What is the plot?

The episode opens with A.B. Wynter playing backgammon with Angie, his only friend in the house. Wynter reflects on losing his parents at age 11 and how he now considers the staff his family, though he remains deeply disliked by most around him.

Cordelia Cupp continues her investigation of the Yellow Oval Room, focusing on details she had previously noticed. She discovers a vase is missing and learns from the curator that a clock is also unaccounted for. She recalls seeing deteriorated roses on the day of the incident and consults the florist, who says no industrial pesticide is used on the flowers. However, Cordelia finds that pesticide was stored in the garden room, contradicting the florist's claim.

Cordelia searches for the missing clock but cannot find it. She uncovers tension between Wynter and Jasmine, who clashed after Wynter refused to retire following a fiasco at a state dinner. Jasmine had ambitions for the chief usher position, which Wynter's refusal blocked.

Cordelia finds Wynter's journal in the library, his favorite place. The diary contains numbers, scribbled notes, and the second half of a ripped "suicide note." The journal also reveals personal details about the staff and hints at secrets.

Cordelia, Edwin, and Dokes are summoned to a meeting with President Morgan. While the men argue, Cordelia notices paintings in the room and realizes one painting in the Yellow Oval Room was actually in the Red Room on the night of the murder, indicating paintings were swapped around the house.

Cordelia gathers all suspects to the game room, where Wynter's body was found, to reconstruct the events. She then takes them to room 301, revealing blood on the baseboard and a red light from Tripp Morgan's watch. Tripp admits he passed out in room 301 after partying and woke up to find Wynter dead beside him.

Cordelia pieces together that Bruce and Elsyie, who are romantically involved, each found Wynter's body in the Yellow Oval Room and moved it separately, each suspecting the other of murder. Bruce and Elsyie's attempts to hide the body led to it being dragged through different rooms.

Tripp Morgan, in a drunken state, dragged Wynter's body to the game room and cut the dead man's wrists to stage a suicide, adding to the confusion.

Cordelia uncovers that Lilly Schumacher orchestrated the murder. Lilly took toxic herbicide (paraquat) from the garden shed, breaking glass to access it but using a cup from the gardener's desk to avoid leaving evidence.

Lilly called Wynter from the garden shed, faking a meeting in the Yellow Oval Room. During the call, Wynter ominously says, "I am going to be dead by the end of the night," sensing danger.

Lilly impersonated Elliot Morgan's voice to clear the second floor, including the Secret Service, then hid nearby while Wynter and Elsyie argued. After Elsyie left, Lilly confronted Wynter, returned the piece of paper from his journal, and offered him a drink laced with poison.

When Wynter realized the drink was poisoned and did not consume enough to die, Lilly threw a vase at him but missed, only scratching the wall and his face. Persisting, she grabbed a large clock from the mantle and struck Wynter on the head, killing him.

Lilly hid the clock in a secret compartment in the passageway between the Yellow Oval Room and the Treaty Room to conceal the murder weapon.

After the murder, the body was moved multiple times by Bruce, Elsyie, and Tripp, each trying to cover their tracks, culminating in the staged suicide scene in the game room.

Cordelia reveals the full sequence of events and the killer's identity to the assembled suspects within two hours of gathering them.

The episode ends with Cordelia closing the case and returning to her passion for birdwatching, leaving open the possibility of her return should another murder occur.

What is the ending?

Short Narrative: In the final episode of "The Residence," titled "The Mystery of the Yellow Room," Detective Cordelia Cupp unravels the mystery of A.B. Wynter's murder. The killer is revealed to be Lilly Schumacher, the White House PR specialist. Lilly orchestrated the murder by poisoning Wynter and then using a clock to kill him when the poison didn't work quickly enough. She manipulated the scene to make it appear like a suicide. Meanwhile, other characters like Bruce and Elsyie, who were romantically involved, became entangled in the aftermath, mistakenly believing each other might have committed the crime.

Expanded Narrative:

The episode begins with Wynter playing backgammon with Angie, highlighting his isolated life despite being surrounded by the White House staff. This scene sets the tone for his tragic character, who is deeply disliked by many. Meanwhile, Cordelia continues her investigation into the Yellow Oval Room, where she notices a missing vase and clock. She recalls the deteriorated roses and discovers that a pesticide was kept in the garden room, which initially seems unrelated but later becomes crucial.

As Cordelia searches for Wynter's journal, she finds it in the library. The journal contains cryptic notes and a partial "suicide note," raising questions about who might have planted it. This discovery leads to a meeting with President Morgan, where Cordelia observes the paintings in the room, realizing that they have been swapped around the house. This revelation sparks her understanding of how the murder was committed.

Cordelia gathers all the suspects and explains her plan to reveal the killer. She takes them to the game room, where A.B.'s body was found, and then to room 301, where she reveals evidence of Tripp's involvement in moving the body. However, Tripp did not kill Wynter; he merely found him dead and made a disturbing attempt to stage a suicide.

