S2 E5 BONUS: The Tell - LIVE REDDIT TALK

Summary

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Only Murders in the Building Official Podcast

S2 E5 BONUS: The Tell – LIVE REDDIT TALK

Date: July 23, 2022
Host: Michael Cyril Creighton (Howard)
Special Guests: Episode 5 writers Rob Trboski and Matteo Borghese

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Episode Overview

This energetic live Reddit talk dives into fan theories, hidden details, and behind-the-scenes insights about Season 2, Episode 5 ("The Tell") of Only Murders in the Building. Host Michael Cyril Creighton (Howard) and episode writers Rob Trboski and Matteo Borghese join fans to answer questions and engage in playful conspiracy-building, swapping theories about murder, hidden connections, and the show’s delight in misleading its audience. The tone is lively, clever, and conspiratorial, with both fans and creators enjoying the sleuthing process together.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Behind the Scenes in the Writers' Room

Timestamps: 01:12 – 02:58

• Rob and Matteo share about transitioning from remote (Zoom) writers’ rooms back to in-person, joking:
  "People always want to know what the difference is between in person and on Zoom. The main difference is ... you have access to different flavors of potato chips, which is how the magic happens." (Rob, 02:20)
• They’re often asked about snacks (notably, fans fixate on blueberry bagels and H & H bagels—New York references sprinkled as possible clues).

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2. Fan Theories and Closely Watched Details

Timestamps: 03:31 – 21:21

• Fans’ attention to details like bagels (from “The Office” reference) and matchbooks impresses the writers.
  A: “This is the amount of sleuthing that you'll come to know and love on these talks.” (03:31)

• Bagel Clues:
  Fans ask: Is the H & H heart on the prison phone a clue?
  Response from writers: Lots of New York bagel shop love in the writers’ room, but “let us know if you see an H & C!” (04:12)

• “Where is Mabel’s Aunt?”
  Writers admit fans are eagle-eyed. The Aunt is “in our minds and hearts”—a mysterious, playful non-answer. (04:49 – 05:00)

• Favorite Characters to Write:

  • Marv and Oliver are highlights for the writers, but they also love writing Uma’s mean humor. (05:37 – 06:08)
  • "Oliver is always a pleasure to write insane long stuff for." (Rob, 05:47)

• Who Knows the Killer?

  • The writers try hard to keep the killer’s identity secret, even from much of the cast. "There definitely are people in the cast who don't know ... they’re in a lot of the show and they didn't know." (Rob, 06:43)

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3. Fan Sleuthing: Card Tricks, Knife Mysteries, and Apartment Layouts

Timestamps: 08:08 – 11:51

• Card Trick in "Son of Sam" Game:
  Observant fans catch Oliver dealing from the bottom—“How does Alice get the blonde card?”
  "[Young] Oliver is quite good with the cards ... we don't want to, really—" (Matteo, 09:16-09:24) (suggesting more is to come).

• Bunny’s Stabbing & Apartment Secrets:

  • Was Bunny stabbed before or after reaching Mabel’s apartment?
    • "There's room for all these things to be explained ... How many episodes are left? I'm optimistic." (Rob, 10:16)
  • The question of whether the painting could be moved through secret passages stumps the writers, sparking more fan speculation.

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4. Symbolism, New York, and Writer Process

Timestamps: 12:13 – 17:55

• The Pug Symbolism:
  Fans ask: Who/what does Bunny’s pug represent?
  Jokingly:
  "In Greek mythology, we all know what the pug symbolizes ... And of course, pug backwards is ‘gup’. That should really lead us to—" [laughter]. (Rob/Matteo, 12:45–13:11)

• New York Research in the Writers’ Room:

  • Many on the writing staff are New Yorkers; they draw from real-life experiences.
    "It just comes second nature ... we run through all our favorite things about the city." (Matteo, 13:53)

• Seeing Episodes Come to Life:

  • The writers see early cuts multiple times, getting excited as the episodes near completion.
    "It's a long journey ... as it gets closer you get excited ... when your friends see it. It's always fun, like when your parents see it." (Rob, 15:37)
  • Amusingly, arguments over tiny details may never make it on screen:
    "You'll see the final cut ... and you'll be like, oh, I guess we didn't need that at all." (Matteo, 16:12)

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5. First Season Easter Eggs & Interseason Connections

Timestamps: 17:16 – 18:46

• Should Viewers Re-Watch Season One?
  • Asked directly if clues from Season 1 connect to Season 2:
    "I'm gonna just say yes." (Matteo, 17:34)
    "There is stuff in there." (Rob, 17:35)
  • Showrunner John Hoffman sees Seasons 1 and 2 as “paired.”

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6. Big Bunny’s Fate & the Decision to Kill Her

Timestamps: 18:46 – 19:17

• When Did the Writers Decide to Murder Bunny?
  • It came up “towards the end, but not as late as you might think”—not planned from the beginning. (Rob/Matteo, 18:31)
  • Other contenders for the victim included various secondary characters—jokingly even “Sting” and “Stuart Copeland.” (18:58)

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7. Anagram Clues and Fan Theories

Timestamps: 19:26 – 21:19

• Fans point out that "Teddy Bemis" is an anagram for "It's Me, Daddy."
  "The Reddit board loves an anagram. We have a lot of fun with that thought ... Sometimes you surprise yourself." (Matteo, 19:55–20:46)

• Persistent fan theory: Mabel being “blamed” for something—possibly a meta joke about her involvement.

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The Whodunit Summit: Hosts Reveal Their Murder Suspect Picks

Timestamps: 22:22 – 24:39

• Michael Cyril Creighton (Keener):

  • Doubles down on Howard as his pick:
    "He's like on the edge ... the nicest guy and yet not so much, you know? And he sneezes because probably his cats." (22:43-23:20)

• KK (co-host):

  • Picks Alice, citing Jan’s “artist/storyteller” analysis and Alice’s suspicious lies and the Son of Sam card game:
    "She checks all those boxes ... definitely a lot of fingers pointing at Alice ... She could either be a giant red herring, or she's the killer—or maybe she's just a liar." (23:25-24:17)

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8. Fan Theories: “TLDR” Reddit Roundup

Timestamps: 24:40 – 45:13

• Marv–Alice Connection:

  • Redditors theorize Marv is Alice’s father, referencing her dad being a plumber and similarities in their backgrounds.

