DISCLAIMER: This recap of The Fall of the House of Usher Season 1 Episode 3, “Murder in the Rue Morgue,” contains spoilers. Proceed at your peril.
This episode is named after and loosely follows “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” by Edgar Allan Poe. Well, except it’s only Camille who’s murdered, and at face value, it looks like a chimpanzee killed her (not an orangutan like in the short story). Episode three is a damn delight, brimming with envy-inducing, brilliantly-constructed monologues (envy-inducing because I didn’t write them) and solid performances. We also lose another Usher (RIP, PR Queen Camille), and the mystery surrounding Verna deepens deliciously.
Ready to delve into “Murder in the Rue Morgue”?
We open with Arthur Pym (Mark Hamill) investigating the aftermath of the deadly acid attack in the condemned Fortunato building where Perry held his nightclub. He gains security clearance, entering the building and scouring the congealed piles of flesh for a sign of Perry. Pym spots Perry’s corpse and removes the skull mask Verna put on his face. He also notices Perry’s phone and pockets it. While attempting to leave, a hand feebly grabs his ankle. There’s a survivor — Morella (Crystal Balint).
Meanwhile, in the present, Roderick (Bruce Greenwood) provides context regarding that condemned building to Dupin (Carl Lumbly). If Perry had bothered to learn about the company, he would’ve known those water tanks were full of highly corrosive material that the Ushers were concealing to avoid EPA fines. Then, while demolishing the building, they would’ve quietly emptied those tanks. So, in a way, Roderick did kill Perry.
In the next flashback, Roderick, Pym and Madeline (Mary McDonnell) brainstorm their next move. They need to get ahead of the morning shows and press. They stare at a photo of Perry’s corpse. Roderick suggests they tell the media that it wasn’t Perry’s party. He just happened to get caught up in an unfortunate accident. Madeline and Pym remark on how strange it is that all the wait staff left the building before the sprinklers were turned on. Perhaps this was no accident. Maybe someone tipped them off.
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Next, Freddie (Henry Thomas) enters the ICU, where Morella is treated. Roderick informs his son about Perry’s death, but Freddie doesn’t care. How did Morella get swept up in this? What happened? Meanwhile, Madeline tells Camille (Kate Siegel), Leo (Rahul Kohli), Victorine (T’Nia Miller) and Tamerlane (Samantha Sloyan) about Perry. Camille automatically goes into PR spin mode. She figures out how to exploit public sympathy to ensure the world sides with the Ushers, potentially diminishing the gravity of their legal troubles in the public eye.
Then, Lenore (Kyliegh Curran) arrives at the hospital. She embraces her grampus and her father. She also overhears Roderick blaming Freddie for Perry’s death, claiming the latter had months to demolish the condemned building. Meanwhile, Tina (Aya Furukawa) and Toby (Igby Rigney) fill Camille in on their digging into Victorine. Whenever a chimp dies following surgery to install the heart mesh, she stitches up another chimp after hours and deposits the body of the deceased one in chunks. Suspicious!
Speaking of, Alessandra (Paola Núñez) sneaks Vic into the medical center while the paps snap photos outside. After leaving Alessandra’s office, Vic runs into Verna (Carla Gugino), who’s pretending to be a patient of Alessandra’s with heart problems. Vic directs her in the right direction and takes her files. She realizes Verna is the perfect candidate when they start human trials for the heart mesh. Roderick wants them to get to that stage ASAP.
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Later, Camille visits Leo and Julius (Daniel Jun). Leo offers Camille an edible. While high, the siblings reminisce about when they first learned they were children of Roderick Usher. In an excellent monologue about “spinning” like a ceiling fan, Camille ponders her place in the family. Seigel totally owns this role, too. Cate departs when Leo’s pals come over to party. She urges Leo to prepare for the next day’s press events since he’ll be the face of the Usher family in mourning.
Then, we return to Roderick and Dupin in the present. Not to be topped by Camille, Roddy launches into a monologue about what you do with lemons besides making lemonade. It’s such a damn great piece of dialogue, executed perfectly by Greenwood. Per the toxicology report, Dupin calls Roderick out on the Monty found in Perry’s system. Monty is a street-devised derivative of Ligodone. Suddenly, we see a pair of gloved hands on Roddy’s shoulders. A woman, bloody and ghostly, towers above him — Camille.
He shakes it off. Roderick insists Ligodone technically isn’t his. This takes us back to a young Roderick (Zach Gilford) marching into Rufus Griswold’s (Michael Trucco) office to demand why Fortunato purchased Landor Pharma.
