S02.E03: The Last Day of Bunny Folger

[jenrising]

Quote

A foul-mouthed parrot becomes the key to Bunny's last day on Earth, which reveals surprising people who crossed her path, furthering the need for our trio to solve her murder.

Available 7/5

[LEILANI2]

It's up already on Monday night!

[CraftyHazel]

That was a really good episode!  And dare I say, I began to feel some real empathy for Bunny.

[GaT]

Wow, they made Bunny an actual human instead of a stereotype. I felt bad for her, especially when she was crying in the hall.

[bybrandy]

Yeah, I liked Bunny here.  What's up with the waiter?  And her mysterious companion from the day before.  The new board president seems too easy.  

But in general it was nice to see a little more rounding in Bunny and  also Will and his dad had a nice moment.   

[AnimeMania]

That was a very good episode.

Things I found weird was Bunny having lunch with someone the day before her murder.

Bunny giving a large sum of money to Ivan when she wasn't actually leaving town yet, or for certain.

I am surprised that Uma Heller (Jackie Hoffman) the older woman with keys to Bunny's apartment and access to Bunny's will wasn't a member of the Arconian board, was she Bunny's attorney?

When did Bunny change her will to add Oliver, she wouldn't give Mrs. Gambolini to someone who could be homeless at any minute.

[thuganomics85]

Interesting getting an episode that focused on Bunny's last day and pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it.  I think it did a great job that showing underneath her tough exterior and harsh, rude way she spoke with most everyone was someone who was capable of kindness in her own way, and a lot of her negative attitude came from a place of regret and loneliness.  All in all, it fleshed her out in a way that it makes me even more invested in figuring how who killed her.

Speaking of which, seems like a lot of possibilities have been opened up now.  Not surprised that Nina/the new board president is a prime suspect, but I'm guessing she'll be a red herring since she being focused on now.  But I can still see there being more to the story.  I'm also curious about the waiter and wonder if there is something else at play.  I even wonder about them mentioning Uma having a key to Bunny's place.  Might not factor into the actual attack/murder, but could come into play if someone is able to access her room.  And then finally, if nothing else, it certainly looks like Bunny recognized whoever it was, so that might narrow it down a bit (unless it's a character the trio hasn't met yet.)

Thought they still did a great job with how they included the main three still.  Interested about Charles in particular feeling some guilt and wondering if things would have been different if they invited Bunny in for the celebration.

Got to respect Howard's note-taking skills!

Charles/Steven Martin and Oliver/Martin Short's attempts to sound like Bunny had me giggling for a long while.

[sjankis630]

I too really liked this one. I am glad they have given some of the stage talent time to shine. I thought this was a nicely balanced episode which showed a recreation along with the relation to our 3 podcasters!

I am not 100% sure what the waiter's deal was but I got the impression that the envelope full of money was not the first gift she had given him. I noticed that they didn't mention whether or not her eating companion was male or female. I mean it could have been the new board president Nina as far as we know. 

I did appreciate that Bunny seemed to know a lot about how to fix elevators. That would make sense based on how long she has been there and the fact that she is basically using her secret elevator on what seems like a daily basis. Why did she not go with Uma when she said for her to follow her? Did I miss hear that?

The surprise party basically tells me that Bunny has given access to her key to more that maybe just Uma. She didn't seem to put out to see 4 people she was not expecting in her apartment. That is unless she was planning on meeting them there in the first place. I could not tell but I would have expected someone like Bunny to fly off the handle if she saw 4 strangers in her apartment but I could be completely mis reading this .

[shapeshifter]

12 hours ago, GaT said:

Wow, they made Bunny an actual human instead of a stereotype. I felt bad for her, especially when she was crying in the hall.

I gasped when the trio shut the door in Bunny's face after she brought them champagne. 😲
Then I was hoping Bunny was fake crying. 🙁

Bunny seemed to be getting her affairs in order.

Having seen the killer's pant legs and shoes, I'm not sure we can rule out Shirley MacLaine's character, Bunny's mom, who perhaps Bunny rudely hung up on near the beginning?
IDK. The killer was significantly taller than Bunny, right? Oops. Nope. See post below.
[shapeshifter does Google fu] Okay:
Even allowing for Shirley MacLaine having lost height with age, she was 5'7" at one time, whereas according to the Net Worth Age Height website, Jayne Houdyshell (Bunny) is just 4'9". 

