Grotesquerie Season 1 Episodes 5 and 6 showcase the production budget in full. The episodes showcase the series’ sometimes impressive settings whilehighlighting some of its corner-cutting.
It’s a weird whiplash to go from a masterfully done one-shot on Grotesquerie Season 1 Episode 5 to then go back to the same hospital set.
These pair of episodes pinpoint how overused the hospital settings have become. This is especially noticeable when the series barely puts any effort into making each new hospital scene look distinct. It starts making the show appear cheap.
On the other hand, the impressive one-take shot on Episode 5 features the most stunning cinematography in the series so far. Detective Lois Tryon and Sister Megan are forced to stop at a motel to help a woman covered in blood, leading to one of the most artfully done sequences.
While the shot requires many editing tricks to hide the cut, the way the camera moves in and out of areas is skillfully done. It gives the episode a manic energy as the camera moves to keep up with the nonstop action.
The whole scene at the motel takes up the first half of the episode, acting as one continuous uncut moment. The tension builds as Sister Megan scrambles to help while Tryon wants to relax and shower. Both women keep witnessing one strange situation after another, including a purple pool, a random car crash, bloody prints all over white sheets, and a snow globe of the Last Supper being shot to pieces.
It’s these situations that give the show its most powerful imagery. Viewers get a good idea of the motel’s layout, helping people put the pieces together where everything is situated. Episode 5 continues the dreamlike atmosphere displayed on Grotesquerie Season 1 Episode 4. Everything feels surreal and distorted; it all looks like none of it is really happening.
Micaela Diamond showcases her raving performance as Sister Megan, with the character’s lack of direction on full display. Once the episode makes a hard cut to black after Megan is shot, the rest of Episode 5 and Grotesquerie Season 1 Episode 6 don’t hold up as well without that crazed energy.
Nonetheless, Episode 5 does end with a creepy moment of a woman holding a bloody newborn in newspapers at an orange grove. It’s another memorable scene that will stick with you because of how unsettling it is.
We finally get another name on the suspect’s list with Glorious McKall, a criminal Tryon has a history. It ultimately doesn’t lead anywhere when Tryon confronts Glorious and instantly arrests her for attempting to kill her.
It is clear Glorious is an obvious red-herring, making her appearance feel superficial. Lillias White’s performance as Glorious is also too silly and over-the-top to be taken seriously.
On the other hand, Lesley Manville delivers her strongest acting as Nurse Redd on Episode 6. Up to this point, Redd has served nothing more than to be a weird antagonist for Tryon.
Her confession to Tryon about her obsession with her husband paints how far her dedication goes. Manville adds a lot of sincerity to Redd’s confession, even though there’s some clear delusion hiding underneath it all. While the confession humanizes Redd, it also paints her as the biggest suspect in the murders.
However, it may not matter, as Episode 6 ends with Tryon seemingly shooting the masked murderer dead. Before she shoots, there’s a montage of several characters, implying none of them are the murderer, including Nurse Redd.
Father Charlie’s physique is the only one that matches the build of the person Tryon shot, though the episode ends before we can see an unmasking.
Given it’s only Episode 6, it’s hard to believe Grotesquerie will pull a Twin Peaks and reveal the murderer in the middle of a season. It’s obvious Grotesquerie is manipulating audiences’ expectations. It feels like a cheap way to end the episode.
Despite making a splash on Grotesquerie Season 1 Episodes 3 and 4, Travis Kelce is only in the montage this week. It’s odd, considering how much the advertising has been building up Kelce’s appearance, yet he’s barely in the series’ first six episodes.
Grotesquerie Episodes 5 and 6 display the series’ most ambitious storytelling yet. The one-shot take on Episode 5 is undeniable, featuring the best scenarios on the show. Unfortunately, the rest of the episodes couldn’t match that same energy. With the murderer seemingly dead, it’s time for the show to take its mid-season twist to propel it to the season finale.
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Grotesquerie airs on Wednesdays at 10/9c on FX.
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Misael Duran
I'm a professional writer who has written for IGN, CBR, TheGamer, Gamepur, and many more websites.