Type: Platonic/possibly romantic
Show: Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building
Featured Characters: Mabel Mora and Theo Dimas
We all have at least one: those ships you know probably won’t happen, but they might, and until then, you’ll settle for the crumbs you’re given. (And if you don’t have one of those ships… you’re probably lying). Mabel Mora and Theo Dimas are that ship for me on Only Murders in the Building. Mabel and Theo have known each other most of their lives, but it’s not necessarily a happy past. Their lives are entwined through serious trauma — and yet, somehow, they have a way of setting each other free.
Bound by Tragedy
Any discussion of Mabel and Theo has to acknowledge the severe trauma between them. Growing up around the Arconia, Mabel found her “Hardy Boys” crew. Theo, on the other hand, was isolated, blamed for the breakdown of his parents’ marriage and stuck shadowing his overbearing (and, occasionally, borderline abusive) father. Throughout the first season, Theo is more of an antagonist than an ally. Mabel, Charles, and Oliver initially suspect him and his father of murdering Tim Kono — and Theo briefly kidnapping Mabel and Oliver doesn’t help matters.
The truth, of course, is more complicated, especially as revealed in the stellar episode “The Boy from 6B.” The Dimases didn’t kill Tim, but their hands aren’t clean. In the present, Teddy has brought Theo into the “family business” of thieving. In the past, Theo’s flirtation with Zoe turned into an argument, which escalated when she pushed him. His push-back accidentally sent her tumbling to her death. Teddy, in turn, covered it all up, letting Oscar take the blame for a decade.
All of this should make any positive connection between Mabel and Theo unthinkable. It’s a testament to the quality of the writing — and the acting, especially from James Caverly — that Theo still has room to be a sympathetic character. After their arrests, he refuses his father’s legal help. For the first time, he refuses to let Teddy “fix” things, and he breaks free of his father’s influence. He wants to be better than his past — and that’s something Mabel can understand.
The Hardy Boys, Take Two
One of the great tragedies of Mabel and Theo is that, in another world, they were always close. It’s not hard to imagine an alternate timeline where Theo was part of the “Hardy Boys.” Had he not been trapped under his father’s overbearing thumb, he could have been. But, unluckily for everyone, things went differently.
That’s why it’s so significant that their first on-screen reunion sends them on a mini-quest together. Theo sees Mabel melting down in public, rescues her, and agrees to help her track down “Glitter Guy.” He’s careful, letting her take the lead and drive the conversation. He does lightly rib her for assuming he can lip-read everything, but it’s a moment that leads to better communication, not negative tension. He makes a point of respecting her boundaries at every moment. In other words, he deliberately shows her he’s not the villain she might have thought. More importantly, in a moment where Mabel’s blackouts make her unsure if she’s actually responsible for a death, he’s one of the only people who could possibly understand.
Mabel and Theo spend most of the episode on a Coney Island investigation. It’s all very Hardy Boys, highlighting those bittersweet missed chances. They also have time for more serious conversations, though. The episode reveals how much they parallel each other. They both had fathers who kept secrets to “protect” them; both currently fear that their actions make them bad people. And, of course, they have both always been fundamentally lonely people.
Over a game of Whac-a-Mole and a suspect chase, they go from wary acquaintances to something like friends. And somehow, they find sympathetic spirits in each other.
Mabel and Theo Grow to Trust Each Other
If I had a nickel for every time I shipped a pairing where the male half only shows up a couple of times a season, and it takes until the third season to even hint that there might be a romantic spark… all together now, I’d have two nickels, which isn’t much, but it’s weird that it’s happened twice. Much like my beloved Midge and Lenny, whose friendship changed in the course of a technicolor-lit night on the town, Mabel and Theo aren’t meant to seem romantic (at least, not to any but the most devoted shippers) until the third season.
Midway through Only Murders in the Building Season 3, Theo shows up to help Mabel pack up her old Arconia apartment. Any trace of awkwardness is gone, and instead, they talk like old friends. And I do mean they talk: apparently, off-screen, Mabel has been brushing up her ASL. She’s clearly not fluent, but she’s clearly been learning. While she’s on the outs with “her boys,” it’s the perfect opportunity to lean on a different partner — Theo.
When Mabel and Theo investigate an auction of a dead actor’s estate, we’re treated to some seriously flirty energy. Theo not-so-sheepishly admits to being a fan of the CoBro franchise, in which a giant sentient snake solves crimes. As Mabel calls him a nerd both in English and in ASL, she boops his glasses up his nose. If there was a moment that made me go, “oh, I definitely ship this” — this was it.
I mean — look at them!
This episode also introduces Theo to Mabel’s love-interest-of-the-season, Tobert. In a moment alone, Theo pushes a note across to Tobert. “I can’t figure her out either,” it reads. Theo — and the show — deliberately draws a comparison between himself and Mabel’s overt love interest.
Mabel and Theo in the Future
We don’t see Theo on-screen again in Season 3, but we do hear about him again — and it’s a doozy. Mabel mentions off-hand that, while she’s in between apartments, she’s crashing with Theo. It’s not a romantic thing (she’s still dating Tobert at the time), but it is a huge signal of trust. Remember how we met Mabel: daydreaming about being woken up by an intruder and stabbing him? This is a woman who loathes being vulnerable in front of others. And yet, Theo has proven himself to be someone she can trust at her most vulnerable. That’s huge.
Behind the scenes, people seem to like the idea of Mabel and Theo, too. In the official aftershow for episode 3×07, Caverly and his co-stars half-jokingly discuss Mabel’s romantic prospects. Guest co-host Katherine McNamara calls the Mabel/Theo dynamic “a different kind of intimacy, a different kind of home.” Caverly, of course, admits to rooting for Theo, but he also has an interesting observation:
“Theo is starting to grow, and reveal, and become more of who he really is. And Mabel, she’s his only real friend, the person who he really connects with and has had a relationship with. The only challenge is, the biggest thing that they bond over is their trauma.”
Mabel and Theo could be a fascinating and swoonworthy ship — but they definitely still have a long road ahead. We can only guess at what Season 4 (and beyond?) will bring, but we hope it’s more moments to get giddy over!
First Featured Image Credit: ©Hulu