History Characters / TheFallOfTheHouseOfUsher2023

* ImAHumanitarian: Played with. Arthur says (in Ep. 6) to an associate that "I'm having Richard Parker for dinner," which seems innocent enough in context. [[spoiler: However, Richard Parker happens to be the name of a sailor in The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, who is shipwrecked with the Arthur of that story and, after drawing straws, cannibalized by the starving crew. And in a bizarre coincidence, there was also a real life Richard Parker, a cabin boy who died under similar circumstances as the character of Poe's story (written 45 years earlier), whose death became the subject of the famous murder trial [=R v Dudley and Stephens=] (1884).]]

* LoveMartyr: He tries so very, very hard to support Tamerlane despite her remoteness and harsh attitude. Later, he only gets angry with her out of AngerBornOfWorry since she's become a workaholic who barely sleeps, and only walks out after a truly vicious TheReasonYouSuckSpeech from Tam. And even then, he still comes to her with one last appeal, which doesn't work.

** Frederick with blue, for his status as a quasi-noble heir, his creeping toxic masculinity and [[spoiler: the coldness he demonstrates in torturing his own wife.]]

* AdaptationalHeroism: While not a hero, Leo differs from the protagonist of "The Black Cat" in that [[spoiler: he doesn't even think about killing Julius, and is horrified at the thought of having killed Pluto in a drug-induced frenzy. He does however try to kill the cat, but only after being attacked by her.]]

* {{Hypocrite}}: Despite his distaste for the source of his family's wealth, he doesn't mind living off it and using it to propel his video game company. On a side note, video games can become addictive as well.
* IronicName: His nickname, "Leo", stems from the Latin word for "lion": despite being named for a big cat, he doesn't like them, and his main adversary in his [[ADayInTheLimelight focus episode]] is a cat. [[spoiler: He also doesn't really land safely on his feet as a cat would.]] He's also the tallest member of their family, [[TheNapoleon despite what his full name would suggest.]]

* ThoseTwoGuys: Possibly [[EnforcedTrope enforced]] by Camille, considering how controlling she is of their lives in general: they always show up together, they always wear [[CoordinatedClothes identical clothes]] (though gendered), they're always addressed in tandem by Camille.

* AgeLift: The character she is named after and loosely based on was a young girl, she's a grown woman (the actress was 41 at the time of shooting). The family's proposed statement on her death claims she's 35.

* {{Hypocrite}}: For all her talk about morality and her judgements on the unethical behaviour of the Ushers, it's ultimately her idea to make the untimely deaths of Roderick's entire bloodline the payment for their deal. The show also heavily implies that she is behind the rise to power of many controversial and in some cases explicitly dangerous figures in business and politics whose decisions have hurt a lot of people.[[note]]The figures shown to associate with Verna are all highly conservative ones, such as Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and the Koch Brothers. Anyone familiar with the themes of Mike Flannigan's work can tell that this was likely meant as a TakeThat, but a conservative viewer will probably see her as a force for good.[[/note]] She also allows an entire party of guests to die after only sparing the staff, despite her previous and future actions from Prospero's party onward showing she is more than capable of preventing uninvolved persons from being in the wrong place at the wrong time, putting into question ''why'' she felt they had to die in such a horrific and painful manner.

* NiceToTheWaiter: She purposefully spares the waitstaff and security guards from the disaster at Perry's party. This appears to be a part of her MO given how it's later shown she specifically targets wealthy affluential people for her "deals"; the staff were serving the whims of the rich and just doing their jobs.That being said, she lets 78 other people and counting be horrifically burned and melted to death.
* NonMaliciousMonster: "Monster" may be an extreme term, but Verna isn't killing the family due to hate or anger (save for the example with Frederick.) She is merely following the terms of the deal that Roderick and Madeline agreed to. Her interaction with Lenore showed that she is capable of taking the family quietly and without pain. But due to their own horrendous behavior, she decided to make their ends as painful as possible. Her reasons for letting all of Prospero's party guests die instead of just targeting Prospero himself, however, can certainly be construed as a deliberately malicious act, since we never find out ''why'' she didn't orchestrate events to only kill Prospero and Prospero alone.