• Matchbook Clues:

  • Multiple call-ins dissect whether the bloody/ketchup-y matchbook was really a clue or a plant. Fan Goldie K4 asks: should it be “paint” since Alice is an artist?
    "No one says, do we think it's paint?" (Goldie K4, 32:14)
    This gets enthusiastic agreement—a detail both hosts and writers love.

• Rose Cooper & Lenora:

  • Speculation that Shirley MacLaine’s “Lenora” is actually Rose Cooper or perhaps Rose and Lenora are twins, with complex motives around the painting’s forgery.

• Secret Passageways & Building Mysteries:

  • Fans keep circling back to how Bunny got into Mabel’s apartment, theorizing about passageways, two intruders, and whether someone came through the front door.

• Brady Bunch “Theory”:

  • Multiple new characters have Brady Bunch names (Jan, Cinda, Alice, cousin Oliver). Fans wonder if this is a meaningful pattern, given dialogue about “sisters” and “cousin Oliver.”
  • "Brady Bunch ... that just threw me ... that definitely adds to the Brady Bunch kind of ... Charles has a sign like the Brady Bunch chalkboard ... pork chops and applesauce." (39:27 – 40:26)

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9. Theories About the Murder, Finale, and “Who Did It?”

Timestamps: 41:25 – 45:13

• Jan’s Accomplice?

  • Is there a second accomplice? Was last season’s self-stabbing a misdirection?
  • "Jan said in the season one finale that there were two more she needed to take care of ... maybe she couldn’t track them down ... the killers are using the secret passageways." (Pyramid Black, 43:54)

• Lucy’s Knowledge:

  • Lucy warned Charles about “a lot going on in the building”; is she in on more than it seems?

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On in-person vs. Zoom writing:
  "The main difference is ... different flavors of potato chips, which is how the magic happens." (Rob, 02:20)

• On clues and fan theories:
  "You don't have to feel guilty about enjoying the show. It can just be a pleasure." (Rob, 09:26)

• On hiding the killer’s identity:
  "There are people in the cast who don't know ... they're in a lot of the show and they didn't know." (Rob, 06:43)

• On fan sleuthing:
  "The Reddit board loves an anagram ... Sometimes you surprise yourself." (Matteo, 19:55)

• On montage of possible passageways:
  "There has to be more passageways that we're not aware of." (B, 44:46)

• On writing for supporting characters:
  "Uma is a lot of fun too because she's so mean to Charles." (Rob, 05:47)

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Additional Fan Theories Highlighted

• Alice is a red herring (too obvious)
• Shirley MacLaine’s character is the real Rose Cooper or her twin
• The matchbook’s “blood” might actually be paint—a subtle art clue
• Brady Bunch names as clues for family ties among suspects
• Secret passageways, two-man jobs, Lucy’s mysterious knowledge all in play

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Community Spirit & Closing Remarks

Timestamps: 45:13 – End

• The exchange ends on mutual appreciation and excitement:
  "Thank you for caring about the show. It means the world to all of us." (Matteo, 22:08)

• Fans are encouraged to keep sharing, as the writers are actively following fan threads.

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Summary Table of Timestamps

| Segment | Topic | Key Timestamps | |---|---|---| | 1 | Writers' Room Banter, Snacks, Working Styles | 01:12–02:58 | | 2 | Easter Eggs, Detail Sleuthing, Where is Mabel's Aunt | 03:31–05:00 | | 3 | Favorite Characters to Write, Who Knows the Killer | 05:37–06:43 | | 4 | Card Trick Observations, Bunny's Stabbing Timeline | 08:08–10:25 | | 5 | Apartment Passageways, Fan Theories | 10:25–12:09 | | 6 | Pug Symbolism, New York Research | 12:13–14:28 | | 7 | Process of Seeing Scripts Turn into Episodes | 15:17–16:40 | | 8 | S1-S2 Connections, Bunny’s Fate, Alternate Victims | 17:16–19:17 | | 9 | Anagram Clues, Meta-Jokes | 19:26–21:19 | | 10 | Whodunit Picks, Reddit Roundup | 22:22–24:39 | | 11 | Fan Q&A: New Theories: Alice, Painting, Secret Doors, Paint Matchbook | 24:40–45:13 | | 12 | Closing Thoughts & Community | 45:13–End |

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For Listeners Who Haven’t Tuned In

This episode delivers a lively, witty, and clue-saturated behind-the-scenes exploration, with plenty of fan engagement, red herrings, and meta-humor. Writers Rob and Matteo play along with the fandom’s theories, delighting in both confirming deep-cut references and slyly dodging spoiler-baiting. Whether you're after new sleuthing angles, hidden New York-isms, or just want to bask in sharp comedic banter, this episode is a must for Only Murders superfans.

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Relevant Links:

• Submit future questions: [e-mail]
• Join next week’s live Reddit talk via the show notes link

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End of Summary

Transcript

[A]

Straw hut media. Hey, everyone, we're just getting everyone up on stage here. Thanks so much for joining. This is a open forum. Any questions, comments, theories, clues that you want to share with the team, go ahead and hit that hand icon to raise your hand for a chance to come up on stage. The writers of episode, Episode five, Rob Trboski and Matteo Borghese with us today. So I just want to call that out. They're there under Hoops McCann 2000.

[B]

What a name.

[A]

I assume that's a joke that I don't get.

[C]

We're doing these live Reddit talks Every Wednesday at 3:30pm Pacific. Each week we'll do our best to bring on some special guests. So if you're free, head over to the link in our show notes and join us now.

[B]

Here's the conversation.

[A]

As we wait for Keener to get in and we troubleshoot with her a little behind the scenes to figure out where she's at. Robin, Mateo, if you want to, I don't know, say hello and, and start us off, we can, we can start, we can start talking while she, while she makes her way in.

[B]

Hi.

[D]

Can you, can you hear us okay? Hello.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

You sound great. Hello, Welco.

