This episode begins with a Cinda Canning monologue intercut with Mabel searching for a new place to live since she’ll soon have to move from her aunt’s apartment in the Arconia. This is a sneak peek into just how difficult it is to find an apartment and everything you need to rent one, especially in New York City. While we know Mabel Mora as a smart, hardworking girl, she lacks some vital things, like a paycheck.

Charles’s girlfriend Joy has moved into his apartment and made herself at home quite quickly, especially with her dozens of fish. He is overwhelmed, though he says nothing of the sort. When Charles goes over to Oliver’s apartment to rehearse his song in the musical, Oliver admits he’s in love with Loretta but is struggling to plan a date. Both of them have relationship qualms while Mabel is all business about the investigation. Oliver is trying to manifest that the killer isn’t one of his vital performers so it’ll be more convenient for him. Besides the fact that Kimber couldn’t produce a hankie for Charles, she is also suspicious because she sells products on TikTok and gave Ben some of her anti-aging serum to use which might’ve housed the poison. This is perfect because it plays into the real-life joke of Paul Rudd never aging while making sense with the plot. Kimber and the rest of the cast arriving for rehearsal leads us into the funniest reoccurring joke of the episode.

Charles must perform his patter song in front of everyone, and he’s nervous about doing so. After a couple of takes he finally gets going, only to curse his way into a fugue state where he imagines a completely white room. When he’s out of it, he realizes he ended up pantless, in a cradle, holding a baby doll upside down with shocked faces of horror from everyone else in the crowd. I love this choice! It’s much funnier to not know what everyone witnessed and have our imagination fill in the gaps. This “white room” experience is brought on by anxiety, Jonathan explains, and can only be combated by finding your happy place. To wrap up this scene Howard brings up his cousin Moses Morris at State Farm again. If this doesn’t become a factor in the story I’ll be surprised, unless it will forever be a long-running joke. After some trickery by Mabel and the mentioning of a sweater in peril, Howard agrees to let them into the theater.

Before he joins Oliver and Mabel at the theater, Charles realizes that his happy place is making omelets since he associates them with comfort and consistency, and he successfully sings his song as he cooks. He goes to Joy excitedly, but she immediately deflates him because she wants to be his crutch now. This is when she insinuates that she threatened Ben to leave Charles alone. Right after this, Oliver and Mabel find Kimber stationed at the theater selling her skincare line from her dressing room and soon Charles joins. Mabel painfully tries to girl talk as the guys search Ben’s dressing room, but the more Kimber talks, the less likely she seems like a suspect. She does mention that Ben had a red mark on his face opening night but he had someone else cover it up. Considering Joy’s last remark and the fact she’s a makeup artist, it is more than likely it is her. The guys find a distressing message written in lipstick in Ben’s dressing room, and they call Mabel in to show her as well.

The boys immediately leave Mabel to continue to investigate on her own, though she is pulled away by the incessant calls from Cinda Canning. Back at Oliver’s, it is time for Charles to practice the patter song again. When Charles is miming making an omelet Oliver absolutely hates it, even though he is successfully singing the song. He commands Charles to keep his hands down, which leads back to the white room, though with slightly less disastrous consequences. Only a spew of vitriolic language came from his mouth. Howard exclaimed that Tom (the piano man) was a Christian, and Oliver insisted that he find a priest to help him after what he heard from Charles, which I found hilarious.

The pair have a heart-to-heart in Oliver’s office where he points out Joy moving in has thrown Charles all out of whack. Charles is sad that he is struggling to share his space with a woman, although Oliver surprisingly affirms Charles and his independence is nothing that needs to change. There shouldn’t be shame because he doesn’t fit well with society’s expectations for a relationship. He knows that he must ask her to move out, which Oliver suggests keeping simple and straightforward. After Charles turns his advice back on him, Oliver finally asks Loretta out to dinner with a quick text.

When Mabel arrives at Cinda’s office, she doesn’t beat around the bush. Cinda asks her to become partners for her very own true-crime podcast. Mabel denies her business request, but Cinda points out that the guys are too self-involved right now with their Broadway show and romantic lives. This is true and it has bothered me this season, but if it ends up playing into the plot then I will be on board with the decision. Mabel’s loyalty is admirable, but a podcast with Cinda also means a paycheck and the financial security she needs to obtain an apartment now that she’s being forced to leave the Arconia. Everything is lining up nicely for her, but she once again denies Cinda even when she adds another zero to the check.

Back at the Arconia, Charles is trying to talk to Joy about how he feels. While he has cohabitated every once in a while, he is a man who has enjoyed his own space for the majority of his life. When it’s time to say the words, the anxiety takes over and he makes another visit to the white room. When he awakes, he sees that he accidentally proposed to Joy, and Mabel and Oliver walk in on him in the act. This is when Joy sees the lipstick Mabel took from Ben’s dressing room and claims it as her own that she lost. Now Charles is potentially living with and engaged to a murder suspect. I do think this is a bit of a red herring as it seems too early for her to be the murderer. Also, it’s great that Charles was given more to do in this episode and his character arc is starting to come into play. I’m excited to see how things develop from here, especially with Mabel and her storyline.