Grotesquerie Finale Ends on Frustrating Cliffhanger; Niecy Nash Addresses ‘Huge Unanswered Question’ for Potential Season 2
Grotesquerie ended its first season on Wednesday with another gruesome crime befitting the FX drama’s title. But if you thought that Episode 10 would bring this turducken of a mystery to any sort of conclusion, you’re dreaming. Or maybe Lois is dreaming. One thing’s for sure: our brains could all use a rest after this.
The finale began with Lois returning home to find Marshall and Redd waiting for her, armed with dinner, drinks and an offer she absolutely could refuse — a throuple! It was a hard no from Lois, who simply wants to be at peace with Marshall after all these years. Redd then came clean about her own misery, revealing that she knows Marshall has been sleeping around. As far as she was concerned, their relationship was “like a bad dream, best to be forgotten.”
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An angry Marshall returned to his classroom, where he preached that we’re living in a modern-day Ancient Rome, a civilization that’s deteriorating morally, environmentally and technologically. This “passionate” lecture was interrupted by Megan and Gale, who informed Marshall that one of his students came forward with a sexual assault allegation. He insisted that their relationship was consensual, but he was printed and photographed nonetheless. Megan even suggested that Marshall “find some sort of help” for his compulsive sex “addiction.”
Following an attempt to end his life, Marshall received a text from Ed, who invited him to join a men’s group that helped him clean up his life (aka shave his mullet). It would soon become clear that this was actually a men’s rights group, and Marshall was accepted with open arms after being publicly grilled about his thoughts on pronouns (too many variants!), the #MeToo movement (#BelieveMen!) and the overall “need to return to a more traditional society.” And what do you know, there were quite a few familiar faces in the crowd, including Charlie and both of Lois’ therapists.
Speaking of Lois’ therapists, she went to Dr. Witticomb for confirmation that she’s not dead. (Do they not make at-home tests for that?) At this point, she was fully convinced that she never actually woke up from the coma, a theory he emphatically refuted, instead diagnosing her with Cotard’s syndrome, which was her brain’s reaction to “going through too much to bear.”
Then came another unexpected accusation: Not only did Lois swear that Charlie had orgies in her room while she was in a coma, hence him being so sexual in her dreams, but he also allegedly impregnated an unconscious patient. This was met with a lot of angry words, none fit to be printed here, along with the general thesis that Lois is a horrible person living in a hell of her own making. And she didn’t disagree.
Further complications arose when Lois returned to the motel room to find all evidence of Justin’s death scrubbed; Megan denied enlisting Glorious to take care of things, despite Lois spotting them together. And when Lois suggested that Grotesquerie must be someone in the medical field with access to her files, Dr. Witticomb turned the tables, inferring that she was responsible for all the brutality.
After spending a few days in a psychiatric ward (padded walls and all!), Lois received a visit from Megan, who finally admitted that she lied about Justin — Lois did kill him, and she did conspire with Glorious to clean up the mess. She needed Lois’ help, even in the midst of a mental health crisis (sorry ’bout it!), because this particular crime was “bigger, more calculated.” And it involved victims they both knew.
Lois arrived on the bloody scene to find a crucified Charlie. She said it was fitting to see him in that role, given that he literally touched her heart. You know, with paddles. The other victims in the tapestry of terrors were mostly unhoused men, save for one other key individual — Mary Colsby, the student who accused Marshall of sexual assault.
Lois emphatically turned to her former co-workers, telling them that she knows exactly who the killer is, and that they should meet her at her old office in an hour. Lois Tryon is back, baby!
But wait, did the season really end without Lois revealing the actual killer? You bet! Or rather, you Niecy Nash-Betts! Speaking with our sister site Deadline, the series’ star confirms: “You don’t even know who Grotesquerie is yet. That’s a huge unanswered question.”
“The main thing that I think I’m looking forward to [in a potential second season] is, who is Grotesquerie? In therapy, the doctor says Grotesquerie is an amalgamation of all of the evils that have happened in the world in [her] mind, but then these crimes start to happen literally. … There still are a few questions I’m waiting to have answered, and all things being perfect, we would have a Season 2 to unpack it. If not, that means me sitting at a dinner with Ryan for hours telling me where he planned on this story going.”
Were you satisfied by the Grotesquerie finale? Did it leave any of your burning questions unanswered? What would you want to see in a potential second season? Weigh in via our polls below, then drop a comment with your thoughts on how everything played out.
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