This review contains spoilers. Read the article about Season 5 Episodes 1 to 3 [here] for a broader introduction to this season.
Episode 8 – “Cuckoo Chicks” – left us with some intriguing questions about Camila and Nicky. It also raised a new interrogation with Randall, and the fact that Loretta found the elevator crank. LESTR is front row this episode: it’s the voice over, which is going to make things interesting (and probably a lot of fun).
19 days until all the tenants have to vacate the building. Our trio confronts Randall, who denies and flees the hobby. Searching for him, the trio goes to the dry cleaner (where they are met by LESTR, and we learn there are only 8 days left). This scene just felt flat to me, to be honest, but it does serve the purpose of showing the amateur detectives are stuck in their investigation.
1 day left – LESTR brings burgers to Oliver’s apartment. He’s supposed to leave for New Zealand in a couple of days (to be with Loretta). Mabel doesn’t know where she’ll go. Randall is supposedly in Cuba (thank you social media). The atmosphere is grim – they’ve lost hope of saving the Arconia and finding who the killer is.
Mabel runs into Teddy Dimas in the lobby (portrayed by the amazing Nathan Lane), he’s back, joyous – out of jail, and she joins him in for a glass of wine. But she’s not joyous. Howard is saddened to discover LESTR has a new adminstrator now.
Melancholy all around
Oliver wants to celebrate their last night in the Arconia, but Charles says he already has plans for the night. He’s « hobby-hunting and friends-hunting ». He’s obviously saddened by the situation and now, Oliver’s sad. This is the recurring theme of the episode, as you can guess!
In the underground parlor, Donna and Mabel are not cheerful. Mabel is ready to leave the investigation behind. That is, until they find a shoeprint and a hidden door that leads to the dry cleaners next door!
And the background from Randall’s Instagram post in the same room – I mean, we could SEE he wasn’t really on a beach in Cuba so no surprise there, am I right?
Back in the game
As Mabel goes back to Charles and Oliver with her new findings, LESTR saves the day by telling them Randall is squatting an empty appartment. Randall tries to explain what happeneds but conveniently « no one else was there ». Again, LESTR comes forward to show them what truely happened.
We are lead to believe Lester killed Nicky because he wanted to save the Arconia and the tenants. But if Lester killed Nicky – then who killed Lester?
The Last Supper
All the remaining tenants are having supper together – one last night to try and find out who killed Lester. They’re definitely wearing curtains as robes BTW. Jay comes to pick up Mabel for the Maldives, and she tells him she changed her mind and closes the door to his face.
Thanks to Howard, they know who took the finger from Charles’s fridge: it’s the nonna and her boys from the dry cleaners.
Although we do move forward in this episode, it feels a bit long. I liked the fact that we do get into the characters’ feelings (mostly sadness, melancholy and anger though) more than usual. Might be a spoiler, might not be but I still believe the Mayor’s behaviour is shady. Only one final episode before the end of season 5!
