The evil Becky Butler, aka Poppy White
Becky Butler, aka Poppy White (Adina Verson), is the hidden main villainess from Season Two of Hulu's series, Only Murders in the Building.
Introduction[]
Poppy White was introduced in Season One as the assistant to Cinda Canning, the host of a podcast known as Only Murderers in the Building; first appearing in "The Sting" before briefly being shown in the first season finale, "Open and Shut," with Cinda, as they watched Charles Haden-Savage, Oliver Putnam, and Mabel Mora being taken into custody for the murder of Bunny Folger, the owner of the Arconia apartment complex.
The second season revealed that Cinda's fame came as a result of her previous podcast, All is Not OK in Oklahoma, which dealt with the disappearance and murder of a young woman named Becky Butler; however, in the final moments of the second season's penultimate episode, Poppy revealed to Mabel (who went to Poppy for help regarding the investigation into Bunny's murder), that she was the actual Becky Butler, doing so while claiming that Cinda may have killed Bunny.
Backstory[]
Becky Butler's backstory revealed that she had an ordinary life in the small town of Chickasha, Oklahoma; living with her father while working as a secretary for the city's mayor, who constantly harassed her. Wanting to get away from the town and (especially) the mayor, Becky started a new life and went by the name Poppy White, while appearing at Cinda's office asking for a job. As part of her application, Poppy told Becky's story and gave Cinda the idea for a podcast about Becky, as well as the title: All is Not OK in Oklahoma.
Cinda went on to perform the podcast, but it was not gaining steam, as Cinda informed Poppy that the only way the podcast would gain more buzz is if Becky was actually murdered. Knowing this, Poppy began a relationship with detective Daniel Kreps, and enlisted her lover to fake her own death and pin her murder on the mayor. Kreps planted the evidence, and their plan was a success, with Poppy continuing to work for Cinda. However, Poppy became ambitious as time progressed, and at some point, she suggested a podcast based on famed artist Rose Cooper; a proposal that was turned down by Cinda.
Heel Turn[]
Becky/Poppy in her masked disguise
Becky/Poppy colluded with Kreps on her latest plan, which included the former appearing at a local diner and demanding Rose Cooper's famous painting from Bunny. When Bunny refused, Poppy turned heel by planning to kill Bunny and steal the painting, with the villainess enacting her plan in the aforementioned first season finale, "Open and Shut." After Jan Bellows was arrested for Tim Kono's murder, Poppy (donning a masked disguise) secretly sent a text to Charles, Mabel, and Oliver to get out of the apartment, and afterwards, the evil Poppy entered Bunny's apartment and stabbed her to death--stabbing Bunny eight times.
Mabel returned to the apartment and saw Bunny's body, and the occurrence resulted in the aforementioned arrest, though Mabel ended up falsely accused of the murder throughout the second season--mostly due to Poppy continuously suggesting to Cinda that Mabel killed Bunny. The suspicion towards Cinda began after Kreps was revealed as an accomplice, with Mabel learning that Kreps was in a relationship with an intelligent woman with a podcast, though Mabel believed that Kreps' lover was Cinda, and Poppy's reveal as Becky Butler increased the suspicions.
Reveal and Arrest[]
In the second season finale, "I Know Who Did It," Poppy met with the trio at the diner, as they were looking to trap Cinda into confessing. Poppy suggested playing on Cinda's aversions to slow motion and the inside of tomatoes, which led to the trio throwing a "killer reveal party" and inviting Cinda and Poppy, as well as the other Arconia residents. Their attempts to out Cinda as the killer were met with denial, and after Mabel was convinced that Cinda was innocent, she pointed the finger at her on-and-off girlfriend, Alice Banks, claiming that Alice became a villainess in a desperate plan to keep her gallery afloat, and killed Bunny to get the painting.
Alice suddenly stabbed Charles to death with a knife, but it was all revealed to be a ruse to trap the actual murderess: Becky/Poppy. After Cinda praised Mabel and offered Mabel her own podcast, Poppy became enraged and lashed out at Cinda for ignoring her for so long while praising Mabel for "getting lucky." The villainess also began sneezing due to her allergy to Bunny's pet parrot, which was one giveaway, as the killer sneezed on the night in question, and also mentioned Lucy's appearance in the secret passageway, which was also something that the killer would know.
In addition, Bunny's last words, originally heard as "14 Savage," were actually "14 Sandwich," a reference to Poppy's regular order: the #14 (liverwurst and marmalade sandwich). Also, Mabel learned that Becky Butler's prints were on the knife, completing Poppy's reveal, which also included Cinda revealing that she had known all along that Poppy was Becky Butler. Poppy simply stated that she had an ordinary life before being the most talked about woman in the country, and afterwards, the villainess was handcuffed and arrested for Bunny's murder.