 

12 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Not surprised that Nina/the new board president is a prime suspect, but I'm guessing she'll be a red herring since she being focused on now.

Red herring, indeed! Nina was even wearing a dress a shade of red:

12 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

...Things I found weird was Bunny having lunch with someone the day before her murder.
Bunny giving a large sum of money to Ivan when she wasn't actually leaving town yet, or for certain.
I am surprised that Uma Heller (Jackie Hoffman) the older woman with keys to Bunny's apartment and access to Bunny's will wasn't a member of the Arconian board, was she Bunny's attorney?
When did Bunny change her will to add Oliver, she wouldn't give Mrs. Gambolini to someone who could be homeless at any minute.

 

11 hours ago, sjankis630 said:

The surprise party basically tells me that Bunny has given access to her key to more that maybe just Uma.

The members of the board probably have access to a master key.

Edited July 5, 2022 by shapeshifter

[dwmarch]

3 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Having seen the killer's pant legs and shoes

To me, those shoes screamed Cara Delevigne and the outfit looked like something an artist would work/murder in.

[shapeshifter]

3 minutes ago, dwmarch said:

To me, those shoes screamed Cara Delevigne and the outfit looked like something an artist would work/murder in.

And Cara Delevigne is 5’8” 😮

[phalange]

I loved Oliver and Charles attempting to imitate Bunny. I do wonder why she left Mrs. Gambolini to Oliver of all people. 

Bunny was definitely a stickler for the rules and understandably rubbed people the wrong way, but I felt bad for her when she dropped by to give them the champagne and then they didn't bother inviting her in. Now we know how she ended up wearing the tie-dye hoodie but still not how she ended up in Mabel's apartment. She was stabbed in her own apartment, but still conscious when Mabel walked in. 

Nina had reason to want Bunny out of the way, but her being the killer is too obvious. Bunny knew whoever it was, though. I'm guessing whoever Bunny had lunch with the day before will be involved, even if they're not the killer. 

[Irlandesa]

It might be too early for Nina to be exposed as the prime suspect but I still think she's up there.  Her motive might not be what we think it is after this episode, though.

I agree with everyone, I thought this episode was super enjoyable but it made me very sad at the end.  Oliver, Charles and Mabel were all just comic relief. 

[cardigirl]

This was a wonderful episode.  I like how it expanded season 1 by showing us what happened before Bunny's murder. Jayne Houdyshell showed why she is a star! Glad to see the Arconiacs back too. This is how you do a second season, by enriching the characters' stories. The story of Charles kissing Bunny was hilarious and I loved Oliver asking Mabel to take care of it. Ha ha!!! 

This type of episode I would watch all season long! 

🥳

Edited July 5, 2022 by cardigirl

[rwlevin]

Poor Bunny. This episode really made me feel for her. She gave her whole life to the building and it killed her. 

[LADreamr]

Happy to see everyone loved this episode as much as I did.  A few random thoughts:

- the waiter at the diner said, "this time," about the money she gave him, so I wonder if we'll see anything about the history there, or if it was just to illustrate her quiet generosity.

- the photos above her table at the diner seemed to be her, with a man who used to be in her life.  After she warns the waiter about not just loving one thing, because when it goes away, there's nothing, the camera seems to pan up to those photos, to maybe suggest it's this person in her life, that she's talking about. But, I suspect she means more her decision to give up her position at the building.  

- I agree that the trio were insensitive when they didn't invite her in, but they also only knew the side of her that she (probably purposely) showed people.  They probably never got the glimpse into her that we got to see in this episode.  Also, she tended to push people away, or seemed to, so they may not have thought she would even want to come in.  They did care when they saw she was hurt by it, though, but may have also been surprised.

- I think in order to run the building as well as she did, for as long as she did, she had no choice but to have a hard exterior, especially for the amount of sexism she probably experienced over the years, being the one in charge.  It also could have come from what seemed like a possibly lonely life.  Having to rely primarily on yourself (and mom didn't seem too nurturing) will form survival techniques like that.  I don't know if they meant to go that deep, but it spoke to me as realistic.  

