Plotlines

This episode was packed with information, even more so than before. There’s a lot going on here. My head is spinning a bit, and I hope I can remember everything. Where should we begin?

Auguste and Roderick met each other when they were young, as even back then, Fortunato wasn’t a great company—it was just like any other shady pharmaceutical company we know today. They tried to work together against Griswold and secretly help the Usher siblings claim their birthright. Because as we already know, before Griswold was Longfellow and he had an affair with the mother of Roderick and Madeline. 

Roderick is hallucinating more and more, and these visions of his dead children are getting stronger. At first, they only appeared in the church, but now they keep showing up in the old family home, where he and Auguste talk. What started as simple appearances has now turned into something more tormenting, making you wonder if these visions are one of the reasons why he’s even talking to Auguste.

Shockingly, we find out that there wasn’t any informant at all. I’m not exactly sure why, but I’m not fully convinced about this. Of course, I can believe that Auguste Dupin would pull off such a clever move, but something inside me says that’s not the whole story. I have two guesses, but I’ll wait and see if more information comes up before sharing them.

Things get intense after they look at photos from a security camera, and there’s a heated discussion between Madeline, Roderick, and Pym about who this mysterious woman could be. Madeline and Roderick recognize her from New Year’s Eve in 1979. We also see Roderick sitting and staring at a brick wall more often now. I wonder if this has something to do with that New Year’s Eve night and what the meaning behind it is.

Victorine meets a tragic end in this episode, leading to her death by her own hand. Up until now, I thought Leo’s death was the most gruesome, but Victorine’s death takes things to a new level. First, she kills her own partner, then there’s that nerve-racking sound, the pressure from her father (which she probably wasn’t fully aware of anymore), and overwhelmed by guilt, she takes drastic measures that lead to her demise.

The Usher family is falling apart more and more, and by now, it should be clear that these deaths aren’t just coincidences. Something horrifying is behind all of this, and Verna plays a big role. By the way, Verna is also an anagram of “Raven.” I mention this because the raven isn’t just a symbol of death, but is also closely tied to Edgar Allan Poe (in fact, his gravestone is marked by a raven).

I think the Edgar Allan Poe references are increasing, and I should probably do some more research. I’ll save that for later, though, to avoid spoilers, and I’ll definitely write a few extra posts to dive into those connections.

It’s great to see that the show is still keeping up its quality, continues to be exciting, and is visually impressive. The jump scares are a bit much, though—I don’t really need those. But with Roderick’s decline, I think there might be even more coming.