Warning! This article contains major spoilers for Netflix’s The Fall Of The House Of Usher.
The Fall Of The House Of Usher is another chilling entry in Mike Flanagan’s ongoing horror collaboration with Netflix.
Based on Edgar Allen Poe’s short story of the same name, the thriller follows Madeline (Willa Fitzgerald) and Roderick Usher (Zach Gilford), as they use whatever means necessary to rise from poverty to become CEOs of the Fortunado pharmaceutical company.
However, after decades of success and establishing the Usher empire, all five of Roderick’s (Bruce Greenwood) children die in gruesome accidents, and the tragic downfall of a corrupt dynasty begins.
One mysterious figure is at the centre of all their deaths, Verna (Carla Gugino), a bar-tender that the Usher siblings met on New Year’s Eve in 1980, although it’s unclear how or why these brutal murders are happening.
The gripping supernatural series raises a whole host of questions. Who (or more specifically what) is Verna? How did all of the Usher children die? What happened on New Year’s Eve in 1980 that led to the house of Usher’s demise? What crime did Madeleine and Roderick commit?
In the finale, titled The Raven, Roderick finally finishes his ongoing confession to Auguste (Carl Lumbly) in the present, as he reveals all the intricate details of this complicated mystery that Auguste has been determined to uncover all of his professional life.
Be warned, spoilers ahead!
What happened to Madeline and Roderick on that fateful New Year’s Eve?
Through flashbacks, viewers discover that Madeline and Roderick killed the previous CEO of Fortunado Pharmaceuticals, Rufus Griswold (Michael Trucco), at a work fancy dress party on New Year’s Eve in 1980.
Madeline drugged Rufus’ sherry and lured him down to the basement to indulge in his perverse sexual fantasies – or so he thought. Instead, Rufus passes out, and the siblings handcuff him to pipes behind a half-built brick wall.
The duo then build that wall to trap the now-conscious Rufus in the foundations of his own office. After this, Madeline and Roderick need an alibi and decide to go into a local bar and chat to the bartender all night, so someone can verify their whereabouts after the party to the police.
As luck would have it, Madeline and Roderick stroll into a booming bar round the corner and come face to face with the figure who will haunt them for decades, Verna.
What deal did Madeline and Roderick make with Verna?
In the finale, it is revealed that the Usher’s downfall was destined to happen, after Madeline and Roderick made a drunken deal with Verna.
On that life-altering evening, Verna gave Madeline and Roderick an offer that they could not refuse, to become CEO of Fortunado, making them wealthy beyond their wildest dream, and not get caught for their boss’ murder. Naturally, they were tempted.
However, the price for their guaranteed success? On their death, their bloodline will end with them, and Roderick and Madeline will die on the same day.
Verna proposed that the “next generation” would pay for their crimes after Roderick’s children live a long privileged life rather than a life of poverty and struggle. Madeline accepts the terms without hesitation before Roderick also agrees.
Understandably, the power-hungry siblings don’t process the weight of this conversation until decades later when the bodies start to pile up, and Verna reappears, looking exactly the same age as she did all those years before.
It turns out that it was this deal with the devil that led to all of the Usher children’s deaths, as Roderick approached the end of his own life. By the end of the finale, the curse also reaches Roderick and Madeline.
Roderick drugs his sister and kills her “like a queen” with a sacrificial knife before he gouges her eyes out to replace them with blue gems.
History then repeats itself, as Madeline demonstrates her mother’s supernatural ability to rise from the dead, and strangles Roderick before the house collapses on top of them. As Roderick aptly says, the house becomes their tomb.
Who is Verna?
There is no explicit explanation for who or what Verna is. Yet, it’s safe to assume that this demonic spirit is not human, as she disappears into thin air on several occasions and when Madeline touches her, she dissolves into black ash.
Arthur Pym also discovers photos of Verna dating back hundreds of years, as she pops up throughout history to befriend influential figures just before their empire mysteriously collapses.
There’s also the matter of her supernatural abilities to transform into different creatures such as a raven, ape, and a cat, or create hallucinations, make a bar appear out of thin air, and the simple matter of being able to kill Lenore (Kyliegh Curran) with just one touch to her forehead.
In short, Verna is a powerful omen of death and a bargainer who is able to negotiate the price of life based on the alternate realities she can foresee and offer an individual.
It’s also worth pointing out her name is an anagram of “Raven”, nodding to another Poe classic.
What happens to Fortunado Pharmaceuticals?
Juno (Ruth Codd) inherits her husband Roderick’s company, and dismantles the entire operation. She donates large portions of the funds to charity, and weans herself off their staple addictive drug, Liagdon after several years too.
Arthur is arrested as evidence is discovered of some of the crimes he committed while working for the Ushers, but he refuses to talk throughout the court hearing. Though, Arthur knew this was coming as Verna offered him the opportunity to change his fate and not spend the rest of his life in prison. But he refused her bargain.
Meanwhile, it seems Morelle (Crystal Balint) recovers from her severe burns from the acid attack at Perry’s (Sauriyan Sapkota) party and starts a charity in her daughter’s name, the Lenore Foundation. While this doesn’t appear in the final moments, Verna describes her future to Lenore, and praises the innocent teenager for defying her father and saving her mother’s life, moments before Verna kills her.
The Fall Of The House Of Usher is available to stream on Netflix now.