The Fall of the House of Usher: Episode Two Recap

 

Plot: Roderick tells Dupin about the events that lead to Perry's death

The second episode of THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER continues with the momentum of the show.

The second episode is titled THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH.

Edgar Allan Poe's short story was about Prince Prospero who throws a masquerade party for other nobles. The prince, along with the other nobles are hiding from the plague known as the Red Death.

At the party, the prince notices a figure dressed in a dark blood shroud and chases it through the six chambers and end up at the seventh one where he finally confronts the "guest" who has come dressed as the plague. When the prince removes the mask, he is shocked to discover nothing underneath. He collapses and all the other guests are horrified to discover that the one thing they had been hiding from, the Red Death Plague,  has come for them after all.

The second episode in the series is based on this story, but of course there is a twist, and we do learn more about Madeline and Roderick and how they came to become the well-known and wealthy Ushers.

THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH Plot

In the past, a younger Dupin investigates some graves found that may potentially be linked to Fortunato's drug trials.

We then see a younger Roderick with his wife Annabel. We only see Annabel holding a baby but later we learn that there is another child. The children are presumably Tamerlane and Frederick. 

There are a lot of timeline jumps but the story does not allow any confusion. Fortunately, it is still easy to follow.

We then see Perry pitch an idea to a tired Roderick and a skeptical Madeline.

He wants to build a club and promote hedonism to attract more people and make more money. Madeline quickly shuts him down while Roderick degrades Perry's idea by calling it a whiskey bar no one would want to invest in.

Perry is still determined to make his idea work. Luck favours him as he is told to join a meeting with Frederick and Arthur Pym. The meeting is regarding the damage to the environment following the  closure of some factories. Frederick denies having anything to do with environmental waste while Perry is excited to know that their family owns so many properties not in use.

Perry is dragged out and given a talking to since he pretty much admitted ownership to the properties. Frederick advises him to listen to Pym.

But Perry already moves ahead with his plan to throw a party and considers charging $10,000 per person. He hopes to invite a hundred people.

Since he wants to put down Frederick, Perry goes to his house and invites his wife Morella. She initially refuses but Perry sees the light in her eyes and manages to coax her into coming to the party. He even gives her a burner phone on which he sends the invite.

Meanwhile, Roderick reveals through the past events that he was suffering from CADASIL, the same disease from which his mother was suffering. He is hoping  Victorine's device, the heart mesh will help him live a few more years.

Every episode so far, sets up the stories for the upcoming episodes.

Roderick keeps seeing Perry's disfigured body that jostles him yet he doesn't reveal to Dupin what is causing him to be frightened.

Back to Perry and his rage now. Perry has set up the party in one of the abandoned properties, and hundreds of guests have showed up. Morella included. Everyone is given a bracelet and have to leave behind phones and cameras in lockers.

The party begins and Perry is glad to see Morella arrive. He has every intention of seducing her.

He heads to the backroom and is pleased to know that everyone present is being recorded. He hopes to capture them all in compromising positions and then blackmail them later.

That's when Perry notices a woman in a red cloak and a skeleton mask. He knows everybody in the room, except for her. He goes after her and she lures him into a room. She unmasks herself and it is revealed to be the same woman Roderick had met at new year's in the 1980s. Her name is Verna although she appears to each of the Ushers with a different name and different guise.

She tries to seduce Perry and warns him about the consequences of his not so nice intentions. Perry doesn’t bother with her advice and walks out to join the party.

Verna goes to the staff and whispers in their ears. We see them all leaving. Verna even calls out to Morella to leave. While she finds it weird that the staff is leaving, she is still keen on enjoying the party and indulge in debauchery.

Perry gives the sign to his friends and they turn on the sprinklers. He is expecting to be doused in water but the guests start to scream as their skin sizzles.

All of the guests present, loose their skin and are unable to leave the place.

After everyone has collapsed on the floor, Verna returns and kisses Perry as he takes his last breath. As he passes away, she puts the skeleton mask on him signifying that he is dead now.

The episode ends.

What happened to Morella? We will find out in the next episode.

The second episode of The Fall of the House of the Usher takes the show right to where it is supposed to go. Each episode will undoubtedly show how each of the Ushers were killed and how gruesome and unfortunate their deaths are.

Scare Scale: 4/5