[D]

Hi. Thanks. Well, we can clear up one mystery and tell you that Hoops McCann is a character from a Steely Dan song. And it's also the character John Cusack plays in, I think the movie One Crazy Summer.

[F]

There you go.

[A]

All right. The more you know. Well, Mateo and Rob, do you guys want to also introduce yourselves and give us maybe a little insight into the writers room? Last week we had Rachel Wattens. Everybody loved hearing about the behind the scenes.

[D]

Oh, well, okay. This is this one. This is Rob, this is Mateo. Now you know. Yeah, the vast difference. Yeah, you know, it's, it's a great show to work on. What the last two years were on Zoom, as I think people know, and we are. We've just actually stepped out of the room for season three, which is in person to, to be here with. With you. And, and to get snacks. And to get snacks. Yeah, that's the main. People always want to know what the difference is between in person and on Zoom. And the main difference is that you have access to different flavors of potato chips, which is how the magic happens.

[A]

Well, I have to ask, are blueberry bagels anywhere on the snack table?

[F]

Someone did ask today.

[A]

Oh, excellent.

[D]

We haven't had them. You know, the breakfast bagel, for me, you know, a bagel is like a once every couple of weeks treat, you know, it's because it's a. There's a lot of carbohydrates in there, but we should. We should do it. I think if you think we should,

[F]

we will give us enough hearts.

[A]

I definitely think there's a lot of fanfare around it. There's already a question in the comments about the bagels from Princess Peach 9, who says Jan talked about bagels and there was a H and H heart in the prison phone scene. H and H is a big New York bagel joint, according to my extensive knowledge of the episode of the Office where Dwight goes all the way to New York for bagels. Is that a clue? This is the amount of sleuthing that you'll. You'll come to know and love on these talks.

[F]

That's extremely observant. First of all, so good. Good for you, Princess Peach. But

[D]

we.

[F]

There's a lot of New Yorkers in our room, and we're very familiar with H and H bagels. It's, you know, up there with hot crusty, in my. In my opinion. So if you see an H and C somewhere, let us know, too.

[A]

Leslie in Louisville, you are on if you'd like to ask a question for the day on Rob.

[G]

I would love to.

[A]

First question. Are we allowed to curse?

[D]

Fine with us.

[A]

Where is Mabel's aunt?

[D]

Such a great. Just know that we know you have that question and. Great question.

[A]

No, but really, what's the. Where's your aunt?

[D]

No, she's around. She's in our minds and our hearts. Okay, we'll take it. We appreciate that. Attention to detail

[B]

as a detail as a talent. Thank you.

[A]

Thank you, Leslie and Louisville. All right, Hannah Lemp, you are on if you'd like to unmute.

[D]

Hello.

[A]

Thank you very much for joining us, first of all. And I was wondering, who's your favorite character to write for?

[F]

Oh, that's a great question. I don't know. I think I. I have a soft spot for Marv, personally.

[D]

Marv does bring us a lot of joy. You know, I. If we're talking the main three, I would say that, you know, Oliver is always a pleasure to write insane long stuff for. And Uma is a lot of fun, too, actually, because she's so mean to Charles and all of them. She's always funny.

[A]

Thank you very much. Thanks so much, Hannah. Lem, maybe try reading.

[D]

Are you.

[A]

Are you here to ask a question?

[H]

Yes. Can you hear me?

[C]

Yes.

[H]

So last season when I was listening to the podcast Only Murders in the Pod, I know there was discussion about how very little People in the cast and crew really knew who the killer was until the very end and it was pretty much kept a secret. Is that true for this season as well?

[D]

Well, you know, I don't know how much. How widely known it is. I think John Hoffman is the showrunner. You know, we try to keep it as secret as possible. Obviously there are like certain people who have to be told and then they have to tell certain people, but I wouldn't be surprised. You know what, actually there definitely are people in the cast who don't know because I was talking to some of them at the premiere and I was surprised that they didn't know because they're in a lot of the show and they didn't know. So, yeah, I guess we are trying to keep it pretty tight lipped until right now where we're going to tell you.

[H]

Yeah,

[C]

right now.

[F]

Mute, mute.

[D]

I thought I see you.

[B]

All right.

[A]

Thank you so much. Try reading. Goldie K4, I believe you are next.

[G]

Thank you. I hope you can hear me now we can.

[A]

I'm sorry for the technical difficulties before.

[G]

That was totally on my end, probably. I first of all want to say what a joy, all of you, the cast, the writers, the podcast people, you've brought so much joy to thousands, hundreds of thousands of listeners.

[A]

I am one of them.

[B]

And I just want to say thank you so much.

[G]

It's my guilty pleasure.

[B]

Oh, totally. Thank you so much. You're welcome.

[G]

Now my question, you probably won't be able to answer it, but I'm gonna

[B]

give it a try.

[G]

So in re watching the episode, you totally can tell that Oliver is pulling

[B]

a card from the bottom of the

[G]

deck to give Alice, presumably the Son of Sam card. And of course on all the feed, Facebook and whatnot, people are like, well, how did she end up with the blonde card? I'm assuming there's going to be a scene later that shows how she. Because she's clearly lying about so many more things, including that any, any clues, any hints that. Any tidbits you want to throw away.

[F]

Well, it's definitely something we had in mind and something we worked through on a lot of drafts, the way that that game kind of unfolds. So I, you know, I think the thread, it's been really impressive how quickly they've caught on to things. And I can see that young Oliver is like quite good with the cards.

[B]

Yeah.

[F]

To flip them around like that. So, I mean, we don't want to. You don't want to, really?

[G]

Yeah, No, I don't.

[D]

I'll Just say this. You know, Goldie, K4, you don't have anything to feel guilty about. Enjoying the show. It can just be a pleasure.

[F]

Doesn't it?

[D]

Be a guilty. Absolutely.

[G]

That's true. Well, thank you so much.

[B]

Thank you for your question. Of course.

[A]

Thanks so much, Goldie. All right, floppy fish flaps, you're on. If you'd like to unmute.

[B]

Oh, I was gonna use that.

[D]

Hi.