- Loved the misdirect of the parrot's, "I know who did it."

OK, maybe a little more than a few random thoughts. 😂

[tennisgurl]

I really liked getting an episode focused on Bunny, it really made me feel sorry for her. She might have been harsh, rude, and such a stickler for the rules that she rubbed most people the wrong way, but she also clearly had a sifter side and much of the harshness came from loneliness and regret. The building really was all she ever knew and all she had, so of course she obsessed over it, being unable to give it up as it really hit her how alone she felt. I felt so sad when she went down to where Mabel, Charles, and Oliver were celebrating with champagne and they didn't invite her in. Like with Tim last season, they really made me feel for the seasons victim, who seemed unsympathetic on the surface but was clearly a much more complex person underneath the surface. Bunny was really stuck in a vicious cycle, her rudeness pushed people away and that left her painfully lonely, which made her even more rude. 

It looks like Nina is suspect number one now, but while there is a good chance that she is a red herring, I am not willing to write her off yet. I don't think she killed Bunny to take her job as manager, but there might be another reason for her to kill Bunny. I think the painting is the key though, and this person who was bothering Bunny about it on the phone will be the killer. Is it the same person she met with at the diner previously who she insisted wasn't a friend? She clearly knew the person who killed her and had a very similar "Ugh, again?" reaction to the visitor as she did to the caller asking about the painting. 

Say what you will about Howard, the man is excellent at taking the minutes. 

[Snazzy Daisy]

What a great episode! They humanized Bunny like they did with Tim Kono. A simple act of kindness can really make a difference.

Oliver and Charles trying to fool Mrs. Gambolini with their voices were hilarious! 😂

Nina Lin is obviously moon-bumping. She could be faking her pregnancy but I don’t think she would harm/kill Bunny. It’s too straightforward.

Howard didn’t have a black eye during the goodbye party for Bunny. Hmm…🤨 

Bunny attacker was obviously someone she knew. Look at the boots size. It’s a female! Look at Bunny’s eye level. That person isn’t that tall.

[shapeshifter]

26 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

the painting is the key

I agree that the painting is key, but is it the key or a key?

And even more telling, I think: 

1 hour ago, LADreamr said:

warns the waiter about not just loving one thing, because when it goes away, there's nothing

She says "thing" not person, so: Painting or Building?
And even if it was the building Bunny loved, that doesn't mean it wasn't the painting that the killer was after.

 

23 minutes ago, SnazzyDaisy said:

Bunny attacker was obviously someone she knew... That person isn’t that tall.

Yes. I was looking at a different shadow shot after the attacker was knocking Bunny down when I erroneously concluded above that the attacker was significantly taller, but yes, this view renews the possibility that the attacker is Big Bunny/Shirley MacLaine (shrunk with age) except I don't think she would be strong enough, although the show could let her be strong enough. 
And shows often have actors wear tall boots for close up conversations etc. So. 🤷‍♀️

Nevertheless: Howard (Michael Cyril Creighton) is also 5'7" (like Shirley MacLaine was but probably isn't now at 88), so Howard is too tall. 

Nina Lin (Christine Ko) is 5' 4" which puts her in first place for height, although I think still too tall for Jayne Houdyshell's (Bunny) height of just 4'9", but maybe Jayne wears shoes with lifts for this part. 
I was distractingly unimpressed with some of Ko's line reads in this episode, which could be a clue that she is a one-season role and that she was putting more prep time into her many other projects? IDK. That seems unlikely. It was probably a directorial choice, perhaps to just distract us from her altogether. Red Herring, Red Schmerring.

[cardigirl]

I'm not sure height matters too much in determining what we learned from witnessing the shadows of Bunny's attack. If the director wanted to emphasize someone's height, there are numerous ways of doing it. For instance, I had no idea Jayne (Bunny) was 4'9". She didn't come across the screen to me like that. 

At any rate, the attacker could be any height and still be shown as taller than Bunny by the way the scene is shot. 

Much as I love Shirley MacLaine, and want to see more of her character, I don't think she's the murderer, unless she's been lying about everything, motherhood, bad eyesight, etc. 

