Warning: Spoilers ahead for The Fall of the House of Usher.
Netflix’s The Fall of the House of Usher goes back and forth in time to unfold its storyline’s events, leaving viewers wondering which story arc falls where. Brewing a scintillating mix of several Edgar Allan Poe short stories and poems, The Fall of the House of Usher keeps audiences white-knuckled throughout its runtime with its chilling depiction of morality, grief, repressed guilt, and mortality. Since it follows a semi-anthology format like Flanagan’s The Midnight Club, not all of its seemingly self-contained arcs are as effective as others. However, what makes it captivating is how effectively it ties these independent narratives to the overarching storyline.
To add more emotional depth to its character beats, Mike Flanagan’s The Fall of the House of Usher goes back in time and adds more context to Madeline and Roderick Usher’s future decisions. However, in this pursuit of going to and fro between several timelines, the Mike Flanagan Netflix show often becomes a little hard to follow. Since The Fall of the House of Usher creates some confusion surrounding the chronology of its narrative arcs, a breakdown of its timeline can help enhance one’s understanding of its story’s intricacies.
The Fall Of The House Of Usher’s 1953 Flashbacks Explained
The Fall of the House of Usher harkens all the way back to 1953 when it depicts the inception of Roderick and Madeline Usher’s story. It shows how the twins were kids when their mother, Eliza, first started working for Fortunato’s head, Mr. Longfellow. Although she asked them to stay away from Longfellow’s home, their curiosity often got the best of them, prompting them to jump his compound wall and learn more about him. Although The Fall of the House of Usher does not explicitly mention whether Eliza tells her kids about their relationship with Longfellow, it hints that he is their father but wants nothing to do with his kids.
The Fall Of The House Of Usher’s 1962 Flashback Explained
In 1962, however, things take a grim turn when Eliza falls sick and refuses to seek help from a doctor. While Eliza holds on to her faith despite being severely ill, Roderick and Madeline try getting Longfellow’s help by asking him to convince their mother to get medical help. To their dismay, Longfellow refuses to help them and even insults them for claiming that their mother loves him. Eventually, Eliza succumbs to her unknown disease (later revealed to be CADASIL in The Fall of the House of Usher), leaving Roderick and Madeline all by themselves.
Realizing that Eliza had no one else but them, Roderick and Madeline build a coffin from the ground up and bury their mother in their home’s backyard. However, to their shock, she rises from her grave and nearly kills young Roderick before realizing her purpose. With what follows, she walks over to Longfellow’s abode and chokes him to death before falling dead herself.
What Happens In The Fall Of The House Of Usher’s 1979 Timeline
While the 1953 and 1962 timelines add more context to Roderick and Madeline’s struggles and highlight all the dire circumstances that shaped their future decisions, the 1979 timeline draws a picture of the climactic moments that sealed their fates. It begins by walking through all the trials and tribulations Madeline and Roderick faced before landing positions in Fortunato. While Fortunato’s new head, Rufus Griswold, uses Roderick to rake in profits for the company, young Auguste Dupin finds some skeletons in the company grave after learning about the number of people who have died from consuming a Fortunato drug.
Although Roderick initially seems to take the morally right path by helping Dupin gather evidence for Fortunato’s unethical practices, he later double-crosses him by denying all allegations against the company. On New Year’s Eve of 1979, Madeline and Roderick receive a warm welcome from Griswold, who assures them that their commitment to saving Fortunato’s reputation will not go unnoticed. Little does he realize that Madeline and Roderick have other plans. After luring him to an underground construction site, the siblings brick him alive behind an enclosure and move on to a different pub.
As Father Time’s hands strike 12 and the dates on the calendars change, Verna makes a deal with the Usher siblings. She promises that if Roderick is willing to sacrifice his bloodline, she will ensure that they earn all the riches and luxuries in the world without ever facing the consequences of killing Griswold. Perhaps caught in the haze of their New Year’s resolutions and dreams, the twins agree, and, in the years that follow, they almost dismiss the encounter as a dream.
When The Fall Of The House Of Usher’s Present Timeline Is Set (& How Much Time Passes)
Reality catches on real quick in 2023 when Verna returns to fulfill her side of the agreement. Although The Fall of the House of Usher uses eight episodes to walk through the 2023 timeline, Verna hardly takes a few weeks to erase the Usher family bloodline. After making Perry suffer the dire consequences of his actions on November 9, Verna gets Roderick first son, Frederick, out of the way on November 18.
A few days after Fredrick’s demise, Roderick Usher invites Dupin to his childhood home and comes clean about his crimes against humanity. Moments later, Roderick and Madeline’s deal with Verna comes in full circle when Madeline kills Roderick, and the “original” house of Usher turns to rubble. With this, Mike Flanagan’s The Fall of the House of Usher marks the end of its timeline after walking audiences through nearly seven decades worth of storytelling.