[I]

I was curious was whether you can tell us whether Bunny was stabbed before or after she made it to Mabel's apartment. Because that air duct look small and awkward for somebody with six stab wounds. Eight stab wounds.

[D]

I don't remember.

[I]

I'm gonna ask for.

[J]

Come on.

[B]

Okay.

[I]

That's convenient.

[J]

All right.

[D]

I think there's. There's room for all these things to be explained. You know, there's. How many episodes are left? 5. I'm optimistic.

[I]

I. I know it's going to be explained, but I'm asking now. I thought that was the. If you're gonna give me nothing, just tell me. You're gonna give me nothing. I'll just assume I'm right. But. Okay, then. If you don't remember that, then. And then the passageway in Charles's bathroom, would the frame of the painting fit through that passageway?

[D]

Oh, I don't know the measurements. I feel like

[F]

there's lots of ways in and out of an apartment as well.

[D]

That's a.

[I]

Multiple ways out of the apartment.

[D]

The set design.

[I]

Not just one way. Multiple ways. Because I'm waiting for a sliding door between Mabel's and Bunny's apartment just to open up and I'm just gonna smack myself in the face.

[D]

So you mean like a sliding door? Like the Gwyneth Paltrow movie?

[I]

You wish I was talking about Gwyneth Paltrow movie.

[A]

Just remember.

[B]

I'm just gonna guess, but remember that you can take paintings out of frames and put another frame.

[I]

But can you do that in the time that it took Killian, Bunny and Mabel coming back to the apartment?

[B]

That I don't know.

[I]

Because that would take an actual. Actual expert artist to do that and not somebody I don't know, like Howard.

[B]

Expert art.

[J]

Right.

[B]

Right. Well, there.

[A]

So you.

[B]

There you go.

[C]

That could be a theory.

[I]

It is a theory. I just said it.

[F]

Yes.

[D]

All right.

[I]

I don't know if I can ask another one. I will, but turn me off if you have to, but I'll be here all day.

[A]

Well, floppy fish flops. We do have another person on stage, but maybe. Is that okay?

[I]

Have a great day.

[A]

Thank you.

[C]

Thank you.

[A]

I See? Red rose, you are on if you'd like to unmute.

[B]

Oh, I remember you from last time. I see red rose. Hi.

[A]

Hello. Thank you guys for doing this again. Can you hear me okay?

[F]

Yes.

[A]

Perfect. So this might not be super related to season two, but during season one,

[B]

we are always seeing Bunny walk what looks.

[A]

What looks like to be a pug, maybe. And then we find out this season, Bunny actually has a bird. Does that pug mean anything? Is that supposed to be Oliver? Is that supposed to be Winnie? Am I reading too much into that? Can you even answer that question?

[D]

What does the pug mean to you, Mateo? I mean, in Greek mythology, we all know that what the pug symbolizes. I don't think we even have to say it because we all know it.

[F]

Right. We, of course, know that pug backwards is gut. And that should really lead us to

[D]

some, which makes me think of gut.

[C]

Gut milk. It's a slippery slope.

[J]

Wow.

[B]

Very deep. Yep.

[A]

I will take that answer. Thank you.

[F]

I feel like we were just doing slam poetry or something.

[D]

That was beautiful.

[A]

Well, major snaps to you both, because you are both very diplomatic, but also just with a dash of trolley for these fans.

[B]

I like to call it a smidge. Right, guys?

[A]

Yes, just a dash. Well, we do have a question from the comments as well. This comes from Raul B. Which they asked, how much New York research do you do for the show?

[F]

Well, yeah, that's.

[D]

That's a great question and one we can actually answer.

[F]

Yeah, it's true. I mean, there's. There's definitely a lot of people from New York or who lived in New York who are in our room. So it's more of a kind of like, oh, these are things that happen to us or we know about, or we have some personal experience to kind of speak to. I mean, I'm. I'm actually. I grew up in New York, so, you know, and John spent a lot of time in New York when he was younger. So it's just something that kind of comes, you know, second nature to us to run through all of our favorite things about the city.

[D]

And I've seen New York in the movies.

[A]

I think that we. You guys are almost running out of time. So do you have time for one more question from the comments?

[D]

We can take a couple more. Unless they're really confrontational.

[A]

I know I. You. You had to have been expecting a little bit of that coming on here.

[D]

We thought we would just be hatred.

[A]

It's all through love. People just want to know they're opportunists. Okay, so Presentation nine asks, how do the writers feel in seeing the episodes come to life, from brainstorming to watching it on screen? Do you get all excited to see a premiere or do you have to wait like the rest of us?

[F]

Well, we see it. We see it many, many times. So we. We see a very rough assembly of the footage. We see it being shot, but, you know, each time it's kind of closer. You get a little more excited, or at least I do. I don't know. Maybe you don't, Rob.

[D]

No, nothing thrills me. No, it's great. It's.

[B]

It's.

[D]

It's. Even though it is an extended process, you know, I mean, I think we wrote that, for example, episode five. I think we wrote our first draft somewhere around November of last year. And then, you know, we were revising on and off for a few months. Then they probably shot it around March. You know, there's a rough day. It's so. It's, you know, that's a long journey. But as it gets closer and as it gets closer to coming out, you get excited about, oh, I hope, you know, my friends see it or they see this joke, or, you know, that'll be fun. It's always fun. Like, when your parents see it. Things like that are always nice.

[F]

The thing that, like, astonishes me every single time is, like, we'll have arguments over these details and, like, really, really talk them out for hours and hours and hours. And then you'll see the final cut and the thing, even just the subject we were talking about, like, the debate, the entire thing, it just won't be there or something. And you'll be like, oh, I guess we didn't need that at all. Like, we were. We completely wasted our time worrying about this.

[B]

I have a quick question for you guys. You know, it's always great to go see the. The season before, just to get caught up and everything. Is there anything in season one that. That the watcher that, you know, the viewers and the fans can. Can look at that there's. There might be some things there that. I know things carry over, but that can be clues or anything into the second season. Is there anything.

[C]

Some relevance for season two?

[F]

Are residuals per stream beyond that? Yes, yes.

[D]

Rewatch it.

[F]

You must.

