The Fall of the House of Usher is a gothic horror drama miniseries created by Mike Flanagan. Loosely based on the short story of the same name and other works by Edgar Allan Poe.
Original release date: October 12, 2023
In a flashback, Griswold takes credit for Ligadone and Madeline urges Roderick to bide his time. In the present, Pym arrives at the party’s aftermath and identifies Perry’s body through Verna’s mask and a badly burned Morella. Roderick confesses to Dupin about hiding acid in the tanks to avoid regulations, as well as Frederick’s negligence in removing the buildings that could have prevented Perry’s death. The family grapples with Perry’s death and Morella’s role in the party. Camille seeks to spin Perry’s death into public sympathy. She suspects Victorine as the informant and finds out her illegal animal heart mesh tests are unsuccessful. Verna poses as a long-awaited human test subject for Victorine, who books the surgery without informing her girlfriend and co-worker Dr. Al Ruiz. Verna also poses as an escort for Tamerlane’s husband Bill to fulfill Tamerlane’s cuckold fetish. Camille bonds with Leo over their family roles. Leo accidentally kills Pluto, the black cat of his partner Julius, while high and he hides the evidence. Camille investigates Victorine’s lab and encounters Verna, who confronts her over her hatred for her sister. One of the tested chimpanzees mauls Camille to death.
* * *
[monkey chittering]
[monkey shrieking]
[siren blares]
[sergeant] We haven’t even processed it.
Unis are puking their guts out in that alley.
CSI’s still getting suited up, and now I got this guy…
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
I understand.
I don’t know who the fuck you know…
Hey! I don’t care who you know uptown, you don’t remove anything from the crime scene.
Chief says you got ten minutes and then we’re coming in.
No more time.
Do you understand? Do you hear me?
And don’t touch anything.
Thank you, sergeant.
[sergeant 2] Whoa, hey.
Sergeant.
I don’t know how, but apparently he’s clear.
Don’t touch anything!
[dog barking distantly]
[gasps]
[gurgles, grunts]
We got a survivor in here!
[Roderick] It was the sprinklers.
See, he’d tied into tanks on the roof, but they weren’t there to hold fresh water.
We’d repurposed them when we closed the lab, just tucked some unfortunate material away to avoid the EPA fines.
The idea was we’d come back when no one was looking and dump it.
It was… medical byproduct, highly acidic from a…
less than legal development process and absolutely in violation of multiple environmental regulations, but we couldn’t… We had to keep it.
We couldn’t ship it out because it was so corrosive and we shouldn’t have had it at all.
And the fines would have come with charges, so…
It was bad… and those tanks, they were barely up to the task.
It was already eating through the tanks and the pipes.
And we had another few weeks before we’d have a real mess on our hands.
We were gonna take it out while the building was demolished and… hide the extraction behind the demolition.
Lots of material going in and out of a demolition site, so no one would notice.
[Auguste] Jesus, Roderick.
And my son would have understood this if he’d paid a minute’s fucking attention to the family business. But no…
He went off, hired a friend’s cousin’s friend’s friend to hook onto the main line.
And they didn’t test it.
A horrible accident.
[Auguste] Except for one thing.
There’s one thing that doesn’t jive with the “horrible, tragic accident” story.
So you caught that, did you? [chuckles softly]
Go ahead.
Say it.
The wait staff.
[Madeline] You said the wait staff left the building. All of them?
[Arthur] Could be a smoke break, but that’s the question.
Why’d they all leave at the same time just before?
[Madeline] They knew. They fucking knew.
Then someone set this up.
How many dead?
Seventy-eight. So far.
Christ Almighty, the stock price barely survived the indictment.
Arthur, get into it with a few friendly reporters.
We say it was an underground party, it was thrown by someone else.
There’s a few felons on the guest list.
We put it on one of them, keep Perry out of it.
Camille’s gonna be furious you didn’t go through her.
This can’t go through her.
It has to come from outside the family. Keep Camille miles away.
It was someone else’s party.
Perry was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
[Arthur] We’ve got the footage from the cameras.
He’d set up cameras. My guys are scrubbing them now.
If anyone there isn’t who they seem, I’ll find out.
I’m on everybody.
[door opens]
[panting]
Sir. Sir, you can’t just go back there!
[Roderick] Where the hell have you been?
Oh, what happened?
It was an accident.
Just a terrible accident.
[ECG beeping]
[Roderick] Your brother’s dead.
Did you hear me? Your brother is dead.
Yeah, dead Perry, got it.
We have to call the other kids. Sun’s gonna come up soon.
That means the fucking morning shows. This is gonna get out any minute now.
You’re right, we need to close ranks.
Mmm-hmm.
Bring them in.
[Arthur] We need to talk, Freddie.
