Only Murders in the Building Recap: Crank That

"Every once in a while, Only Murders in the Building will shake things up with a one-off episode that diverges from the show's usual style. That's what we get this episode with this decades-long look at Lester's time at the Arconia, which uses a documentary on New York's doormen as its framing device to let us hear directly from the late Lester himself."

"It's a smart move because while Lester has been with us the whole series, his presence has been more surface-level, so the show knows they have to explore his story more deeply to better invest us in his murder. They did something very similar with Jane Lynch's Sazz Pataki, who really just played comic relief before her death, but whose character we explored and learned about on a much deeper level as her investigation played out."

"Narratively, this episode plays out more like a 30-minute montage, taking us from Lester's first day to his last - sort of like when you get in one of those elevators to the top of a skyscraper and the LED walls show you New York getting built over the years as you ascend. We flash through Lester's life and career in the Arconia,"

The episode uses a documentary on New York doormen as a framing device to let Lester narrate his decades at the Arconia. The story functions as a 30-minute montage that moves from Lester’s first day to his last, showing the building and tenants across time. The montage reveals younger versions of familiar characters at different life stages, including Charles at career peaks and valleys, Oliver married and divorced, and Mabel as a baby. Emory Cohen appears as young Lester, providing a convincing age range, while most other cast members portray younger selves with hair and makeup assistance.

Read at Vulture