THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER Recap: (S01E02) The Masque of the Red Death

Melody McCune

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A woman with long blonde hair wears a skull mask and a red hooded velvet cloak while standing in a dark ballroom with blue lighting in Netflix's TV show adaptation of The Fall of the House of Usher Season 1 Episode 2, "The Masque of the Red Death."

DISCLAIMER: This recap of The Fall of the House of Usher Season 1 Episode 2, “The Masque of the Red Death,” contains spoilers. Proceed at your peril. 

Mike Flanagan‘s latest horror creation thrills and chills with “The Masque of the Red Death,” which is an homage to Edgar Allan Poe‘s short story of the same name, even down to Prospero taking center stage as the Red Death (Verna) takes out his masked party at a nightclub. The episode is an entertaining outing that maintains a steady pace throughout, culminating in an exciting (and fleshy) final few moments. It’s a beautifully macabre ode to Gothic horror that kickstarts the real meat of the story. 

Additionally, we get a mini iZombie reunion (if only young Dupin and Napoleon shared scenes). 

Ready to delve into “The Masque of the Red Death”? Let’s get to it. 

RELATED: Check out our recap for The Fall of the House of Usher Season 1 Episode 1, “A Midnight Dreary”

We open with the sound of a camera shutter. It’s 1979, and a young C. Auguste Dupin (Malcolm Goodwin) takes photos of an empty grave. Someone has been stealing corpses over the past few weeks. Suddenly, Dupin is shooed away by his boss. Dupin isn’t a detective but a junior fraud investigator. His boss chews him out for pretending to be a detective again. Dupin believes a conspiracy is afoot. Why? The bodies stolen from their graves were of folks who participated in the same medical trial. Hmm. Could Fortunato Pharmaceuticals be involved? 

Camille stands in her office and stares at a screen while her assistants Tina and Toby stand behind her in The Fall of the House of Usher Season 1 Episode 2, "The Masque of the Red Death."
(L to R) Aya Furukawa as Tina, Kate Siegel as Camille L’Espanaye, Igby Rigney as Toby in Season 1 Episode 2, “The Masque of the Red Death,” of The Fall of the House of Usher. Cr. Eike Schroter/Netflix © 2023

In the present, Roderick (Bruce Greenwood) begins telling an older Dupin (Carl Lumbly) about his son, Prospero, aka Perry. We flash back two weeks ago to Perry (Sauriyan Sapkota), who wakes up post-orgy in a pile of naked bodies. He heads into the kitchen, where Faraj (JayR Tinaco) and Jenny (Molly C. Quinn) enjoy the morning after an exhilarating night. Perry puts a knife to Faraj’s throat when he believes the latter stole his super expensive gull eggs, but it’s all in good fun. That’s just what besties do!

Perry decides to take matters of his nightclub into his own hands. He explains that Roderick gave his siblings their investment nest eggs, although they had to work for it — present a proposal as he did and all that. Instead of relying on Roddy for financial padding, Perry plans to make his dream a reality without help. Dickwad, aka Frederick (or “Froderick”), texts him. Perry’s supposed to be shadowing his older brother. He departs his apartment in a hurry. 

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Next, Perry joins Frederick (Henry Thomas) and Arthur Pym (Mark Hamill) as they try to prevent more legal troubles for Fortunato. They’re being accused of environmental crimes. There are a handful of condemned buildings in Fortunato’s name that are leaking chemicals and toxins into the surrounding water supply. Freddie recites the same vague non-answer to tide things over. However, Perry muddies the waters when he outright claims ownership in Fortunato’s name of the condemned buildings. Freddie takes Perry outside and threatens him, ordering him to keep his mouth shut and to shadow him. But the buildings have given Perry an idea.

Sure enough, we see him, Faraj and Jenny stand before one of the abandoned buildings. He hopes to make it the location of Prospero, the exclusive nightclub that’ll cost gobs of money to get into and will change locations every time. Honestly, it’s not a bad business idea. Before they leave, Perry spots a woman in red standing on top of the building. She vanishes. 