[sjankis630]

Can anyone let me know if just anyone can get into the Arconia? I know Tie Dye Guy did last season but he got in under the fire alarm warning where a lot of doors would have been opened. I am trying to determine that anyone could have come into the building and gotten to Bunny's door or if it had to be someone who lived there or at least was familiar with the layout. 

The secret elevator from Bunny's closet leads to a door without a handle correct?

[Snazzy Daisy]

1 hour ago, sjankis630 said:

The secret elevator from Bunny's closet leads to a door without a handle correct?

There’s a door knob.

ETA: A dummy door knob???

Edited July 5, 2022 by SnazzyDaisy

[dovegrey]

48 minutes ago, sjankis630 said:

Can anyone let me know if just anyone can get into the Arconia? I know Tie Dye Guy did last season but he got in under the fire alarm warning where a lot of doors would have been opened. I am trying to determine that anyone could have come into the building and gotten to Bunny's door or if it had to be someone who lived there or at least was familiar with the layout. 

The secret elevator from Bunny's closet leads to a door without a handle correct?

Last season, dialogue suggested that Sazz was stopped by Lester, who phoned up to Charles that Sazz was there for him. Charles had to approve her coming up to his apartment. So, it doesn't seem like non-residents can officially get past the lobby without permission from a specific resident. IIRC, Oscar/Tie Dye Guy was living with his dad at the Arconia when Tim was killed; so he didn't need to sneak in.

Right, the ground level door for Bunny's elevator was not shown to have an exterior handle. The trio were locked out from the elevator when Charles let it shut behind him. Edited to Add: @SnazzyDaisy and I posted at nearly the same time...that looked more like a flat deadbolt filler plate to me when I was watching, but I haven't rewatched any of the episodes. I don't remember any of the characters trying a handle when they got locked out.

Right now, it seems like the killer was familiar enough with the Arconia to know where to find Mabel's apartment, as Bunny had a knitting needle in the knife wound; it looks like the killer forced Bunny across the hall to Mabel's apartment...and then knew where to direct the police. It'd be nice if the Comic Relief Trio (or their lawyers) would think to request a copy of the 911 call that triggered the immediate police response to the Arconia that night.

And there's still the "get out of the building" text that Charles and Oliver received. The trio think the detective sent it, but I'm not so sure. Was it the killer trying to frame them by having them flee the building as the police arrived? If so, that points to someone with an altogether good deal of inside knowledge. (A part of me wonders if Bunny could have possibly sent it, but I feel sure that at least Oliver would have her as a contact in his phone.)

Edited July 5, 2022 by dovegrey
noted

[Ceindreadh]

15 hours ago, dwmarch said:

To me, those shoes screamed Cara Delevigne and the outfit looked like something an artist would work/murder in.

She wasn't in the episode was she? 

but she was listed in the closing credits...

[dovegrey]

6 minutes ago, Ceindreadh said:

She wasn't in the episode was she? 

  Hide contents

but she was listed in the closing credits...

I don't think this needs a spoiler tag...? She was billed as "starring" and not as "guest star," since she was hired on as a series regular. Pretty sure she's main cast, like Oscar and Jan were last season. It looks like only the main three now have spots in the opening credits. Some shows do that. :)

[Abra]

This episode was truly lovely, and highlighted something that I think is a running theme in this show - loneliness. I kind of wish we had seen this side of Bunny before she died, but it's also perfect that who she was is being revealed this way now.

I have questions about Bunny's place in relation to Mabel's. It really looked in this episode like their apartments were across the hall from each other, but if they could hear each other through the vent do you think the apartments "connected" at the end of a hall? If so, could there also be some other sort of access between Bunny's place and Mabel's? Or maybe the vent just stretches across the hall between apartments? My spatial awareness isn't the greatest.

[dovegrey]

25 minutes ago, Abra said:

I have questions about Bunny's place in relation to Mabel's. It really looked in this episode like their apartments were across the hall from each other, but if they could hear each other through the vent do you think the apartments "connected" at the end of a hall? If so, could there also be some other sort of access between Bunny's place and Mabel's? Or maybe the vent just stretches across the hall between apartments? My spatial awareness isn't the greatest.