What the fuck happened? Where was she? What… what is happening?
We need to talk because when people ask, there are some things you absolutely cannot say.
[Camille] Fuck, that’s terrible.
Yes, it is.
[Camille] It makes everything worse.
The investigations, the lawsuits, the fucking trial, it all gets juiced.
Fuck’s sake, Camille. Our brother just died.
[Camille] Half-brother.
[softly] You fucking cunt.
Say what you want, he was one of us.
He didn’t deserve to die like that.
Fuck. [sniffles] No one does.
How come you didn’t know about the party?
What?
Don’t play coy. Knowing stuff is your bread and butter, and Perry throws an underground party at a condemned Fortunato building and you didn’t know about it?
No, he didn’t invite his sister to the orgy.
Just his sister-in-law?
[Camille] No idea how I’ll keep that down.
If the hospital doesn’t leak it, they’re definitely gonna leak it, somebody will notice that Morella Usher doesn’t have skin anymore.
[Madeline] That’s enough.
We need to close ranks here. Really close them.
You need to tell Pym to just stay in his lane and leave the PR to me.
Your father feels that this has to come from outside the family.
It’s the opposite. It’s exactly the opposite.
He’s wrong because Perry Usher died horribly last night in a preventable accident.
That’s public sympathy.
We’re gonna have something we haven’t had in three years.
It’s public sympathy.
Okay.
What would you do?
I… Two dozen memorial profile pieces to start. I…
Uh, “Perry Usher, America’s son, America’s fallen prince.”
We’ll turn him into JFK Junior.
We can get, um, GQ, Us Weekly, USA Today.
Get his face on the checkout aisles of the grocery store, get his old friends telling their best stories, like, “Hey, remember that time that Perry drove a college friend to rehab?”
Or no, um, “Remember when he financed those village schools in India and Africa?”
[Leo] No.
[Camille] That’s why we’ve a charity wing, so you paste someone’s face on it.
We remember that he did it, so he did it.
He was very Paul Newman about his charity work when he was alive but now that he’s gone, we can sing about it.
But any attack on us while we’re grieving is an attack on him.
What else?
Multi profiles on Dad and you and the siblings ’cause they’ll carry on the charity work in his name.
Picking up the torch.
Pics of us at the grave but just long enough to say, “Hey, no pictures, please.”
The Usher family feels lost, just like anybody else.
People are losing loved ones to opioids, we know what loss is.
We grieve with you. So you grieve with us.
But public sympathy is a finite fucking resource and we can’t let a man like Arthur Pym waste a precious limited resource like that.
We have a week, seconds count.
I am running out of time, I’ve wasted too much time already.
Okay. You’re up.
[sighs]
You wonder why people hate us. This is why.
Actually, no. If you’re wondering how this family built its multi-billion dollar empire, this is why.
Because opportunity doesn’t give a fuck what you’re going through.
That’s why they hate us.
Not because we grabbed the opportunity, but because they didn’t.
[Roderick] Eight goddamn months.
[Frederick] I tried to play it by the book.
You always say keep them back so… But the EPA, they were all over us.
[Roderick] You don’t need eight months to take a building down, you need a few thousand bucks and somebody to do the job.
You were supposed to take that building down.
[Frederick] The permits…
If you had done what I said, just got the Jersey boys to take the building down…
Can we talk about this somewhere else?
You did this.
It was you.
Hey, hey, honey.
[Lenore] What happened?
It’s okay.
It should never have happened.
[Lenore sniffles]
Okay.
Where is she?
She’s in surgery.
She’s in another surgery.
What happened? What kind of accident?
Where was she?
[Auguste] Prospero Usher’s death is a tragedy.
I was just saying that doesn’t mitigate the pain and sorrow the Ushers have caused while at the helm of Fortunato Industries.
Come on, get him.
In the past year… nearly 50,000 people have died from overdosing on Fortunato painkillers, and justice must be served.
Are you saying that Prospero Usher’s death is justice?
There it is.
[Auguste] No.
[reporter] What comparison are…
Boom.
…you making between accidental overdoses and last night’s events?
[Camille] That is why I love Fox.
Send the prosecutor an edible arrangement.
He just bought us more days of good [sing-song voice] will.
Do you actually want to send an arrangement? I can’t tell.
Toby, damn it, everybody knows that edible arrangements are what you send to people you hate. So, yes.
What have you got?
The Perry charity thing is sticking.
Got a nibble outta Vox, they’ll eat anything.
I’m not talking about bullshit, I’m talking about the real stuff.
What’d you get on Vic?
The only thing that saves this family is publicly executing the informant.
The interesting thing is with the animals. Test animals.
It’s not the number of dying animals, that’s market norm like you said.
The problem is with the livestock count.
