Who killed Tim Kono? Hulu’s hit Only Murders in the Building has concluded and this is our thoughts on the first season & how it played out.
Only Murders In The Building was an instant hit for Hulu, sucking viewers in with the murder mystery of the year filled with shocking twists and turns. Each week a new episode comes out and throws everything fans think they know out the window. But with the Only Murders In The Building season one finale airing, the murderer is finally revealed — let’s break it down.
Warning: Spoilers ahead for the Season 1 finale of Only Murders In The Building.
Who Killed Tim Kono?
The short answer of who killed Tim Kono is Jan, Charles’ bassoon playing lover. There were hints at this early on, and she always seemed suspicious, but when she was stabbed in her apartment it seemed like that theory was just another dead end. Again.
At the end of Season 1 Episode 9, it is all but confirmed that Jan is the killer when a bassoon cleaner is found in Tim Kono’s apartment. But that is not the end of the mystery, oh no. When Oscar and Mabel tell Charles about it he says he can’t believe it. However he puts his own life at risk in order to get her confession. Being sure not to drink from the glass she gives to him, he thinks he will be fine.
However, he got one of his bloody noses and she puts the poison on the handkerchief in order to get it into his system. She explains that Tim broke up with her and she suspected him of cheating because she found that emerald ring, which we now know to be from the night his friend was murdered years ago. Jan does not like to be put second, so she poisoned him and then shot him with his own gun.
She confesses to Charles (and the recording on his phone) that there is something about being needed, and number one to someone that is begging for their life, that gets her going. Jan also tells Charles that she really did love him, and this is one of her hardest breakups. Meanwhile, Mabel and Oliver find a whole collection of pills in her apartment, leading everyone to believe that Tim is not her first victim.
Before she leaves his apartment she says she will miss the finale of the podcast. Charles tries his hardest to get to Oliver and Mabel even though he has been poisoned leading to some hilarious physical comedy — something Steve Martin excels at.
When they all finally meet up it is discovered that Jan has messed with the ducts in the basement, and is trying to poison and kill everyone in the building. The trio go down there to save everyone and even though they stop the spread through the ducts, Jan shows up with a gun, threatening to kill them all.
Charles has been in a stroller this whole time because he cannot walk after being poisoned, and Oliver uses that to ram into Jan, causing her to drop her gun. Mabel knocks her out and in the next scene fans see her getting arrested, and Charles being taken to the hospital to get his stomach pumped.
Mystery is still afoot at the Arconia though. Viewers will remember the opening shot of the season showed Mabel covered in blood over a body, before being arrested. The Only Murders In The Building season 1 finale ends the exact same way — good thing it has already been renewed for season 2 so fans can figure out WHO KILLED BUNNY?
Chances are, it isn’t Mabel, even though she was framed. Cinda Canning is among those watched the three being escorted from the Arconia, and teases coming soon a new murder podcast — Only Murderers In The Building.
About Only Murders In The Building
From the minds of Steve Martin, Dan Fogelman and John Hoffman comes a comedic murder-mystery series for the ages. “Only Murders In The Building” follows three strangers (Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez) who share an obsession with true crime and suddenly find themselves wrapped up in one. When a grisly death occurs inside their exclusive Upper West Side apartment building, the trio suspects murder and employs their precise knowledge of true crime to investigate the truth.
As they record a podcast of their own to document the case, the three unravel the complex secrets of the building which stretch back years. Perhaps even more explosive are the lies they tell one another. Soon, the endangered trio comes to realize a killer might be living amongst them as they race to decipher the mounting clues before it’s too late.
“Only Murders in the Building” premieres on Hulu with the first three episodes on Tuesday, August 31.
New episodes stream weekly.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.