Only Murders in the Building Season 5, Episode 5 Ending Explained: Is Tommy the Tongue a killer’s alias?

The Arconia’s gilded corridors brim with intrigue in Only Murders in the Building season 5, episode 5, “Tongue Tied,” which dropped on Hulu on September 23, 2025, at 12:00 AM ET. Created by Steve Martin and John Hoffman, this 35-minute mystery-comedy chapter follows Charles Haden-Savage (Steve Martin), Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez), and Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) as they probe the murder of doorman Lester. 

The episode’s jaw-dropping ending reveals Tommy the Tongue as a company, not a person, with drained accounts, hinting at a financial scheme tied to a chilling conspiracy involving widows. 

The show’s brilliance lies in its sharp wit and powerhouse cast - Martin’s dry humor, Gomez’s raw depth, Short’s theatrical chaos, joined by Melissa McCarthy’s alluring Sofia and Da’Vine Joy Randolph’s sharp Detective Williams. The Arconia, with its Art Deco splendor and secret casino, conceals betrayals as deep as its foundations. 

Episode 5, building on the billionaire schemes of episode 4 (“Dirty Birds”), plunges the trio into a web of clues, from a basement gambling den to a cryptic address, amid personal dramas like Charles’ risky romance and Oliver’s tempting apartment offer.

Only Murders in the Building season 5 episode 5 ending explained:

“Tongue Tied” opens with the trio escorting Detective Williams through the Arconia’s clandestine casino, a haunt for its elite. Williams, sceptical of their billionaire suspects, Jay Pflug (Logan Lerman), Bash Steed (Christoph Waltz), and Camila White (Renée Zellweger), dismisses their theory and can’t identify corrupt cops in a laundry room photo, leaving the trio floundering.

At Charles’ apartment, Mabel spots him swiping on a dating app, a brief distraction. She’s unaware he’s taking testosterone for an experimental trial, a secret later spilt by Miller, the garbage man, whose insight into residents’ lives highlights the staff’s quiet power.

The episode zeroes in on the Arconia’s class rift. Robot doorman Lester, an AI marvel, handles packages, surveillance, and cleaning, marginalizing human staff like Randall.

Seeking answers, the trio bribes manager Ursula with oat milk, but she points to Miller, who knows Charles’ drug trial and Oliver’s lucrative apartment offer from an unknown buyer. Oliver insists he won’t sell, but later retrieves the offer letter, hinting at temptation. A staff room table bears a carving, “die Lester die”, which Randall admits targets the robot, reflecting workers’ fears of obsolescence.

A chaotic building meeting, organized by Oliver to amplify staff concerns, exposes Arconia’s elitism. Resident Howard (Michael Cyril Creighton) scoffs at the staff, praising robot Lester’s efficiency, while apathetic residents resent the meeting.

Tensions peak when Howard finds the robot missing, presumed sabotaged. Mabel, drained, retreats to her apartment, where Charles, fresh from a steamy hibachi date with suspect Sofia, overshares about their van rendezvous. His heart races when he realizes Sofia has his phone, containing photos of her dead husband, and knows the passcode. Using FindMyPhone, they trace it to 4712 Empire Boulevard.

Miller, confessing to the robot’s sabotage, provides a trash collage, receipts and evidence pointing to the same address. As the trio races to Empire Boulevard, Williams calls: Tommy the Tongue is a company, its accounts drained that morning. Arriving, they see Sofia knocking at 4712, answered by Lester’s wife.

The revelation that Tommy the Tongue isn’t a killer’s alias but a company suggests a financial scheme, possibly masking a widows’ conspiracy. The collage’s link to the address and the drained accounts fuel suspicion that Sofia and Lester’s wife may be orchestrating their husbands’ deaths, leveraging the staff’s resentment and the casino’s secrets.

This twist reshapes the season’s mystery. Sofia’s charm and Lester’s wife’s presence at 4712 hint at a calculated plot, with Miller’s trash collage as a key clue. The class divide, residents dismissing workers, parallels the trio’s oversights. The final shot, with the trio frozen in shock, leaves fans craving episode 6.

Where to watch Only Murders in the Building season 5:

Stream Only Murders in the Building season 5, on Hulu in the US or Disney+ internationally, with episodes dropping Tuesdays at 12:00 AM ET. 

Stay tuned for more such updates!