* {{Hypocrite}}: For all her talk about morality and her judgements on the unethical behaviour of the Ushers it's her idea to make the untimely deaths of Roderick's entire bloodline the payment for their deal. The show also heavily implies that she is behind the rise to power of many controversial and in some cases explicitly dangerous figures in business and politics whose decisions have hurt a lot of people.[[note]]The figures shown to associate with Verna are all highly conservative ones, such as Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and the Koch Brothers. Anyone familiar with the themes of Mike Flannigan's work can tell that this was likely meant as a TakeThat, but a conservative viewer will probably see her as a force for good.[[/note]]

* NiceToTheWaiter: She purposefully spares the waitstaff and security guards from the disaster at Perry's party. This appears to be a part of her MO given how it's later shown she specifically targets wealthy affluential people for her "deals"; the staff were serving the whims of the rich and just doing their jobs.
* NonMaliciousMonster: "Monster" may be an extreme term, but Verna isn't killing the family due to hate or anger (save for the example with Frederick.) She is merely following the terms of the deal that Roderick and Madeline agreed to. Her interaction with Lenore showed that she is capable of taking the family quietly and without pain. But due to their own horrendous behavior she decided to make their ends as painful as possible.

* [[LickedByTheDog Licked By the Cat]]: Despite him thinking otherwise, Pluto seems to like him. [[spoiler: His hallucinations revolve around the cat tormenting and wounding him, but, immediately after his death, we see that Pluto never did such things, and is actually trying to get his attention by meowing at his corpse.]]

* ItIsDehumanizing: Refers to Juno, [[AdoptivePeerParent her rather young stepmother]] who she dislikes, as “it” when she tries to chime into the family discussion.

* [[LickedByTheDog LickedByTheCat]]: Despite him thinking otherwise, Pluto seems to like him. [[spoiler: His hallucinations revolve around the cat tormenting and wounding him, but, immediately after his death, we see that Pluto never did such things, and is actually trying to get his attention by meowing at his corpse.]]

* BeatStillMyHeart: PlayedWith in a ‘’very’’ gruesome manner. [[spoiler: After it’s revealed that not only was the sound Victorine hearing real, but that it came from the heart mesh, it’s shown to be wrapped around her heart as part of Vic’s futile attempt to bring her back to life after accidentally killing her. Of course, this doesn’t do anything since her life-ending injury was directed to her head.]]

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: While keeping your siblings fueled with drugs isn't a functional way to prove it, his affection for Perry and Camille is genuine. [[spoiler: Their deaths take a huge toll on his sanity.]] He also love Julius despite all the cheating, and goes out of the way to [[spoiler: replace the cat he believes to have killed.]]

* UsedToBeASweetKid: Noticeably, Frederick is the only one of Roderick's children whose childhood is actually depicted in flashbacks (since Tamerlane is still a baby in the time period they cover). In all of them, he's just a typical four-year-old boy who adores his father, compared to the sociopathic PsychopathicManchild he becomes in his adult years. To further emphasize this, [[spoiler:he initially appears as a kid happily running into his father's arms (only to split into two) when it's his turn to haunt Roderick, unlike the other ghosts who appear as they were in death.]] As Verna notes, there's no excuse [[spoiler:for adult Frederick torturing Morella.]] Still, he and Tamerlane certainly would've turned out better were it not for their father's corruption, [[spoiler:which Annabel Lee's ghost chews Roderick out for. Roderick himself eventually admits that he essentially "choked" out whatever goodness the two had inherited from her by "bombarding them with money" until they turned their backs on their mother.]]

* HatedByAll: [[spoiler:While the other funerals are well attended, Frederick's is only attended by his father who doesn't respect him and his daughter who now hates him for torturing her mother. Even when alive, all of his siblings hated him, calling him "Froderick".]]