I don't mean to be a serial replyer today, but I literally just got done chasing this idea and scratching my head about it, to the point I thought we’d actually seen the killer quickly hide in their apartment instead of Bunny retreat into her apartment. I was so happy to see this comment! :)

I rewatched 1x1 and the end of this episode again. In 1x1, Mabel says the vent is a “direct route into” Bunny’s apartment, and, in 2x1, they’re able to crawl through it right into Bunny’s apartment, so I would also think their apartments are on the same side and are adjacent. I also thought Bunny’s apartment seemed to be much further down from Mabel’s apartment in 1x1. But I paused this episode (2x3) when the door closes, and the nameplate on the door appears to read “Folger," so it's hers.

As I write this, 1x2 is playing, and Young Mabel tells Young Tim that she stays in her aunt's 12A apartment, while 1x1 established that Bunny's apartment was also on the A Line (the same line as Tim, which is how Bunny received his jewelry packages) ...which would mean that Bunny and Mabel couldn't be on the same floor at all, or else they'd both be in 12A, right? Seems like the whole premise might be built on serial goofs (but I'm also terrible at spatial things, so I might be the goof here). From only what we've seen this season, all I can think is that their apartments are L-shaped; I hadn’t thought that the vent might go over the hallway.

[Cranberry]

Does this help? It's a typical floor plan of The Belnord, the real Arconia. It appears that even apartments with a hall between them touch in at least one place.

Also, Mabel's door in this episode had E on it:

[emma675]

What another wonderful episode. I knew Bunny had other sides to her than just what we saw in season one, but it was nice to see them in her final day. But I do understand why the trio didn't invite her in after she gave them the bottle of champagne. She was horrible to them in the days leading up to her death, getting them evicted and being a bitch at every turn. Small gestures of niceness don't make up for all of her big gestures of meanness in one minute. She deserved having the door closed in her face, imo, but I'm also not surprised Charles felt guilty. And I don't think inviting her in would have ultimately saved Bunny, the killer was going to strike at some point no matter what.

I had no idea Mabel and Bunny lived on the same floor. I wish the producers would create a giant floor plan of the building for us. I have no idea who lives where.

[AnimeMania]

2 hours ago, dovegrey said:

From only what we've seen this season, all I can think is that their apartments are L-shaped; I hadn’t thought that the vent might go over the hallway.

There are a couple of floor plans for apartments at the Belnord in the Small Talk: Elevator Chat Thread. The apartments do touch each other as the hallways are short and only connect a few apartments and do not go around the middle of the entire building like a hotel's hallway would. You need to use different elevators to get to different sides of the building.  

[dwmarch]

32 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

The apartments do touch each other as the hallways are short and only connect a few apartments and do not go around the middle of the entire building like a hotel's hallway would. You need to use different elevators to get to different sides of the building.

Interesting, this supports Nina as the prime suspect. She's heavily pregnant and her duties are taking her all over the building which is actually three buildings stitched together but not with hallways like you would suppose. I could see her being driven into a rage by that. She did mention wanting to modernize the Arconia so maybe this is what she meant. Hallways. It all makes sense!

[AnimeMania]

5 minutes ago, dwmarch said:

Interesting, this supports Nina as the prime suspect. She's heavily pregnant and her duties are taking her all over the building which is actually three buildings stitched together but not with hallways like you would suppose. I could see her being driven into a rage by that. She did mention wanting to modernize the Arconia so maybe this is what she meant. Hallways. It all makes sense!

Rich people like their privacy, they even have a separate entrance and hallway that their servants use.

[Dancingjaneway]

The way Bunny said "What the fuck are you doing here?" makes me think it wasn't anyone who lives in the Arconia. It sounded like she was killed by someone she knew but wasn't in regular contact with. Whoever she was on the phone with earlier(talking about selling the painting) is the person who killed her.

[MerBearStare]

There's a saying about New York I love. "When people in Seattle say good morning, they mean fuck you. When people in New York say fuck you, they mean good morning." I feel like that totally sums up Bunny. (And I've never been to Seattle, so I can't speak to the first half of that quote.)

Like everyone else, I loved this episode. I can't blame the trio for reacting the way they did to Bunny, but I am glad they have regrets about how they treated her that night. 

[saltylemon]

Loved this episode! I wasn’t fully sold on the first 2 episodes, but this one fully reeled me in to the story. I’m now invested in Bunny’s murder in a way that I wasn’t with Tim Kono, and I’m so glad they took the opportunity to really show us the woman behind the gruff exterior. That poor woman didn’t deserve her fate, & I’m ready to see the killer pay for it.
 

