The Fall of the House of Usher Episode 2 'The Masque of the Red Death' REACTION!!

Motivated by money and revenge, Perry hosts an exclusive masque-rave that takes a twisted turn. A young Roderick pitches a revolutionary new opioid. Here's Nikki & Steven's reaction to episode 2 of The Fall of the House of Usher, The Masque of the Red Death.
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0:00 - INTRO
5:43 - REACTION
27:47 - RECAP
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#NikkiStevenReact #TheFalloftheHouseofUsher

[@NikkiStevenReact]

Fall of the House of Usher full watch-a-long REACTION: www.patreon.com/collection/146034 We have started S6 of SoA over on patreon... Check out the full watch-a-long REACTIONS here: www.patreon.com/collection/9938 If you want to keep up with us, the community, the schedule and everything we have going on, join our discord. It's fun and free: discord.com/invite/stikkerfam

[@jordanclark6972]

Mike Flanagan does no wrong. His writing of characters and storytelling as far as movies and TV shows is the best of our time

[@phillstanford6036]

Agreed this show is very clever because every episode is based off a different Edgar Allen Poe story and it still ties into a full season and makes all the sense to me that's great writing

[@kellifranklin9872]

@@phillstanford6036 I love how MF did that! It’s pure genius!

[@E.D1282]

I couldn't agree more

[@olyophogrific]

except for Midnight Club that was so bad

[@TheOdMan]

@@olyophogrific Going to disagree that it was bad, it was at least ok imo. His weakest yet for sure, but it also wasn't entirely his show. I would not have minded a season or 2 more of it to explore the entire storyline they where setting up. It was an ok show that seemed worse than it was because it was being compared to literally some of the best horror shows ever made, or that's my take on it anyway.

[@Rmlohner]

The Masque of the Red Death is a very short story, just four pages, though that hasn't stopped some feature film adaptations like the one with Vincent Price in the '60s. Prospero in the story is a count who holds a debauched, days-long party for the one percent while the rest of his country is ravaged by a plague, believing they're safe inside. But eventually a personification of the plague itself breaks in dressed just like Verna here and kills them all.

[@HarperGigs]

Yeah, the Poe story that is the title for each episode is the clue as to what will happen. Plus overall Usher is a story of the inward corruption/deterioration of rich/famous/glamous...getting what they deserve. Kind of the point of the whole thing. Hrmmm...wonder what rich/corrupt family in today's society they might be talking about.

[@Rmlohner]

@@HarperGigs The show even explicitly names a few people later on.

[@HarperGigs]

@@Rmlohner Yeah, they weren't subtle, were they.

[@CraigKostelecky]

This was the perfect way to adapt Poe for a modern audience. Take all of his stories, use the basic ideas and blend it together in a perfect way. Flanagan chose very wisely and his additions are just sublime.

[@erinraecowin]

@HarperGigs probably the Sacklers

[@jedsterdfw]

Roderick was also indirectly responsible for the chemical violations with the building, as the lawyer said, "One of the sites had water so acidic...."

[@tedmiller1376]

That wasn't acidic water, though. No matter how acidic, water one could run away and find shelter from. That had to be pure, and especially strong, concentrated acid. But you know horror fiction. Exaggerate lethality at every chance.

[@jazzyjay3881]

21:24 "I'm your brother's wife" Nikki: And she'll be there at 7! I cracked up!

[@AnaFox]

She nailed it 😂

[@lastbutfirst266]

Edgar’s life is filled with pain and suffering. This episode where Rodrick is trying to change the world by a pill that takes away pain and suffering is so fitting.

[@jordanclark6972]

Plus mark hammil was excellent in this show. Couldn’t even tell it was him most of the time

[@Rmlohner]

Amazing that even in his 70s he's still adding new characters to his repertoire like nothing he's done before.

[@Rmlohner]

Rufus Griswold was a literature professor who had a mutual hatred with Edgar Allan Poe, but for some reason Poe gave him control of his estate in his will. He promptly set about destroying his reputation, spreading rumors about him being a drug-addled hedonist that thankfully have since been dismantled.

[@Shyknit]

I knew that name sounded familiar when I heard it! It's interesting looking into stuff, the name of the Company and the title of that one episode the Rue morgue; rue means bitter regret

[@JekyViews]

@@Shyknit "Rue" means street, in French. The original novella is set in Paris. It's the name of a fictional street. Sometimes, it's simpler than you think. :)

[@swiftlymurmurs]

@@JekyViews Sometimes things can have both a simple AND a poetic meaning! The one doesn't exclude the other

[@annharris8550]

Ligadone reminds me of how OxyContin was at first just supposed to be to handle the worst kind of intractable cancer pain-then it started being over prescribed for any kind of pain.

