Dating back to the Season 3 premiere of Only Murderers in the Building, when the inimitable actor Loretta Durkin (Meryl Streep) auditioned for "Death Rattle," her monologue was this. Children need to feel protected with a ferocity that only a mother can evoke." Fans distracted by the pure glory of Streep's opening scene did not know that the series had also answered the mystery of Ben Glenroy's murder nine episodes earlier. Eight weeks later, the third season of Hulu's beloved comedy closed in the series' tradition of wrapping up the complex mystery of the killer while setting up a new murder victim for the now-determined fourth season. Read on for a breakdown of all the answers contained in the season 3 finale, including which member of Death Rattle Dazzle killed Ben and how [spoiler]he was killed.

In episode 9, our intrepid podcasters will be taking you through the Death Rattle, from the sleepless night before Ben made gifts for the cast at the sewing club, to the moment Dickie revealed he was quitting, to the final moment of defeat when the Cobro actor gave in and ate Schmuckery's cookies! unraveled the entire story of the opening night of the show. (The real-life bakery that makes the "official cookies of Broadway" is at the top of my list to visit on my upcoming trip to New York City.) These delicious cookies were poisoned before the show by someone who did not want Ben on stage. That someone read the scathing review by critic Maxine (Noma Dumezweni), who pointed to Ben as the show's biggest flaw. That person, who confessed just before the opening night of Death Rattle Dazzle, was producer Donna DeMeo (Linda Emond), who wanted to save her son's first show and secure his legacy before she passed away from a fatal illness.

Charles, Oliver, and Mabel heard Donna's confession less than 10 minutes before the show opened. It was after Loretta, the season's MVP, had provided the last piece of information that would incriminate the Tony Award-winning producer for everything. Loretta knew that Donna was sick when she heard the producer vomiting what appeared to be a sitz probe in the bathroom. Moreover, Loretta had conclusive evidence. It was the cast gift handkerchief that Dickie had given her that Ben was holding when he died). In addition to Ben's dried blood (gross), the fabric was smeared with red lipstick. On opening night, the trio lured Donna into the theater manager's office with the promise of a new review, where she confessed in surprisingly straightforward terms to poisoning and pushing Ben down an elevator shaft. Donna also convinces everyone to let her turn herself in after seeing the show with her son Cliff (Wesley Taylor), as he has stage 4 lung cancer and is in no danger of escaping.

This confession, in addition to giving Broadway veteran Emond more time to shine, ties in with the season's overall theme of a mother's fierce protective instincts. Just as Loretta's Nanny pushed the detective off the lighthouse to protect the triplets as a surrogate mother. (I could ask someone from the OMITB team to summarize the plot of this musical). Loretta was prepared to plead innocent because she thought her own son Dickie had killed her adopted brother. The reveal of Donna was a nice ending to the thread, but it's not the only twist provided in the finale (nor is it the only culprit).

As I mentioned before, Donna immediately confessed to both Ben's failed poisoning and the actual murder. It is not often that a murderer says straight out, "I killed [the victim]," and Mabel is visibly bewildered by the admission as she watches the first official performance of Death Rattle Dazzle. (Oliver, the lead actor, jumped in when the lead actor became ill.) Halfway through the show, Mabel witnesses Donna tell Cliff that she is going to turn herself in for the murder of Ben. Distraught, Cliff leaves the auditorium, and Mabel follows him to the rafters of the theater. But she is unable to comfort him there. She remembers the time before the show opened when he went to tell Donna about the fake review and took her to his office. Before Donna leaves Cliff's side, mother and son perform a small ceremony. Donna smears lipstick on Cliff's pocket chief, kisses him on the lips (which is not strange), and puts the pocket chief back in his suit pocket while chanting, "One for the lips, one for the heart." Mabel guesses that Donna did the same thing before leaving Oliver's party that night, and that it was Cliff who had the handkerchief with Donna's lipstick printed on it. It was the one Ben was holding when he collapsed.

And we finally learn what happened between Ben and Cliff the night Ben died. Ben ends up on the phone with the doctor and is told that rat poison has been found in his body. Ben is confused. How could such a thing have gotten into his system when he had been fasting all day? At first Ben blames Cliff for planting the poisoned cookies, but Cliff, still silent, says it was his mother who got the cookies. They both realize at the same time that Donna poisoned Ben, and when Ben asks if it was because she thought he was a bad actor, Cliff responds with a knowing silence. Angry, Ben starts calling the police in front of Cliff and tells him that his mother is going away for a long time. (Angry Ben starts calling the police in front of Cliff and tells him that his mother is going away for a long time (a rough moment, but also an interesting new exclamation, "F---er balls.") Ben not only threatens to bring the full wrath of the carrion state on this man's mother, but also inadvertently insults Cliff and calls him "boy" once again. Cliff points out that he is one person with a name, and lets Ben know that Ben had told Donna from the beginning that he was not the right person for this role. Cliff also calls Ben a "phony," which turns out to be Ben's trigger (it is unclear how Cliff knows this). Then, in the heat of the moment, Ben falls down the elevator shaft with Cliff's handkerchief in his hand.

Back in the present, Cliff is threatening to throw himself through the trap door onto the stage after being stuffed by Mabel. Cliff admits that he did not mean to kill Ben, and even hallucinates Ben on stage dueting with Loretta on "For the Sake of a Child". (He even hallucinates that Ben is onstage singing "For the Sake of a Child," a duet with Loretta (yes, this sounds ridiculous on paper, but it is the magic of musical theater that makes this work on screen). The audience can hear Cliff and Mabel screaming during this number, and Charles even runs up to the rafters to help Cliff. (When the duet ends, so does Oliver.) But in the end, Donna arrives and pulls Cliff up through the trapdoor, completing the cycle of mother protecting son and son protecting mother. The two producers even get to join the cast (and, for some reason, Mabel and Howard) at the curtain call before they are taken away in handcuffs.

After a not-quite-perfect but sufficiently emotional and chaotic ending to Ben Glenroy's murder, the cast and crew of "Death Rattle Dazzle" appear at Oliver's opening night party. When Oliver read Maxine's latest review, she had fairly similar sentiments about the musical and raved about it, even taking into account the offstage antics. Oliver is a success, and Loretta is getting even more buzz from Hollywood: Grey's New Orleans: Family Burn Unit will hold down her role for her, but other offers are pouring in. Loretta does not want to leave New York now that she is with Oliver, but he encourages her to pursue her dreams and continue to bond with Dickie, who she now knows is her son. Oliver and Loretta are now in a long-distance relationship, and Mabel and Tobart have just gotten jobs in LA (Charles' love life continues to be a dud, as he receives a text from Joy saying "Scott Bakula says hello.")

It's good to see that both Oliver and Mabel like LA "only in small doses." As Charles, Oliver, and Mabel begin discussing the next season of the podcast, Saz Pataki (Jane Lynch) arrives with a case of beer. Charles' best friend and longtime body double has come over to celebrate and to talk with Charles about "subtle things." But before she can figure out what she wants to say, Charles wants to get some rare wine from his apartment for the celebration. Someone who looks like Charles is shot in the chest and bullets can be seen flying through the dark kitchen window. But it turns out to be Saz, and the show ends with fan favorite Saz dying on Charles' bathroom floor.

And now we know who OMITB's (now confirmed) fourth season victim is. So who is the killer? Why does he want to kill Charles? Or, if they knew the killer was Saz, what was Charles' stunt double doing off camera ......" Fans will have plenty to ponder and speculate about until the Season 4 premiere.