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FX's Grotesquerie has reached a chaotic season 1 finale, setting up a few storylines for season 2. After a late-season twist revealed that Niecy Nash-Betts' Detective Lois Tryon dreamed up the titular serial killer's murder in a nightmare coma sequence, the remaining episodes saw Lois attempting to decipher what her dreams were trying to tell her about the people present in her waking life. The biggest reveal of Grotesquerie's season 1 ending was that Lois' coma culprit was not the real murderer. In her dreams, she envisions that struggling priest Father Charlie Mayhew (Nicholas Alexander Chavez) was the killer, due in part to his repressed sexual desires and misogyny.
In reality, Father Charlie is Dr. Charlie Mayhew, and the very doctor who was responsible for keeping Lois on life support. While he appears suspicious while attending a men's rights group meeting, season one's bloody conclusion reveals that Charlie is actually the second victim, and he was crucified to death in a recreation of the biblical Last Supper, one of many of Grotesquerie's intricate biblical references. The events of the specifically woven finale set up Grotesquerie's season 2 killer reveal, among other plotlines.
5 Marshall Had Access To Lois' Dream Records
Marshall Is Already Suspect Number One
Upon waking up from her coma, Lois begins seeing a specialist named Dr. Whitcomb (Santino Fontana), who works to help her untangle her dreams and connect the alter-egos to their real versions in her life. When the Grotesquerie murders of her liminal state coma begin occurring in her reality, Lois questions whether she is really awake. When her status is confirmed by Detective Megan Duvall (Micaela Diamond, who Lois previously believed was a nun in the dream), she realizes that someone with access to her medical files has become a copycat killer.
Lois immediately turns to Dr. Whitcomb and Dr. Mayhew as suspects, believing that one of them is abusing their access to her medical records and torturing her by recreating the horrific crimes. However, Whitcomb reveals that Lois' husband, Marshall Tryon (Courtney B. Vance), also had access to her files, suddenly implicating him. Lois had recently served Marshall divorce papers, and his girlfriend Redd (Lesley Manville) broke up with him. Shortly after Redd tells Marshall she is leaving him due to his series of affairs with his college students and coworkers, one of these mistresses accuses him of sexual assault.
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Marshall is questioned by Megan and maintains his innocence, but the weight of the consequences of his life's choices leads to a suicide attempt. He ultimately survives, and joins a men's group alongside Ed Lachlan (Travis Kelce), under the guise of self-improvement. In reality, the group is a men's rights organization that pushes back on the #MeToo movement, the use of pronouns in the workplace, and professes generally misogynistic worldviews, clearly due to their own mediocrity and personal failures.
As the camera pans to the full Last Supper murder scene with Dr. Mayhew crucified as a Christ-like figure, it is revealed that among the victims is the very woman who accused Marshall of assault. Marshall's victim complex coupled with his violent wishes for Lois' death make him a viable suspect as the copycat killer after Lois. Given that Marshall is a highly intelligent man who was married to a law enforcement officer for so many years, season 2 could see Marshall jumping through elaborate hoops to evade the law.
4 Ed's Mens Group Sets Up The Theory That Grotesquerie Is A Group
The Group Might Have Turned On Charlie
Ed invites Marshall to the men's group after he survives a suicide attempt. At the group, several of the male cast members of Grotesquerie are revealed to know one another, including the specialist assisting Whitcomb in collecting Lois' testimony (Thomas Ellenson). Ed immediately accuses women of "canceling" all men in the current culture, disavows pronoun usage, and expresses disdain for the women he feels look down upon him. The men's group's clear disdain for women, sex workers, and marginalized communities immediately attracts suspicion that the murders are a group effort.
Ed initially began attending the men's group after becoming sober from alcohol. His alcoholism eventually led to his affair with Lois, while he was already married to her daughter Merritt (Raven Goodwin). He was additionally working at CinnaBon, which caused a further rift between him and Merritt, who is a highly educated cancer researcher. She often criticized him for his lack of ambition and upper mobility in life. The beliefs of the men's group tie into the overarching religious undertones of the show – that, since the allegory of Adam and Eve, women have been blamed for the downfall of man.
