5:59 Finding out Annabel was so grief stricken that she put a gun to her mouth and died so she didn't have to watch her two children become the hollowed out monsters Roderick turned them into because of greed and power. It's heartbreaking 💔
I know. I loved that detail so much. It wasn't just a piece of herself. It was the care in which Verna laid the feather and roses down on the grave. She handled it with such care, such gentleness that was not present in the others (especially Freddy whose bag was just kind of plopped roughly.) The subtle hint of emotions and connection in how she handled the little tributes to them, but she treated Lenore's with the most reverence, the most care. The one soul she gave the gentlest death to and took the least pleasure in.
"Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn, It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore- Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore.” Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.” “Be that word our sign in parting, bird or fiend!” I shrieked, upstarting- “Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore! Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken! Leave my loneliness unbroken!-quit the bust above my door! Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!” Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.”
It is disgusting how Rodrick kept having kids knowing that they were basically living on borrowed time all because of him and Madeline. Sure the kids got luxury but they were miserable
@@MISTERBABAD00K Even Madeleine, for all her talk of power above all and her being prone to murder, didn't say yes before thinking of his children, refused to have any child and seemed shocked with how fast he accepted it. The final twist is that HE was the most ruthless of them.
I love how Verna gave freddie one last fuck you by throwing a bag of cocaine on his grave while everyone else had meaningful items placed on their graves, specially Lenore's.
@@9876babyboy I also didn't want Leo to die either, even though he cheated on his boyfriend and had a Coke addiction He wasn't that bad compared to the rest of the family, excluding Lenore of course. That might just be my bias because I find him attractive and I like him in other Mike Flanagan series
One small detail I love is when Verna and Arthur are chatting, Verna says "...you can either ride the phoenix out of Fortunato's ashes or you can watch it fly away from a federal prison cell." and in the end Juno creates the Phoenix Foundation after Fortunato Pharmaceuticals is dissolved.
That’s why all of his kids showed up so scary and hostile in his visions while talking to Auggie. You know that theory of when someone dies and they see everything wrong you ever did? Verna definitely showed them why exactly they had to die. Their father made a deal with the devil.
What happened with Annabelle is such a good example of why making wealthy people like Elon pay far more in support is so important. It’s SO easy for the much wealthier parent to manipulate children with nice things/trips/houses.
Oh, man, what I love about this show is how they show you that, despite all Madeline's cruelty and Arthur's coldness when cleaning up the messes of the Usher family, Roderick is still the absolute worst of all. Madeline knew how cruel it would be to bring children to this world knowing that she'd have to be responsible for their death and Arthur just refused the deal altogether, prefering to face justice on his own. Neither of them was willing to sacrifice someone they knew just to get what they wanted. Madeline for all we know could have actually want to be a mother, but remembered the deal and denied that for herself. Roderick already had children at this point and he didn't even think twice before offering them up for the chopping block, all for a taste of power. To make it even worse, he just went ahead to condemn even more children and also more women to lose their children before their time. He didn't even had a word for those poor women! Honestly, this is how you make a truly despicable villain without making it over the top. Roderick is a monster.
To be fair, it wasn't that Arthur Pym didn't want to sacrifice someone he loved. He just didn't have anyone, and, in my interpretation, he was actually *proud* of that. He said that in his 70 years of life he never let any man or woman have any leverage over him and that he was not going to start now. While I'm not justifying Roderick at all. Because the monster was already there, why couldn't just Madeline leave him alone with his wife and kids?
And I think Verna implied Madeline would actually have done better without the deal. In this timeline she has all this luxury and comfort and security, but she's still living in her brother's shadow. She could have created a real legacy of her own if they had separated and she'd worked for herself.
@@aimeem And also, I think Madeleine was happy in the shadow of Roderick, she was the woman behind the man. That's the reason he pushed him to do the "dirty" work.
SAME. Straight up ugly cried with these bittersweet tears because poor baby but also what a legacy, what a beautiful impact she had on her mother and the world.
I WISHED Lenore was secretly an affair baby or a donor baby they kept secret from th efamily. I did not want her to die and I cried as Verna was explaining her legacy.
