The game is up for the amateur sleuths of the Arconia. In the eighth episode of Only Murders in the Building Season 5, titled “Cuckoo Chicks,” the investigation into a double murder collides with a hostile takeover of the building itself. The trio discovers a shocking suspect while facing the devastating possibility of losing their homes to a billionaire’s casino scheme.
The Ladies’ Night Gambit
With billionaire Camila White on the verge of gaining a majority stake in the Arconia, Mabel Mora gets a crucial opportunity to investigate. She is invited to an exclusive ladies’ night in the building’s secret casino parlor, hosted by Camila herself. Seeing a chance to gather information, Mabel’s mission quickly expands into a team effort.
Oliver calls his wife, Loretta Durkin, who abandons her travel plans to help. She arrives with Detective Donna Williams, and the trio soon encounters a distraught Lorraine Coluca, the widow of the murdered doorman Lester, who insists on joining them. Their plan involves using Detective Williams’ card-dealing skills to put Camila on a losing streak and rattle her into a confession. Loretta also devises a backup strategy, using her acting skills to pose as a psychic and prey on Camila’s known superstitions.
Mabel joked that she should bring “tampons” as a party favor and Charles sternly replied, “Mabel, please don’t swear.”
Meanwhile, Charles Haden Savage and Oliver Putnam work a different angle. They learn that Camila has bought 82 of the Arconia’s 165 apartments and needs just one more to secure a 51% controlling share. They race to find the owner of that final apartment, a therapist named Dr. Grover Stanley, and convince him not to sell.
A Plan Unravels and a New Suspect Emerges
At the casino, the ladies’ night investigation starts strong but quickly falls apart. Detective Williams successfully cheats to make Camila lose at blackjack, but Lorraine becomes emotionally overwhelmed and confronts Camila, forcing Mabel to escort her out. Loretta, in her psychic persona named Celery Whisp, then deliberately exposes Williams as a cheater to gain Camila’s trust. The move works, and Loretta is left alone with the billionaire.
Through psychic-induced flashbacks, Loretta learns that Camila was in love with mobster Nicky Caccimelio and wanted him to leave his wife to run the casino with her. He rejected her, but later returned to her after discovering his wife was having an affair. Camila then planned a private game night with the billionaires. She tells Loretta that everything would have worked out “if it weren’t for that fucking doorman.”
In a parallel storyline, Charles and Oliver, joined by a frustrated Detective Williams, have a therapy session with Dr. Stanley. Williams proves surprisingly adept, helping the men work through their relationship insecurities and convincing the therapist not to sell his apartment. Their victory is short-lived, however, as they realize it is past midnight and the sale to Camila has already been finalized. She now officially owns the Arconia.
A Bloody Weapon and a Revealing Video
Despite the loss, the night yields major breakthroughs. After Camila leaves, Loretta discovers the murder weapon hidden in Nicky’s office: Lester’s missing elevator crank, covered in blood. She also reports Camila’s comment about the “fucking doorman,” which makes the group question who she was really referring to.
The answer comes from an unexpected source. Lorraine and a resident, Vince Fish, reveal that Lester’s bird-watching whistle was connected to a motion-activated camera in the courtyard. They recover footage from the night Lester was murdered. The video shows Lester, after his fatal injury, blowing the whistle to activate the camera. Moments later, the building’s other doorman, Randall, enters the frame. He is seen picking up the bloodied elevator crank, looking around, and then hiding it under his coat before walking away. The episode ends with the trio and their friends staring at the screen, realizing Randall is their prime suspect.
The Billionaire’s Motive and a Broken Heart
The flashbacks triggered during Loretta’s psychic act reveal Camila’s deeper motivations. She was not just a businesswoman but a woman scorned. Her plan to buy the Arconia and turn it into a casino was initially a joint venture she proposed to Nicky, with whom she was deeply in love. His rejection sent her on a path to acquire the building on her own.
The private game night she planned with Nicky and the billionaires was meant to be a fresh start. Her lament about the “doorman” interfering suggests that Randall, not Lester, was the one who ruined her plans, though his exact reasons remain a mystery. The episode paints a more complex picture of Camila, showing her heartbreak as a key driver behind her ruthless actions.
A Cast of Oscar Winners Takes Center Stage
“Cuckoo Chicks” was a standout episode for its focus on the show’s formidable female cast. The ladies’ night scene featured four Oscar-winning actresses—Meryl Streep, Renée Zellweger, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and Dianne Wiest—sharing the screen. Streep’s performance as Loretta channeling the eccentric psychic Celery Whisp was a particular highlight, delivering both comedy and crucial plot advancement.
The episode also provided significant character development for Charles and Oliver. Their improvised therapy session forced them to confront their fears about relationships and change, strengthening their bond even as they faced the loss of their home.
With two episodes remaining in the season, the mystery has taken a dramatic turn. The trio knows who has the murder weapon, but the question of why Randall killed Lester—and potentially Nicky—and how it connects to Camila’s grand scheme remains to be solved.
Also Read: Only Murders In The Building Season 5 Episode 8 Release Details: A Dangerous Trip Outside Manhattan