[D]

Is there a clue for the season two?

[B]

Yeah. Anything in the first season that to be aware of that into the second that they should watch again or keep an eye on? Can you say it all?

[D]

It's a good question.

[F]

I'm gonna just say yes.

[D]

Yeah. Yeah. I, I. There is stuff in there. Yeah. It'll be easier to talk about, you know, later, I guess.

[A]

Yeah.

[F]

But people are hovering over.

[B]

Yeah, okay. So you hear that everybo, you know, do a little watch and see. Might be some things that add into two.

[D]

I think John has said that he sees the two seasons as, like, paired, you know, in the way that this one podcast spawns this other podcast. You know, things like that. Sure.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

It actually lends itself well to a question from the comments, and someone asked if you knew if Bunny was going to be murdered in season one, with the exception, of course, of the last episode.

[B]

It.

[F]

It is. Yeah. It was a later discussion, but it was something that made a lot of sense to us once we talked about it, I think.

[D]

Yeah, it came up towards the end, but not. Not as late as you might think. Yeah, yeah.

[B]

Didn't make sense to the actor who portrayed it. She's gone.

[C]

Were there other contenders before Bunny?

[D]

Oh, that's interesting.

[F]

We talked about some people. I can't recall right now who was in the crosshairs, but I know that we did kick around some options.

[E]

Sting.

[D]

Other members of the police were on the floor at one point. Stuart Copeland.

[F]

Maybe the world can't lose that.

[D]

That would be too sad. Then you're in an alternate universe where Stuart Copeland is dead, then. That's hard to imagine.

[F]

No Oyster head, guys.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

All right, we have Princess Peach 9 on stage. She may be our last questions before you guys got a jet, so feel free to unmute. Princess Peach. Yeah.

[B]

Just a quick question.

[A]

I know there was some talk.

[B]

I don't remember who it was, but one of the writers in an earlier podcast episode mentioned about anagrams.

[A]

Someone in Reddit had figured out that

[B]

Teddy Bemis is an anagram for.

[A]

It's me, Daddy.

[B]

Is that the anime anagram clue we

[A]

should be looking for, or are there more anagram clues?

[F]

We do. The Reddit board loves an anagram, and we have noticed that, and we have a lot of fun with that thought. We do talk about it a bunch. It's me, Daddy.

[D]

I'm doing it in my head right now. Listen, I'm not a very sophisticated letters. I can barely get the wordle most days.

[A]

No, I thought it was a crazy anagram until I saw this week's episode.

[B]

So I just wanted to know if Reddit was onto something.

[D]

That's incredible.

[F]

Yeah, we thought about it.

[D]

Sometimes you surprise yourself.

[F]

We did, yeah. There were some things that popped up to us when we started thinking about it and, like, oh, my God. We did that.

[B]

I still said from season one, episode one, Mabel blame. I'm gonna at some point blamed for something. I don't know what it is, but it's gonna happen.

[D]

She's blamed for the incredible success of this show.

[G]

Oh, nice.

[C]

All the Emmy nominations.

[B]

Yeah, sure is. Well, she is blamed for the murder of Bunny, sort of.

[D]

Oh, yeah, it works.

[E]

Success.

[B]

We have a winner.

[A]

Awesome.

[B]

Thank you guys so much.

[C]

Thank you.

[A]

Thanks so much.

[B]

Thank you. Fabulous, guys. Thank you.

[A]

Thank you so much, Mateo and Rob and I mean, even referencing Reddit and knowing that the writers are paying attention to these sleuthy details is making a lot of days. So thank you for.

[D]

We're out there. Now I have to delete my account and start a new burner account, but if there are other questions in the comments, maybe we can try to circle back later or something like that for the ones we're allowed to answer. We control people online in writing now instead of just with our words. But thank you for having us.

[A]

Thank you so much for dropping by. Come by anytime. Doors always open at end.

[F]

The joke only got one laugh.

[D]

Yeah, that was garbage. Thank you all for watching and caring about the show and. And it means the world to all of us. So thank you.

[F]

Thanks.

[B]

Thanks, guys so much.

[A]

Thank you. Bye.

[D]

Bye.

[C]

So if you listen to the podcast, you know, Keener and I, we have a section called the Whodunit Summit where we put who we each think the murderer is into a sealed envelope and reveal it live to each other on the podcast. So for this week, Keener, do you recall who you picked?

[B]

Yes, I doubled down with Howard.

[C]

Howard the cat guy.

[B]

Howard the cat guy. I just think there's a lot. He has a lot of issues. He has anger issues that I think he keeps inside. You know what I mean? He says that somebody hits him when they didn't. He. The black guy. He has black eye. He had. And then he. I think he got mad moving something at bunnies for the wake or something. He just. He just has that. He's like on the edge. I feel like he's on the edge. He's like the nicest guy and yet not so much, you know? So I'm just. Any sneezes because probably his cats. He's got hay fever and cat whatever. Cat fever. That. I don't know what that is, but I think that that's Howard. I'm gonna go with my guns again.

[C]

Howard.

[B]

Howard. And you, kk.

[C]

I picked Alice this week, which I know is a lot of people suspect and especially for this Week, and primarily in this episode, because when Charles went to see Jan for that Silence of the Lamb moment to see what her thoughts were on the murderer, she said that it was an artist and a storyteller and someone like a new friend in someone's life, which Alice kind of checks all those boxes.

[D]

Right.

[C]

Oliver also caught her lying, which I also wonder if she's British. I don't know if that's relevant or not, but maybe that's an add on.

[E]

She did.

[F]

And the.

[C]

I think we discussed today the Summer of Sam card. She did have it and she hadn't hit it, so there's definitely a lot of fingers pointing at Alice.

[B]

Yeah. So, you know, I mean, either she's a giant red herring or. Or she's the killer.

[C]

Maybe she's just a liar.

[B]

Oh, she's just. Just a liar. You know, going through life lying.

[C]

A liar and a killer and a.

[B]

We would love to hear what your thoughts and your theories, if you have any, who you think the killer might be and why or anything about the episodes up till now or episode five. We would love to. So step right on up. Or raise your hand. Yeah.