What do you mean?
[Tina] The numbers don’t work.
There’s animals missing.
Go on.
[Toby] The numbers track when an animal death is reported during a trial, but when the animal is supposed to have survived a procedure…
…the inventory dumps a day or two later.
One less monkey on the grounds, no explanation, no report, no adjustment addendum.
The numbers are just changed.
What do they think?
[Toby] Just about no one knows.
No, what do the lab employees think?
What’re the rumors? What do they talk about on their break?
[Tina] The rumor is that she swaps them out.
A chimpanzee dies on the table, rumor is she pulls another, shaves its chest, makes an identical incision, even stitches it up.
And claims that the animal survived.
That’s tough. She’d have to get rid of the other one.
[Toby] And retrieve the tech.
Which is tough because there are cameras and personnel.
The rumor is that she cuts them up after hours and carries them out in pieces.
There’s been jokes about her lining the inside of her Birkin bag with plastic and taking the pieces to an incinerator.
Wow. [chuckles]
Um, okay.
Okay…
How solid is your connection at the RUE morgue?
It’s passable. Not firm, not flimsy.
Get me tape.
Camille?
[Camille] Mmm-hmm?
We’re really sorry.
For your loss.
[sighs]
There’s a balance there. It’s an unfortunate balance.
But it is a balance. And one that I don’t think we can afford…
[reporters clamoring]
[Alessandra] Jesus, get in here.
Sorry about that. How are you? You okay?
Oh, yeah, I’m just peachy.
Okay, let’s go.
I’m rescheduling what I can. I want to get you out of town.
Babe, honestly, I was hoping for lunch.
[chuckling] No, I mean it.
I’m here for you.
I got two more to see and then I’m all yours.
Okay.
We’ll hunker down.
Okay?
Stay here, drink your tea, I’ll be 20 minutes. 30 tops. Stay.
[sniffles]
[whimpers]
[sniffles, exhales]
[Verna] Oh!
I’m… I’m sorry. I’m sorry.
Ugh, I should watch where I’m going.
You think?
I’m all turned around.
I was supposed to give this to the receptionist but she’s gone and I can’t find anybody.
Look. You can just leave it at the receptionist’s desk.
I would, but it’s got all my information.
I don’t care who knows about my heart issues but I’d hate for them to see my social security number.
Isn’t it awful that we live in that world?
If you have heart issues, well, you really are in the right place because Dr. Ruiz, she’s… She’s the best.
Look, why don’t I take you to her office?
Make sure your paperwork gets to the top of her pile?
[breathing heavily] That’d be wonderful. Thank you.
All right, then. You… You all right?
Yeah, I just… I have irregular heartbeats, I get tired easily.
Well, um, I can take this.
You go sit down.
You work here?
Yeah, yeah. I work with Dr. Ruiz.
Oh.
[chuckles softly]
How wonderful.
[chuckles]
Have a seat.
[chuckles] You’re just… You’re just perfect, aren’t you?
[Julius muffled] Leo. Leo.
Hey.
[louder] Hey!
What are you doing here?
I texted you an hour ago.
Really?
Guess my edible’s kicking in.
I have to prep you. You’re first up.
You have GQ, USA Today and PC Gamer tomorrow.
And so we have to pre-game.
Also, Perry’s dead, the family’s fucked, you’re the frontline of my PR campaign and you just took an edible?
You want some?
I mean, yeah, I want some.
[snorting]
Easy, tiger.
[clears throat]
I was getting too down and this will even me out.
I know what I’m doing. [exhales]
Another glass, Camille?
Yeah.
I think I do.
[Leo] Mmm.
I like him. I think he’s great.
I think that you should bring him around to the family and introduce him to the family because he’s got a keeper bod.
Please give me relationship advice.
Or have your assistants do it.
Did you know that Tammy and Froderick call us “the bastards”?
You, me and Perry?
And Vic.
[Camille] Yeah, fuck Vic.
[chuckling] Why do you hate Vic so much?
They do though.
They call us “the bastards”.
How old were you when you met the old man?
Eighteen.
[Camille] That’s right. I was 20.
Oh, thank you, I love you.
Leo loves you too. He says you’re getting engaged.
Did he mean it or is it just the edibles and the pot and the speed and the wine and the coke and the pills talking?
I was 18.
I just said that. Right?
He was just so little, when he showed up. Perry.
He was 16 when he found out.
Rags to fucking riches.
He was just a teenager.
No wonder he was fucked up.
If you start thinking this is reality, you’ll just slip into the abyss.
You’re speaking for yourself. I stayed out of that.
Now that’s bullshit.
Bullshit, what?
I make video games. [hesitates] You know. [chuckles]
[sputters] I’m not part of the whole… Usher pharma bollocks.