The key to solving the murder lies in understanding Lilly's motives and actions. Lilly, who had been seeking control over the White House residence, used her knowledge of the house and her ability to mimic voices to orchestrate the murder. She called A.B. to meet in the Yellow Oval Room, using a voice impression of Elliot Morgan to clear the area. After A.B. realized something was wrong, Lilly poisoned him, but when the poison didn't work quickly enough, she used a clock to kill him. She then hid the clock in a secret compartment.

Lilly's plan was meticulous, but it was her desire for control and her fear of being exposed that drove her actions. She had seen Bruce and Elsyie arguing and used this to her advantage, knowing they would be suspects. Bruce and Elsyie, who were romantically involved, mistakenly believed each other might have killed A.B., leading to a series of misunderstandings and cover-ups.

In the end, Cordelia exposes Lilly as the killer, revealing her clever manipulation of the crime scene. The episode concludes with Lilly's guilt exposed, while Bruce and Elsyie are cleared of suspicion. Tripp Morgan faces consequences for his actions, but the focus remains on Lilly's cunning and ruthless pursuit of power within the White House.

Is there a post-credit scene?

There is no specific mention of a post-credit scene in the available information about "The Residence," Season 1, Episode 8, titled "The Mystery of the Yellow Room." The episode concludes with Detective Cordelia Cupp solving the murder mystery, revealing Lily Schumacher as the killer, and the emotional aftermath of the revelation. The focus is on wrapping up the plot threads and providing closure to the characters' arcs, particularly with a heartfelt dedication to the late Andre Braugher, who played A.B. Winter, in the season finale. However, without explicit details about a post-credit scene, it appears that the episode ends with the resolution of the main storyline.

What key evidence did Cordelia discover that helped solve the murder in 'The Mystery of the Yellow Room'?

Cordelia discovered new clues at the White House that she had missed on the night of the state dinner, which allowed her to piece together the sequence of events and identify the murderer. This included understanding the movements of the body and the staging of the crime scene.

How was the victim A.B. Wynter's body moved after the murder in the Yellow Oval Room?

After A.B. Wynter was killed in the Yellow Oval Room, engineer Bruce Geller moved the body first to the Lincoln Bedroom, then carried it upstairs to Room 301, placing it next to a sleeping Tripp Morgan. Later, Tripp panicked and moved the body down the hall to the Game Room, where he staged the death to look like a suicide.

What was the motive behind Lilly's actions in the episode?

Lilly was motivated by fear of exposure after Wynter discovered evidence of her embezzlement and threatened to expose her. In response, she attempted to poison Wynter and ultimately killed him by striking him with a clock in the Yellow Oval Room.

How did the characters try to cover up the murder in the episode?

Bruce moved the body to protect Elsyie, whom he suspected; Tripp moved the body again to avoid blame and staged a suicide with a knife and a fake note planted by Lilly. Lilly impersonated Elliot to keep people away from the Yellow Oval Room and ordered the passage to be sealed to cover up evidence.

What role did the Yellow Oval Room play in the story of this episode?

The Yellow Oval Room was the location where A.B. Wynter was murdered. It was central to the mystery, as the crime scene was manipulated and access was controlled to hide evidence. The episode's title and key events revolve around this room.

Is this family friendly?

The TV show "The Residence" is not family-friendly due to several content concerns. Here are some potentially objectionable or upsetting aspects that might occur for children or sensitive people:

  1. Profanity: The series contains severe profanity, including frequent use of strong swear words throughout the episodes.
  2. Sexual Content: There are scenes of a couple having sex, though they are fully clothed and without nudity. These scenes are referenced multiple times throughout the series.
  3. Violence and Gore: Mild violence is present, including brief depictions of a dead body with slit wrists.
  4. Alcohol, Drugs, and Smoking: There are mild references to these substances.
  5. Frightening and Intense Scenes: Some scenes may be mildly intense or frightening, though not excessively so.
  6. Mature Themes: The show touches on mature themes such as suicide and murder, which might be disturbing for sensitive viewers.

These elements are consistent across the series and may be present in episode 8, "The Mystery of the Yellow Room," though specific details about this episode are not provided.

Does the dog die?

In the TV show "The Residence," Season 1, Episode 8, titled "The Mystery of the Yellow Room," there is no indication that the dog, Shirley, dies. Shirley is a pet dog belonging to President Perry Morgan and his husband, Elliot Morgan, and plays a role in the story by reacting to events during the night of the murder. However, the focus of the episode is on solving the murder mystery involving A.B. Wynter, and there is no mention of harm coming to the dog.

The episode centers around Detective Cordelia Cupp's investigation, which leads to the revelation of the murderer and the motives behind the crime. The emotional and visual focus is on the characters' interactions and the unfolding mystery, with the dog's presence being more of a background element in the earlier parts of the series. The finale episode concludes with a thoughtful and well-performed resolution to the mystery, but it does not involve any harm to the dog.