[@christopherhuang9501]

Yeah, same with Morphine. It was so over-prescribed to soldiers injured in the American Civil War that Morphine addiction (not PTSD, that wasn't a diagnosis yet) came to be called "the soldier's disease". And Heroin was called HEROin because it was supposed to be the wonderful alternative that would save the world from Morphine addiction. I mean, it kind of did, but ...

[@Andre_APM]

So many characters in Poe's stories meet their ends in an ironic fashion and I just love that Flanagan tied that to the Usher's arrogance for this story

[@williamjeffery8210]

What Mike Flannigan does so well in his adaptation is tying all of Poe's work together in a single story. Using Fall of the House of Usher as the main story-line then using the individual deaths of each of Usher's kids as an adaptation of another Poe story was just brilliant!!

[@valentinogal781]

In the story The Mask Of The Red Death, Prince Prospero's attempts to avoid a dangerous plague, so he throws a party and invited his rich elite friends, hoping that this plaque would pass them by. Much like in episode 2, no one got in and no one got out. But death with the mask made its way in and took them all out. Showing us again that death has no prejudice. However Mike takes it to a new level. Not only showing us this concept but also showing us how out of touch the rich and powerful are from reality. How entitled they really are thinking that they think they have ammunity from consequence. Of course, Prospero is more of a consequence of his father's sins and also a creation of his father. That was why Verna kissed him and bid him goodbye, pitty for his ignorance. He is consequential and a consequence. Prospero was looking to exploit all of them who thought they were a secret because they wore masks. Carla's dialog was beautifully delivered.

[@aubryellaotero1064]

If anyone is really interested in Poe’s works then this is literally the perfect series for them. They tie in his stories and poems so masterfully and brilliantly.

[@eighthdoctor]

The mask that Perry/Prospero's friend with the red hair was wearing at the party was a nice MF easter egg; it features in his film _Hush_ from 2016. 😁

[@Beatrizgo1989]

I want to see your react of the melting part. And you didn’t disappoint me. The ending scene still disturb me.

[@nothankyou94]

They tried to warn him in the meeting near the start of the episode and he cut them off.

[@wrestlerecap1324]

The ending of this episode was SO effed up and it's what hooked me for the rest of the show. Good lord

[@ronaldguz]

me too, i was in shock

[@yvonnejaime1266]

❤❤She is not the devil. She is not even evil. Verna is an anagram for Raven. She's a raven. She's the executor of fate or the executor of Karma. She is a shape shifter. She manifests to each person at the moment before their death as they can see her. Verna is offering these people the most honest conversation they will ever have in their lives.

[@rexibhazoboa7097]

SPOILER She choose to kill Freddy's daughter who was said to be innocent. Why did she feel she had to do that? And why not warn everyone in the party and not just a few people?

[@Quzga]

@@rexibhazoboa7097 She had no choice, that was part of the deal.

[@justlive2809]

she's part of the bloodline ...@@rexibhazoboa7097

[@QuikVidGuy]

@@rexibhazoboa7097 Most likely, the guests were all part of similar families and she only saved the staff

[@angelmanuelrojasbueno2775]

My mom in the middle of episode 4 was like "I'm done, I can't keep seeing this"... LOL... This series is a crazy top shit, and you are about to have it 😂😂😂 This story is awesome!

[@arnoldrivas4590]

She has to finish it. Can't stop the train now 😅

[@Listeningears67]

SHOCKING episode, and a great way to kick off the stories. Masque of the Red Death is still one of my favourite of Poe's stories. Flanagan is an artist! 👏👏 Thank you for reacting to this series. Much love to you both! 💕

[@Andre_APM]

I reaally like the contrast of Prospero waking up after his orgy at the beginning of the episode and him in the middle of the carnage at the rave later on

[@CraigKostelecky]

I still use the Hill House names (or Elliot from E.T.) for the actors who keep coming back in the Flanagan projects.

[@jstnrbsn]

Working in hospitals most my life my first thought at the end of that sprinkler scene was 'I cant imagine what that room smells like!'

