FX Grotesque reached a chaotic season 1 ending, setting up some storylines for season 2. After a season finale twist revealed that Niecy Nash-Betts’ Detective Lois Tryon dreamed about murdering the titular serial killer in a nightmarish coma sequence, the remaining episodes saw Lois trying to decipher what her dreams were trying to tell her about the people present in your waking life. The biggest revelation of GrotesqueThe ending of the first season was that the culprit behind Lois’s coma was not the real killer. In her dreams, she imagines that struggling priest, Father Charlie Mayhew (Nicholas Alexander Chavez) was the killer, in part due to his repressed sexual desires and misogyny.
In reality, Father Charlie is Dr. Charlie Mayhew, and the same doctor responsible for keeping Lois on life support. Although he appears suspicious when attending a meeting of a men’s rights group, the bloody conclusion of the first season reveals that Charlie is actually the second victim, and he was crucified to death in a recreation of the biblical Last Supper, one of the lots of Grotesque intricate biblical references. The events of the specifically woven ending configure Grotesquethe revelation of the killer from season 2, among other plots.
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Marshall had access to Lois’ dream records
Marshall is already the number one suspect
Upon waking from her coma, Lois begins seeing a specialist named Dr. Whitcomb (Santino Fontana), who works to help her untangle her dreams and connect the alter-egos to the real versions of themselves in her life. When the grotesque murders from his liminal comatose state begin to occur in his reality, Lois wonders if she’s really awake. When her status is confirmed by Detective Megan Duvall (Micaela Diamond, who Lois believed was a nun in the dream), she realizes that someone with access to her medical files has become a copycat killer.
Lois immediately turns to Dr. Mayhew as suspects, believing one of them is abusing access to her medical records. and torture her by recreating the horrific crimes. However, Whitcomb reveals that Lois’s husband, Marshall Tryon (Courtney B. Vance), also had access to her files, suddenly implicating him. Lois recently served divorce papers on Marshall, and his girlfriend Redd (Lesley Manville) broke up with him. Shortly after Redd tells Marshall that she is leaving him due to a series of affairs with college students and co-workers, one of these mistresses accuses him of sexual assault.
Marshall is questioned by Megan and claims his innocence, but the weight of the consequences of his life choices leads him to attempt suicide. He eventually survives and joins a group of men alongside Ed Lachlan (Travis Kelce), under the guise of self-improvement. In reality, the group is a men’s rights organization that rejects the #MeToo movement, the use of pronouns in the workplace, and professes generally misogynistic worldviews, clearly due to his own mediocrity and personal failures.
As the camera pans to the full Last Supper murder scene, with Dr. Mayhew crucified as a Christ-like figure, it is revealed that among the victims is the same woman who accused Marshall of assault. by Marshall victim complex, coupled with his violent desires for Lois’ death, make him a viable suspect as the copycat killer. after Lois. Given that Marshall is a very intelligent man who was married to a law enforcement officer for so many years, season two could see Marshall jumping through elaborate obstacles to evade the law.
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Ed’s Mens Group establishes the theory that Grotesquerie is a group
The group may have turned on Charlie
Ed invites Marshall to the men’s group after he survives a suicide attempt. In the group, several members of the male cast of Grotesque they reveal that they know each other, including the expert who helped Whitcomb collect Lois’s testimony (Thomas Ellenson). Ed immediately accuses women of “cancelling” all men in today’s culture, rejects the use of pronouns, and expresses disdain for women who he feels look down on him. The men’s group’s clear disdain for women, sex workers, and marginalized communities immediately draws suspicion that the murders are a group effort.
Ed initially started attending the men’s group after becoming sober from alcohol. His alcoholism eventually led to his affair with Loiswhile he was already married to her daughter, Merritt (Raven Goodwin). He also worked at CinnaBon, which caused more disagreements between him and Merritt, who is a highly qualified cancer researcher. She often criticized him for his lack of ambition and superior mobility in life. The men’s group’s beliefs are tied to the show’s overarching religious overtones – which, Since the allegory of Adam and Eve, women have been blamed for the fall of man.
Ed’s misogynistic views are applauded and Marshall agrees with them. Before his death, Charlie is also seen at the meeting. Charlie also reveals to Lois that Marshall asked him to turn off her life support and kill her, but he denied the request. IIt is possible that the group of men attacked Charlie for sparing Lois’ life, and the murders are a group effort rooted in misogyny, which will be revealed in season two. could have seen his willingness to spare Lois as hypocritical, resulting in the religious symbolism of the crucifixion.
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Lois is confirmed to be awake and returning to work
Lois tells the Force that Megan can’t solve these murders
Megan goes to find Lois to confirm that she is awake, after Lois questions her status when Megan initially lies about Lois shooting her abusive boyfriend. Megan reveals that Lois killed him in self-defense and had help cleaning up the scene so Lois wouldn’t take responsibility. Lois agrees to go to the second crime scene with Megan, where she tells the police that she is coming out of retirement to help them solve the problem, as she knows Megan can’t. Megan’s own vulnerability and lack of personal connection to the murders is why Lois feels her experience is necessary to stop them.
With Lois confirmed to be awake and returning to being an active detective in this series of crimes literally ripped from her nightmares, Grotesque season two may finally shed light on the killer’s identity. A second season could also continue to provide a window into the reality of Lois’s troubled past, as previously, his backstory was only discussed in the dream state. Viewers still don’t know about Lois’ real first meeting with Marshall, the details of Merritt’s college experience or how she met Ed.
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Merritt was once part of a cult
Lois confronts Merritt to apologize for her affair with Ed, revealing that Merritt was in a cult
Taking your dream as a sign to improve your life, Lois and her housekeeper Macy make their way around town as Lois tries to make peace with several people in her life, starting with her daughter Merritt. Lois apologizes for falling into alcoholism and having an affair with Ed while struggling to maintain her sobriety, hoping to eventually regain her trust.
Merritt is angry, feeling that his mother’s apology is too little, too late. In typical Ryan Murphy universe fashion, Grotesque reveals that Merritt may not be so innocent. She struggled to get through medical school, and Lois lets slip that she even helped her while she was in a cult. Merritt’s time in the cult has not yet been elaborated, and the theory that the Grotesque Killer is a group, and perhaps not the group of men, but the ancient cult of Merritt.
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Redd and Lois are now on the same side
Both women left Marshall
Lois made peace with Marshall’s long-standing relationship with Redd, and even thanked him for “putting“with him and caring for him while Lois struggled with sobriety. Now that Redd has also seen Marshall for who he really is – a misogynist and sex addict who uses philosophy and religion to justify himself – Lois and Redd will soon meet fighting Marshall on the same side.
Given that the woman who made accusations of misconduct against Marshall turned out to be a homicide victim, it would be entirely plausible that Redd is also on Marshall’s hit list. Given Lois’ unique respect for Redd, she could very well become part of the task force hunting the killer. Redd brings a unique insight into Marshall’s innermost thoughts and would likely be able to tell if he is involved if Grotesque be renewed for a second season.