This commentary has made this series 100x better, specifically for people who didn't know that much about Edgar Allen Poe's work. You guys did great informing us, and I appreciate it very much, thank you for making me enjoy this show so much more than I originally did.
Cody, your knowledge of Poe enhanced this reaction viewing 10-fold for me. Thank you for that! Every actor nailed their role, the caliber of writing was off the charts, and Mike Flanagan has proven again that his is a directorial force to be reckoned with. This series is an 11/10 for me. ⭐ Your reactions made it all the more enjoyable!
THEY didn't do shit - Madeline knew that she couldn't do that to her own children so she sacrificed ever being a mother. Rodrick already had kids and he still made the damn deal.
The creepiest part of the cask of amontillado to me is that the killer, Monstresor, doesnt just want to kill Fortunato, he wants Fortunato to suffer and beg, to utterly humiliate him. The sound of the bells shows him that Fortunato is still alive, but after initially begging, once he seems to realize his situation is hopeless he refuses to say a word, to beg or cry, so even though he succeeds in killing his victim, Montresor doesn't get the ultimate satisfaction of hearing Fortunato beg, and Fortunato is just there inside the wall waiting to die a slow agonizing death, but knowing he denied him that satisfaction (Montresor even calls him a few times hoping to get an answer). That is somewhat referenced when Madeline and Roderick are sitting in front of the wall and she talks about how he's not making any noise (which sets up the sound of the bells as a trigger for Roderick).
I'm glad y'all appreciated The Fall of the House of Usher as much as I did. They did SUCH a good job bringing to life Poe's stories in a new way while still paying respects to the tales. The whole team on the show really knocked it out of the park with this one. It was gripping, had me on the edge of my seat despite knowing the original takes, and absolutely gorgeously done.
I have so much thoughts and feelings about Roderick and Madeleine's characters. That I'm throwing it in a reply here and just rambling. Witnessing the deal with Verna opened my eyes so much towards Madeline and Roderick's characters. I had been so sympathic towards Roderick, whose children were dying one by one, until I heard the price of that deal and saw how readily Roddy agreed to it and how hesitant and shellshocked Madeline seemed by it. The fact that neither really remembered the details of the deal but it left a strong enough impact on Maddy that she put in effort to make sure she didn't have kids while Roddy had half a dozen really underlined their characters for me. Both were flawed, naturally, but Roddy had a selfishness that I didn't fully feel the scope of until he made that deal knowing he already had two children. His children were being picked off by death and he was focused on his own issues, his own mortality and company. Madeline, however, seemed to be at least attempting to try to figure out what was coming, what was happening, and try to protect what was left of the family. Not that Roddy was completely horrid. There was a spot of good in him - Lenore. Her death absolutely sent me into an ocean of emotions - but one moment that really drove a stake in my heart was when Roderick was standing in front of the bust and delivering the line about his soul on the floor - and the camera showed LENORE being the one on the floor at his feet. And that just... If the House of Usher had a soul at all, if there was anything good in them it was in her - the best of their bloodline who did more to change the world for the better in her short lifetime than any of the rest of them.
I am gonna miss Cody storytime!! Thank you both for watching this show with/for us. I do recommend Midnight Mass and also Midnight Book Club. The book club show doesn't get near enough praise but I think you both would enjoy it. Much love to you and Bourbon 💜💜💜
Verna is a type of cosmic being, something similar to The Endless from Dc comics. The best explanation I've read from a commenter in another video is that she's one of the beings that dwell somewhere beneath the earth, as in hollow earth, outside of time and space, a place that can only be reached from a mythical island somewhere in the north pole region called Ultima Thule that Poe mentioned on his poem Dreamland. That's why she told Arthur that she came "top side" to the world, and that she saw her in the "ice" in the north and in ep seven Roderick said that Arthur tild the kids stories about people living under the earth, wich was probably the writers hint at what she is.
Cody saying 'Nevermore' right before the phone was revealed was so damn good. This series is so damn good! Reading Poe's stories is so damn good, too! And YES, please watch Midnight Mass! It is also so damn good!