[@phillstanford6036]

Best show I've seen in a very Long time I love this this was a good episode but I still can't wait till they get into the later episodes I love this channel lol

[@garethpendlebury7996]

Love how this series takes a spin on a number of short stories of Poe's. Plus Verna as the Raven, harbinger of death.

[@cantabrian1009]

Carla Gugino fast becoming a favourite actor - fan casting her for all sorts of roles.

[@jeremyodwyer9232]

I don't know if you've made it past this episode yet but I would say that there's some animal stuff in episode 3 and ESPECIALLY in episode 4 that will be tough on Nikki. Just wanted to give a heads up in case you haven't already been warned.

[@Shyknit]

This whole series will be hard for Nikki if we're being honest

[@Stable_Delerium]

It would be nice if someone tells her the stuff in episode 4 is all a hallucination. I don’t think that’s too much of a spoiler. It will help her cope.

[@kimberlyjeanne9456]

@@Stable_Deleriumnot ALL of it, Leo does do the first thing. Then he hallucinates the other stuff

[@Stable_Delerium]

@@kimberlyjeanne9456 no the first thing was also a hallucination. The real Pluto shows up at the end. This was confirmed by Mike Flanagan. No real cats were harmed by Leo.

[@jamie4892]

This is probably Flanagan's most gruesome series now that I just finished it. I had to turn away at some moments, but this is probably my favorite series from him even though I enjoyed them all.

[@jacquelinedimattia774]

This show is truly a masterpiece....

[@kellifranklin9872]

I just finished the series and it’s brilliant! Using Poe’s most famous poems and stories for each episode is just genius! This is also so well acted. I’m really enjoying y’alls reactions to this show!

[@Morster]

I’d say this is easily one of the best, if not the best, of Mike Flanagan’s shows 👌

[@HarperGigs]

Nice way to leave Netflix. ..with a masterpiece. "chef's kiss"

[@kellifranklin9872]

This is absolutely his best series!

[@vn5774]

1. Hill House (10/10) 2. Midnight Mass (9/10) 3. House of Usher (8.5/10)

[@filmfangirls9163]

I think this one has become my favorite of the Flanagan series. It really leaves and impact.

[@blueskybelyr]

The broader theme of this show being that the previous generations used their selfishness to destroy the world for the next generation is what made me love it. The endless, horrific greed of corporations twisting in with that is even better. Folks, the Flanagan has done it again!

[@shannongrimes2544]

Sooo glad you guys watched this one. I love Nikki's reactions and this one will be gooooood! Lol

[@lexjjohnson]

The show only builds up, so good. Thanks for the reaction, can’t wait til next week!

[@ccronk]

So glad you guys are reacting to this show… I just binged it this past weekend and I tell ya you won’t be disappointed and this isn’t something I’d usually go for but it grips you and keeps pulling you in!!

[@AsielFlores]

I’m early. Can’t believe people are sleeping on this one. Always happy to watch you guys react to Flanagans work.

[@EchanteDante]

The acting is next level for this one Kate Siegel as Camille is so intense! Same with the sister.

[@MindFreak76]

I binge-watched this miniseries and I loved it! You both will too! Each character death will be significant, their demise will be poetic and the horror will be Poe-worthy. I won't spill spoilers but I can say you're gonna be shocked and thrilled by the time this miniseries ends.

[@user-gi8pk9uc7q]

Poe would love the fact that he's so well known today!

[@DEGriffSoc]

I let out a proper guffaw at the line 'Gucci Caligula'.

[@raivengilliam3134]

I was not expecting to love this show so much, but Mike Flanagan just continues to impress me. I love watching your reactions! You guys are my comfort channel ❤️❤️❤️

[@DaemonTargaryen13]

Yesss I cant believe I’m watching this show with you guys !! I love it

[@smiffy68]

That comic book, Wizard of Id? I had that very book when I was a kid, exact same one! It's probably still in my mom's attic back in Scotland. Another one I remember from the same book (I think) was the character Robbing Hood: he robs from the wretch and gives to the peer.

[@Zseventyone]

I’m only through this episode, but this appears to be the best acting I’ve seen from Greenwood.

[@ghinanaeem5723]

That opinion will only get stronger with the rest of the episodes

[@Zseventyone]

@@ghinanaeem5723 Excellent!

[@genghisgalahad8465]

Gonna find this show so I can follow along! Seems a perfect October 🎃 👻 fare! Streaming....somewhere. That I hopefully have.

[@raivengilliam3134]

It’s on Netflix! 😊❤️

[@action747]

The actor who plays Perry called it the “ cuddle puddle”!

