21/10/2023
2 - Characters, Cast, and Crew
It makes sense to start with the Crew. Have you heard the name Mike Flanagan yet?
Mike Flanagan created this series. He wrote the teleplay and directed much of the series, and let a close friend and frequent collaborator, Michael Fimongnari, direct the rest. Flanagan has been known by horror fans since Absentia in 2011, followed by Oculus (2013), then Hush and Before I Wake (both in 2016). While he didn’t make the terrible Ouija (2014), he wrote and directed a much-improved prequel Ouija: Origin of Evil in 2016. In my lengthy Introduction, I already talked about his Netflix series and Stephen King films from 2017 until now.
Michael Fimongnari directed some episodes, but has been working with Flanagan on almost project since Oculus. He appears to be quite skilled as a Cinematographer as well.
Most of the primary and secondary characters were pulled directly from the work of Edgar Poe, so he is next. (If you wonder why I don’t refer to him as “Edgar Allan Poe,” it is because of the deep rifts between him and his foster father, John Allan, and because Edgar only seems to have used that name or middle initial when he thought it would benefit himself.) Poe was an American author and critic in the early half of the 19th century. In the past twenty years of teaching about him and his stories and poems, I could probably write a biography about him, but I will keep it short here. He is considered the master of Gothic Horror, but also the Grandfather of Sherlock Holmes, writing some of the earliest “detective” stories. As a literary critic, he made many enemies in his career, including Rufus Wilscot Griswold and William Wadsworth Longfellow, both of whom were included as characters in this adaptation. If you don’t know Poe, why are you even reading this document?
The Protagonist: Roderick Usher - pulled directly from the short story “The Fall of the House of Usher” (1839). In the Netflix series, Roderick is the patriarch of the Usher family, and also the primary defendant in more than seventy charges from the US Attorney’s office, mostly in relation to his position as CEO of Fortunato Pharmaceuticals. The adult Roderick Usher is portrayed by Bruce Greenwood (who also acted in Flanagan films Gerald’s Game and Doctor Sleep), and the younger 20-something version performed by Zach Gilford (Flanagan alum from Midnight Mass and The Midnight Club), and also by Graham Verchere and Lincoln Russo in the first episode’s flashbacks to his youngest years.
Supporting Co-Protagonist: Madeline Usher - Also from the same short story. She is the strong and powerful twin sister of Rodrick, the COO of Fortunato Pharmaceuticals, and also named in many of the suits against the Usher family. The adult Madeline is the magnificient Mary McDonnell, but by the scene-stealing Willa Fitzgerald as a younger adult. Lulu Wilson (also in The Haunting of Hill House and Ouija: Origin of Evil) and Kate Whiddington play earlier versions of Madeline. Madeline is a spinster, having no children of her own, and intrigued with the idea of creating a legacy through Artificial Intelligence instead of biology.
The Fixer: Arthur Pym, playfully known as the “Pym Reaper” - from Poe’s only full novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838). He is the legal counsel of the Usher family, but also has many other talents on the dark side of the law. Here, he is played by legendary Mark Hamill. (If you missed him as the most recent voice of the psychotic Chucky doll or as The Joker in Batman: The Animated Series in the 1990s, maybe you might recall him as Star Wars’ Luke Skywalker.)
The Foil: C. Auguste Dupin - played by Carl Lumbly as a US District Attorney, he is the driving force pushing for a huge conviction against the Usher “Crime Family” and our frame story for the series consists of his interview (or, the confession) of Roderick Usher. A younger version of him is portrayed by Malcolm Goodwin in several episodes. The character shares the name and some character traits with Poe’s famous detective, Le Chevalier Auguste Dupin, whom appears in “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” (1841), “The Mystery of Marie Roget’ (1842), and “The Purloined Letter” (1844). Poe’s character is smart and imaginative, so much that it almost seems that he can read the mind of his suspect, and is the direct inspiration for Conan Arthur Doyle’s infamous Sherlock Holmes.
The Usher Offspring, beginning with the eldest, and including some of their significant others:
Frederick Usher (Henry Thomas, also in The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, and The Midnight Club) - Roderick’s first-born, his only legitimate son he shared with his wife. Poe wrote a story called “Metzengerstein” with the main character named Frederick, who inherits his family’s fortune at age 18 and becomes a very cruel person in a vendetta against a rival family. It is possible the name was culled from this story.
Morella Usher, wife of Frederick (Crystal Balint, also in Midnight Mass and The Midnight Club) - The character’s name probably comes from “Morella” (1835). “Morella” is also a common name for black nightshade (used for making belladonna), which plays a part in several threads of this series. More about both of these connections later.
Lenore Usher, daughter of Frederick and Morella (Kyleigh Curran, also phenomenal in Doctor Sleep) - Lenore’s name is not only from “The Raven” (1845), but also _____
Tamerlane “Tami” Usher (Samantha Sloyan, The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, The Midnight Club) - his only legitimate daughter, who apparently absorbed her twin while in utero. “Tamerlane” is an early poem by Poe, published in 1827.