Bruce's recital of the "Raven" was my inspiration when I recorded a short video about the poem (the video is in Arabic, if anyone is interested, I will link it) I recorded the last bit of the poem in the video! also YES FOR MIDNIGHT MASS!
Mike Flanagan is a genius. This is one of his best work, along with Hill House and Midnight Mass. Shame that Hush got removed from Netflix. Hope for a bluray release otherwise it's a lost film and that sucks
I'm totally with you Cody - this is one of the best shows I've ever seen. It was SO well written and tightly constructed. Not a second was wasted, and it so cleverly brought in so much of Edgar Allan Poe, and updated it too. As soon as Roderick started outright reading The Raven I couldn't take my eyes off the screen.
Flanagan puts Tim Burton and everyone else to shame when it comes to getting an amazing performance and reshufling a steady cast, because he doesn't typecast anyone and gives every actor a chance to shine in different chalenging roles. It must be *amazing* to be part of his team of actors!!
Thanks so much for watching this series, it’s been a blast! I feel like this episode succinctly explains why the kids are so relentlessly bothering Roderick lol he made the most selfish decision possible
idk what's better: the twists in this final episode or the final poe 101 lesson with cody. also verna gave a heads-up to the illegitimate usher kids but she didn't do the same with the full-blood usher kids. i wonder if that means they could've avoided their own deaths if they'd heeded her warnings. am i reading that right? what do yall think? btw whoever has been doing the graphics during cody's poe 101 lessons has done a phenomenal job!! it really enhanced the storytelling experience
From what I've read from a lot of other comments about the series, it's probably more like Verna was trying to offer a more peaceful death to some of the Usher kids, but some of the kids chose to go out painfully/despairingly and made some other choices based off of generational traumas they carried from being an Usher, and due to being messed-up people in of themselves (minus Lenore). For example, if Frederick wasn't a messed-up guy long before he made the decision to torture his wife, he could have had a peaceful death like his daughter had. Same goes for the rest of the other Usher kids.
Everyone was doomed from the start, the choice was to determine if they got to go peacefully. Prospero could have stopped, like Verna told him. Camille could have walked away. Leo could have been honest with his boyfriend OR picked another cat. Victoire could have made the ethical choice and not targeted a desperate woman. Tamerlane could have just “relaxed”, stopped lashing out. Even Freddie had a choice, even if it wasn’t as obvious as the others. He chose to take his frustrations out on his helpless wife, which would have sealed the brutal deal in the first place - but then he had to grab the pliers. Which made him deserving of something EXTRA. Lenore theoretically could have chosen to ignore the warning signs and not saved her mother. She made the right decision, and she was comforted in her final moments, and got to pass instantly, peacefully.
Also, Arthur Pym is named after the character from Poe's "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket". The references of Pym's past in the series are taken from the adventures within the novella. The novella ends abruptly when the character drifts into a strange lost island near Antarctica and white sea and is confronted by a mysterious shrouded pale figure. From their conversation, this was likely Verna in this timeline as she mentions seeing Pym before. Verna is likely one of the mysterious beings "between time and space" mentioned as having been discussed by Pym. Fun fact: "Pym" is considered a spiritual prequel to H.P. Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness".
I love how, if you know Edgar Allan Poe, you could see the hints at The Cask of Amontillado from the very first episode ('Fortunado', the jester, The show opening with 'Another Brick In the Wall', etc) but you don't actually get the full pay off of how it fits into the series until the finale. Its so fun. Also, other people have mentioned it, but I adore how Verna (an anagram for 'raven' btw) left a black feather for Lenore. I quoted I this on another comment, but: Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn, It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore- Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore.” Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.” “Be that word our sign in parting, bird or fiend!” I shrieked, upstarting- “Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore! Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken! Leave my loneliness unbroken!-quit the bust above my door! Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!” Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.”
