Summary
Many of the show’s secrets are revealed in “The Tell-Tale Heart,” which helps to develop the story further. It’s a beautifully written installment, with a brutal finale. It is also worth mentioning that Mark Hamill is almost unrecognizable in this inspiring, complex role as the family lawyer, Arthur Pym.
I don’t know about you, but all of my knowledge of Edgar Allan Poe’s life work comes from The Simpsons. One of the stories that sticks in my mind is the show’s parody of “The Tell-Tale Heart,” which is also referenced in Episode 5 of Netflix’s The Fall of the House of Usher.
Many of Season 1’s secrets are revealed in this episode, and we recount it all below, though beware of spoilers.
The Fall of the House of Usher Season 1 Episode 5 Recap
We begin with a different Edgar Allan Poe reference though, this time The Raven. At the 1979 New Year’s Eve party, Roderick stares up at a stuffed raven. Roderick and Verna discuss the creature before the clock strikes midnight. Roderick is then ordered by his sister to make out with a guest and at the very start of the New Year, Madeline and Verna also kiss.
Auggie asks about this eventful night, back in the present. He wants to know why Roderick was cheating on his wife and the details of the crime he had just committed. Auggie demands that Roderick confesses.
Instead, Roderick returns to his tale, starting with the joint funeral of his first three dead children. At Perry, Camille and Leo’s funeral, Roderick’s hallucinations intensify. He sees their dead bodies and is haunted by a sinister jester.
The remaining siblings (Tammy, Victorine, and Freddie) meet at a private bar to discuss their options. Clearly, someone is killing the siblings off one by one. They agree to work together to survive this ordeal. They start by doubling their security personnel.
READ: The Fall of the House of Usher Season 1 Episode 4 Recap
Morella wakes from her coma. She is starting to improve slightly. Freddie wants to take her home and builds her a state-of-the-art room in record timing, defying the doctor’s advice. The father tells his daughter Lenore to listen to Arthur, but he is evidently starting to crack like the rest of the siblings.
Why do Tammy and Bill split up?
Tammy is losing her mind as well. She keeps seeing Verna everywhere and is convinced that her husband Bill is having an affair with the woman. Tammy makes Bill aware of her concerns and the couple argue. Bill worries that Tammy is seeing things and is terribly sleep-deprived. This argument ends with the couple splitting up, as many hurtful things are said.
Victorine is also falling apart. She argues with her girlfriend, Alessandra. The doctor doesn’t want to perform the risky operation. She thinks it is too soon. Alessandra then figures out that Victorine has been falsifying documents as well. She ends things with Victorine, promising to take the scandal to the press.
After the argument, Victorine continues to fall apart at work. She starts to hear a strange chirping noise in her office, but she can’t seem to pinpoint where the noise is coming from.
Who was the informant?
Elsewhere, Arthur manages to talk the judge into delaying the trial. He suspects that the deaths and the informant are somehow connected. In the present, Roderick questions Auggie about his informant. Auggie reveals that there was no informant, it was just a tactic to get the siblings to turn on each other.
READ: The Fall of the House of Usher Season 1 Episode 3 Recap
Roderick is impressed with Auggie’s tactics. While they chat, Roderick has another vision. This time, Auggie transforms into Victorine’s ghost. After the hallucination has worn off, Roderick puts Auggie’s mind at ease, saying that the lie Auggie told didn’t lead to his children’s deaths.
Who was Madeline and Roderick’s father?
The series then returns to the 1979 timeline. Madeline meets with Fortunato CEO Rufus Griswold, to weigh up the competition. Rufus feels threatened by Madeline and brings up the scandal in the office. It is revealed that the former CEO, William Longfellow was the twins’ father. He had slept with his secretary but refused to financially support the family in the aftermath.
Rufus is aware of this cover-up and of how their mother had killed William. He uses this knowledge against them. But Madeline isn’t intimidated, she now wants revenge more than ever. Auggie teams up with the Ushers, eager to bring Rufus down once and for all.
Back in 2023, Arthur shows the twins photographs of Verna. Madeline admits that she recognizes the woman from the 1979 party. She proposes that this mystery woman is Verna’s daughter, that Roderick slept with Verna and their crazy offspring is back for the inheritance. Arthur agrees to investigate this woman further. Madeline tells Arthur to remove Verna’s eyes as revenge.
The Fall of the House of Usher Episode 5 Ending Explained
Meanwhile, Victorine continues her mental breakdown. She tears the office apart, looking for the source of the noise. Roderick contemplates suicide but is unable to go through with it. He meets with Victorine afterward.
She uses music to drown out the noises, but Roderick can hear them too. Then Victorine remembers how her argument with Alessandra ended. She threw an object at Alessandra’s head and accidentally killed her lover in the chaos. Roderick and Victorine then find the source of the noise.
How does Victorine die?
Victorine operated on Alessandra’s dead body, installing the heart device, which is still making the unnerving noise. Victorine then realizes at that moment that Alessandra is dead, that she actually killed her. She stabs herself to death in response.
What did you think of The Fall of the House of Usher Season 1, Episode 5? Comment below.