William “Bill-T” Wilson - spouse and business partner of Tamerlane Usher. The character’s name comes from the short story “William Wilson”(1839), and is also referred to by Stephen King in The Outsider for reasons that will be evident later.
Victorine LaFourcade (T’nia Miller, one of my favorites from The Haunting of Bly Manor) - Illegitimate daughter, working on an experimental heart device, still in the animal trial stages. The character’s name comes from “The Premature Burial” (1844), which will also be mentioned a few more times in Episode Breakdowns, but her character in the show is linked to at least two other stories.
Alessandra Ruiz (Paola Nunez) - Victorine’s lover/partner, and an absolute genius doctor working with Victorine on the heart device. She does not seem to be corrupted by Usher money like most of the other characters, and still seems to be a very moral and good person, even more than Victorine. Her name might be from Poe’s unfinished play, Politian, but it is difficult to be sure without asking Flanagan directly.
Camille L’Espanaye (Katie Seagal, wife of Michael Flanagan, and alumnus of almost everything in the Flanaverse) - Referred to as the oldest of the “bastards” (not counting Victorine, for some reason I didn’t catch on the first watch). The name of Camille L’Espanaye is also clearly taken from “The Murders of the Rue Morgue,” but if I say more, we are dealing with potential spoilers, so I’ll save it for an Episode Breakdown.
Napoleon “Leo” Usher (Rahul Kohli, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, The Midnight Club) - the very witty, fun-loving gamer guy, and another “bastard” of Roderick’s. The name “Napoleon” likely comes from “The Spectacles” (1844), and may have some relation to a particular episode later.
Prospero “Perry” Usher (Sauriyan Sapkota, also of The Midnight Club) - the youngest and most impulsive of the “bastards” of Roderick Usher. He is hilariously referred to as “Gucci Caligula” by Frederick Usher in a very tense scene in Episode 2, and many of the siblings believe he is impulsive, possibly even crazy. In Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death” (1842), Prince Prospero was the party prince of the elite, and that story definitely has bearing on this character and the episode named for the story.
Additional important characters
Eliza Usher (Annabeth Gish, Before I Wake, The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass)- Roderick’s and Madeline’s mother, most likely named after Elizabeth “Eliza” Poe, Edgar’s mother who died when he was very young. Interestingly, Edgar’s wife, Virginia Clemm, also shared the middle name of “Eliza.”
William Longfellow (Robert Longstreet, The Haunting of Hill House, Doctor Sleep, Midnight Mass, The Midnight Club) - Eliza Usher’s boss when her children were young. Likely named for the poet William Wadsworth Longfellow, who was a friend of Poe’s until Poe publicly accused him of plagiarism, possibly just to increase the number of his readers with a little controversy.
Judge John Neal (Nicholas Lea, awesome in The X-Files) - In this series, the judge overseeing the trial against Roderick Usher and Fortunato Pharmaceuticals. In reality, John Neal was an author, critic, editor, and usually friendly contemporary of Poe’s.
Rufus Wilmot Griswold (Michael Trucco of Hush, Midnight Mass, The Midnight Club) - In this series, he appears as the CEO of Fortunato Pharmaceuticals after Longfellow and before Usher. He is instrumental in Roderick’s career path, but is a complete jackass. I literally laughed out loud (more like a cackle, actually) when he appeared on screen, because I knew the name as one of Poe’s worst literary enemies, and the reason why Poe was mislabeled as a madman, a drunk, an addict, and more. For some reason, even though he harbored a major grudge against Poe, Griswold was given the job of eulogizing Poe and “protecting” his works after Poe’s mysterious death. The gossip and false accusations stuck to Poe’s name for over a hundred years, and many today still believe what was unjustly and untruthfully written against the man. Flanagan lets Griswold’s character be called “the original cock-sucker.” Much more on this character later in the Episode breakdowns, but you will love hating him.
Annabel Lee (Katie Parker, also in Absentia, Oculus, The Haunting of Hill House, Doctor Sleep, The Haunting of Bly Manor, The Midnight Club) - early wife of a 20-something Roderick Usher, and mother to his first two children. An honorable and beautiful person in a show about horrible, ugly people. Her name and several lines of dialogue come from Poe’s poem, “Annabel Lee” (1849), very likely inspired by his recently-deceased wife, Virginia Clemm Poe.
Many other minor characters will be mentioned in the Episode Breakdown sections, but there is one enigmatic character I must mention, but I don’t want to spoil anything about her this early. When we are introduced to her, she names herself “Verna.” Yes, she is an allusion to a Poe character, but anything else about her at this point is a major spoiler. She is played by Carla Gugino, also in Gerald’s Game, The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and Midnight Mass. In this series, she deserves every bit of her paycheck, and you will see why.
