DISCLAIMER: This recap of The Fall of the House of Usher Season 1 Episode 8, “The Raven,” contains spoilers. Proceed at your peril.
Mike Flanagan‘s latest horror series ends with a bang, y’all. The Fall of the House of Usher‘s series finale, “The Raven,” derives inspiration from a few of Edgar Allan Poe‘s works. It’s a masterful conclusion to a pulse-pounding, visually stunning, deliciously dark show. It’s Gothic horror at its most magnificent. The dialogue is resplendent. The performances are sublime. I know this series throws in several of Poe’s works, but I’d love for Flanagan to tackle another Poe property and go more in-depth.
Ready to delve into “The Raven”? Let’s get to it.
We open with Roderick (Bruce Greenwood), who stares at Verna (Carla Gugino) after she revives him. They have unfinished business. Meanwhile, Arthur Pym (Mark Hamill) arrives at the late Frederick’s home to speak with the authorities. He pulls Lenore (Kyliegh Curran) aside and urges her to stick to the script. She needs to tell the police what he crafts for her. Lenore essentially tells Pym to f*ck off. She’s glad she saved her mother from more abuse. And she doesn’t seem too torn up over her father’s death.
Next, Pym relays what happened to Roderick, who’s proud of his granddaughter for standing up for herself and Morella. Madeline (Mary McDonnell) wanders in, discovering her brother is still alive. Pym tells Roddy that, with Freddie gone, the board moved to shut Roderick out. He’s out; Mads is in. She’s the new CEO. Then, we see Roddy chatting with Dupin (Carl Lumbly) about Lenore and Annabel Lee. We flashback to Freddie, Tamerlane and Victorine’s funeral service. Roddy sees Annabel Lee (Katie Parker) sitting in the back pew.
(L to R) Carl Lumbly as C. Auguste Dupin, Bruce Greenwood as Roderick Usher in Season 1 Episode 8, “The Raven,” of The Fall of the House of Usher. Cr. Eike Schroter/Netflix © 2023
She approaches him. Of course, we know she’s dead, and this is her ghost. We learn that Freddie and Tammy eventually chose Roderick over Annabel, luring them in with his immense wealth. That broke her heart. This scene is beautifully acted by both Greenwood and Parker. As Annabel Lee walks up to the coffins to pay her respects, we see a sizable bullet wound in the back of her head.
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Then, we flash back to right after the Fortunato deposition. Annabel Lee confronts young Roderick (Zach Gilford) about the stunt he pulled during said deposition. She wonders if she ever knew the real Roderick. Perhaps he’s a man she made up. While older Roderick recites the poem “Annabel Lee,” Annabel stands before the caskets of her children and cries. Next, Roderick ventures outside as he does in the series premiere. He sees the clown jester in the backseat of his car. His nose bleeds profusely as he collapses. He stares at the raven above him as Madeline and Pym fuss over him.
Sure enough, we learn the identity of the clown jester. In a flashback to 1979, we see it’s none other than Rufus Griswold (Michael Trucco), who’s wearing the getup for a Fortunato costume party. Rufus congratulates Roderick on a job well done and thanks him for putting the kibosh on the deposition. He vows to construct an office right next to his for Roddy. He also encourages the partygoers to toast to Roderick’s success.
When Roddy escapes to the bathroom, he notices Madeline (Willa Fitzgerald) flirting with Rufus. They flee the party for the privacy of the basement — the same basement present-day Roddy frequently sits in alone. Madeline had presented Rufus with an amontillado as a present, which the latter now drinks to excess. Things are getting hot and heavy now. Madeline makes Rufus sit on a bench while she stands a few feet from him. If he can reach her, they can have sex. However, Rufus discovers this task is quite difficult.
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Why? Because Madeline poisoned him. He stumbles toward her. Later, he wakes up. His wrists are chained, and he’s inside a wall. Roderick and Madeline lay bricks to entrap him in said wall. If you recall, the series opens with a flashing image of the brick wall, complemented by “Another Brick in the Wall” by Pink Floyd. Perfection. Anyway, Rufus tries to reason with them. He even offers them $3 million each and a COO promotion for Madeline. But it’s not enough. The Ushers won’t be stepped on any longer.