Like, I make video games, you know?
[Camille] You don’t make video games.
You give money to people who make video games.
But you don’t make shit.
Um, like, Froderick is this Roderick Usher cover band and he’s playing the hits, but it’s sort of off-key, and Tammy is basically just Goop with, like, a big golden bug sticker on it.
And it’s not even her face on the product, it’s BILLT, the fucking fitness clown, and then Vic’s heart mesh isn’t even her heart mesh, it’s the surgeon’s heart mesh, that’s why she’s fucking the surgeon, and you’re like this amazing, I don’t know, like, Xbox Gatsby.
[Leo] Wow.
And I just spin.
Dad decided that I belong in a room of smoke and mirrors, and I’m like a ceiling fan and I spin and I spin and I spin and I don’t go anywhere.
Ushers don’t make stuff.
None of us.
[R & B song playing]
Okay, I’m still stuck on Xbox Gatsby.
[Pluto meowing]
Oh, fuck this…
[Julius] No.
You got a cat?
[Julius] She’s mine.
Hey, Pluto, leave Daddy Leo alone. He’s grieving.
[kisses]
[doorbell rings]
And here come some fellow grievers.
[Pluto meows]
Company.
Yeah, having a little party.
Take my mind off things. It’s what Perry would’ve wanted.
Yes, that’s my cue to go.
Tomorrow morning, I need you to…
I need you to nail it.
You’re my opening volley. There you go, boom, you’re prepped.
Hey, you want to stay?
It’s nothing huge, just a few friends, some top-shelf shit. Designer stuff.
[snorting] I’m aiming for total blackout.
Wow. I don’t know who wouldn’t want to be ringside for that, but no, I’m gonna let you grieve yourself into a coma by yourself.
[knock on door]
Please be careful.
I’ll move the mags till… the afternoon.
Hey, I invented careful.
[Julius] Hey guys, how are you?
[woman] Hey, good. Haven’t seen you in a long time.
[Leo] Hey!
[Julius] It has been a while, right?
[man] Sure.
[woman 1] Wanna bring it in and chill?
I can get it.
[woman 2] I need something already.
Hey, Leo.
Hey…
I brought some Monty.
Oh!
[woman 2] You want some Monty?
[groans]
[Roderick] Death was something new for my children.
They really hadn’t faced it.
But like with all other things, Ushers adapt quickly.
One thing I tried to teach them, the art of the pivot.
When life hands you lemons…
Make lemonade?
[sighs] No.
[piano music playing]
First you roll out a multi-media campaign to convince people lemons are incredibly scarce, which only works if you stockpile lemons, control the supply, then a…
A media blitz. Lemon is the only way to say “I love you,” the must-have accessory for engagements or anniversaries.
Roses are out, lemons are in.
Billboards that say she won’t have sex with you unless you got lemons.
You cut De Beers in on it.
Limited edition lemon bracelets, yellow diamonds called lemon drops.
You get Apple to call their new operating system OS-Lemón. A little accent over the “o”.
You charge 40% more for organic lemons, 50% more for conflict-free lemons.
You pack the Capitol with lemon lobbyists, you get a Kardashian to suck a lemon wedge in a leaked sex tape.
Timothée Chalamet wears lemon shoes at Cannes.
Get a hashtag campaign.
Something isn’t “cool” or “tight” or “awesome”, no, it’s “lemon”.
“Did you see that movie?”
“Did you go to that concert? It was effing lemon.”
Billie Eilish, “OMG, hashtag… lemon.”
You get Dr. Oz to recommend four lemons a day and a lemon suppository supplement to get rid of toxins ’cause there’s nothing scarier than toxins.
Then you patent the seeds.
You write a line of genetic code that makes lemons look just a little more like tits… and you get a gene patent for the tit-lemon DNA sequence, you cross-pollinate… you get those seeds circulating in the wild, and then you sue the farmers for copyright infringement when that genetic code shows up on their land.
Sit back, rake in the millions, and then, when you’re done, and you’ve sold your lem-pire for a few billion dollars, then, and only then, you make some fucking lemonade.
[storm rumbling]
[sighs]
Perry had some interesting drugs in his system.
In fact, his autopsy toxicology report said he had Monty in his system.
Didn’t make lemonade out of that one, did you?
What the fuck is Monty?
It’s a street-engineered derivative of Ligodone. Your drug.
In his system.
When he died.
Well, this is what I’m saying.
This happens all the time.
Amateur chemists take a run at a quality FDA-approved drug, they modify it.
There’s been dozens.
Angel Tears. Downset. Now…
Monty, I suppose?
That was redacted from the original coroner’s report.
That was withheld for more than a week.
And you didn’t know that, did you?
