Grotesquerie premiered this week, and we have to say it was two hours of intriguing television. Ryan Murphy’s new series about a detective and a nun who join forces to investigate a series of heinous crimes plaguing a small town kept us glued to the television. We also finally learned what Grotesquerie means.
In Grotesquerie Episode 1 “Pilot,” we meet Detective Lois Tryon (Niecy Nash-Betts) when she gets called to a gruesome crime scene. When Lois arrives at the crime scene, she sees that a family has been brutally murdered. As she speaks with one of the officers on the scene, he says that it’s a hate crime. When Lois asks, “Against what?” the response is “Everything.” As she walks through the house of the Burnside family, what she sees is incredibly disturbing. One thing about Murphy is he will give you the darkest and most brutal crime scenes.
As Lois tries to process the crime scene and figure out who could have done such a heinous thing, she meets Sister Megan (Micaela Diamond), a nun who also works as a reporter for the Catholic News Service, The Catholic Guardian. She happens to be covering crimes and cults, so what happened to the Burnsides is right up her alley. Lois is apprehensive at first, and rightfully so, because Sister Megan seems to know a lot of details about the killer already. One thing she knows is that the Burnsides were devout believers in social justice, and that’s a possible motive for them being killed. But that’s only because it’s her wheelhouse, and she has devoted a lot of time to her research. Lois doesn’t immediately agree to work together until the killer strikes a second time. Because the killings seemingly have a religious undertone to them, she decides to take the Sister’s help.
As Lois is trying to solve these cases, she’s also trying to balance her family life. Her husband Marshall (Courtney B. Vance) is in a hospital in a medically induced coma because of COVID. He’s being taken care of by Nurse Red (Lesley Manville), who is extremely inappropriate in her approach. And when I say inappropriate, I do mean exactly that. I was team Lois when she started taking her earrings off because that woman needed to be put in her place. Her daughter Merritt (Raven Goodwin) is essentially struggling with an eating disorder and is overeating because she’s obsessed with being on a reality show. Lois is not without her issues. She’s a heavy drinker who won’t admit that she has a problem. Despite this, she is a good Detective, but she tends to let her work consume her.
MORE: If you love this review, you’ll love what we have to say about Grotesquerie Episodes 3 &4!
Grotesquerie Episode 1, was a great introduction to what we’re in store for this season. I love the procedural nature of this series and the way it was shot. A lot of the choices made with the cinematography really stand out. The series makes me think of a combination of the movie Seven and The Bone Collector. Most importantly, it did what it was supposed to do: It led us perfectly into Grotesquerie episode 2 “True Crime Catholics.”
In Grotesquerie Episode 2 we’re introduced to more characters. We meet Lois’s husband, Marshall, pre-covid hospitalization. He’s an energetic professor who is seen showing deep concern for Merritt and her health because she’s overweight. He also shows concern about Lois’s drinking. He appears to be a strong patriarch who loves his family. I’m sure he does, but he’s also not innocent. It takes no time for us to find out that he’s been having a little too much fun of his own. Lois reveals to him that she’s got a group she calls “Lois Loyalists,” which keeps tabs on him, and they let her know he has been cheating. The mic drop at that moment was something. Nash-Betts is so entertaining to watch, and seeing her and Vance go toe-to-toe was great TV. And talk about the absolute gut-punch when Lois told Marshall she thinks about how much she can’t wait to hear he died. That was a regrettable choice of words she could never take back. And based on how much she shows up for him at the hospital, we know she didn’t really mean that.
Grotesquerie episode 2 also introduced us to Father Charlie (Nicholas Alexander Chavez), and it was quite the introduction indeed. From his red boots to his pompadour and self-centered sermons, he is one character that will be fun to watch. And it’s clear from the stares of Sister Megan that she thinks he walks on water. The infatuation is real. The two end up having an interesting conversation at the town’s local diner. It goes from them talking about his church to talking about their love for true-crime stories. Father Charlie is impressed with Sister Megan’s research on cults. They also end up trading stories about their favorite serial killers. Yes, you read that right. The Priest and the Nun have favorite serial killers. The lunch is a little awkward from Father Charlie’s body language and nervous laughter at one point in the conversation. We’re not sure why, but hopefully, we’ll find out.
Both Sister Megan and Father Charlie have dark pasts. She briefly mentions that, and we’re interested to see her backstory when it eventually comes. We did get a glimpse into the darkness that plagues Father Charlie in a very intense moment in his bedroom. Whatever his past was like, it is still taking hold of him, and there is some deep-rooted pain underneath.
As the bodies keep piling up, Lois is becoming more frustrated because she cannot figure out who the killer is or what the motive is. She meets up with Sister Megan again to discuss their theories. While Lois is stressed and feels like she can’t get a grip on the case, Sister Megan is calm and has a voice of reason in some ways. Though she tends to speak in riddles, she seems to understand the killer, which could be good or bad. Sister Megan thinks the killer sees himself as God because he is doing things by utilizing religion in his killings. She believes the angle is Satanism. Lois disagrees and still feels something more is happening and that it’s personal. We don’t know why she feels it’s personal, but what we do know now is the killer’s name because he left a calling card behind.
The killer goes by the name Grotesquerie. That was unexpected. For weeks and weeks, I have been wondering what Grotesquerie even means. I know the definition of grotesque, but I could not figure out why Murphy named his show Grotesquerie. The calling card quote was also interesting: “I belong to those who have troubled the sleep of the world. May all your dreams come true.” What does that even mean? Trying to solve this feels like Merritt trying to solve the puzzle box Lois brought home from the crime scene. Grotesquerie episode 2 ends with Lois being called to yet another crime scene. This one is just as grotesque as the previous ones. This time around, the killer has staged 12 unhoused people as if they are at the last supper. All of this has me watching and asking where we are going with this series because the killer is quick, and I find it hard to believe that one man is doing all of this alone. I wonder who else may be in on it. I have a few theories, but I still think it’s too early for me to share. Maybe by Grotesquerie episodes three and four, I will be able to see if my theory is panning out.
All in all, I must say Grotesquerie episodes 1 and 2, though on the gory side, were very good. At first, I wasn’t thrilled about the double episode thing every Wednesday night, but after watching episode one, I understood it. I immediately wanted to see more after it was over. I’m looking forward to seeing how the rest of this season goes.
Other Things
- “He knows, He hears, he feels.”
- Lois describing the Burnsides murders to Sister Megan…. Yeah…. WOW.
- So apparently the boiling pot had what we think it had inside of it. Again…. WOW.
- Niecy Nash-Betts. The woman you are. That hospital scene with Courtney B. Vance.
- “Evil has always existed in the world hun.” FACTS.
- A nun with a cellphone and a foul mouth. Who drinks. An “Odd little bird” indeed.
- “You’re almost too cruel to fight for.” A bar!!!
- Nurse Red is nasty. In every sense of the word.
- Again, Father Charlie and those red boots.
- Nicholas Alexander Chavez in cheek-less chaps was not on my bingo card for the year 2024 but here we are.
- “Unlock the dream. Solve the crime.”
Grotesquerie airs on Wednesday nights on FX.