Ed's misogynistic views are applauded and Marshall agrees with them. Prior to his death, Charlie is also seen in the meeting. Charlie additionally reveals to Lois that Marshall asked him to pull the plug on her life support and kill her, but he denied his request. It is possible that the men's group turned on Charlie for sparing Lois' life, and the murders are a group effort rooted in misogyny, which will be revealed in season 2. They might have viewed his willingness to spare Lois as self-righteous, resulting in the religious symbolism of the crucifixion.
3 Lois Is Confirmed To Be Awake And Returning To Her Job
Lois Tells The Force That Megan Can't Solve These Murders
Megan comes to find Lois to confirm that she is awake, after Lois questions her status when Megan initially lies about Lois shooting her abusive boyfriend. Megan reveals that Lois did kill him in self-defense, and she had help with cleaning up the scene so that Lois does not bear responsibility. Lois agrees to go to the second crime scene with Megan, where she tells the police that she is coming out of retirement to help them solve it, because she knows Megan cannot. Megan's own vulnerability and lack of personal connection to the murders is why Lois feels that her expertise is necessary to stop them.
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With Lois confirmed to be awake and back to being an active detective in this series of crimes literally ripped from her nightmares, Grotesquerie season 2 can finally shed light on the identity of the killer. A second season could also continue to provide a window into the reality of Lois' troubled past, as previously, her backstory was only discussed in the dream state. Viewers still do not know about Lois' real first time meeting Marshall, the details of Merritt's college experience, or how she met Ed.
2 Merritt Was Once A Part Of A Cult
Lois Confronts Merritt To Apologize For Her Affair With Ed, Revealing Merritt Was In A Cult
Taking her dream as a sign to improve her life, Lois and her housekeeper Macy go around town as Lois attempts to make peace with several people in her life, starting with her daughter Merritt. Lois apologizes for falling into alcoholism and for having an affair with Ed while she struggled with her sobriety, hoping to eventually regain her trust.
Merritt is angry, feeling her mother's apology is too little, too late. In typical Ryan Murphy universe fashion, Grotesquerie reveals that Merritt might not be so innocent herself. She struggled to get through medical school, and Lois blurts out that she even helped her while she was in a cult. Merritt's time in the cult is not yet elaborated on, and the theory that the Grotesquerie killer is a group, and maybe not the men's group, but Merritt's former cult.
1 Redd and Lois Are Now On The Same Side
Both Women Have Left Marshall
Lois made peace with Marshall's long-standing relationship with Redd, and even thanked her for "putting up" with him and taking care of him while Lois struggled with sobriety. Now that Redd has also seen Marshall for who he really is – a misogynist and sex addict who uses philosophy and religion to justify himself – Lois and Redd will soon find themselves fighting against Marshall on the same side.
As the woman who levied accusations of misconduct against Marshall turned up as a murder victim, it would be entirely plausible for Redd to be on Marshall's hit list as well. Given Lois' unique respect for Redd, she could very well become a part of the task force hunting for the killer. Redd brings a unique insight into Marshall's most intimate thoughts, and would likely be able to tell if he is involved should Grotesquerie be renewed for a second season.
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.
Character(s) Lois Tryon , Marshall Tryon , Father Charlie Mayhew , Sister Megan Duval , Merritt Tryon , Nurse Redd , Sgt. Jack Cranburn , Grace Finn , Gale Hanover , Stan the Homeless Man , Beat Cop , Ed Eddie Laclan , Cop , Burnside Mother , Student One , Student Two , Wes , D , SWAT Captain , Mother Firkus , Sullivan Firkus , Barkeep , Mother Superior , Bill , Bishop , Male Student , Old Priest , Priest 2
Release Date September 25, 2024
Seasons 1
Main Genre Mystery
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English (US) ·