoko.

Charles records another episode of the podcast, asking how well you know your neighbors. While he talks, he plays an accordion. Oliver calls cut and asks him to change the music, not feeling that it fits the tone of the podcast. Charles doesn't want to change it, even after Oliver points out that he paid for all the recording equipment. Charles clearly states that he won't pay for any of it. Charles wants to see if Mabel's free. He asks if he should call or text. Oliver says calls bother "them" for some reason. He decides to text. Oliver gets up to answer a knock at the door. It's Ursula with more cases of gut milk. She also wrote down everything she could about Tim. She also has a note from Bunny for him saying he has 24 hours to pay or his water and power will be shut off.

Mabel gets a text from Charles inviting her to join them to go over suspects. She replies, saying she's coming and informing him that he doesn't have to sign his texts because she knows it's him.

Mabel, Charles, and Oliver look at the evidence board. All the suspect photos are pictures Charles took, pretending to take selfies. He's matched them all with official complaints they got from Ursula. Oliver points to the picture of Sting and asks if he really believes Sting did it. Charles says no, he's just a fan, and he lives in the building. Mabel wonders where they even start and Charles suggests removing suspects one at a time. Oliver wants to do the opposite. Charles adds Tie-Dye Guy to the suspect list, along with Tim's mysterious fiancé. Mabel wonders if both of them are the same person. Oliver is struck with inspiration and says he knows how to do this.

All the suspects are lined up on a stage. Oliver congratulates them on making it this far, but says there can only be one murderer. He's looking for means, motive, and moxie. He fingers Grover, who admits to doing it, saying he's a bad therapist. Oliver has him step back. Uma and Amy mock fight. Oliver's not interested. Next, he goes to Ndidi, who says she did it, and she'd do it again for the extra room and the view. Oliver sends her back with the others. Bunny does a little song and dance about Oliver needing to pay his bills. Oliver sends her to the back line. Next, he reviewed the complaints Howard made against Tim. Tim also complained about Evelyn and threatened to shoot her. Oliver sends everyone but Howard to the back line.

Oliver lays out the case for Howard being the killer. He wants to meet with Howard and try to get a confession out of him. They'll also record him for the podcast. For legal purposes, they have to tell him he's being recorded. Oliver tells Mabel she can't keep the microphone because they have to return it within 30 days to get their money back. Oliver then leaves them to it, saying he has producer stuff to do.

Oliver goes to Teddy's place. He compliments Teddy, tipping Teddy off that he wants something. Teddy tells him to come in.

Mabel and Charles discuss their strategy. They want to hit him with charm. Charles assumes that means he'll take the lead. The elevator doors open on one floor and Jan Bellows gets on with her instrument case. Charles deduces she's a musician. She says she's the first chair bassoon for the City Symphony. Charles wonders if she's the source of the bassoon he hears across the courtyard. She apologizes, but he likes it. As Charles and Mabel get off, Jan and Charles introduce themselves to each other. Once the doors are closed, Mabel tells Charles to get some. He says he won't and asks if his nose is bleeding. Mabel says she'll get Howard to talk. Charles just has to make sure he knows he's being recorded.

Oliver looks at posters of his and Teddy's past collaborations. He's happy to see them hung up, but Teddy would rather have posters of the shows Oliver talked him out of investing in, like Les Mis, Mamma Mia, and Hamilton. Theo comes in and Teddy says he and Theo have something they need to do. Oliver promises he'll be quick. He tells Teddy about the podcast. Teddy is appalled that Oliver is asking him for money. Oliver says he only needs $32,000 and Teddy can advertise on the podcast. Teddy says no and makes Oliver leave.

Mabel and Charles navigate the mess that is Howard's apartment and ask how he's doing. He says he wishes he were dead. Things have fallen apart since Evelyn died. Mabel asks if he has another cat, and he says no, but if he doesn't touch anything of Evelyn's, it's like she's still there. Charles shares an awkward anecdote, but Mabel is able to smooth things over. Then she mentions Tim Kono and how they both died on the same day. She mentions seeing him on the elevator and hearing something about a missing ring. Howard heard he got fired from his investment firm for losing a client a lot of money. Howard's still upset that Tim left his window open and then got mad at Evelyn for coming in. Charles looks at the cat portrait on Howard's wall and says she was beautiful. Howard says that's not Evelyn, but Barbara, who was a bitch. He tries to say subtly that Howard is being recorded, but it's awkward, and he ends up spilling things and then his nose starts bleeding, which makes Howard faint and hit his head. Charles goes to get ice, but finds Evelyn's body in the freezer. When he reaches in, he knocks her to the ground, breaking her foot off. He puts her in the freezer, puts the foot in his pocket, and brings back the ice. Howard wakes up and says he faints at the sight of blood. Mabel says that probably prevents him from doing a lot of things, like being present at a blood murder. Charles mentions the cat in the freezer. Howard is getting a toxicology report done because he thinks Tim poisoned her, then killed himself.

