Grotesquerie Episodes 3, ‘The Bender, ‘ and 4, ‘Coordinates,’ really should have been titled what we named this review: Vices and Fire Pits because it felt like everyone was giving in to their vices—and we mean everyone. We added fire pits for a reason we’ll explain as this review continues. Oh, and for those who have been waiting, this is the one where we meet Travis Kelce.
Let’s get into it, shall we?
In Grotesquerie episode 3, ‘The Bender, ’ we were given a more extensive glimpse into the relationship between Lois and her daughter Merritt. They don’t have the typical mother/daughter relationship at all. Lois wants Merritt to stop overeating, and Merritt wants her mom to stop drinking. Neither one can seem to get through to the other. As episode 3 opens up, Merritt is trying to film an audition submission to get on a reality show dedicated to people who are overweight. Lois is being a bit of a momager by telling her what to say and how she should act. But, it’s more so that she wants Merritt to be honest because she’s making her life sound worse than it is.
It’s ironic that Lois’s daughter’s name is Merritt because she wants her to be chosen for her actual merits. Not some fake life she made up. She asks her why she doesn’t talk herself up and share her accomplishments, like graduating from high school at 16. I don’t think Lois realizes how similar she and Merritt are. Lois’s vice is drinking, and Merritts is food. They both give in to their vices daily. And if Lois wants Merritt to stop, enabling her by fixing a turducken, which is over 12,000 calories, is probably not the best way to go about it. What should have come off as bonding between mother and daughter as Lois shared the story again of how she and Marshall met quickly turned into something negative when Merritt told her mom to stop drinking. Lois’s response was, “Stop eating.” Lois tells Merritt she’ll help her do what she needs to get to where she wants with her weight if she stops telling her about her drinking. That is not a healthy relationship at all. It was difficult to watch Lois tell Merritt that sometimes she loves her and sometimes she doesn’t. No child wants to hear those words from their parents, especially their mother.
I also wonder if we will ever learn what drove Lois to start drinking like she does. It’s obviously a coping mechanism for her, but it is an unhealthy one. And it’s bleeding into her work. When Lois gets called to a crime scene, she shows up drunk. Jack, one of the officers, can tell because he calls her out on it and says that she “reeks of vodka, which is hard to do.” The crime scene is just as disturbing as the previous ones. Grotesquerie’s latest victim is a human with a goat head, and they are tied to a pole. But there is something else of note. The human comprises body parts from multiple people to make one whole person. The officers are stumped looking at the body, and Lois stuns them all when she starts spouting off names. At first, the viewer thinks that Lois’s drunken state has her confused until you really listen to what she’s saying.
Lois has recognized every single victim used to put the body together based on things like tattoos and scars she is familiar with. In an outstanding monologue from Niecy Nash-Betts that had my eyes glued to her on the TV, Lois lists every person and how she’s helped them. The body parts belong to sex workers she knows. Lois is genuinely affected by what she’s seeing, and it angers her that her colleagues see a body and nothing more. To her, these people were someone. And you feel every bit of her frustration when she tells Jack, “You don’t know the community.” Lois is not wrong. How will anyone think the police will work hard to stop Grotesquerie when they don’t even know the people they are supposed to protect and serve?
“Decode the language he’s speaking, and then we’ll have him.”
After visiting the crime scene, Lois calls on Sister Megan again to assist. Lois knows that these killings are personal, but she cannot figure out what it is about her that has Grotesquerie doing all of this. Each time she thinks she’s getting close, something happens that reminds her she’s nowhere near figuring this out. Sister Megan is doing her best to help, but her vices are also getting in the way, particularly her obsession with Father Charlie.
Father Charlie has big aspirations for his church, and his methods are highly unconventional and questionable. The Bishop and Mother Superior are unhappy with his need to publish The Catholic Guardian. It makes them uncomfortable to have the murders being discussed because it is not something they feel the church should be involved in. Father Charlie disagrees. He wants more focus because, in his mind, that is what is bringing more people to the church. He’s a smooth talker and incredibly charismatic, so he eventually wears everyone down to the point they agree the paper can continue.
When Father Charlie meets with Sister Megan to discuss the paper, the lines of their relationship blur significantly; it shifts from professional to personal immediately, as we see in Grotesquerie episode 4. Both of them have vices of their own, and neither one hesitates to give in to the temptation plaguing them. Maybe Father Charlie hesitated slightly in episode 3, but was that part of his manipulation of Sister Megan? Because he did, in some ways, manipulate her, and we can’t deny that. Of course, everything between them is consensual, but that man is one smooth talker, and Sister Megan believes in everything he says. We are still not clear on Father Charlie’s goal at this moment. But one thing is for sure: He is currently living up to that nickname, the “Pedaling Priest.”