Madeline lays down one brick that says, “You are so small,” which is a nod to what Annabel Lee called her in the previous episode. Before they entomb Rufus for good, they place his jester mask on his face — the last thing Roderick sees. Entombing Rufus is a reference to “The Cask of Amontillado,” which is also where “Fortunato” comes from. In it, a man seeks revenge on Fortunato by entombing him in the catacombs, luring him there under the guise of sampling a bottle of amontillado.
The Fall of the House of Usher. Mary McDonnell as Madeline Usher in Season 1 Episode 8, “The Raven,” of The Fall of the House of Usher. Cr. Eike Schroter/Netflix © 2023
Now, we’re back with Verna at the bar. Verna knows about Roderick and Madeline’s crime. They left Rufus to die. Verna presents the Usher twins with a deal. What if they had free rein to run their business as they see fit? Regardless of what they do, they’ll never run into legal trouble, be indicted or be punished for their crimes. They’ll have all the money in the world. Live in the lap of luxury—no consequences for decades. However, when it’s their time to die, their bloodline must go with them. That means all of their offspring will perish at once.
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Oh, and Roderick and Madeline go together. They entered this world together; they’re leaving it together. Roderick enthusiastically accepts the deal. Madeline is more hesitant, but she does the same. And that’s how it happened. My guess is Verna knew it was time to kill the Usher kids when Roderick received his CADASIL diagnosis before the family dinner in episode one. She did mention it would happen closer to his natural death.
To toast their deal, Verna whips out the same cognac (with the same bottle) that Roderick drinks from in the present-day sequences. After their hang with Verna, Roddy and Mads notice the bar vanish before their eyes. They wonder if it even happened. They might just be super under the influence.
Then, before Roderick’s chat with Dupin, we see Verna enter the Usher childhood home. Pym incapacitates her by injecting her and wrapping her up in a rug. However, she quickly slips out of it. You know, a supernatural entity and all. She sits for a spell and chats with Pym. Verna’s well aware of his accomplishments. He’s done so much to protect the Ushers. She tries to offer him a similar deal that she gave Roderick and Madeline.
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Verna mentions Camille kept files on everyone, including Pym. If Pym’s file gets out, he’s going to prison for life. She also reveals that, inevitably, Fortunato will go under once Roderick and Madeline die. She can make that file disappear. Pym thanks her for her generous offer, but he plans to ride out his hand. Hamill delivers a beautiful performance here, even if it’s a few minutes of extra depth for Pym.
That evening, Lenore sits on Roderick’s bed while the latter is under the covers. She can’t believe Juno left him in his time of need. They share a lovely grandfather-granddaughter moment before Lenore heads to bed. Lenore finds Verna sitting on her bed. Uh-oh. Oh, no, you don’t. She’s a baby! Verna mentions that she did say all of the Usher bloodline, which includes grandkids. She adds that this is the part of her job she despises.
Mark Hamill as Arthur Pym in Season 1 Episode 8, “The Raven,” of The Fall of the House of Usher. Cr. Eike Schroter/Netflix © 2023
Next, Verna tries to soften the impending blow by telling Lenore that what she did saved Morella’s life. Morella heals from her wounds, endures physical therapy, gets a thousand skin grafts and goes on to do great things in her life. She inherits a sizable income from Fortunato’s collapse. Morella donates a lot of it to abuse and domestic violence shelters. She also finds the Lenore Foundation, setting up chapters worldwide. Morella saves millions of lives, all because of Lenore’s bravery in saving her.
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Then, Verna simply places her hand on Lenore’s face, which puts her to sleep for good. Aw, this death got me. Even Verna didn’t want to do it. Now, we’re back in the present with Roderick and Dupin. Dupin insists that Lenore isn’t dead because she keeps texting Roderick. However, Roddy reveals that Madeline created a Lenore bot prototype before Lenore died. It’s part of her AI algorithm project. The bot must be defective because it keeps texting him “Nevermore” in all caps.