Why does this bother Roddy? Because the chemist he partnered with to create Ligodone works for Landor Pharma. Rufus now owns Ligodone since he bought the other company. He puts young Roddy in his place while offering him a raise, a move up from the mailroom and a $500 check on the spot. Trucco makes a fantastic a-hole, doesn’t he?
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That evening, Roderick tells Annabel Lee (Katie Parker) and Madeline (Willa Fitzgerald) what happened. Annabel’s grateful for the extra $500, while Madeline advises her brother to wait it out. Get on Rufus’ good side; make him need Roderick. Then, Roderick can pull the rug out from under him. I’ve said it once, but it bears repeating: Fitzgerald clearly studied McDonnell’s physicality, vocal timbre, cadence, etc., because she has Madeline down pat.
Later, Annabel admits she’s not a fan of Madeline. Roderick diverts the conversation by reciting more lines from Poe’s “Annabel Lee” poem. Leo wakes up after his bender in the present (well, two weeks from the present). When he rubs his eyes, he smears blood on his face. Only when he notices blood on the orange juice container he just drank from that he realizes something’s amiss. He breathes a sigh of relief upon finding Julius snuggled in their bed. However, that relief quickly morphs into horror when he sees Pluto, Julius’ cat, behind the sofa with a knife buried in her side. Uh-oh.
Leo instantly starts cleaning up the blood before Julius wakes up. At the Usher headquarters, Pym pulls out a photo of Verna in her skull mask and red hooded cloak as the only person he cannot identify. That puts her high on the suspect list. Leo cooks eggs for Julius, who finally rolls out of bed. Julius notices Pluto is missing. Leo claims he set out her food bowl. Perhaps she got out again. Leo reassures Julius that his cat will return. Uh, not unless she becomes a zombie cat, dude.
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Meanwhile, Lenore finds her mother panicking and attempting to remove her bandages. Lenore calls for the nurses. Morella and Lenore scream in tandem, primarily upon realizing she’s severely burned. That evening, Victorine calls Verna to tell her she’s a prime candidate for the heart mesh human trials. Then, Camille orders her assistants not to talk to her until they’ve made her orgasm twice. However, Tina and Toby have news to impart: they’re dating, which means they’re backing out of pleasing Camille sexually.
Camille reminds her assistants that they signed an NDA and a consent form prior to working for her. This is all part of the gig. The dialogue in this scene is so deliciously wonderful. Anyway, Camille pays them their severance because they’re fired. Before they depart, Camille asks if they found more dirt on Vic. Toby fires back that he should look into it herself. Ouch.
Next, Tamerlane invites in the woman who will have dinner with Bill-T (Matt Biedel) and possibly do some sex stuff. She’s taken aback to see Verna as Candy, who’s stepping in for that woman. To both of their surprise, Verna seamlessly slips into the role of Tamerlane. Bill-T looks pretty happy. Then, Camille takes matters into her own hands by barging into R.U.E. Clinical Research to investigate Vic’s crimes. She butts heads with the security guard, also Verna, who claims Camille doesn’t have the clearance to access the chimp area.
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After chewing out Verna, Camille bursts through those double doors to where the chimps are kept. She starts taking photos of the monkeys in their cages. Verna follows Camille into the room and taunts her. Verna tells Camille that she doesn’t have to be here. Her death didn’t have to be this gruesome. She could’ve slipped away peacefully in her sleep. Carla Gugino is a force of nature in this show. She seamlessly shapeshifts between all these roles like the pro she is. She’s captivating as hell.
Suddenly, Verna starts panting like the chimps in their cages. She pulls open her blouse to reveal a bloody slash on her chest, indicating where an incision was made for the heart mesh. Verna even moves like a chimp, too. Eventually, Camille accepts the inevitability of what’s about to happen. She whips out her phone and snaps a pic of Verna. On the phone screen, we see a monkey who lunges at her.
The following morning, two employees head to work. They wonder why Phil isn’t at the security desk. That’s when they stumble upon a bloody sight: the body of Camille Usher. An angry monkey feeds on her flesh. RIP, Camille.
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Who’s next on Verna’s list? Will we ever find out why Camille loathed Victorine so much? What kind of deal did Roderick make with Verna? Only time (and more episodes) will tell.
The Fall of the House of Usher is now streaming on Netflix.
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What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events.
Who I am: Before moving to Los Angeles after studying theater in college, I was born and raised in Amish country, Ohio. No, I am not Amish, even if I sometimes sport a modest bonnet.
Bylines in: Tell-Tale TV, Culturess, Sideshow Collectibles, and inkMend on Medium.
Critic: Rotten Tomatoes, CherryPicks, and the Hollywood Creative Alliance.
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