Grotesquerie ending explained: Is the killer finally revealed?

We wouldn't have put it past Murphy to reveal that a comatose Marshall was the one orchestrating all the gruesome murders that plagued this community. But no, Grotesquerie is far more daring than that. Instead, episode 7 revealed that it's Lois, not Marshall, who has actually been in a coma this whole time. Yes, really.

That means everything that happened up until that point was just a dream. The murders, the twists, even some of the characters we met, were all part of one much bigger twist. None of it was real. Except, when Lois wakes up, real life starts to reflect the dreams she experienced during the coma, including some new grisly murders…

With the 10th and final episode upon us, does Grotesquerie finally reveal who the actual killer is? Does Lois finally get the answers she needs? Or did we just dream this whole series up?

Grotesquerie ending explained: Is the killer finally revealed?

The finale begins as these things so often do: with the makings of a throuple.

Lois returns home to find Marshall and Cherry Redd (Lesley Manville) with drinks and an offer she can't refuse. Except, she does. After everything Lois has been through, extra drama is the last thing she needs. Redd then reveals that she knows all about Marshall sleeping around, which comes to a head later when his class is interrupted by Megan (Micaela Diamond) and Gale (Brooke Smith), who arrest him on sexual assault allegations made by one of his students.

After Marshall tries to take his own life, Ed Laclan (Travis M Kelce) takes advantage of him at his lowest point – inviting him to a men's group that helped turn things around for him. Unfortunately, the men's group in question is actually a men's rights group who push back against pronouns, the #MeToo movement, and basically any world where women are treated as equals. Dr Charlie Mayhew (Nicholas Alexander Chavez) and Lois's therapists are there too, because of course they are.

Lois goes to one of her therapists in fear that this reality might not be real either. It's an understandable reaction. Who's to say this world isn't just another layer of her coma dream? The doctor refutes this though, because of course he would. Instead, he diagnoses Lois with Cotard’s syndrome, a rare brain disorder where the patient believes themselves to be dead when they're not.

Lois isn't done though. Next she claims that Charlie had orgies in her room while she was trapped in her coma, and that he even impregnated another unconscious patient in the same hospital. That's why he was such a horny beast in her dreams.

The twists keep coming when Lois returns to her motel room and discovers that all the evidence collected regarding Justin Blake's (Spenser Granese) death has vanished. Megan is the obvious suspect, especially after Lois suspiciously saw her hanging out with Glorious McKall (Lillias White), but Megan denies being involved.

When Lois suggests that Grotesquerie must work in medicine because the killer had access to her files, Dr Witticomb flips that around and argues that Lois is probably the murderer instead. Does this mean that the good doctor is a not-so-good doctor? Perhaps, but either way, this doesn't help Lois after she ends up getting thrown into a psychiatric ward.

Megan visits and admits that she lied about what happened to Justin. According to her, Lois did kill him, conspiring with Glorious to clean up the evidence because Megan needed help regarding an even bigger crime that involved victims they both know.

Oof. That's a lot. But we're not done yet. At the end, Lois arrives at the crime scene to discover Charlie is dead. He's been crucified for reasons not super clear other than the fact that religious imagery has tied into the entire series, so why stop now?

The rest of the victims are mostly unnamed men aside from one, Mary Colsby, who just so happens to be the student who accused Marshall of sexual assault earlier on in the same episode.

With that reveal, Lois has figured out exactly who the killer is. So here we go. Grotesquerie is none other than… Oh, wait. Lois says she'll tell her co-workers in an hour when they meet again at her old office. Except, we don't have another hour because that's where the episode ends.

How could Ryan Murphy do this to us? Holding back the killer's identity here at the end might be even more shocking than episode 7's big twist (and it's definitely more cruel).

It's also pretty ballsy given that season 2 hasn't even been confirmed yet. But maybe that's what Murphy is counting on, that this dangling thread will convince FX to renew Grotesquerie for round two so we can finally get the answers we seek.

Speaking of season 2, Niecy Nash-Betts did chat with Deadline after the finale aired to discuss what things might look like for Lois moving forward.

"The main thing that I think I’m looking forward to [in a potential second season] is, who is Grotesquerie? In therapy, the doctor says Grotesquerie is an amalgamation of all of the evils that have happened in the world in [her] mind, but then these crimes start to happen literally.

"There still are a few questions I’m waiting to have answered, and all things being perfect, we would have a season 2 to unpack it. If not, that means me sitting at a dinner with Ryan for hours telling me where he planned on this story going."

So who do we think the killer is? Our money's on a random Ryan Murphy character from another show, because why not at this point?

Grotesquerie is available to stream now on Disney Plus. Sign up to Disney Plus from £4.99 a month.

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