Later, Roderick sobs over Lenore’s body once he finds her. The raven perches on a couch nearby. Roddy gets up to chase it. During this chase, we hear him recite lines from “The Raven.” How fitting, since this poem mentions Lenore. The raven sits on the Pallas bust in Roderick’s study. Roderick stares at it and cries while Lenore’s body is at his feet.
Next, he wanders barefoot into the boardroom. He sees the ghosts of his children and Lenore sitting in the seats. He talks to them. Verna appears when the Usher ghosts vanish. She tells him, “Don’t kid a kidder,” which Roderick said to Dupin in an earlier episode. Verna gestures to the window, where Roderick sees a strange sight. Millions of bodies fall from the sky along with the rain. These are the casualties from Fortunato pushing Ligodone on the population. These are the people Roderick killed. “That’s your legacy,” Verna says. Ouch.
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Later, Madeline wanders into the Usher childhood home. This is before Roderick’s conversation with Dupin. She heads downstairs to the basement, where Roderick waits for her. They drink together. Roderick poisons Madeline with something similar to what Freddie administered to Morella. Madeline goes limp before dying. Then, Roderick prepared Madeline for the afterlife like an Egyptian queen.
Carla Gugino as Verna in Season 1 Episode 8, “The Raven,” of The Fall of the House of Usher. Cr. Eike Schroter/Netflix © 2023
Roddy tells Dupin this in the present. We learn his killing of Madeline occurred right before this conversation. So, the peculiar noises emanating from the basement aren’t Madeline working on her project. Suddenly, Madeline emerges from the basement, fully alive but screaming because, you know, she’s missing some body parts. It’s horrifying. It’s also reminiscent of their mother, Eliza, seemingly returning from the dead.
Dupin notices the house crumbles around them. Roderick declares, “Nevermore,” which gets Madeline’s attention. She leaps onto Roddy and chokes the life out of him while screaming. Dupin makes a beeline for the door as the house collapses entirely. RIP, Roderick and Madeline Usher. Eliza coming back to life and Madeline doing the same is plucked from “The Fall of the House of Usher.” Dupin sees the outline of a woman with glowing eyes standing on the rubble. However, with the flash of lightning, that woman shifts into a raven.
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Then, Dupin narrates this last part. He finally retired and went home. He reveals that Juno (Ruth Codd) dissolved Fortunato Pharmaceuticals and repurposed it as the Phoenix Foundation, an addiction and recovery center. She also weaned herself off Ligodone. Pym was arrested a few weeks later. Verna watches from the sidelines while he’s being led into the courthouse. They make eye contact. Later, Dupin visits the Usher graves. He lays the recorder on Roderick’s grave. As he walks away, a raven looms above the tombstones.
Verna recites lines from “Spirits of the Dead.” Once Dupin leaves the cemetery, Verna arrives, dressed in mourning black. She places a mask on Perry’s tombstone. A phone on Camille’s. Pluto’s Gucci collar on Leo’s. The heart mesh device on Victorine’s gravestone. A Goldbug brooch on Tamerlane’s tombstone. And a bag of cocaine on Frederick’s. Admittedly, this last one made me laugh. She also places a black feather with a white rose on Lenore’s stone. Verna puts the blue eye stones atop Madeline’s as well. Finally, Roderick gets a drinking glass on his gravestone.
After Verna departs, we get a good view of all nine Usher graves. The raven squawks as Verna recites the final line, flying toward us. Nevermore.
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Give Carla Gugino, Bruce Greenwood, Carl Lumbly and Mary McDonnell all the awards. Especially Gugino. She’s on another planet. All the performances are consistently strong across the board, but the above really rocked it for me. Incredible work from everyone.
I’m glad Arthur Pym and Annabel Lee remained enigmatic characters throughout. Annabel Lee was always a mystery in Poe’s poem, so this artistic direction makes sense. We don’t need to know the specifics regarding her death. My one tiny complaint is that I would’ve loved more Usher sibling scenes. They’re so funny together.
All in all, this will become a yearly rewatch for me. What a brilliant series that fires on all creative cylinders. It should be shown in English classes for its literary imagery and references to Poe’s catalog.
What are your thoughts on this miniseries? Will you add it to your annual Halloween watchlist? Sound off in the comments below!
The Fall of the House of Usher is now streaming on Netflix.
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