‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 2 Retrospective
Who is Bunny Folger?
Bunny Folger is “a New York classic, a treasure trove of stories, secrets, and forgotten wisdom.” Those were the words of Charles Haden Savage. Born to Leonora Folger (née Carter), Bunny is the granddaughter of the Arconia’s architect Archibald Carter. Some would say her position as board president was through nepotism since it passed from her mother to her. However, Bunny takes her job seriously and knows everything about every tenant in her building and knows its history all too well.
In season 1, Bunny seems to be a moody woman with no time for anyone. Whenever she appears, she’s shown to have a contentious relationship with those around her. This mostly excludes her friend, Uma Heller (Jackie Hoffman) but even they have their disagreements. Bunny’s connections to the others is continued in episode 3 of season 2 where we see what the other board members truly think about her. There’s also a scene in the season 1 finale where Mabel calls Bunny out in public.
However, it wouldn’t be Only Murders in the Building if a character was only one note. The Bunny Folger we see as the board president is only part of who she truly is. As a theme song sung by Selena Gomez once said ‘everything is not what it seems’. We see Bunny interacting with other residents of New York. There’s the street vendor who she talks to about basketball and Bunny even crumples her waste into a ball and screams “Linsanity” as she throws it into the bin. This interaction shows us there’s a fun side to her.
Secondly, there’s a scene with Bunny at the pickle diner that shows us an empathetic side. She gives her waiter, Ivan, a tip (as she always does) but this time there’s a difference. With the idea she’s moving away in her head, Bunny gives him an envelope full of money. We don’t know how much is in it but it’s above her usual 20% tip. She also makes Ivan promise not to love just one thing. This valuable insight into Bunny’s life creates a much more dimensional character.
Finally, Bunny’s final interaction with the trio forces the watcher to feel sorry for her. She comes to the trio with a bottle of proper champagne in the hopes of celebrating with them. Unfortunately, the trio only thinks she’s giving it to them as a present. The following moments are played through a comedic lens but ultimately show a softer side to Bunny. It also forces the trio to conclude they could have saved her with just one act of kindness.
The crafting of a well-written character with hopes, dreams and flaws who can be hated one minute and loved the next is the mark of a brilliant writer. Only Murders in the Building is a team full of brilliant writers and episode 3 of season 2 confirms that.
Of course, it isn’t just the Only Murders in the Building writers who brought Bunny to life. Jayne Houdyshell is a gifted performer who brought warmth to Bunny even in her meaner moments. It’s a testament to Jayne that Bunny comes off as grouchy and yet fans still fell in love with the character in season 1. The series won’t be the same without Bunny or Jayne and we can only hope to see them again through flashbacks or some other writing device in the future. Then again, it might not be the last time we hear Jayne’s voice in the series. With her parrot, Mrs Gambolini, living with Oliver we might hear from her since she provides the voice.
This is where we turn our attention to the person who stole Bunny from us. Season 2’s big mystery is figuring out who took the life of our dear Bun Bun. It’s in the final two episodes where the fog of mystery is demystified. So, who was the villain who extinguished the flames of Bunny’s life?