My attorney, Arthur Pym, is protective.
And he’s very, very good. As you know.
He obliterated your case, so…
What is it?
[breathing heavily]
Apologies, I…
I think I need another.
What say you, Auggie?
I’m good.
[Roderick] Well, Ligodone, I’ll be honest, there are days when I wish I had never stumbled on that little pill.
I was a bit naive.
Truth be told, I… You can’t help it when you’re young. You…
God, you assume a lot.
Like you assume the chemist isn’t lying about the addictive properties.
You assume your company will act ethically with your pitch and you assume…
[glass shatters]
[breathing heavily]
You know, it wasn’t mine.
Is what I’m saying. Ligodone.
You fucking throw that at me, all glib, implying what?
That Ligodone killed my son?
I didn’t make the drug. I didn’t design the drug. Ligodone is not my…
Roderick, you said you killed Perry, not me.
Not with… No, not with the drug. Fuck, you’re not listening.
That’s not how…
[liquid pours]
[bottle thuds]
[sighs]
You know, Ligodone… [hesitates]…it’s a lot of things…
to a lot of people.
I’m just as much a victim of it as anybody else.
I’m a middleman.
But it’s not my drug.
It was never my drug.
This is my drug.
Stop! Wait, you can’t just…
[Roderick] No, I found the chemist, I walked this in here and you passed.
Now what’s this bullshit about Fortunato buying Landor Pharma?
He pushed past me.
It’s okay.
All right, suit yourself.
So I got to thinking. And you were right.
Ligodone, a fucking gold mine. [laughs]
Look, that was my pitch.
I’m sorry. You have an exclusive agreement with Landor Pharma?
No, but I…
No?
Me and Metzer, we papered a deal.
Mmm.
Yeah, well, he developed Ligodone at Landor.
They own it. Metzer doesn’t own anything. He wasn’t at liberty to make that deal.
It’s in his contract.
Any intellectual property he creates while in their employ…
No, no.
…utilizing Landor’s facilities shall remain the sole…
No, he told me that he created it, he owns it. It’s his.
Well, I guess that’s why he’s a chemist and not a lawyer, huh?
Landor owns it all.
And, well, I just bought Landor, so now I own it.
Hell, I even own Metzer.
It’s all done.
And no, Rod, I didn’t come to you because…
Well, who exactly are you in this equation?
What did you think was going to happen? I’m curious.
You were gonna walk in here, talk a little and then we would, what?
Partner up?
You go from mail room to the boardroom?
And I’d turn to you and say, “Hey, Rod, what do we do next?”
Come on, man. You’re smarter than that.
You couldn’t do what I did. You couldn’t buy Landor.
You couldn’t lock down Metzer.
You can’t lock down Ligodone.
You can’t do anything because you don’t have any juice.
Yet. And that’s not your fault.
The whole thing was all my idea.
No, no. An idea is nothing.
An idea is a fart that your brain makes.
But if you patent an idea, well, then it’s an asset.
Do you get it now?
Okay, look.
Here is something that you do have, okay?
This is gonna sound like a little, but it’s not.
You have, for the moment, my gratitude.
And that can be an asset.
Hell, that can even have a value.
You see, because I’m writing you a check.
In the amount of $500.
I don’t have to do this, okay, I don’t pay finder’s fees for ideas.
I don’t pay for other people’s farts.
But you’re a smart guy, you’re gonna take this money, you’re gonna buy your wife something nice.
Money for nothing.
Money for words.
Money for hot air.
You walked in here, brain farted and turned it into $500.
And now, if you’re smart, you’re realizing what else my gratitude is worth.
You’re realizing, “Oh, this guy likes my ideas.”
A good manager wants to keep people with good ideas around.
Gratitude’s worth more than you thought, isn’t it?
And now you’re thinking, “Is he grateful enough to want to promote me?”
And the answer is “yes.”
Because that guy with the good ideas, I’m gonna want a shorter elevator ride between me, those ideas and that guy.
Better to have him on the fourth floor than Sub 2, maybe the 10th floor.
It’s a shorter ride to hear those great ideas.
Maybe, down the line, I’m gonna want him up here.
Down the hall from me.
Hell, I might even want him right next door to me.
You seeing the big picture here? Do you get me, Roderick?
I get you.
Okay, good. So maybe if you curb the fucking attitude, you shut your mouth and you listen for a minute, you will figure out that you have an angle here.
An angle that takes you closer to where you wanna go.
Or do you wanna yell at me more and find yourself out on the street?
There you go.
See, I knew you were a smart guy.
[sighs]
Now, let’s talk about your future here at Fortunato, hmm?
[“I Wish I Knew The Man I Thought You Were” playing]
♪ I wish I knew the man ♪
♪ I thought you were ♪
♪ He would tell me that there must be… ♪
I know that look.