[A]

Yes, raise your hand. We have a couple of people raising their hands, so I'm going to bring them up on stage. Excellent. While that happens, would you guys like to hear kind of a TLDR or summary of the discussion thread on Reddit for their whodunit?

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

Okay. There are a lot of people voting for Marv this week, and there is a theory that Marv is actually the father of Alice because Alice mentions that her dad is a plumber. She knows about Cheers, so maybe she's not even as British as we think she is. And Marv also mentions in the cafeteria that his daughter is gay. Slash bi.

[B]

Right.

[D]

Right.

[A]

So there's. That is. That is a lot of that one that here got a lot of upvotes this week.

[C]

Yeah. She had that plumbing issue at her apartment or loft and had to use Mabel's apartment.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

So maybe she like whacked a pipe or something.

[B]

Yeah, she may have whacked a pipe and a bunny.

[A]

Exactly. Try reading. You are on if you'd like to unmute. Welcome back.

[B]

Thank you.

[H]

So the match book, which we all know about, that Mabel found, it just. I just keep thinking it over and to me it feels just sort of weird that it was dropped. Like, I feel like for someone for the murderer to have so carefully planned taking Oliver's knife and then getting it to Charles's apartment and then planning all of these Things. And there's, you know, with killing Bunny and then framing Mabel to drop the matchbook, I feel like there could be something more to that. And then for the person to take it from the Pickle Deli. I feel like there was something more planned behind that. I don't. I have no idea. I could be totally wrong, and they could have just dropped it, but.

[C]

So you think that the murderer wouldn't be that sloppy and maybe that they just planted it there, maybe as a diversion or.

[H]

Right.

[B]

I thought. That's a good point, because I thought maybe it was in. In, like, Bunny's pocket. You know, she goes there all the time, and it just fell out of her pocket and. And not the. Not the killers, you know, or something. It fell from her. She might have had it in her.

[C]

But we did see on the security camera that someone did. The one who is having lunch with Bunny did.

[E]

Yeah.

[F]

A set of matches.

[B]

Right. But you know that there might. There's a lot of maybe matchbooks. You know, everyone takes a matchbook to put it in the bathroom. Right. I mean, let's not be. You know, let's just be real about it. And so my thought is, you know, everyone takes a matchbook. The killer did. Bunny did.

[C]

Do you think it's blood, or do you think it's ketchup?

[B]

You know, I'm going to say ketchup because I think Bunny. It was in Bunny's pocket, and she had some fries or something at some point, I think. Didn't we see some fries on her plate when she was sitting there? Remember? I like. I like those particular details.

[A]

Thank you so much. Try reading.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

All right, Pyramid Black, you are on if you'd like to unmute. And Keener, I have to say, there's a lot of support for you on the Howard comments right now.

[B]

Great. I'm with you. We're team. We're team Howard. I mean, we love Howard, but I'm okay if he's the killer.

[E]

Exactly.

[A]

In fact, Pyramid Black, who is probably enabling their mic, is my suspicion comments. And saying, Jan set to take another look at Howard, so. Oh.

[B]

Oh, yeah. Always remembering those lines.

[D]

Absolutely.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

But can you trust Jan? She is a murderer in prison. Maybe she's messing with them.

[B]

Listen, she maybe hired out the killer, you know?

[A]

Yeah. You know, outsourcing's all the rage.

[B]

She'll, like, sing and do a bassoon something for them, you know?

[J]

Yeah.

[B]

Hello. A sexy bassoon play. Oh, my God. Yay.

[E]

Sorry for the technical issues I was having there. Yeah, don't worry, my money is still on Mark if the writing follows the season one formula. Gian was introduced in episode three, just like Mark, and was kind of like a background player. And the motivation, though, will be revealed

[F]

later in the season.

[E]

So until I think Alice is a big red herring, I think she's going to try to pull Elenora on the theory that Lenora is

[D]

Rose Cooper.

[B]

A lot of people think that. Yeah, yeah. Good.

[E]

So I think she knows that to play the art game, she's got to kind of make a show. And by coming clean now, it might not raise questions about what actually does happen to her, if my theory is correct.

[B]

Oh, yeah, yeah. That's good. That's. That's excellent. You know, it's interesting because the way also, if they did do Alice, that's another love interest. Right. And so it's. Oh, then maybe they're trying to make you think it's another love interest. So they have a formula and they're gonna do that another season. So that's another red herring in my book.

[E]

Either the directing on the show set Alice up to be the A red herring, or they are saying that she is the killer. I still say it's a red herring because they went back to back. They, I guess, mirrored Charles and Jan talking together with Mabel and Alice.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Right, right. Yeah.

[C]

It did cut back and forth between them.

[B]

They did, yeah.

[D]

So.

[B]

And. And Jan is saying that it's, you know, to look at somebody. I mean, think about it. If she said look at somebody new, is there anybody new to any of them except for Alice? Doesn't mean that Jan's right. It just means, you know, is there anybody new guys since. At all, besides Alice to Mabel? I don't know. Right. Just people from last season. And I mean, there's Lenora. She's there, but that's not with them. That's just a new person's mother,

[D]

so.

[C]

But that'd have her killing her daughter.

[B]

Well, yeah, my mom wants to knock me down and pay every time.

[E]

There's a lot of parental issues in this show, so

[A]

it really is a

[B]

thread throughout the entire season. That's exactly what's going on.

[A]

And there are just more building.

[C]

It's a big building.

[B]

It's a big, big building.

[C]

Yeah, it's a big building with a high mortality rate.

[B]

Right. Thank you. Pyramid Black. That was great.

[D]

Yeah.

[F]

Thank you.

[E]

Thank you.

[A]

Thank you so much. Goldie K4, welcome back.

[G]

Thank you so much. So there were a couple things about the matchbook. I found it very interesting that they say it several times, well, do we think it's blood, or do we think it's ketchup? But no one says, do we think it's paint?

[B]

Which, to me, makes me.