[@salyx]

That was soooo funny!

[@vivitaquerida]

Now you can read the short story or even the sinopsis, which is great to see how Flanagan adapts Poe

[@yvonnejaime1266]

❤❤❤ This episode and episode 6 are my favorites in this series. 1899 is also an amazing series!

[@aimeem]

Lenore (the grand daughter) was the only Usher-by-blood who had a functioning moral compass, which makes her a likely suspect to be the informant.

[@msgSharke]

Great show and being a big Poe fan I love it all!

[@CraigKostelecky]

This show has inspired me to revisit Poe. I have always loved the Raven, but I've gone back and re-read a lot of his stories that I last read in high school 25+ years ago. There are some great KZbin videos of Christopher Lee (and others) reading the stories with sound effects. Highly recommended after watching this series.

[@magnifique909]

Watching this show second time with you!

[@jonathanlopez6953]

all the sibling have theirbown color. Perry is red, Frederick is blue, Tamerlane is green, Vicky is orange, camille is white, leo is yellow. and the way how Morelle take that cape/shawl that is blue and see that she is wearing teal colored show that she is not only equal to Fred but she could also be her ownselfbif chooses.

[@ronaldguz]

the acid rain escene will be foerever in my mind.

[@luciemurphree1597]

I absolutely LOVED that middle finger behind the back. I laughed so hard! All I can see is Elliott from E.T. doing it😅😂😅😂

[@samanthacreeden8388]

My first watch was in a tattoo shop so I was distracted and lost, so when the acid scene happened I was like ???!?!?!?!?! Totally well played

[@DeathWishMonkey]

I'd call Verna the devil except the devil doesn't try warn people to back out or spare them.

[@dawnspina1174]

Verna is death. Verna is an anagram for raven

[@rasaan2011]

"And she'll be there at 7!" I love you Nikki that took me out!😂😆🤣

[@hannahabbot4250]

The prosecution reminds me of Purdue Farma who provoked opioid epidemic in the States. There is a nice limited series Dopesick about it with Michael Keaton, Will Poulter, and Kaitlyn Dever. It was really solid.

[@J-B-P]

You guys need to watch Dopesick!

[@kayenicolle]

This episode traumatise me to the core! Like Im afraid to visit bars and party places like these anymore. Each kills are so fucked up. Good luck Nikki! Great show! 😭

[@darthyamilcollado8886]

funny thing is verna gave him a way out but he did not listen.

[@catmc8792]

💖💖💖 great reaction

[@eddietucker7005]

Ok, I’m starting my 5th binge on this. I love Halloween. This is NOT as good as “Penny Dreadful”, but this my favorite Flanagan series. My favorite film of his is “Oculus”. But then there’s “Gerald’s Game”, “Ouija: Origins of Evil” (which stars LuLu Wilson, who plays you Maddy).

[@maingate7672]

She's the Red Death, holding sway over all!

[@sydnitheromantictaylor112]

This episode was dope. Raining acid, 😅 damn!!!

[@xMr2PaCx]

Wife is pompy from hill house and perdita from bly manor

[@jamesrein648]

I thought Mark Hamill's character in this series was phenomenal

[@alim2012]

I love you guys

[@rxn2024]

I'm still in episode 3 and I don't know if the pattern I'm seeing is correct, that each Usher represents a deadly sin. Prospero is of course lust and Camille is envy? Still have to finish the series to confirm my theory.

[@swiftlymurmurs]

I feel like Seven Deadly Sins symbolism is kind of overdone, people have mapped it onto everything from this to Spongebob. I just don't really see what it adds to the table thematically

[@myasuniverse1327]

So as many people know this show is just one big homage to Edgar Allen Poe, this episode is based on the Masque of Red Death, a short story of a Prince Prospero who wishes to avoid a plague named red death and forms a masquerade ball full of rich and nobles. Then like in the episode, death enters the building.

[@SamuelRay-bp3lt]

It only get more DARK from here. By the END, you will be numb to it all.

[@spookyghost6713]

This ep has major MrBallen vibes

[@jamesmyles4540]

Going into episode 8 i looked over to my wife and said "i have called every death at least 20 minutes before it happened, i have no idea how this is ending."

[@jmyork88]

Verna is an anagram for Raven

[@keeganbate8935]

I mean, it IS called the Masque of the Red Death. She was masked and in red. A bit different than the short story, but similar concept.