[Roderick] What are you talking about?
I’m celebrating.
[Madeline] Mmm.
What did you get?
[Roderick] 15% pay raise, I’m on four now and $500 on top.
Five hundred dollars right now.
It is huge for us.
Yeah.
[Annabel] This is a good thing, Roddie.
Remember when we first got placed with the Muldoons?
They were our first fosters after Mom died.
Awful people. Had five foster kids, five support checks coming in.
They were making money off the gig.
Stuffed us all into a tiny room, rationed out our food, cashed the checks and kept most of it themselves.
Roderick was defiant.
Called them out.
Raised holy hell. Came right at them.
Charged.
What did it get you?
Locked in the closet mostly.
[Madeline] Right.
I went a different way.
You kissed ass.
I made myself their favorite.
Of all the kids.
Kept telling Mrs. Muldoon how hard she had it.
“I don’t know how you do it all.”
Even suggested ways that she could cut more corners, keep more of those support checks.
And it worked.
She started to see me as a helper.
She gave me more responsibility. And more.
And pretty soon she didn’t even cover that ledger when I came into the room.
Then what happened?
Social services.
Broke it all up.
Right?
When I decided it was time.
She didn’t know it was me until they had her in cuffs.
You always charge right at it.
And I will always love you for that.
Rufus Griswold is just Mrs. Muldoon in a nice suit.
You charge him, you’re in the closet, and he will brick you in there too.
And the more you fight, the more bricks he’ll add until you’re in your own tiny little tomb.
But you’re smarter than that now.
You don’t run right at him.
You get beside him.
You make him want to hand you that trowel.
Show you how it works.
Then you stab him with it.
[Annabel] We can get Tammy’s medicine now.
It’s been three months we couldn’t afford that medicine.
Now we can. That’s great.
It’s so great.
And we can fix the air conditioner too. You did that.
[Roderick] I know. I know.
I know your sister had it hard.
You both had it hard.
You had to be so hard. Both of you.
So young. And I will never understand that.
I won’t. I can’t, but…
I don’t like her, honey.
I’m sorry, I don’t.
“I was a child and she was a child In this kingdom by the sea
And we loved with a love That was more than a love
I and my Annabel Lee.”
More.
“With a love that the winged Seraphs of Heaven.”
[Annabel] Mmm…
“Coveted her and me”
[siren wails faintly]
[inhales sharply]
Oh, fuck.
[grunts and breathes heavily]
[exhales] Fuck.
[groans]
Ah.
[sighs] Fuck.
[exhales]
[breathing heavily]
[Arthur] I’ve identified every person in the footage except her.
How many people interacted with this woman?
[Arthur] That’s tough to say. Wait staff all say the same thing.
They didn’t see her face. Red cloak, killer body, that’s it.
It looks like maybe… maybe she tipped them off.
Maybe.
[Arthur] They’re not sure.
They feel like maybe she said something but they can’t remember what.
Just felt they needed to get out.
[Madeline] I don’t like it. I mean, who does this? What’s the point?
And why don’t they reach out and ask for something?
Press the wait staff again.
See if anybody made any big deposits.
Bought fancy shoes, anything at all in the past few weeks.
Maybe you’re right, Roddie. Maybe it was just a horrible accident.
But you keep one foot in both possibilities, Arthur.
You got it.
We’ll know more when Morrie wakes up.
Good morning?
Afternoon?
[Leo] Oh, who can say?
Hey.
I made you eggs.
That’s amazing.
I’m shocked you’re on your feet, I thought you wouldn’t be conscious until tomorrow.
Did you clean?
You know, I did.
[cell phone dings]
[Leo] I don’t know. Grief’s a funny thing, I guess.
Keith just texted.
Apparently Liam was a mess when he got home last night.
[chuckling]
Yeah, it was…
Actually I… I don’t remember. How… How was it, actually?
It was whatever you think it was. It was that and more.
I’m glad you don’t remember.
It’s a… blessing anyway.
Why?
What was I like?
You were gone.
Yeah, but anything… I don’t know, anything out of the ordinary? Anything…
I’m not saying that.
Yeah, fuck.
I, uh, I cannot remember a fucking thing after Camille left.
Nothing jumps out at you?
Hey, where’s Pluto?
I don’t know.
I put her food bowl out, see.
I put it out as soon as I woke up.
And I haven’t heard…
Fuck, did we let her out by mistake?
Oh, fuck. Not again. [sighs]
Hey, she always comes back.
[sighs]
I mean, what was it like last time?
Three days.
[nurse] She’s still unconscious. Checked on her an hour ago.
She’s stable, but nothing yet.
I understand. Um…
I’d still… I’d love to see her if that’s okay.