[G]

Because I don't think it's Alice. I think Alice is the huge red herring. It's too. Too obvious. But I do think Alice is clearly involved in something. And I'll go so far as to say, maybe Bunny hired Alice to paint the fake Rose Cooper. And no, Alice is too far in to come clean to Mabel as well as this was, I found very interesting. So Shirley MacLaine's character smells our hero trio just to, like, find out who the killer is. So you have to say, okay, you know, she didn't see the killer, but maybe she smelled like turpentine or pink or paint or.

[A]

Yes.

[G]

Like, something on the killer. So I think there's a couple of, like, major plots, like maybe Alice with the painting. And I really don't think Big Bunny is Big Bunny. I think she's Rose Cooper because of how she slipped to Steve Martin, you know, to Charles, when she said, oh, I slept with him. Oh, well. And he says, well, didn't.

[B]

Didn't say.

[G]

So I think she's like. Because she even says, oh, I'm very bad at this hour. Like, I think she really kind of made a slip.

[B]

Yeah.

[G]

But I still don't know who the killer is. However, I think there are a couple things that. Yeah. It's just so involved that it makes you just keep going back and. And thinking about it.

[B]

Yeah. Well, I just want to say you gave me chills when you said paint, because, honestly, that is really. I didn't think about that.

[C]

Never occurred to me.

[D]

Right.

[B]

Yeah. Whether that's real, that's true or not, that was really a good thought. So.

[G]

Yeah,

[B]

yeah, yeah. Very nice.

[G]

Only because they hit it twice.

[B]

Right.

[G]

They say it, and so it's like. Well, it could be other things. Well, what is. To me, it was pretty obvious because it kind of does look like paint, but nobody says it, and they're in the art world, so it was a little too.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So good.

[B]

And, you know, I don't know if, you know in comedy that things go in threes, but. Right. So this could be the third thing that they were doing. One, two. One, two, three.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Blood. Ketchup or paint?

[B]

Ketchup or paint. That's a. That's a nice. It's a new game

[C]

by Hasbro.

[B]

Well, thank you so much.

[C]

Thank you. That was great.

[A]

Thank you.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Thank you. So much.

[B]

Goldie K. KK Why didn't you think of that?

[C]

Why didn't you think of that?

[B]

Well, because I'm g. Let Goldie do that.

[A]

Well, calm struggle. You are on. If you'd like to unmute.

[J]

Yay. Hi.

[F]

Great.

[J]

What a great show. I'm so excited. And I. I'm now slightly less fanatical than I was last week beyond be in this forum. Thank you.

[F]

I just wanted to.

[J]

To what the Y' all were just saying that, you know, I really, I'm kind of team Lenora in terms of her being the killer or being orchestrating the killing. I believe that, that she actually, the new notion that I had kind of came from, I think it was somebody on YouTube who's also on Reddit, that they might be twins, Lenora and Rose might be twins. And that would make it easier for people because Renault shows I. I am the mother of Bunny. And it's like, how could nobody ever, you know, question that or whatever? Like, she was so suspicious in that way. But then again, so sort of of ostensibly seem so much like Big Bunny, so much like Bunny. And anyway, it would just make it easier for them to have had this mysterious death of Rose. It makes it. It makes the motivation of Lenora as Rose coming back really being like, yeah, I'm Bunny's mother, but I don't. I just want that painting, you know, and, and also being the artist of the painting and knowing that it was a fake right away. So those are, those are my thoughts. And, and the thing about Marv, I just. God, I love the show. I love the writing, I love the super fans, but it just feels so strange if it's all of a sudden, oh, yeah, I've been in the building the whole time and in the catacombs. That just really threw me for a loop because, yeah, it looks like him and he was wearing that kind of hazmat suit and whatnot, but it just doesn't. It feels really falsely inserted to me.

[F]

So.

[B]

So we'll see if anything happens beyond that. And you know, with him, you know.

[J]

Yeah, I just want to see Shirley MacLaine again.

[B]

Also, I love your. I love your idea because that could be Charles in a thruffle or Charles Charles dad or sister wives or, you know, there's a bunch of things going on.

[J]

So many offspring possibilities.

[C]

Your comments making me think of something that I admit sounds far fetched, but is it possible Rose is alive and she showed up there pretending to be Lenora?

[J]

If it's our twins, yes.

[B]

Totally, totally. Just Like a parent.

[G]

Got it.

[B]

We gotta be true from that too. Yeah. Calm struggle. We gotta love that juxtaposition of that. But we got a, a. We got a fan said that, that that's still alive. Right. And that. And some people think Alice is the granddaughter. I mean, there's a lot I think

[J]

that could very much be. And she could have reproduced the. I definitely think there's a reproduction of the. But, you know, anyway, I don't have a lot of people who are posting on Reddit have a lot of thought that they've put into it.

[F]

Wonderful.

[J]

And this extensive, you know, write ups and everything. I'm just, I'm just, I'm just yakking here. So thank you so much.

[C]

Thank you.

[D]

Have a good.

[B]

Yeah. So thank you.

[J]

You guys are great.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

Thanks so much. Calm struggle. Thunder Dave, you're on. If you'd like to unmute.

[D]

I am unmuted.

[I]

I would like to say first of

[D]

all that my head is spinning because every time I hear a theory, I

[F]

swerve a different way.

[B]

I would be so far away from my house if I was trying to walk.

[D]

I do feel that Rose is the pseudonym of Leonora.

[B]

And I was kind of veering towards Cinda Canning last week because she was just there at the end of the first season immediately. Which seemed kind of odd to me.

[D]

But now after hearing so many different theories, I think they all did it.

[C]

Narrowing it down.

[B]

That was good. Thank you. Yes. No wonder you walk side to side.

[I]

Thanks a lot.

[B]

I love the show. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

[A]

Thanks so much. Thunder Dave, another theory speaking of familial things that's kind of brewing on Reddit that I thought was interesting that we want to bring up was the naming of some of the characters. We have a Jan, a Cindy and an Alice. All our characters from the Brady Bunch.

[B]

Oh, my. Oh, we need to ask. You know what, we're gonna ask Raiders about that and cousin Oliver. That's my cousin Oliver.

[A]

Yes. Conspiracy kind of floating out there right now.

[C]

Marcia did it.

