Who Is Tobert in ‘Only Murders in the Building’ & What Happens to Him?
‘Only Murders in the Building‘ is one of those whodunit shows subtly mentioning minor details and characters, only to reveal later that they are very significant. Before Ben was murdered, we briefly met Tobert, who said there was no need to mind him since no one would ever see him again. At that point, we already knew that he would somehow be important because of what he said, which was true. So, let’s see who Tobert is and what happens to him.
Tobert is a cameraman that was hired to make a documentary about Ben. When Ben was murdered, Tobert was fired, but before that, Ben took Tobert’s camera, which was still on. Because of that, Tobert went to Ben’s penthouse to try and find the footage, as it is possible that the camera caught who killed Ben. He crosses paths with Mabel while doing that.
Even though Tobert initially was presented as a completely irrelevant person, that proved different soon enough. He will have an important part as he joins Mabel in her investigation about who killed Ben. The chemistry between the two of them might also be interesting in future episodes. But let’s see in more detail what we know about him so far.
Tobert was supposed to film a documentary about Ben’s life
With Oliver progressively starting his musical, Mabel and Charles brainstormed ideas about who might kill Ben by themselves. The only solid step they come up with is to find out who’s missing the handkerchief Ben held in his arm. Oliver summoned Charles for a rehearsal and banned Mabel from showing up there since he did not want any investigation during that time. So, Mabel decided to visit Ben’s penthouse and search for more clues.
Mabel met Tobert in the elevator. He was also on his way to the penthouse, claiming he had left some of his equipment in Ben’s apartment. Before Ben was murdered, Tobert was in charge of filming a documentary about his life, so this made sense at first. Mabel remembered him, and the two joked about each other’s names.
Mabel’s argument was less persuasive than Tobert’s, and she lied that she had to pick up a signed headshot from Ben’s ‘Girl Cop’ days. She always loved Ben in that part, and apparently, Ben left that for her, but she did not know where. So, the only thing she could do was to look around Ben’s apartment for it. Tobert knew she was lying but decided to go with it since he also lied about his reasons.
They searched for their stuff in weird places when they entered the apartment. After some argument, they agreed they were both lousy liars and shouldn’t interfere in each other’s business. But, they had to deal with another unexpected visitor before they could further investigate. It was Dickie, looking around the apartment and smashing things in anger and sadness. He is still processing that Ben is gone.
In the meantime, Mabel and Tobert hid in the cabinet and gradually resolved their differences. They opened up to each other a bit, and Tobert confessed that he liked listening to Mabel’s podcast and complimented it as innovative and smart. Tobert also revealed that he was in Botswana for a year and tracked a herd of elephants before getting Ben’s cameraman job. This somewhat impressed Mabel.
Tobert and Mabel are in possession of footage that might reveal the real killer
After Ben died, Dickie ended Tobert’s contract, but Tobert still believed that an incredible story could arise from all of that. Tobert had unique access to that story because he was with Ben on the opening night. Ben ripped his camera and stormed into his dressing room, but the camera was still recording. So, all this time, Tobert was looking for footage from the night Ben died, and he found it.
Mabel wanted to use the footage for her podcast, but Tobert refused to give the footage to her. But Mabel somehow managed to swipe the drive from Tobert. The main problem was that she did not know the password, so she had to go to Tobert and ask him about it anyway.
Tobert was not angry at Mabel or anything like that. Instead, he confesses to her that he did not always make the right choices in his life, which is why he wants to help her find out who killed Ben. His story about shooting the elephants was not as impressive as initially presented, but Mabel did not mind.
Tobert and Mabel could potentially fall in love as the season progresses. Some sparks between them were already obvious, so it will be interesting to see how everything progresses. We are yet to see what is on the footage, and the next episode of the show will most likely give us an answer to that question.
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