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this episode was the best so far and there was no sign of Amy Schumer. Sorry, but I’ll have to pile on here & just say her vibe just doesn’t match the show. 

[Kiddvideo]

I laughed hard when Oliver and Charles were talking to the bird pretending to be Bunny and quoting her from S1: “It won’t take lawng unless you make it take lawng.” “If you’re the murderer, stop murdering!”

So she signed an invoice for an elevator inspection, but it broke anyway? And it must break often enough that Bunny knew how to get it working again.

Howard taking verbatim notes of Bunny and Nina’s fight. 😆

[Shorty186]

1 hour ago, Cranberry said:

Does this help? It's a typical floor plan of The Belnord, 

Holy mother. That is one labyrinth I would definitely get lost in. 

I wonder if the Bunny actress actually knew who she was playing off of. She looked pretty disgusted by whomever it was.

[dovegrey]

12 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

There are a couple of floor plans for apartments at the Belnord in the Small Talk: Elevator Chat Thread. The apartments do touch each other as the hallways are short and only connect a few apartments and do not go around the middle of the entire building like a hotel's hallway would. You need to use different elevators to get to different sides of the building.  

What confuses me is that in the pilot episode, when Mabel and Charles are on Floor 12 and talking about how Tim's package was misdelivered to Bunny, they start at the round elevator bank lobby (which also has apartment doors surrounding it), then turn around and slowly walk down a long corridor with apartments on either side. There are red "EXIT" signs on both ends of the corridor: one near the elevator bank, and one at the end of the corridor opposite the elevators. Mabel unlocks her apartment door on the right-hand side of the hallway with a red EXIT sign in view, which means, based on 2x3, Bunny's apartment is near-directly across the hallway on the left-hand side. But both ends of the hallway end in common use ingress/egress points. I don't see how their apartments could be connected by a wall without cutting off one of those exits or jutting straight down through the open corridor.

The blueprints are super helpful and are impressive in terms of design. It's almost all gibberish to my brain LOL. It's been a while since I deep dived into this stuff (probably near the beginning of season 1, so nearly a year ago), but I recall that the Belnord building is only used for exterior and courtyard scenes; all the interior scenes were custom built on a sound stage without specifically recreating the Belnord. Don't know how accurate this article is but it jives with what I remember from season 1. I guess the apartment layouts are probably just nitpicking at this point, but the vent-crawling scene killed me in 2x1.

I'm also remembering the discussion last year about the 12A/12E goof for Mabel's aunt's apartment, haha. How does it feel like it's been so long??

Edited July 6, 2022 by dovegrey
grammar and clarification; Belford = Belnord

[chaifan]

A great episode.  I was also confused by the placement of Bunny's door on the opposite side of the hall from Mabel, but I'm willing to just believe that both apartments are corner units and "L" shaped, and have an adjoining wall at the short end of the L.  Or the show just likes screwing with the viewers. 

My problem with this episode is that the biggest "event", Bunny not being invited in for champagne, just seemed really inconsistent with the characters.  OK, not all of them.  Oliver I can see easily shutting the door in Bunny's face.  But not Charles or Mabel.  They are nice people at their core, especially Charles.  It was just odd that neither of them invited Bunny in.  It would be one thing if Bunny stopped by to return a book or drop off some other item.  But when someone comes over with a NICE bottle of champagne for your celebration, it takes a hella lotta mean/indifference to not invite them in for a glass.  It would have made more sense for Charles to have started inviting Bunny in and Oliver cutting him off and closing the door.  But then we wouldn't have Charles' "we didn't kill her, but we could have saved her" moment at the end.  (Which I thought was really touching.)

I think everything is pointing to Alice at this point, but my gut says this is a misdirect.  I don't think it's Leonora (Shirley MacLaine), as I don't think there was any hard feelings between her and Bunny that would prompt Bunny's reaction when opening the door. 

I also found it odd that Bunny uses the "secret" elevator for everyday things.  You'd think someone would have spotted her coming out the back door and wondered about that.  And, yes, the elevator inspection is this episode's Chekov's gun - it will be coming back at some point, I'm sure.