[@asimcoe9000]

MOAR HOUSE OF USHER PUHLEASE- not for the gore, but for Nikki's slaps 😂❤

[@niles8102]

Because of his greed, she came to try to give him a deal to stop his own death and his greed over took him.

[@DanielMartinez-wb3pg]

I think the informant is someone we haven't been introduced to yet. Since all his children have different mothers, who's to say there isn't another child out there who never came into the fold with the entire family. So I think the informant is another unknown child of his.

[@witchmoonstone444]

Eeeee i thought most people here would’ve finished watching the show already I can’t wait to see yours and their reaction to the reveal lol

[@DanielMartinez-wb3pg]

@witchmoonstone444 well I'm fixing to start episode 7 so I'm nearly there lol

[@paranoidandroid4956]

My bet is on Skywalker being the informant

[@masteronionnorth2341]

Not only was Prospero not nothing if not crazy... He was also... Incredibly dumb... 🙄

[@mundanepants]

Haven't watched this, but from an author POV: I'd make the dad the mole

[@erinmartin2054]

I’m with Nikki; my guess is Lenore is the informant. Or Pym, since he knows all their secrets.

[@witchmoonstone444]

NO SPOILERS but I can’t wait for you to know lol this show was really good

[@kayenicolle]

oh it is wild once u finish the series and know who it is! Enjoy! 😭

[@alwaysbam]

Man. Ma should've left.😢

[@eman67rp]

Freddy's wife didn't die,because it wasn't her time.

[@jennysutton7409]

The woman in the skull mask the baretender as it were her name is Verna and no that isn't a spoiler because they never say her name here in the show but she is compliaited and in the words of Carla she isn't good or evil she is simply the raven on it's perch looking down at everyone and knowing everything about them. The costume she wears in this one and the name of the episode is a nod to the Phantom of the opera because when he showed up in the party full of masks in the play he was dressed in red and with a skull mask and he was known as the Red Death. I knew something bad was going to happen but I never expected an ending like that..death by acid,nasty stuff but so fitting to something based off of a Edger Allen Poe story. I love how she tried to convince Perry to do the right thing and call the party off like she was testing him in a way and when he laughed at her he failed and paid the price for it as well. Grate reaction as always guys and I can't wait to see you reacting to the other episodes and of course the final where all the peices fall into place. Love this show so much and the twists and turns that it takes as usual with a Mike Flanagan are amazing as well.

[@aimeem]

I don't see Tammy's sex thing as a harmless kink. It's not okay to manipulate and subtly coerce people into doing things they don't want to do. If her husband was an exhibitionist who was into the scenario as much as she was then it would be okay. But he hated it and was just doing it to please her. She had the gold and she made the rules...

[@user-lh7hb1ge7h]

Will Mary and Mike work together again

[@crystalpistey-lyhne3406]

😢🫣😱🙆‍♀️🥰🖥

[@romanandrew9176]

They killed the kids youngest to oldest I think.

[@ghinanaeem5723]

Yep

[@verna-Raven]

its symbolic. red is death, some people wear red at funerals.. an she is death mind you she warned him to stop he didn’t listen

[@artistimd2497]

this whole series is sickening tbh. No emotional connection to any character. Everyone is horrible, except grand daughter..

[@stevecallum7933]

Ok have to say episode 2 was better than the others. To be honest i have to admit some episodes just bored me. I thought as a series it wasnt a patch on The Haunting Of Hill House or The Haunting Of Bly Manor. I cared nothing for Roderick or Madelaine whatsoever, or ANY of the family members as characters. I just felt they had been plonked together in a modern hash up involving stories that to be honest had nothing at all to do with the Title. These in my humble opinion would have served better as a series of completely seperate stories with the only link being Verna the demon. She was a very good character and well concieved, but bunching every Poe story under one umbrella title just weakened the impact of Poe's original stories for me. I didnt mind tbe modern settings, but the unrelated family story arc just didnt cut the mustard in my opinion with this series.

[@justinehercthehuman]

This episode was kind of too horny for me, like some dialogues felt too forced to get along with the new generation. I understand it's camp and giallo but some scenes were cringy and too much slow shots of the nude scenes. The ending is what made it all make sense tho. Like it's saying "yes it's gonna be this intense".

[@savvyshiafan]

I cant watch the end of this episode its horrible. It kicks off the deaths in a big way and it is too much to watch.

[@jaynehogue2459]

She was creepy as the mother on Hill House but in this show she is over the top creepy