All episodes of Mike Flanagan's latest Netflix horror series, The Fall of the House of Usher are now streaming, and while the show has been mostly very well-received, some fans were left feeling a little frustrated that it didn't provide definitive answers when it came to the mysterious Verna.
Spoilers follow.
Over the course of the eight episodes, Verna - brilliantly played by Flanagan regular and Watchmen/Sin City star Carla Gugino - is present for (and in some cases orchestrates) the deaths of Roderick Usher's children and beloved granddaughter.
It is ultimately revealed that Roderick and his sister, Madeline, struck a deal with Verna in that bar on New Year's Eve back in 1979: They will be vastly wealthy and free from all consequences of their criminal actions for the rest of their lives, but when the time comes, they must die together - along with their entire bloodline.
This led to speculation that Verna might be a demon (or possibly even the Devil himself herself), but the series does drop some pretty big hints that she is actually supposed to be a personification of the Raven from Edgar Allan Poe's poem (her name is even an anagram of "raven").
Now, Gugino has confirmed that she is indeed playing a manifestation of the Raven while speaking about her character in a new featurette (via FearHQ.com).
"She's not the Devil... she's not even evil! You could say she's the executer of fate, or the executer of Karma. Verna really is a shape-shifter. She manifests to each person at the moments before their death, as they can see her. Verna is offering each of these people the most honest conversation they will ever have in their lives."
"People with a lot of privilege and a lot of power, have the opportunity to do good things or do bad things," she continues, " and she offers them an opportunity to make a different decision."
Quoth the Raven, nevermore.
"Ruthless siblings Roderick and Madeline Usher have built Fortunato Pharmaceuticals into an empire of wealth, privilege and power. But past secrets come to light when the heirs to the Usher dynasty start dying at the hands of a mysterious woman from their youth," reads the official synopsis.
Flanagan has assembled a typically stacked cast, including Bruce Greenwood, Carla Gugino, Mary McDonnell, Carl Lumbly, Mark Hamill, Michael Trucco, T’Nia Miller, Paola Nuñez, Henry Thomas, Samantha Sloyan, Rahul Kohli, Kate Siegel, Sauriyan Sapkota, Zach Gilford, Willa Fitzgerald, Katie Parker, Malcolm Goodwin, Crystal Balint, Aya Furukawa, Daniel Jun, Matt Biedel, Ruth Codd and Annabeth Gish.
Kyleigh Curran, Igby Rigney and Robert Longstreet also star.
The Fall of the House of Usher marks the fifth Netflix series for Mike Flanagan and Trevor Macy under their Intrepid Pictures overall deal, after The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, and recent Christopher Pike adaptation The Midnight Club.
Mike Flanagan and Michael Fimognari each directed four episodes.