I was WAITING for this reaction. WORTH IT. I adore Cody's passion for Poe and I adore how you go over the references at the end. I wasn't sure about this series at first because the tone was so different from his other works, but the last two episodes were so epic and clever and perfectly in tune with the source material, despite weaving all the stories together to create a new narrative. I think he knocked it out of the park once again. And yes, I too shed tears for the last scene with Lenore. And double yes give all the awards to Carla Gugino! Thanks so much for covering this! ❤🙏❤
I definitely think these reactions are my favourite of the Fall of the House of Usher reactions I've seen, and that's mostly due to Cody's retelling of the Poe stories. I definitely recommend Midnight Mass. It's a very personal work to Flanagan and the writing and acting in it is so so good.
Thank you for such brilliant reactions! I truly enjoyed watching with y'all. Cody, thank you for the extra Poe knowledge. It really added to the overall experience, even for this Poe-loving girl. This series is just fantastic. So well done.
I think it’s heartbreaking that Annabelle Lee took her own life after losing her kids to Roderick and even though he can see their ghosts, Annabelle Lee was deprived of it. Meaning even in death she couldn’t even be with her children. Side note I freaking cried over Lenore 😢. Another extension of Annabelle Lee snuffed out!
“God fucking dammit this show is so good” will echo through many future shows. If it doesn’t make you way that. I don’t want it.❤❤ Edit: Cody’s storytelling of each poem was such a cherry on the top. I loved it! You both elevated the show further.
The Cask of Amontillado is one of my favorite Poe stories. Soon as I saw that jester in the beginning of the season I knew what was to come. This show was so incredible. I'm speechless. This show is a literary girlie's wet dream. I too was questioning if Verna would take Lenore as well. She was the only good one
Just came back to watch this again, it was just one of the bst watchalong EVER. Cody's knowledge of literature and catching the references truly elevated this series to godhood for me.
The fact that Rodrick was the one to take the deal first ALREADY having two kids and Madeline was the one to HESITATE just shows how fucked he is. Also Lenore scene was so sad and beautiful. Would love for you to watch Midnight Mass! Its my fav series.
I find it odd that this is the interpretation of many. To me it seemed that he was proud of not having someone considered leverage. He was like "No man or woman has had any leverage over me in 70 years and I am not going to start now, not this late".
Whenever I come across a new series that I love, I dive down the RU-vid rabbit hole of reactions. And you guys provided a fave channel for me to relive my love for this show through. So funny and educational with Cody’s storytimes. I’d love to see a Midnight Mass reaction in the near future! Pretty please! 🙏 😊
It wasn't that Madelin wasn't sure of it, she was simply trying to stay true to form. She'd spent her whole life manipulating her brother into taking the lead so she could stay safe in the background so even after Verna specifically told her she was a part of the deal as well she tried to minimize her contribution to the conversation so she could get out of paying any price.
I am so glad I just watched your reaction to this series as I love Poe, but am not as much of an expert as Cody is so I learned so much more from him, so thank you Cody. Just as a little added extra, Verna is an anagram of….Raven🤯
Lenore’s death always got to me. The speech Verna gave her before giving her the gentlest possible death, had me in tears. Carla Gugino who plays Verna is FANTASTIC
Yeah, that scene showing all the people that died from Ligodone falling from the sky in front of Roderick and Verna is one of my favorite scenes from this show. It's really scary because of how it pertains well to real life horrors of what pharmaceutical companies and medical industries have wrought over tons of people for the sake of profit and taking advantage of people's desire for healing (something that's also mentioned in the Tell-Tale Heart episode). It's also visually haunting, just seeing the extent of death as physical bodies and not just as statistical numbers presented in an article. 0_0
Thanks so much for the reaction and literature breakdown! This was a great series and also the artwork used while explaining the story was well done too! 👏
I definitely didn’t remember enough Poe to make this show what it was after Cody’s recap. These have been my favorite reactions to this show for that reason ❤
Such a great review, guys. I'm sad this series is over because I've loved your takes on it. Would love you to do Midnight Mass and Penny Dreadful, which is also gothic horror and based on several victorian novels like Dracula and Frankenstein.
The director mentioned that the role of Roderick Usher was originally played by Frank Langella who was replaced mid-production. Can you imagine how much different the show would be?
