The Fall of the House of Usher Season 1 Episode 4 Review: The Black Cat
Denis Kimathi
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Guilt can be a powerful feeling, and based on the act that induced the feeling, it can be crippling for some people.
From the first time we met Leo, he had something to be guilty about.
He avoided confronting his feelings and emotions through the usage of heavy drugs, which would lead to his death.
The Fall of the House of Usher Season 1 Episode 4 focused primarily on Leo as he sought to rectify a huge mistake he made that, if it got out, would upset his life as he knew it.
I'm inclined to believe that Leo loved Jules even though he never seemed to pay attention to him. The pitfalls of drugs after the high has worn off are many, but chief among them is time wastage.
Leo was unaware of his surroundings half the time. He would lose sizeable amounts of time and could not remember what had happened then.
On The Fall of the House of Usher Season 1 Episode 3, he killed Jules' cat and tried to cover up the fact.
Black cats don't deserve the reputation they hold.
What did they do wrong apart from being born black? There is something to be said about using the word black in an almost negative connotation in fiction or real life, which bleeds into the lives of black people.
As the episode opened, we saw him more sober than ever as he tried to find another cat to replace the one he had killed.
Verna was ready to teach him a lesson about honesty and the dangers of drug abuse.
It was Rahul Kohli's moment to shine in the show, and he did a perfect job.
When I saw his transformation into Leo, I couldn't believe this was the same Sheriff from Midnight Mass.
I reiterate that the cast for this show is phenomenal.
Leo had perfected his vices, from stealing creative work from other game creators to lying.
When he brought the cat home, he sprinkled just some factual information to throw Jules off his scent. It is a skill that only experienced liars use.
Hey, guess who I found just hanging outside the front door. Bad news, though, looks like someone nicked the Gucci collar.
Leo
Even though the Usher children could not care much about their siblings, Camille and Leo had a stronger relationship.
They were open with each other in a way they were never honest with other people, which was why Camille's death shocked him.
The Ushers are nothing if not predictable. They did everything they could to hide the facts of the case.
If the Ushers had cultivated a culture of open communication, everyone would have opened up about Verna, and they would have prevented more deaths.
And even after getting Verna's picture and recognizing it, Madeline and Roderick wanted to keep it a secret, not knowing that the same woman had infiltrated the lives of all their children.
Leo was at the end of the road as far as his emotional stability was concerned. He was a drug abuser, railed with guilt and then grief to boot.
No amount of drugs would save him from the emotions he was going through, and even his rants didn't seem to do the trick anymore.
All Jules could do was offer his shoulder in various ways.
Julian: Listen, I know you've been through a lot and I know what I signed up for. You've always been very clear about your recreational time.
Leo: Don't complain about the drugs.
Julian: It's getting to be a thing.
Leo: Don't do it, Jules.
Julian: I'm not saying, "Just say no," I'm saying I'm worried about you. Because you've always, always had it under control, like you've got some kind of magic power, but, babe, you are off your game. Slow down, maybe. Call it a favor to me if you like it better. Humor me? Mmm.
Leo: [softly] Okay.
In his narration to Dupin, Roderick talked a lot about denial and what a powerful tool it can be.
Many people were in denial, whether in the present or the past.
Leo couldn't accept that Camille was dead a short while after Perry.
Denial. It's amazing how far you can get on denial. You know why so many people use denial to get by? Because it really fucking works. The thing about denial is sometimes problems do just go away on their own, so it makes it feel like denial works. The placebo effect. Sometimes it works, like I said. But other times, it doesn't. It really fucking doesn't.
Roderick
Roderick and Madeline knew who Verna was, but they didn't want to confront why she was back. What had they done to her?
In the past, Roderick learned how his signature had been used to forge serious medical trials. From the moment he met Rufus, he could see something was amiss with the man, but he didn't want to accept it because of the promises Rufus had made him.
But denial can only take you so far.
His ass was on the line because if a Medicare fraud investigator had caught on, it was only a matter of time before The Bureau came knocking.
The expose of the horrible things drug companies do continued, and it was heartbreaking hearing Dupin recount all the stories of people who that industry had silenced.
Initially, I had expected Verna to pick the children off one by one, but her timeline seemed to have significantly accelerated. She gotten into all their lives, and seeing Tarmalene's reaction to seeing her in her husband's workout videos revealed something.
So far, I hadn't gotten why watching women play her turned her so much.
It was because she held a high esteem of herself, and seeing someone reenact her was thrilling.
Seeing how she interacted with her husband and why she owned him was a turn-on.
Or it could have just been an arrangement.
Tamerlane seeing Verna in the video broke the illusion that she was in control.
The episode culminated in a showdown between Pluto, the cat, and Leo, the junkie.
Watching that whole sequence was thrilling and horrifying, from Verna's demeanor to the demon cat that could teleport.
Jules knew he might find his drug-addicted boyfriend doing something weird occasionally, but he never expected to see a wrecked house and then watch Leo jump to his death.
That must have been horrifying, and it is the kind of thing that remains in someone's mind forever.
And then the cat did a little walk over his dead body.
Bad people corrupt those around them, and the current Roderick was a direct product of Rufus.
Roderick: We're at battle stations, I'm the commanding officer, I don't wanna hear anything but, "Sir, yes, sir." You get me?
Leo: Sir, yes, sir?
Every tactic he used was straight out of Rufus' playbook. He almost used Rufus' words verbatim.
Rufus: We are all at fucking battle stations right now. I am the commanding officer, and I don't wanna hear anything that isn't, "Sir, yes, sir." Do you get me?
Roderick: I get you.
Rufus: Then say it.
Roderick: Sir, yes, sir.
It wasn't surprising that he ran his family business like Rufus had taught him.
"The Black Cat" explored guilt, grief, and drug abuse through modern lenses.
After this episode, it wasn't clear what was real and what wasn't, creating more interest in discovering it.
What did you think?
Share in the comments section.
Denis Kimathi was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He has watched more dramas and comedies than he cares to remember. Catch him on social media obsessing over [excellent] past, current, and upcoming shows or going off about the politics of representation on TV. Follow him on X.
