Only Murders in the Building Season 3 Episode 3 Review: Grab Your Hankies
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.
Only Murders in the Building Season 3 Episode 3, “Grab Your Hankies,” finds Oliver desperately trying to piece together his musical while Charles and Mabel are left to investigate.
It’s a lot of fun seeing Mabel be the one who is super into the investigation while Oliver is preoccupied with the play. I doubt he’s given a second thought to the fact that he could be working with a murderer, and I love that for him.
However, Oliver is a bit of a jackass during “Grab Your Hankies.”
This is a very different side of him. Sure, we all knew he could be intense, but it was more in a quirky way. But, it is still completely plausible that Oliver would react this way under pressure.
One thing I do wish was addressed a bit more is Oliver’s heart attack. This stress definitely is not what his doctor ordered, and it would have been great to get a little follow-through on that bombshell during this episode.
Usually, when there is a voice-over, that character is central to the plot of the episode.
Only Murders in the Building wisely mixes things up during “Grab Your Hankies” by not having the focus really be on Kimber until the final scenes, when her voiceover suggests that if someone is shining too brightly, she’ll take them out.
Seeing as how we really don’t know much about the people in Oliver’s play, it’s smart to not make Kimber the lynchpin of the episode. We’re not invested in her yet, so a storyline solely about her would have brought down the momentum of the episode.
As for the investigation itself, right now Mabel and Charles are running things without Oliver, and Charles is attempting to do a bit of undercover work, which goes about as well as expected.
Charles: Any notes? Oliver would always give me notes on my reads.
Mabel: I thought it was fine.
Charles: Oh. Oliver would be a little more snarky.
Mabel: Do you want me… oh, okay. [Impersonating Oliver] Excellent, Charles. This time try it with a dash of none of what you just did.
Charles: Oh yeah! Oh god, I miss him.
For an actor, Charles really isn’t good at being subtle and eliciting information out of people. He’s awkward and endearing as he attempts to get his castmates to bring their handkerchiefs to him, though, and that’s why we love him.
Mabel runs into Robert with T, who ends up being decently useful when he shares that he has footage of Ben on the night of his death.
Mabel and Tobert are a lot of fun. They have great banter, and there are a decent amount of sparks between them. I do wish that Mabel would stop potentially falling for people who may or may not be a murderer, but maybe Tobert will be different (doubt it).
It will be fun to see how the show involves him into the investigative process.
My theory is that his documentary will follow not only the aftermath of Ben’s death but our trio’s investigation into it, covering the making of their podcast. Charles and Oliver are bound to have opinions on this, and it’s going to be a lot of fun watching them react to Tobert’s inclusion.
Here’s hoping Tobert gets roped into the investigation soon.
Stray Thoughts
- I have a lot of questions about the crab men.
- Ben is clearly a reputation fan based on the giant snake outside of his apartment.
- I need to know less about Donna and Cliff’s disturbing relationship, please.
- Loretta, you don’t owe shit to a man. Go be on your weird Grey’s spinoff.
—
“Grab Your Hankies” is written by Matteo Borghese and Rob Turbovsky and is directed by Adam Shankman.
What did you think of this episode of Only Murders in the Building? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Critic Rating:
User Rating:
Only Murders in the Building releases new episodes on Tuesdays.
Follow us on Twitter and on 
Instagram!
Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!
Allison Nichols
Allison is in a love affair with television that doesn't seem to be letting up anytime soon. Slightly damaged fictional characters are her weakness. She loves to spend her free time curled up with a cat and a show to binge-watch. Allison is a Tomatometer-approved critic (Rotten Tomatoes).