The Fall of the House of Usher episode 2 picks up after the shocking revelation that all six Usher siblings are dead and that their father Roderick believes he's the one to blame for it.
But is there more to this story than meets the eye? This episode takes a closer look at the youngest Usher son Prospero aka Perry's last few days before his death, which is our first in-depth look at the mysterious siblings.
In The Fall of the House of Usher episode 1, we started to learn a bit more about the company, the shady goings on, and the family themselves, with 2 really honing in on Perry in particular, as well as Roderick's difficulty making it into Big Pharma.
Here's a recap of the pretty disturbing episode 2...
How did Perry die?
Perry is still feeling annoyed about his failed investment pitch to his father and Aunt Madeline, where they refuse to help him with his vision of creating successful, hedonistic nightclubs. But he hasn't been deterred and instead decides to take things into his own hands.
He doesn't need the nest egg to start the first nightclub, but he does need access to some Usher-owned property. After Perry shadows his older brother Frederick (Henry Thomas) at Fortunato Pharmaceuticals, he finds out the company owns some abandoned testing facilities and warehouses, making it the perfect place for a secret VIP party.
Perry finds the perfect location and sets up the bar and hook up the water tanks on the roof to the sprinkler system so he can make it rain on his hand-picked guests. However, we find out he's more interested in blackmailing the VIPs in attendance, rather than wanting them to have a good time.
Much like the other Ushers, Perry is not a good person, and it's clear he puts his own needs above anything else. Everything seems to be going according to plan, until a mysterious woman named Verna wearing a red cloak and skull mask arrives. She talks to him about "consequences" before she disappears.
Verna roams around the party and whispers things to the staff. The bartender, security guards, and waitresses file out of the building without a word, but everyone's too caught up in their own stuff to notice they've left.
Perry is distracted waiting for the sprinklers to turn on to initiate things with the partygoers, but he soon finds out that they are not filled with water. Instead, they're filled with toxins his father's coming claims to know nothing about. So instead of water, the sprinklers spray acid all over the guests.
It's a bloodbath with no escape in sight as all the doors are locked. Perry and the others are all drenched in the acid and burn to death, with Verna finding Perry and giving him a small kiss before placing her mask on him, and watching as he dies.
What else does Roderick reveal?
Roderick continues to tell Dupin about his children and their deaths, as well as revealing more about his career and the company.
Back in 1979, when Roderick worked for Fortunato Pharmaceuticals but is not yet running the place, Rufus Griswold (Michael Trucco) is the company’s CEO. He’s the man Roderick first pitches the drug Ligodone to, calling it a “universal, nonaddictive painkiller” with the potential to “change the world” .
However, we soon learned that the drug is in fact very addictive, and has ruined lives due to the company's misleading marketing campaigns that have not been transparent about the side effects.
Roderick tries to pitch the drug as a way to help alleviate pain while also turning a huge profit, but Rufus doesn't bite.
Roderick returns home to his wife Annabel (Katie Parker) and his sister, Madeline, and Annabel wants him to consider moving on from Fortunato. However, Madeline thinks he should do the opposite. Rufus is simply an obstacle need to bulldoze through to get what they want. So they decided not to give up.