You two did a great job reacting to this show! I've been glued to my screen for every video, appreciating both the reactions and Cody Time Story Hour with Sergio being the ever helpful co-host.
I loved watching the series with you. I especially loved Cody explaining the connection between Poe's work and the series. This was the first of Flanagan's shows that I have watched. Next I will watch Haunting of Hill House and then Midnight Mass.
So my favorite part is Pym is supposed to be the worst of the worst and he still rejected Verna's offer means somewhere he has more of a heart than the Ushers. The Lenore scene was beautifully heartbreaking but I love how Verna said she hated that she had to take her too that's why she put the flower and feather on her headstone. And visually the raining bodies was cinematic poetry I loved how they did that give them ALL the awards for this show!!! And the wardrobe? Chef's kiss cuz everybody served but Verna was SERVING 😻
😢 Lenore didn’t deserve that but I’m glad Verna gave her a peaceful death and her grandfather is responsible for destroying many lives with his choice but thanks to her decision to defy her father is responsible for saving millions of lives
I literally just binged all your episodes today and was so sad when I hit episode 7 thinking it was the last. And then boom, this one was posted minutes before I finished episode 7!!! Thank you so much peeps! This has made my day!
Cody's analyses at the ends of these videos keep me coming back every time! I feel like a little kid in kindergarten sitting down for story time, but the stories are like super macabre lol. So cool to hear about the inspirations for these episodes, truly bringing about a modern appreciation for Poe's works. Props to Cody!
Thank you Sergio for recognizing Mary McDonnell's brilliance in this show! I've watched a lot of reactions to this show (You guys are tops! Especially the "Story Time with Cody" elements) and you are the first one to specifically give her the shout out that she deserves. ❤ Everyone was so brilliant in this, but I feel like a lot of people have slept on how absolutely phenomenal she was as Madeline Usher. So thanks for pointing it out! Looking forward to more Mike Flanagan stuff from you guys.
loved each and everyone of your commentaries! Thank you for breaking down the stories as I did not know all of Poe's stories. And yes please watch Midnight Mass.
Love watching you two and this time, Cody took it to the next level. I learned so much about Poe and your extra commentary added so much to the viewing experience. Thank you!
I loved this series so much and I live Edgar Allen Poe but have limited knowledge of his works, but have started reading more lately. As always your reactions were on point but shout out to Cody for making them extra epic not only telling us the stories but telling them so well! xx
I'm so happy that I discovered you guys through this show! I'm not typically a horror fan, but I've seen some of the big ones and I loved every Poe story I read in school. Your utter joy at the appreciation for the modern day take on Poe's works has been an absolute joy to look forward to watching. I hope you branch out from horror so I can see more of you! ❤
I agree PROPS for teaching us about the OG material, I watched the series and then other reactions and didn't know anything about the original poems you taught me alot! Huge thanks to you both for the incredible series X
Please please please do reaction videos for the rest of Mike Flanagan's work! Especially The Haunting of Hill House! That dude really knows how to create a creepy and compelling narrative based off of literary horror and you will love all of his stuff!
this episode always makes me cry. edgar allen poe's art is so powerful and that it continues to ripple into other people's art will never not make me emotional! what a fantastic show, a critical success in my opinion! i REALLY hope you guys watch bly manor next, it's such a beautiful love story.
rewatching the show with you guys was definitely a journey, cody added so much to the experience. I do hope you get to midnight mass soon, so excited for that i have a feeling cody would like it so much and as for visuals and gore, sergio will not be disappointed!
This was so good! Thank you Cody! I had already watched the series but watching along with you both was amazing especially with all of Cody’s knowledge. It brought it all together for me. Cody was in his bag!
Flanagan’s best tv show, hands down. Midnight Mass SO pales in comparison. In FotHoU, the girl that played teenage Madeline was Lulu Wilson, who also starred in Flanagan’s “Ouija: Origins of Evil” as the evil little girl. She was perfect! Y’all did a fantastic job reacting to this! Congratulations! Please look up “Penny Dreadful”. It’s right up your alley. I do not know how you did not binge the entire series the first night it came out. Waiting for y’all to react was like the longest edging in the history of edging!!