[A]

Part of that theory is that. But Jan and Cinda are related because Jan alludes to having a sister who's much more successful than her and always being in her shadow in season one.

[B]

This is. You know, listen, I think what put me over the edge was the, the cousin Oliver, like, that just threw me. That, that definitely adds to the Brady Bunch kind of. But by the way, that Charles up on, remember, he has like good vegetables or hot vegetables or something that sign up right.

[C]

In his kitchen.

[B]

Right. And that's like the Brady Bunch with the chalkboard that said pork chop and applesauce. Oh, my God,

[J]

the Brady.

[A]

But there is definitely something here with the Brady Bunch. I think Reddit is onto something here. Please let us know your findings when you. When you see the writers next.

[B]

Oh, absolutely. Because that's fun. Now. Now I'm thinking of things. Things.

[A]

Yeah.

[F]

Yeah.

[A]

Well, try reading. Welcome back.

[B]

I try reading.

[H]

Just keep racking my brain. And this is really quick. And if any of you have any thoughts, really, that's why I'm asking. But I always just keep coming back to how did Bunny get into Mabel's apartment? Because in Lucy's memory that she didn't end up sharing with Charles, we see someone coming out of some passageway into the walls from what looks like out of Bunny's apartment. But obviously Bunny's not with that person. So how does Bunny then get into Mabel's apartment? And then. It's just. There's a lot obviously unanswered, but I. That one thing of how she got there is.

[B]

Well, you know, somebody said, I don't know how to get in there, but didn't someone. KK Say that there were two, possibly two people, One that. That Lucy saw in there? Like, there's the killer, and then there's another something. I can't remember exactly, but somebody thought there were two different things going on.

[G]

1.

[C]

Or maybe it will be revealed that Bunny came through the front door and the killer left through the passageway. Something like that.

[B]

Yeah. It has to be. Unless there's another passageway. There's. It could be a big, square passageway. We don't know. Something. You know, you can push everything through. You could push the. The frames and the artwork and. Funny. Yeah, yeah. Bunny. It's all about the blood and all that. I mean, there's a she. You. You mentioned it, KK all the time about how much blood is involved.

[J]

The.

[B]

On the front. And then Mabel gets more. You know, Maple gets all the blood on.

[C]

Mabel is soaked in blood.

[B]

So it has to be. I mean, nobody can clean. Nobody's cleaning up that blood. There's no time. So what happened? How did that happen?

[C]

And I think we have time for one more question.

[B]

Yes.

[G]

Okay.

[A]

All right. I see red Rose.

[B]

Oh, I see.

[A]

Close us out. We do have a couple more hands raised. I apologize, everybody. Well, I can try and make it quick. So my question is about Jan's comment in the last episode where she mentioned she accidentally saved someone's life when she tried to stab them.

[C]

Right.

[A]

In regards to the fact that she supposedly stabbed herself last season.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And the possibility of a second accomplice.

[B]

Yeah, there. Yeah, it could be a second. That's the thing, is it could be two. Someone mentioned that and mentioned again, I think there could possibly be two. Right. KK2.

[H]

Yeah.

[B]

We don't know. And she knew.

[E]

We.

[B]

Last season we said. But, boy, does she know how to stab herself just right. If she did that to herself, or would we think we. She did, obviously. I mean, not obviously, but. Kk, you have any thoughts on that?

[C]

Yeah, it's something to think about.

[F]

As usual.

[B]

As usual. Let's do one more. Let's see. We have. We have time for one more. If there's anybody else we could do that and then we're. We're on our way.

[A]

Someone put their hand. Okay. Pyramid Black, you won the race. Hey, welcome back, Pyramid Black. If you'd like to unmute.

[E]

Can you hear me?

[B]

Yes.

[E]

All right. Excellent. Yeah, that was much smoother this time. To answer that question, Jan said in. In season one in the finale that there was two more that she needed to take care of. So I think that she was aware of some other things that were happening in the building, which is why she had to gas the whole building. Maybe she couldn't track them down. The killers are using the secret passageways.

[B]

The secret passageways. She's got to figure that. You know, that reminds me too, of Lucy also this season. Saying. Saying there's a lot going on in that building. Right? To Charles, be careful. There's a lot going on in that building. How does she know that? What does she know? Did everybody catch that? So thanks. Purely Black, because it is. There's. There's things that they say that either carry over to this season or we need to know there has to be more passageways that we're not aware of or.

[C]

And is Jan friends with someone else in the building? Is she in contact with someone still?

[B]

Yeah, I like that cinder canning idea too. That was pretty good. I mean, that's what I'm thinking about, too. Cinder, canning, paint, makeup.

[C]

Brady Bunch.

[B]

Brady Bunch. Cousin Oliver.

[C]

Cousin Oliver.

[B]

Herman Black. Thank you. That.

[C]

Thank you very much.

[B]

That other. Other thought with Lucy. So I think we. We have wrapped today.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

Yes. Thank you so much as always. It's such a great time to recap and chat with you guys. So thank you for having us. And Keener and kk, I hope that you guys get a chance to also check out the comments from this talk because there's a lot of love from. For the podcast too. And just wanted to. To bring that to your attention. It's also.

[J]

I'm sorry.

[C]

Yeah, I'm going there right now.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, go to the announcement post. I think that's actually where it is.

[B]

Yes. Thank you, everyone. Thank you for listening and then coming on here. We really are so happy and it's a joy to. To talk with you and hear your thoughts.

[C]

Check out our podcast, Only Murders in the Pot.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And with that, do you want to also let people know how they can get a hold of you should they want to keep the conversation going, they

[C]

can send their thoughts and theories to only [e-mail].

[A]

fantastic. Well, thank you both again. I hope you all have such a lovely day. Thank you all for tuning in and for sharing all of your theories. And we'll be back here next week, so keep an eye out and we will be talking more soon.

[F]

Yes.

[E]

I just want.

[B]

See you next week.

[H]

Thank you.

[B]

Mato and Rob again, there might.

[A]

Yes, thank you, Mato and Rob. Oh, my gosh. So wonderful.

[B]

All right, thanks so much.

[D]

Thank you.

[C]

Bye, everybody.

[B]

Bye.