Meanwhile, Victorine (T’Nia Miller) and Alessandra (Paola Núñez) lose the chimpanzee they operated on in the series premiere. The heart mesh they installed didn’t take. Vic reveals they only have six months to perfect this device; otherwise, they’ll lose funding. Vic meets with Roderick, who confirms as much. Her father wants this to graduate to human trials eventually. Something tells me this concerns that doctor’s visit in the premiere. 

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Then, Perry visits Napoleon (Rahul Kohli) to request drugs. Leo claims he’s not a drug mule and cannot supply Perry’s entire nightclub guest roster. However, he does have a couple of things for Perry’s personal use. Leo gives his little brother a pep talk. Yes, most of the siblings treat Perry like the “bastard of the bastards,” but Leo believes Perry can do great things in his life. Meanwhile, Camille (Kate Siegel) watches a workout from Bill-T (Matt Biedel), whose Billt exercise empire is quite impressive. 

Tina (Aya Furukawa) and Toby (Igby Rigney) update Camille regarding their digging into Victorine. Camille still doesn’t believe Perry is the informant, but something about Vic’s business is sketchy to her. She also asks her assistants to dig into Juno. Perry gets things squared away at the condemned building for his night of unadulterated, very pricey debauchery. 

Roderick Usher sits in an armchair while looking focused in The Fall of the House of Usher Season 1 Episode 2, "The Masque of the Red Death."
Bruce Greenwood as Roderick Usher in Season 1 Episode 2, “The Masque of the Red Death,” of The Fall of the House of Usher. Cr. Eike Schroter/Netflix © 2023

In the present, Roderick tells Dupin about a line from a comic strip, The Wizard of Id, which states that whoever has the gold makes the rules. It’s The Golden Rule! We see a badly burned body standing behind Dupin. They move closer to Roderick as he speaks. Suddenly, Roderick blinks, and this person — this ghost — is in his face. Of course, Dupin can’t see him. It could be the ghost of Prospero. Shaken by the horrific sight, Roderick explains he has CADASIL, a rare inherited disorder akin to vascular dementia. His mother had it. Life expectancy is generally five years from diagnosis, but an advanced heart mesh device could extend that expectancy. That’s what he has Victorine working on. 

This leads to young Roderick (Zach Gilford) meeting Rufus Griswold (Michael Trucco) at Fortunato for a pitch. Fun fact: the real-life Griswold was Poe’s literary rival. Roderick pitches Ligodone, the pill we heard about at the Usher trial. An essential cure-all for the day-to-day ailment. Rufus doesn’t seem enthused by the idea. 

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Sure enough, we learn later that Rufus rejected Roderick’s idea. We meet Annabel Lee (Katie Parker), Roderick’s wife. She holds baby Tamerlane while little Frederick sits on the floor and plays. Madeline (Willa Fitzgerald) is disappointed that Roderick’s pitch fell flat. While sitting at the dinner table, Annabel wonders if Roderick should look elsewhere for work. Madeline was fired from her job, but perhaps she could find a new place to share her genius.

Roderick recites a few lines from the “Annabel Lee” poem, which his wifey finds romantic. Side note: Fitzgerald’s portrayal of young Madeline is pitch-perfect and very much in line with Mary McDonnell‘s work. She even has it down to the vocal cadence and timbre. Next, we see present-day Madeline (McDonnell) chatting with her great-niece, Lenore (Kyliegh Curran). Lenore runs off to greet her grampus when Pym arrives with news for Madeline. Perry has been making purchases with cash. They wonder if the Feds paid him in cash. As for Juno, she shares a bank account with Roderick. 

Speaking of, Lenore walks in on Juno (Ruth Codd), sitting on Roderick’s lap for some sexy fun times. Grampus leaves, hoping Lenore and Juno will bond. Juno explains how she met Roderick. She had a terrible car accident that culminated in the removal of her leg. She was on a ton of Ligodone, so the doctors thought Roderick should visit her. We also know Juno is a recovering heroin addict. The conversation takes a turn for the awkward when Juno gushes about wanting to blow Lenore’s grandpa for creating Ligodone. 

