Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Grotesquerie episode 10
AlthoughGrotesquerie’s series finale offered viewers some answers, the show’s conclusion still left plenty of major mysteries open.Judging byGrotesquerieepisode 9,Grotesquerie’s season 1 finale had no chance of wrapping up its plot neatly.The gruesome multiple homicides in the episode’s ending made it seem as if Lois’s dreams may have been warped premonitions.Grotesquerie’s season 1 finale looked likely to prove Lois right, as the heroine’s disturbing dreams began coming true in the penultimate episode. This seemingly renderedGrotesquerie’s episode 7’s huge twist, that the entire series was all Lois’s coma dream, moot.
However,Grotesquerie’s season 1 finale ended up neither confirming nor denying this. Lois’s doctor wasn’t guilty of Grotesquerie’s killings, but viewers never got to know his real (non-coma dream) self since he did fall victim to the killer. This flat anti-twist meant thatGrotesquerie’s season 1 finale left viewers with more questions than answers.The show’s creator,American Horror Story’s Ryan Murphyis notorious for endings that fail to follow through on interesting ideas established earlier in the show, andGrotesquerie’s season 1 finale undeniably repeated this trend with an ending that raised many new questions, but answered none.
Every Biblical Reference In Grotesquerie Explained
Grotesquerie is Ryan Murphy’s latest horror creation, and the campy horror references biblical concepts, including the seven deadly sins.
Who Was The Killer In Grotesquerie?
Grotesquerie’s Season 1 Finale Didn’t Reveal The Killer
After teasing their identity for nine episodes,Grotesquerie’s season 1 finale never actually explained who the eponymous Biblical killer was. In Lois’s coma dream, the culprit turned out to be Father Charlie and his accomplice was Lois’s seemingly innocent, quirky friend Sister Megan. However, in reality, Father Charlie was Lois’s doctor and Megan was the police officer who replaced Lois as the head of the force.
Neither seemed to be guilty of the killings, as Megan was investigating them and the doctor became one of Grotesquerie’s final victims in the closing scenes of the episode. A lot occurred before this confounding twist.
Why Marshall Tried To Take His Own Life In The Grotesquerie Finale
Lois’s Husband Was Accused Of Sexual Assault By A Student
Marshall and Redd made Lois dinner, tempting her with a martini and the offer of living together as a bizarrely mismatched throuple. Lois rejected the proposal, and Redd revealed that she knew Marshall was cheating on her. She said she only went along with Marshall’s plan to see Lois reject him.
After a student accused him of sexual assault, Marshall attempted to overdose. He protested his innocence and claimed that their relationship was consensual, but swiftly lost hope after he was arrested and charged. Marshall’s overdose was unsuccessful, andRedd reaffirmed that she wanted nothing more to do with Marshall when he woke up.
The Mexicali Men’s Club From Grotesquerie’s Series Finale Explained
Lois’s Dream Specialist Dr. Milton Smith Was Revealed To Be A Cult Leader
Fast Eddie brought Marshall to The Mexicali Men’s Club, which was soon revealed to be an underground political organization. Marshall’s defense of traditional strongman masculinity earned applause, revealing the group’s reactionary values. The group was also broadly against the phenomenon of cancel culture, but surprisingly supportive of progressive approaches to pronouns.
Seemingly, the group represented a bizarre mélange of ideologies that embraced traditional values and hierarchical individualism while simultaneously supporting some liberal causes. Every major male character in the series, from Lois’s doctor toSantino Fontana’s dream specialist, was revealed to be a member of this shadowy club.
What Is A Liminal State? Lois' Coma In Grotesquerie Explained
There is a difference between a liminal state and a coma, and Grotesquerie’s Detective Lois Tryon appears to have remained in the former.
Why Lois Attempted To Take Her Life In Grotesquerie’s Finale
Lois Began To Doubt The Reality She Lived In
Meanwhile, Lois questioned whether she ever woke up from her coma. This led her to also attempt to take her own life, resulting in another appointment with Fontana’s specialist.Lois’s specialist explained to her that she was suffering from Cotard’s Syndrome, a condition wherein patients believe they are dead.
Lois admitted to Fontana’s specialist that she had accused the doctor who saved her life of having orgies in her hospital room while she was comatose. Horrified,Grotesquerie’s doctor said he agreed with Marshall that Lois should not have survived her coma when she implied that he impregnated another patient.
Was Justin’s Death Real?
