Mike Flanagan’s latest Netflix original horror series, The Fall of the House of Usher draws inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe’s story of the same name — using it as a narrative framework for an eight-installment miniseries wherein each episode adapts a different Poe tale or poem. Roderick and Madeline Usher run Fortunado Pharmaceuticals — a drug company that has profited millions on the back of the opioid epidemic — marketing their Oxy-equivalent as “non-addictive” when it is anything but.
In the story, Carla Gugino portrays Verna (a not-so-subtle allusion to Poe’s “The Raven,” as it is an anagram for the ominous bird). Verna is consequence. She comes to collect. And, one by one, she takes out a different Usher child with a laissez-faire panache. Yet she is not a heartless destroyer. She shifts seamlessly from savage retribution to compassionate mercy; she merely reserves her empathy for those who have earned it. Yet, she takes on several forms in the series — embodying different personas as part of and in service to her punishment-doling behaviors (all of which are justified and understood as the series progresses). Fans have taken to X (formerly Twitter) to praise Carla Gugino’s performance, her character, and her individual storyline in the series.
Carla Gugino is “breathtaking”
Carla Gugino’s role as Verna was breathtaking and one of the best performances by an actress this year. The ability to adopt distinct personas, the ease in which she captures the spirit of her scenes, and the lessons she teaches. Undeniably brilliant #TheFallOfTheHouseOfUsher pic.twitter.com/XJEeTW1Bv8
— heebie jeebies era (@SoNastyandRude) October 14, 2023
#TheFallOfTheHouseOfUsher stars one of the greatest horror casts ever assembled in TV or film. Flanagan’s regulars are all amazing again and Mark Hamill is unforgettable here, but even then, Carla Gugino absolutely steals the show with the performance of a lifetime. A masterclass pic.twitter.com/cf32juCdKk
— Slayvid Opie 🎃 (@DavidOpie) October 12, 2023
What should we call Carla fans…Guginites?
For years I’ve felt Carla Gugino to be so terrific yet so under appreciated – one big role away from a much-deserved wave of fans. I’ve hoped for a role for her that could usher in the tsunami and I’m feeling like Verna from #TheFallOfTheHouseOfUsher could be it. 🤞 pic.twitter.com/EgtIZl18jF
— Diandra Krueger //// (@SassySledgehmmr) October 14, 2023
Gugino takes on so many personas in the one show
She never disappoints and always understands the assignment 🙌🏻#TheFallOfTheHouseOfUsher pic.twitter.com/ebB1szTjLa
— Fab. (@BlueFab_) October 13, 2023
The sexual tension between Verna and Madeline: palpable
imagine if madeline and verna kissed at the present day god you would’ve find me on the floor pic.twitter.com/00Z9uZlFBt
— cheska (@cinemilfz) October 14, 2023
Verna is karma incarnate
verna and karma vibe like that#TheFallOfTheHouseOfUsher pic.twitter.com/BLm6R6IBV4
— giu usher (@hauntednell) October 13, 2023
But when she’s gentle and compassionate…waterworks
I’m never going to recover #TheFallOfTheHouseOfUsher pic.twitter.com/qkFt8whYf7
— carlasfilms (@carlasxfilms) October 13, 2023
She’s simply the best of ‘em
the usher women and verna supremacy#TheFallOfTheHouseOfUsher pic.twitter.com/XiHzHpeNlr
— giu usher (@hauntednell) October 13, 2023
Okay, where’s her Emmy?
give carla gugino an emmy right now!#TheFallOfTheHouseOfUsher pic.twitter.com/URoksLgWam
— dile (@dilelannister) October 14, 2023
