Spoilers ahead for Netflix’s The Fall of the House of Usher, including the show’s finale.
A novel Fall of the House of Usher fan theory suggests that Madeline made a separate pact with Verna — one that might have grave implications for the Usher sibling’s fate. In the first episode of the Mike Flanagan series, viewers learn that Madeline Usher (Mary McDonnell; Willa Fitzgerald) knew a harsh truth since childhood: William Longfellow (Robert Longstreet) is her and Roderick’s (Bruce Greenwood; Zach Gilford) estranged father. Even though Eliza Usher (Annabeth Gish), the twins’ mother, was Longfellow’s secretary at Fortunato, the cruel CEO wanted nothing to do with his biological children. Buried alive, Eliza’s final act is to rise from her makeshift coffin and strangle Longfellow.
It’s clear that Eliza’s dynamic with Longfellow shaped Madeline’s view of so-called “powerful men.” Believing Fortunato to be their birthright, Madeline devises scheme after scheme to usurp their father’s successor, Rufus Griswold (Michael Trucco), and put Roderick in control of the company. After positioning Roderick as a trustworthy company man, Madeline and her brother bury Griswold alive at a New Year’s Eve party. In an effort to build an alibi, the Usher siblings stop in at a local bar, which just so happens to be run by House of Usher‘s Verna (Carla Gugino), an immortal being with ties to death. What happens in the bar reshapes the Ushers’ fates.
House Of Usher Theory Reveals Madeline & Verna Made A Deal Before The Usher Siblings
When the Usher siblings enter Verna’s bar on New Year’s Eve, Madeline is hoping they’ll be seen a little bit by other party-goers, cementing a kind of alibi if Griswold’s death ever comes to light. However, Verna’s bar, which exists outside of space and time, isn’t a regular neighborhood dive. Before midnight, Roderick leaves Madeline at the bar to dance with another patron. Verna, meanwhile, seizes the moment to speak with Madeline — just Madeline. When Verna asks Madeline about how she wants her life to end up, the Usher sister answers rather quickly: Madeline doesn’t want any man to control her, and she wants to live forever.
When the clock strikes midnight, Madeline turns to look at the crowd before facing Verna again. At that moment, an ominous look creeps across Verna’s visage and the immortal entity leans forward to kiss Madeline. While sharing a kiss with someone on New Year’s Eve is a long-standing tradition, some viewers have theorized that the pre-ball drop conversation is actually Madeline making a separate deal with the devil — one that’s sealed by the kiss. However, Verna later requires the Usher siblings to declare their fate-sealing pact and drink on it, meaning the earlier Verna-Madeline interaction might not have had the same legitimacy.
Madeline Manipulates Roderick, But She Also Relies On Him
It could be argued that Madeline does bow to man: her brother, Roderick. Before meeting Verna, Madeline was the one who dreamed up the Usher siblings’ scheme to take down Griswold and seize control of Fortunato. However, once the siblings sit down to make their deal with Verna — one that trades their bloodline for success and “certainty” — Roderick seems to be calling the shots. Madeline hesitates, but Roderick is assured and eager. Of course, it’s possible that Madeline just wants to make Roderick feel as though he’s in charge of their fates. After all, Madeline never had kids in House of Usher, so Roderick has more to lose.
After witnessing what happened between her mother, Eliza, and Longfellow, Madeline was determined to make her own way. While the Usher sister may not ever bow to a man again, she certainly relies on them. It was always her plan to put Roderick in the CEO chair, but, even so, she’s tied to him and his decisions. Moreover, Madeline also relies on Arthur Pym (Mark Hamill), the Ushers’ trusted advisor. Although the siblings’ pact with Verna gave Madeline the resources to pursue her ambitions, she still let Roderick make a defining decision on her behalf. Given the desires she outlined to Verna, this was Madeline’s big mistake.
Madeline’s AI Program Is Her Path To Immortality
Though there are different readings of Madeline and Roderick’s dynamic, the Usher sister’s attempts to achieve immortality — the second desire she outlined to Verna — are more clear-cut. The forward-thinking, tech-savvy Madeline believed Fortunato’s future lay in tech, not pharmaceuticals. While House of Usher‘s Ligodone drug was Roderick’s solution to pain and suffering, Madeline believed artificial intelligence could provide not just an escape but life everlasting. The Usher sister is close to completing a project that will create A.I. consciousnesses of humans, allowing participants to live on (albeit in algorithm form).
In the show’s earliest episodes, Madeline shows her tech to Roderick’s granddaughter, Lenore (Kyliegh Curran), but she never completes the project. As House of Usher‘s Queen Twosret legend and other moments illustrate, Madeline is obsessed with immortality. Even her desk ensconces an Egyptian sarcophagus, teasing her interest in the culture’s afterlife practices. Although she never completes her A.I. project, it can be argued that Madeline is given a macabre shot at living forever. After poisoning his sister, Roderick tries to mummify Madeline, hoping to bury her like an Egyptian queen — in a basement tomb full of all the treasures she’ll need in the afterlife.
Killing Roderick Is Madeline’s Last Act (& Why It Matters)
There are many chilling House of Usher theories about Madeline and Verna. The idea that the two made another deal, one that doesn’t include Roderick, is certainly intriguing. At the same time, Verna’s favoritism toward her “Cleopatra” doesn’t necessarily mean she promised Madeline anything else. If anything, the siblings’ deal contradicts any sort of sealed-with-a-kiss promise Madeline made (knowingly or not) with Verna. More likely, Verna’s private chat with Madeline was a means of getting to know Madeline and her desires. Given that Verna’s bar exists outside of space and time, it’s also possible the siblings’ deal allowed them to get to the point of killing Griswold.
Disregarding the House of Usher timeline, the deal was made outside the regular flow of time. That is, the Ushers only succeeded in their schemes because Verna had “already” granted them certainty at the cost of the Usher family tree. No matter the case, Madeline Usher’s last act is incredibly telling. In an echo of Eliza’s killing of Longfellow, Madeline seemingly rises from the dead to strangle Roderick. This alarming moment fulfills both of Madeline’s wishes: she not only subverts death, albeit temporarily, but she ensures that a man doesn’t have the upper-hand in her final Fall of the House of Usher moments.
