Mike Flanagan’s latest Netflix series, The Fall of the House of Usher, is an incredible show! Flanagan is such a great storyteller, and this latest show of his is bonkers awesome! I’ve already watched it twice and I’m just so freakin’ impressed with the story and character development.

One of the main stars of the series is Carla Gugino, who plays the enigmatic and seductive Verna. There’s been a lot of debate about the character and her true identity, but now Gugino is talking about her character, offering some insight, and clarifying some things. We do get into some spoiler territory, so if you don’t want to know anything you might want to skip this.

Over the course of the eight episodes, Verna is present for the deaths of Roderick Usher’s children and beloved granddaughter. Some of these deaths she actually orchestrates.

It’s ultimately revealed at the end of the series that Roderick and his sister, Madeline, made a deal with Verna in that bar on New Year’s Eve back in 1979. The deal was that they would be incredibly rich and free from all consequences of their criminal actions for the rest of their lives. But… when the time comes to die, their entire bloodline has to die together. What a gut punch!

So, it’s been speculated by fans that Verna might be a demon or even the Devil. One thing we know for sure as we watch the series is that she’s the personification of the Raven from Edgar Allan Poe’s poem. Her name Verna is even an anogram for Revan.

When talking about her character, Gugino said in a featurette:

“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, and she offers them an opportunity to make a different decision.”

That’s as clear as an explanation about her character that we’re going to get. Gugino was so good in this role!

The series is based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe and follows “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.”