Grotesquerie’s Series Finale Revealed Justin’s Death Really Happened
The final straw that leftGrotesquerie’s heroineLois unable to discern what was realwas the fallout from Justin’s death.Lois shot and killed Megan’s abusive lover, Justin, at the end of episode 9, and his body seemingly disappeared afterward. Lois saw Megan meeting with Glorious McCall and assumed that the crime boss was the one who disposed of the body. Megan not only dismissed this theory but claimed that she hadn’t seen Justin in weeks. Enraged and confused, Lois accused Fontana’s specialist of committing multiple homicides from episode 9, while he accused her of imagining the killings.
Travis Kelce
Fast Eddie
The specialist said Lois made up the killings to justify her view of herself as a saintly figure who would save humanity from its worst depravity. However, Megan checked Lois out of a psychiatric institution soon after she checked herself in. A tearful Megan admitted that she had covered up Justin’s death, and she had employed Glorious McCall to help her dispose of the body.
She gaslit Lois about this, but admitted the truth to her former coworker when she needed her help. Megan then led Lois to Grotesquerie’s latest macabre creation in the closing minutes of the season 1 finale.
Every Death In Grotesquerie Season 1’s Ending Explained
The Unknown Killer Murdered Lois’s Doctor And Marshall’s Accuser
Grotesquerie killed Marshall’s accuser and Lois’s doctor inGrotesquerie’s season 1 finale, arranging them in a tableau that resembled the Last Supper. A recreation of the Last Supper with human corpses as its centerpiece and the disciples appeared in episode 2 as part of Lois’s elaborate coma dream, meaning this scene seemingly proved her dreams really were just premonitions. However, Lois clearly had the villain’s identity wrong. The doctor she was convinced was Grotesquerie must have been innocent, judging by his brutal death.
Who Is The Real Killer In Grotesquerie? All Of The Clues Explained
Grotesquerie’s twist now raises the question of if there are more murders to come, and if any of Lois' nightmare suspects will come to fruition.
What Grotesquerie Season 1’s Ending Really Means
Grotesquerie’s Ending Was A Satirical Shaggy Dog Story
Up untilGrotesquerieepisode 6, the show seemed like a fairly straightforward, if campy and melodramatic, murder mystery. However, season 1’s ending proved that it was more of a subversive satirical shaggy dog story. The real killer was never revealed, the relationship between Lois’s dreams and reality was never revealed, and the cult’s connections to the killings (if any) were never explained. All of these plot threads might be wrapped up at a later date, but season 1 offered nothing in the way of a definitive resolution.
How Grotesquerie Season 1’s Ending Sets Up Season 2
Grotesquerie Season 2 Could Reveal The Titular Killer’s Identity
Grotesquerie’s season 1 finale sets up season 2 by leaving the killer’s identity a mystery, meaning viewers will need to tune into the next season to find out the truth about Grotesquerie’s identity. The killer could be Lois’s specialist, anyone else with access to records of her coma dreams, or possibly Lois herself. It could be Megan, who discovered both crime scenes, but it can’t be Lois’s much-maligned doctor anymore. TheGrotesquerieseason 1 finale brought its heroine no closer to uncovering the truth, but it did leave many mysteries open for season 2 to explore.
How The Grotesquerie Ending Was Received
Horror Fans Did Not Love The Ending
While many critics praised the initial episodes ofGrotesqueriethey saw, viewers of the series point to episode seven as the point in the season that the show went downhill for them.The decision to make the events of the show a coma dream did not sit well with many of the audience members.
“It was all a dream” is a well-worn trope in television, and it is not always pulled off with success. Fans have become increasingly cynical of that particular writing decision because it makes them feel as if they invested in character arcs and story points for no reason.One Redditorpointed out that the pilot episode showed great promise for a horror series that would sit just on the edge of uncomfortable, but the final episodes of the season abandoned that:
1st episode especially was shot so well and had a theme of “gross” while setting up a great plot….if they stuck with that theme the whole show and didn’t blow it by episode 7, revealing it was all make-believe in the main characters dream it could have succeeded and taken just 1 season to do so. But the 2nd half was like a drama, that didn’t push the envelope of making you feel uncomfortable but still unable to turn away from the screen.
Fans really wanted to see the show do something new in the realm of horror, and ultimately, it did not.Many fans equated not enjoying the ending of the season as simply a result of watching a series helmed by Ryan Murphy.Many Redditors agreedthat “Only Ryan Murphy can ruin something that should have been gold.”
That sentiment leaves whether fans will tune in for a season two ofGrotesquerieand a resolution to that cliffhanger ending in doubt.
Grotesquerie
Cast
Grotesquerie: In this crime drama, a detective and a nun delve into a series of heinous crimes with personal ties, confronting their own struggles while unraveling a sinister web. Their investigation raises profound questions, revealing unsettling truths that challenge their perceptions and deepen the mystery.