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Meanwhile, Perry knocks on Frederick’s door. Morella (Crystal Balint) answers. He tells her he has a folder for Froderick to look over. Then, Perry reveals the real reason he’s there: he invites Morella to attend his sexy nightclub. He hands her a burner phone and encourages her to wait for a link (which expires in five minutes) that’ll reveal the location of the event. Initially, Morella protests, reminding Perry she’s married to his older brother. But that’s what makes it so hot for him! 

A woman with long blonde hair wears a skull mask and a red hooded velvet cloak while standing in a dark ballroom with blue lighting in Netflix's TV show adaptation of The Fall of the House of Usher Season 1 Episode 2, "The Masque of the Red Death."
Carla Gugino as Verna in Season 1 Episode 2, “The Masque of the Red Death,” of The Fall of the House of Usher. Cr. Eike Schroter/Netflix © 2023

That evening, Tamerlane (Samantha Sloyan) watches while Bill-T has dinner with a woman dressed like her. She pays for these women to have dinner and do sexy stuff with her husband. It must be a kink. No judgment here. Camille gets it on with her assistants after they reveal their research findings. They found something on Victorine that might put a nail in the coffin. One of the chimps didn’t survive the procedure. Camille reveals they used to call where Vic and her wife work “Roderick Usher Experimental.” His name used to be on the building until it was later changed to “R.U.E. Clinical Research.” Rue Morgue, anyone? 

Later, Morella leaves Frederick and Lenore for Perry’s nightclub. Funnily enough, the logo for “Prospero” is a red mask. Morella puts her belongings in a safe at the club and dons a mask. It’s a requirement for everyone. The color of the dancefloor is blue (which is one of the rooms in “The Masque of the Red Death,” representing “birth”). Perry tracks down Morella. He’s thrilled she’s there. Then, we see him, Jenny and Faraj examining the camera footage from the proceedings. Lots of powerful people are screwing in those rooms. Perry sees dollar signs. Oh, and he wants to f*ck Frederick over by getting it on with Morella. 

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Next, a woman in a skull mask and red velvet cloak confidently walks into the club. She makes eye contact with Morella. Morella looks like she’s trying to move in on Perry, albeit slowly. Perry is smitten with the masked woman. He follows her into a room that’s bathed in red light. She is the Red Death, after all. Verna (Carla Gugino) removes her mask, as does Perry. They chat for a while about their love of sexy parties. Verna reveals she wishes they could’ve had fun.

However, he has a consequential role in this story, which doesn’t involve them getting it on. Listen, I don’t blame Perry for being enthralled by Verna. Carla Gugino looks hotter here than I’ll probably ever look in my life. Anyway, on the dancefloor, Morella notices the bartender, security guards and others making their way toward the exit. Verna is telling them to leave. She also approaches Morella, saying, “Go. Now,” but Morella brushes it off. Unfortunately, that’s to her detriment. 

Perry takes turns making out with Faraj and Jenny on the dancefloor. Perry urges Faraj to turn on the sprinklers. Earlier, he insisted that nobody could f*ck on the floor until the rain starts. Perry turns his face to meet the sky at the line “You bring me closer to God” in Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer.” Suddenly, we hear screams as the acid from the sprinklers burns the scantily-clad bodies in the club. Everyone tries to leave; however, the doors are locked. This song is perfect for this scene. The lights also flash colors like red, yellow and blue — very in line with Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death.”

After the sprinklers switch off, we see a pile of severely burned bodies on the floor, congealing and entrapping the victims in a fleshy, bloody blanket. Fun. Verna approaches Perry, who’s barely recognizable, and kisses him. Then, she puts her skull mask on his face as he dies. RIP, Perry. 

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Do you think Morella survived? Who’s next on Verna’s list? Why is Verna targeting the Ushers? Only time (and more episodes) will tell. 

The Fall of the House of Usher is now streaming on Netflix

https://www.geekgirlauthority.com/queer-horror-shows/

Melody McCune
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