This post contains spoilers from The Residence episode 5 from this point forward.
The cliffhanger at the end of The Residence episode 4 revealed that someone calling from the hotel across the street wanted to speak with Cordelia. In episode 5, when she, Edwin, and Trask arrive at the hotel, Cordelia's met with a young boy named Vusi (Jeremiah Felder), who has been watching the White House with binoculars.
His parents are sleeping in the other room and they were supposed to get a tour of the White House, but the tour was canceled. Their relocation to a new hotel in D.C. allowed for Vusi to have a view of the White House instead. He's been watching the White House from his window all night and tells Cordelia that he saw a flashing red light coming from room 301. Edwin and Trask debunk what Vusi saw as the reflection of brake lights, but Vusi only saw the red light twice.
After meeting with Vusi, Cordelia fields a request from Kylie Minogue to sneak up to sleep in the Lincoln Bedroom, which she was promised in exchange for stepping in last minute to perform. Cordelia denies her request. Hugh Jackman wants to go upstairs, too. But Cordelia has more pressing matters and needs to speak with Harry Hollinger. When asking him about room 301, Hollinger finds out Perry and Elliott lied about the renovation to keep his sister from staying over.
Because she lives close to room 301, Cordelia asks Nan Cox about what she knows and learns that there was an argument in the hallway between A.B. and Tripp. According to everyone, A.B. and Tripp never got along. They fought over a plumbing issue, but Tripp was already mad that night because he was expecting to attend the state dinner but his brother didn't invite him.
The Residence episode 5 recap
A.B. assured Tripp he would send an engineer up to fix his toilet just before delivering the ominous promise that he would talk to Perry in the morning about Tripp's misdeeds in the residence. Obviously, that's meant to suggest Tripp has a motive to kill A.B. so he doesn't get kicked out of the White House by his brother. Tripp insists he hasn't been in room 301 all night and that Bruce the engineer saw him.
Bruce claims that while he was fixing the toilet, he returned to the room to find Tripp gone. Meanwhile, Tripp says Bruce was ranting about his frustrations with A.B., which prompts him to reveal that he did leave the room to steal desserts from downstairs. Cordelia catches onto a motive, but Tripp maintains his innocence. After hitting his watch against the wall, a red light starts flashing.
In the middle of everything, Liz Hollenbeck (Keiko Agena, or as we know her, Lane from Gilmore Girls) explains to the congressional hearing about Valentina and Lorenzo Motta, the Washington socialites who crashed the state dinner. When they tried to leave early, they were caught and held all night. A.B. chose to hold them per security protocol because he thought Hollinger was trying to set him up by breaking protocol and letting them leave early.
Jasmine clues Cordelia in on some information about A.B. and Hollinger that hadn't been revealed before. The day before, A.B. went to the second floor to alert a group of men that President Morgan would be late. He stood in the back of the Treaty Room and waited until the group finished speaking. The staff claims that when they're posted up in rooms, they are able to tune out all conversation and retain absolutely nothing.
Well, Hollinger was talking to Walpole Bing (Aubrey Wakeling) and CIA director Oliver Root, and they mentioned North Korea. When the men notice A.B. in the room, they blow up and accuse him of spying. Hollinger tracked A.B. down to demand he didn't hear what was said. He didn't anyway! A.B. didn't appreciate being accused of spying, but Jasmine was more upset than he was. You know who else loves Hollinger as suspect? Margery Bay Bix. She also asks the congressional hearing: Where is Cordelia Cupp?
Watch The Residence only on Netflix.