[ECG beeping]
Mom?
[Morrie wheezing]
Mom! It’s okay. I’m here. Mom?
[beeping rapidly]
[Morrie continues wheezing]
Mom! Mom, don’t do that!
[phone beeps]
Hey, um…
My Mom’s awake but she’s freaking out!
[shouting] Ma! Don’t do that! Ma!
Hurry up! Mom!
[Morrie wheezing]
[both scream]
[line ringing]
[Victorine] Hi, is this Pam?
Hi there, this is, uh… It’s Victorine Lafourcade.
We met yesterday at the clinic, I…
[chuckling] Yeah.
Yes, that’s right. That’s right.
So, um, listen, the doctor and I, we reviewed your file and, um, well, I recall you talking about your irregular heartbeat.
Mmm.
Well, we’re just about to start trials on a very, very exciting new treatment, a new device, that I think you would just make a wonderful candidate for.
Well, that is if you’re interested.
You’re late. And I’m hoping you got that hookup on Vic, but we can talk about it after because I’ve had a shit day and I really just wanna starfish and forget the world.
You two have your work cut out for you.
Camille.
Don’t talk to me until I’ve come at least twice.
[groans softly] Fuck.
It’s okay, you got this.
With all respect, that part of this is not happening anymore.
Oh, I’ve got to hear this.
Oh, my God.
You fucking children.
It just happened.
Don’t minimize it.
We’re together now and it’s serious.
For the love of fuck’s sake.
This dynamic is grossly inappropriate…
Tina.
And we’ve been trying to figure out a way to tell you, but we feared repercussions, which is not cool.
Don’t say it.
You’re in love.
Yeah.
Oh, God, my fucking day.
Okay, so you both signed NDAs, which are, I mean they’re phenomenal, you should just read them again, and you’ve both also, you’ll recall, signed consent forms. So…
We thought that was weird at the time too.
You thought that was weird? I’m not a fucking idiot.
And, like I told you, both of you when you were hired, [slowly] I require a lot of my assistants.
We’re really sorry.
This is a full service position.
I don’t have… I have… Okay.
I have specific needs. I have specific requirements for a very specific and unique fucking lifestyle.
I think it’s really convenient that you two were excited when you signed your NDAs and consent forms and that you two fell in love, Tina, one month after I finish paying off your student debt, Tina?
My name isn’t Tina, it’s Beth.
I don’t give a shit, Beth!
Damn it, Toby and fucking Tina makes me laugh, so at work you’re fucking Tina!
Why is that so… Ow.
I have a fucking migraine.
Fine, okay, oh, okay, you’re in love. You’re in love.
Adorable little morons.
You would think that spending this much time around Fortunato Industries would teach the two of you a little bit about brain chemistry, you dopamine-riddled little fuck puppets.
I’m just gonna Venmo you your severance.
We’re not quitting. We just needed you to know.
No, you’re not quitting. You’re fired because you’re all but useless to me now, if you can’t perform your designated tasks and I will not be able to fuck either of you from here on out without laughing so, boom, we’re done.
[phone beeps]
[groans] When the norepinephrine wears off and you are lying in bed next to each other and one of you lets out a long fart in your sleep, you’re gonna look back at this moment and realize what a stupid, fucking decision you both just made.
Did you at least get the hookup on Vic?
For real?
[keys jangle]
[Toby] Deal with it yourself.
[door opens and closes]
[Tammy] She’s late.
[Bill] It’s okay.
It’s unprofessional.
It wouldn’t be the end of the world if she flaked.
You’ve been through a lot, whether you admit it or not.
[doorbell rings]
[Tammy] You’re late.
[Verna] Mmm.
Where’s Lauren?
She’s under the weather, didn’t want to spread it around.
But don’t worry, huh, we work together all the time.
She filled me in on everything, so I understand the gig.
I’m Candy.
You’re Candy?
Darling, I’m whoever you want.
[door closes]
[Bill] Oh.
[Verna chuckles]
Lauren is under the weather.
Oh.
Okay, uh, you good? Or…
[Tammy] I’m good. This works.
Okay. Hi, I’m Bill.
[Verna] Brilliant.
And, uh, we’re having dinner to start?
There, uh… There you go.
[Verna chuckles softly]
Thanks awfully.
[sighs] You know…
[inhales] It smells terrific.
[exhales]
And I was craving that today.
I almost texted you when I left the office.
I almost texted to ask if you’d do your chicken piccata.
It’s like you knew.
Ugh.
I just love you.
Yeah, well, I knew you had a bad day so you deserve it.
Uh, tell me about your day.
[Verna] Today was something.
And I don’t know how to talk about it. I’m… I don’t know how to feel.