[meep.meep]

There's a blink and you miss it shot in the opening credits of Bunny walking the bird on a leash in front of the building.

None of the apartment locations have ever made sense to me and I doubt that the producers/writers even care.   If they need a secret vent between Bunny's apartment and Mabel's, they put it in.  Ditto the secret elevator.

[cardigirl]

13 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

There's a blink and you miss it shot in the opening credits of Bunny walking the bird on a leash in front of the building.

They did that for episode 2 as well. Last season she was walking a pug, although we never saw her with one.  

[sjankis630]

You guys have some great theories and I am thankful for a discussion like this one where I can ask questions or just read and learn.

Ever since last year I have been trying to get someone in my family or friends circle to watch this show. I have not had any luck. One niece started last season but got bored within the first 2 episodes. 

Oh well. They don't watch Ted Lasso either and I thought I was the last person to start watching that show....

[TV Glotzer]

I just finished telling someone how impressed I am at the location accuracy of this show (e.g., the building across from the Arconia is the actual building across from the Belnord on West 86th Street) and suddenly this episode filmed all of its exterior scenes on what seemed to be the East Side of Manhattan.  Both the coffee truck and Pickle Diner looked like East Side locations.  The establishing shot of the corner of West End Avenue and West 86th Street went as far as CGI'ing the street names on the signs.  Where Uma and Bunny were walking with their shopping carts is no place I know near the Arconia/Belnord.  Feh!

[chaifan]

I need a refresher...  how did Oliver end up not being in jeopardy of being kicked out of the Arconia?  Where did he get the money to pay off his back rent and future rent from?

[dbklmt]

15 minutes ago, chaifan said:

I need a refresher...  how did Oliver end up not being in jeopardy of being kicked out of the Arconia?  Where did he get the money to pay off his back rent and future rent from?

Oliver asks his friend and fellow Arconia resident Teddy Dimas (Nathan Lane) to sponsor their podcast. It's an underhanded way for Oliver to salvage enough money to pay his rent so he isn't evicted from the Arconia.

[Ilovepie]

Another good episode. Things I laughed at this episode:

Oliver and Charles impersonations of Bunny and the look on Mrs. Gambolini's face - the parrot actually looked confused!

"How did she know that???" "She's an actual witch!"

"Fuck you." Fuck you." Seems a very New York goodbye.

Charles over-long description of his awkward party kiss with Bunny. Blech!!!! "Do you need me to actually slap you, or can we just skip ahead?"

Sting's apartment looking like 1990's Z Gallery! Ha!

[shapeshifter]

4 hours ago, chaifan said:

I don't think it's Leonora (Shirley MacLaine), as I don't think there was any hard feelings between her and Bunny that would prompt Bunny's reaction when opening the door. 

Leonora/Bunny's mother (Shirley MacLaine) and Bunny have been estranged, right? 
And Leonora/Bunny's mother/"Big Bunny" (Shirley MacLaine) really wants her painting back, because of its value as a "Rose Cooper" and/or because of sentimental reasons.
I just don't think elderly Leonora/Bunny's mother/"Big Bunny" (Shirley MacLaine) is strong enough to overpower Bunny and kill her with a knife, and certainly not strong enough to drag her to Mabel's apartment. IDK. Maybe Howard helped? Could explain his black eye. 

Someone upthread(s) mentioned that the woman in the painting strongly resembles Jan. I agree. Maybe the woman is Jan's mother, and Jan is Charles' half-sister, rather than Bunny.

[peachmangosteen]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Maybe the woman is Jan's mother, and Jan is Charles' half-sister, rather than Bunny.

I sincerely hope not. I don't want any incest on this show lol.

[paigow]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Someone upthread(s) mentioned that the woman in the painting strongly resembles Jan. I agree. Maybe the woman is Jan's mother, and Jan is Charles' half-sister, rather than Bunny.

Or BOTH of them are half sisters... 

[shapeshifter]

43 minutes ago, paigow said:

Or BOTH of them are half sisters... 

Charles, Bunny, and Jan are all half-siblings? That actually does smack of some Steve Martin comedy. 
But I think I'd prefer us to learn that Charles' father was in the closet and just posing for the painting.