As Lois continues working on her case, she is still trying to balance being there for Marshall. When she shows up to see him, Nurse Red attempts to get Power of Attorney because she feels Lois is unfit to be a representative for him. Lois refuses to allow this to happen because Marshall is her husband, and she will not give someone else the power to make decisions for him. While at the hospital, she meets Eddie Laclan, AKA “Fast Eddie,” played by Kelce. Eddie is a nurse, and he has a lot to say. He doesn’t mince words about how he sees Lois; he is a really flirty guy from the moment they start talking. It’s obvious to Eddie that Lois is dealing with some stuff and he tries to convince her that her drinking is going to put her in danger and we learn that he’s right because when she leaves the hospital, she crashes her car.
I’m not going to lie; when I initially heard that Kelce was cast in Grotesquerie, I was not moved. The media was talking him up far too much, which I felt was taking attention away from this show’s real, trained actors. But I have to say that I was impressed by his performance. He’s not bad at all. Would I still like it if they toned it down a little because other people are in this show besides him? Yes. But that doesn’t mean I am unwilling to give him a chance. He has excellent chemistry with Nash-Betts, and I’m interested in seeing where Ryan Murphy takes this character.
The ending of Grotesquerie episode 3 was a little confusing because I was trying to figure out if Lois and Eddie busting out of the hospital was real. It felt like a fantasy and made me question if it was all in her head because of the accident. But by Grotesquerie episode 4, it was clear that Lois and Eddie are building a unique relationship. Just what kind of relationship remains to be seen. She clearly seems to trust him because asking someone you barely know to come over to your house to watch and protect your daughter is wild.
In episode 4, Merritt is able to open the puzzle box from the last crime scene in Grotesquerie episode 2, Lois learns there are coordinates inside. She goes to see Sister Megan and has an awkward and somewhat rude exchange in the confessional booth with Father Charlie. They don’t see eye to eye on a lot of things but what they do seem to agree on is that based on what’s happening around them, it feels as if God has locked up and left everyone in the hands of the devil. She and Sister Megan then head off on a road trip to follow the coordinates Grotesquerie left. It takes them way out into the desert where they stumble upon a large fire pit. There they meet Joseph Ritter, from the geological survey. In informs the ladies that they are standing by a sinkhole that is over a natural gas deposit. He’s been guarding the area so people don’t end up falling in and to monitor the progression.
It looks as if hell is opening up and I found it to be very symbolic of the phrase “Hell on earth.” It was an intense scene to watch and I couldn’t wait for Lois and Sister Megan to get back to some civilization that wasn’t covered in dust. Unfortunately, while on their trip, they hit a snafu and are not able to head back. They are forced to keep driving and as they do, they end up seeing a girl covered in blood walking in the desert heat. They pick her up and all she says is “He’s coming” and “Go!” I don’t know who “He” is and why she’s covered in blood but our guess is she was almost Grotesqueries latest victim and Lois and Megan saved her.
This week, Grotesquerie episodes 3 and 4 had a lot going on, and I do mean A LOT. And it was WILD TV. WILD! I still don’t know where we’re headed with this series or the role each character has to play in it. But I remain seated and intrigued every week as I try to solve the mystery right along with Lois.
Other Things
- Some of the scenes with Merritt come off a little exploitative because of the way her weight is showcased. Ryan Murphy has her eating in almost every scene.
- Never heard the word “engastrated” until now.
- Lois putting together a puzzle with a goat in that flashback… I have thoughts.
- “YOU DON’T KNOW THE COMMUNITY!” I just wanted to type that again because Niecy Nash did THAT!
- Sister Megan and her pointer.
- “Sniff it out. Smell it. Unravel the string.”
- That spotlight on Lois as she talked through the crime scene and Grotesqueries motives was shot so well. The way it seemingly turned off when Sister Megan tapped her shoulder as if to bring her back from the trance she was in was perfection.
- Father Charlie talking about bringing online spinning classes and OnlyFans to the church.. a mess. A mess, I tell you.
- Father Charlie’s cheek-less chaps have returned!
- “Hold on to your communion wafers!”
- What was that weird phone sex-ish moment between Father Charlie and Sister Megan?
- “You’re oddly beautiful and beautifully odd.”
- “Kind ghosts in the land of the dead.” HEAVY.
- “You are saving your souls from sinning while spinning.” Father Charlie is an unserious man.
- THAT scene between Father Charlie and Sister Megan… I-… WHOA!
- That unexpected musical number from Micaela Diamond and Niecy Nash-Betts. You can always expect Ryan Murphy to add some elements of Glee to his shows.
- “There isn’t any place left to run away to.”
Check out the preview for Grotesquerie episode 5 below.
Grotesquerie airs Wednesday nights on FX.
