Recap / The Fall Of The House Of Usher 2023 E 6 Goldbug

Episode 6:

Goldbug

When you're not The Face and a prostitute that looks exactly like you is present, the fear gets to you.

Directed by: Mike Flanagan

Written by: TBA

''A good glass in the bishop's hostel in the devil's seat//

forty-one degrees and thirteen minutes//northeast and by north//main branch seventh limb east side//shoot from the left eye of the death's-head//a bee line from the tree through the shot fifty feet out.''

- the cryptogram in "The Gold-bug"

This episode incorporates elements from William Wilson and The Gold Bug.

Tamerlane deals with hallucinations from insomnia and her breakup with Bill as she prepares to launch her wellness package Goldbug. Madeline tries to convince Roderick that Verna is a threat after his children's mounting death count, trying to remind him of their deal with her back in 1980, though Roderick is in denial. She also pushes her scientists to develop an AI for consciousness mapping. Pym uncovers Verna's links to prominent families impossibly dating back hundreds of years. Morella begins speaking, leading Frederick to drug her back into silence, still believing she had been unfaithful. Lenore grows concerned when her father does not bring the specialists he'd promised for her mother. At Goldbug's launch, Tamerlane is rattled by hallucinations of Verna and a sex tape of her, Bill, and an escort. She accidentally injures Juno and Madeline spots Verna, who turns to dust before her eyes. At home, Verna taunts Tamerlane through mirrors, which she smashes until the shards of glass impale and kill her.

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Tropes that are present in this episode:

• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Tamerlane is killed when she gets impaled in the throat by a giant mirror shard.
• Pet the Dog: Downplayed, but upon seeing how lonely and upset Juno is by everything happening in the family, Tamerlane briefly apologizes to her stepmother, saying she's sorry that Roderick never answers his phone and that it's just Roderick being himself, not any fault of Juno. She excuses herself and leaves shortly afterward, but clearly she felt some measure of sympathy for Juno despite their very strained relationship up to that point.
• Sanity Slippage: Tamerlane, due to a mixture of sleep deprivation and hallucinations conjured by Verna, goes on a rampage destroying every mirror in her home.
• Skewed Priorities: Roderick refuses to acknowledge the possibility of Verna being involved in the deaths of his children, but immediately starts taking Madeline more seriously once she mentions the fact that Victorine had a board seat at Fortunato and her death puts their majority control of the board in jeopardy.

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