This fucked up tragedy and…
I’m not sure how to feel about it.
So you know what?
[sighs]
Let’s not talk about Perry or the family, or anything else.
Not tonight.
Tonight…
I just wanna have dinner with my husband.
I just wanna feel seen and do whatever we can to push the rest of that away.
[whispering] And relax. [chuckles]
[in normal voice] And who knows?
How was your day, Bill?
[chuckles]
My day? Uh…
It was okay, truth be told.
We finished two new videos, two episodes and honest to God, I think we finally found our music supervisor.
And it is making all the difference.
[Verna] Yeah.
[Bill] I think it’s going to be great for Goldbug, actually.
I have some ideas about the launch, if you wanna hear them?
[Verna] Mmm.
Tell me all about it, love.
[car beeps]
Excuse me.
This is a restricted area.
[Camille] Yes, I know.
You must be new.
You shouldn’t be here.
Roderick Usher is my father.
[Verna] I understand.
Shouldn’t be here though.
[whispering] Oh, my God, my day.
What’s your name?
Fuck it, I don’t care.
Listen, security guard person, I don’t know if you’ve read the news, but it’s been a very difficult week for the Usher family, and we’re doing an article on my sister’s work.
You know my sister. Victorine Lafourcade.
I know Miss Lafourcade.
And you work the night shift.
Which means that you know what she does to those poor animals.
And also, she greases your palm as she walks by with her drippy Birkin bag full of monkey bits.
And so, unless you’d like me to audit your deposits and hold it up against your predictably humble salary, you’re gonna do the smart thing and go back to your crossword puzzle or else I’ll have you fired and sued.
What’s a six-letter word for “fucked”?
Fucked.
But you shouldn’t be here.
I know who you are.
Of course I know who you are.
You’re the clever one.
But you shouldn’t be here.
And you don’t have to be here.
That’s all I was saying.
Open the door.
[door beeps]
[door beeps]
Oh.
[monkeys chittering softly]
[whimpering]
Fuck!
[grunting]
[monkey screeching]
Yeah, she pump you full of adrenaline?
Keep your little heart beating?
[grunting]
[camera shutter clicks]
[shrieks]
Vic, Vic, Vic.
[camera shutter clicking]
[monkeys shrieking]
[camera shutter clicks]
Oh, Vic, you are so fucked.
[Verna] Why do you hate her?
[gasps]
What the fuck?
[Verna] You know, it was the Greeks who started it.
Fourth century BCE.
First experiments on animals.
At least, documented.
Pigs and goats.
You know how many animals are used for testing in a year?
More than a hundred million.
Human beings doing this to so many other species.
It’s impressive.
Medical research on chimpanzees was pretty much banned in 2015.
I mean, they said exceptions could be made if the research was proven to be critical to understanding human disease.
And if a sizeable donation was made to support the conservation of wild chimps.
[chuckles softly]
Your dad is a force of nature, isn’t he?
I’m gonna need you to tell me who the fuck you think you are.
Why do you hate her?
I mean, on paper, you should be allies. The bastard daughters of Roderick Usher.
What an alliance you could have made.
Okay, whoever you are, you are so fucking fired.
[shrieks]
90% of drugs fail in human trials.
Even though they pass pre-clinical tests. So, sorry, animals.
And what about the stuff that has nothing to do with health?
I mean, you lot can’t make a lipstick or a dandruff shampoo without making something suffer.
I love how deliciously, pointlessly mean you lot can be.
Okay, fired is the wrong word.
Because I’m gonna have you fucking killed.
[monkey shrieks]
[Verna] And you could too.
You picked the worst job to hide your true nature.
You clean up dirt for a living.
[shrieking]
Victorine, on the other hand…
she picked better.
She’s Mother Teresa, far as they know.
[chimpanzee shrieks]
Saving humanity one precious heart at a time.
Inside though, you two are the most alike.
[breathing heavily]
You hate her because she hid it… better.
[groaning]
[groaning intensifies]
[screaming]
[monkeys shrieking]
[whimpering softly]
You’re right…
you know.
She lies.
And she pumps us full of adrenaline to make it look like it works.
You still didn’t need to come here though.
It could have happened quiet.
Peaceful.
In bed.
But I guess it’s got to happen like this.
I’m sorry.
It’s not personal.
It wasn’t with your brother either.
It’s just, well…
[breathes deeply]
Here we are.
Fuck it.
I got mine.
That’s weird, where’s Phil?
[door clicks]
[monkeys chittering]
Oh, my God.
[monkey shrieks]
[growling]
[metallic rattling]
[monkeys chittering]
[grunting]
[panting]
[chittering]
[metallic squeaking]
[monkey grunting]
[panting]
[metal rattles]
[chittering]
[panting, grunting]