Oliver plays somber music and drinks gut milk. Then he looks over at the Splash! poster.

Mabel asks if it's cancer, so she knows if she shouldn't get invested in him. Charles says it's just anxiety. It sometimes happens when he talks to people so he manages it by not talking to people. Mabel says Howard has an alibi, but Charles doesn't buy it. Neither he nor Mabel has heard anything from Oliver. Mabel leaves when her elevator arrives. The other opens to reveal Oliver carrying the poster. Charles gets on with him.

Oliver explains that original posters like that go for up to $10,000, and he's a little strapped right now. Charles says he can't sell it as it was his biggest show. Oliver says it was his biggest flop. They got bad reviews before they even opened. It caused three bankruptcies and two insurance investigations. On the first night of previews, the hydraulics that lowered the floor were having issues. Oliver told them to go ahead anyway, which meant twelve actors jumped not into water, but onto a hard stage. Oliver can still hear the sound they made. He put his son's college fund up to make the show, and he lost it, meaning he lost his family. Charles knows about that. You can lose a lot with one big mistake. But the world needs more of him. He brings people out of their shells. Charles shows him Evelyn's leg, which he only has because of Oliver. Charles offers to put some money up for the sound equipment. Oliver grabs a bottle and two glasses, saying Oliver Putnam won't take no for an answer.

Mabel knocks on the super's door. José Torres answers, and she tells him she's looking for Oscar. José says he's not there. He also won't tell him Mabel stopped by. He tells her not to come there again, as Oscar needs a fresh start.

Oliver goes to Teddy's door and asks him if he remembers the day he sold Teddy on Splash! He was scared before it, but all Teddy saw was confidence. He promises he won't let Teddy down again. Teddy asks how much money it was again. Oliver ups it to $35,000.

Oliver looks through Tim's things. She finds a note that says G.M. 1/31 @ 4:30 PM Shore Road. She checks her phone and sees that it's January 24.

Oliver brings Winnie onto the elevator with him. Sting is also in the car. Winnie licks at his pants. Oliver says she's just upset since the death, which he's doing a podcast about. He asks if Sting knew Tim Kono. Sting asks if he thinks he had something to do with it. When the doors open, Oliver gets off.

Charles plays some music on the accordion. When he stops, he asks if Mabel liked it. Oliver has an announcement. He says they just published their first episode. It's now called Dimas Chicken Wraps Presents Only Murders in the Building because Oliver got them a sponsorship. The only condition was that they release the first episode right away. Charles is upset that he rushed it. Mabel has found it and says they've had four listens so far. There's also a review. She won't read it, but says it's good. Despite Oliver's assurance that he has it, Charles and Mabel are both worried.

Oliver's voiceover says he's directed 212 productions and he's always found his lead. As Oliver gets onto the elevator, he flips through some papers.

Oliver runs more auditions. He keeps sending people back. Finally, he's left with an empty stage.

Oliver's voiceover says he knows they're in the Arconia. He comes home to find a note on his door saying to end the podcast, or they'll end him. He enters the apartment to find Winnie whimpering on the floor. There's powder on the floor next to her, and she's struggling to breathe.

On the stage, Sting performs Don't Stand So Close to Me.

Cast

Starring

• Steve Martin as Charles-Haden Savage
• Martin Short as Oliver Putnam
• Selena Gomez as Mabel Mora
• Aaron Dominguez as Oscar Torres (credit only)
• Amy Ryan as Jan Bellows

Guest Starring

• Vanessa Aspillaga as Ursula
• James Caverly as Theo Dimas
• Michael Cyril Creighton as Howard Morris
• Jackie Hoffman as Uma Heller
• Jayne Houdyshell as Bunny Folger
• Zainab Jah as Ndidi Idoko
• Russell G. Jones as Grover Stanley
• Nathan Lane as Teddy Dimas
• Adriane Lenox as Roberta Putnam
• Sting as Himself

Co-Starring

• Jeena Yi as Amy Huang
• Anthony Ruiz as José Torres
• Alexander Blaise as Investor #2
• Evan Zes as Investor #1

Notes and Trivia

General

• This episode focuses on Oliver, whose story appears in the cold open.
• The Easter egg in the opening credits is a bee shown flying around Charles' window.

Media

Episode Stills

Photography by Craig Blankenhorn for Hulu.

Videos

There's a Cat in the Freezer - Only Murders in the Building - Hulu

There's a Cat in the Freezer

See also

A complete overview of this episode's crew can be found here.