Mike Flanagan’s back catalogue of Netflix originals are so full of subtle references, callbacks, and Easter Eggs that they demand repeat viewing, but the man himself has shot down a popular theory regarding The Fall of the House of Usher that was gaining plenty of traction online.
Of course, the Edgar Allan Poe influences are seeping out of every frame through the title of the miniseries itself through to the storylines and monikers of the individual episodes, but there was a growing belief that things may have been a touch on the biblical side, too.
Given that the main thrust of the narrative finds patriarch Roderick Usher’s lineage slowly being whittled down one-by-one, many were operating under the belief that Flanagan had used the seven deadly sins as his jumping-off point. Not to burst anyone’s bubble, but the filmmaker dumped a bucket of scalding acid over that sentiment when answering questions on Tumblr.
“I’ve heard this a few times today – I’m sorry to say that it was NOT our intention to have the Usher kids represent the 7 deadly sins. Roderick only has 6 children, for one thing, and I got most of my religious horror out of my system in Midnight Mass (plus, no one will ever do the seven deadly sins better than Se7en, so why bother?). I’m always happy to see people digging into the work, and typically don’t want to dissuade someone from whatever meaning they find there, but in this case I’d be lying if I said that was our intention.”
The numbers not adding up to begin with probably should have been an early warning sign, but now that we’ve heard it from Flanagan himself, it’s time to strike a line through this particular avenue of inquiry.