* UsedToBeASweetKid: Noticeably, Frederick is the only one of Roderick's children whose childhood is actually depicted in flashbacks (since Tamerlane is still a baby in the time period they cover). In all of them, he's just a typical four-year-old boy who adores his father. To further emphasize this, [[spoiler:he initially appears as a kid happily running into his father's arms (only to split into two) when it's his turn to haunt Roderick, unlike the other ghosts who appear as they were in death.]] As Verna notes, there's no excuse [[spoiler:for adult Frederick torturing Morella.]] Still, he and Tamerlane certainly would've turned out better were it not for their father's corruption, [[spoiler:which Annabel Lee's ghost chews Roderick out for. Roderick himself eventually admits that he essentially "choked" out whatever goodness the two had inherited from her by "bombarding them with money" until they turned their backs on their mother.]]

** As his quote above shows, under no circumstances will Arthur Pym ever allow himself to be leveraged by someone else. [[spoiler:Though he's appreciative of Verna's offer towards him, Arthur politely turns it down, knowing that it would debilitate him down the road, even when the alternative option is being sentenced to life in prison.]]

* HonorBeforeReason: [[spoiler:Arthur refuses to indulge in Verna's offer for him, as it would involve him being under the leverage of someone else. And that's something he refuses to willingly do under any circumstances.

* DivineIntervention: There are implications that [[spoiler: Verna sent Arthur to the Ushers, aware of his intelligence and abilities from their meeting at the Transglobe Expedition, as her fulfillment of her end of the deal protecting the Usher family from legal ramifications.]]

* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Implied to believe this. [[spoiler: He witnessed some of his associates commit one during the Transglobe Expedition and did nothing to stop it (though given that Verna hints at more than one murder committed by the others throughout, it may have been that he was rightly concerned that intervening would end in him getting killed for the attempt) but he did not actively participate in the crime.]]

'''Annabel:''' Maybe this was a kindness in disguise. [[spoiler: Maybe they died in their childhoods.]]

--> '''Roderick''': ''seeing Madeline for the first time after [[spoiler: she pressured him into committing suicide]]'' Well, this is awkward.

** Napoleon with yellow, both for his overall friendly nature and his underlying cowardice.

** Frederick with blue, for his status as a quasi-noble heir, his creeping toxic masculinity and [[spoiler: the coldness in torturing his own wife.]]
** Camille with white (and secondarily black), for her job of keeping the family reputation pristine.
* EvenEvilCanBeLoved: Most of the romantic partners or spouses of the Ushers are good people who sincerely love them, and end up being thoroughly disappointed and heartbroken when their true nature emerges. The exceptions are Morrie, who does seem to be frustrated in her marriage to Frederick; Jenny and Faraj, who go along with Perry's schemes [[spoiler:and wind up dead]]; and Toby and Beth, who eventually refuse to sleep with Camille any more (although they're still willing to work for her, until she fires them) [[spoiler:and end up handing over the evidence that ensures Pym's downfall]].

* PostMortemComeback: A variation which, interestingly, actually helps ''the hero'' against the final remaining villain. Camille has files with dirt on everyone, foes and allies alike. When the prosecution gets a hold of one of them after her death, it's enough to [[spoiler:put Pym behind bars for life]].

* ApologeticAttacker: There are moments in which she seems to regret causing a death and tries to steer the characters away from their most painful ends, but to no avail. When Lenore's time comes, Verna makes it clear that she hates what she has to do, but also that she has no way to break the deal.

* DueToTheDead: In the epilogue, she places an item on each one of Ushers' gravestones. She's dispassioned in most of the cases, making only an exception for Frederick (a small bag of cocaine tossed without care) and Lenore (a raven feather interwoven with white flowers that she solemnly lays in place).

* WorthyOpponent: Pym, though 'opponent' might be a stretch by the end. She says she admires his ruthlessness and tenacity (both in the present and in unspecified work in the past), and after their confrontation admits that his reputation is entirely warranted. She also seems genuinely happy that he doesn't take her deal, despite him knowing full well that the alternative is dying in prison and disgrace.