"The Black Cat" Trivia Quiz

Answer: Yes

After the concerning events that occurred during his grief bender, Leo headed out to a local adoption centre to adopt a new black cat. The cat would be replacing Pluto, who was stabbed in the night, before Julius could get too worried about his being missing. When Leo asked for this new cat, however, he didn't realize that he was speaking to Verna, who he'd yet to meet. Heading into the back, Verna attempted to encourage Leo to adopt one of the facility's short-timers (this wasn't a no-kill shelter), but he had his eyes on an uncanny black cat who looked identical to Pluto-- perfect for his issue. Though the cat had four applications sent in online, he waved his chequebook and it was as good as done. He said he'd adopt every cat in the facility, even buy a new building, for that specific cat.

When Leo got the new Pluto home, Julius wasn't there. As his phone rang, the cat scratched him along the wrist before prancing off. It was Roderick calling, breaking the news: Camille was dead.

Roderick tells Dupin that denial was quick to set in. People use denial, he says, to get by. It's because it works. It's a placebo effect. Dupin hears something in the basement; Roderick says it's probably just Madeline, tinkering with something.

Answer: Leo

Leo joined the rest of the family in the board room at Fortunato to share in the grief and shock of Camille's passing. He pointed the finger at Victorine, but she never called her to the R.U.E. morgue; it might have been something to do with the bounty, she suggested. Once the kids started yelling, Madeline told them that they could do so all they want, but the minute they left the room, they would have to put out an air of being put together. She suggested Leo read a statement to the press, but the provided statement was garbage (Camille, after all, would've been the one writing it if she were alive). Roderick didn't care if he used his own words. What he did care about was that the rest of the family toe the line; they'd need to be a wall against what was going on, at least while he got to the bottom of the mess.

After the family meeting, Arthur Pym showed Madeline and Roderick the surveillance footage from R.U.E. and noted that the security guard was swapped out. None of them could identify the woman seated there at the desk, but they knew she wasn't meant to be there.

Leo headed home instead, grieving over Camille while acknowledging that they still hadn't had a funeral for Perry. Julius tried to help, asking what he could do. Really, all he needed was space. Julius asked about Pluto-- she hadn't been seen since she was brought back. All it took was Julius leaving the room; the cat sprung out of Leo's closet, vanishing deeper into the apartment.

Answer: A second phone

As the case against the Ushers continued to go to court, Dupin and the judge waited, on one occasion, for a half-hour with no sign of the family or their representatives. Though Dupin suggested that they might be held in contempt of the court, Pym arrived, alone, a few moments later, apologizing for the busy morning; the family's discovery that Camille had died left them in shock. The judge adjourned the court. They would resume after the weekend.

Roderick visited Victorine at the R.U.E. labs hunting for information about Camille, but also forthright asking his daughter if she was the informant. She scoffed at the notion, but had no reason as to why her sister was there. As a guess, she believed that Victorine could be there because of the chimpanzees, maybe in an effort to ruin her project. Roderick asked about the heart tech, but Vic assured him it was fine and the monkey was dead. Unfortunately, the press would be all over the monkey; it'd be priority number one. He had to ask-- do they pull the plug? Vic refuted the notion. They would be moving into human trials. The news pleased Roderick. It was more important than she knew.

In the office, Pym and Frederick went through Morella's belongings, obtained from the police after the condemned lab was scoured. Amidst these belongings, Pym gave Frederick a phone that he could not get into using Morella's passwords. He was sure, despite Frederick's insistence, that it was hers. The obvious passwords wouldn't take; he'd need to keep trying.

Answer: Madeline

Roderick, working from his office, received a message from Pym, an enhanced photo of the guard at R.U.E., and discovered it was a familiar face. Madeline, similarly, had an instant recognition of the figure while riding in the back of her private car. She had her driver drop her off at the old bar where she and Roderick met Verna on New Years Eve, back in 1979 but she found the place sealed up, abandoned. Only a spray-painted raven remained on its facade. A real raven perched on the building soon after she arrived.

Victorine would invite Pamela to her office to sign some final paperwork, setting her up for the human trials of the heart mesh technology. Pamela wondered about testing in general as she always believed trials to be held in lower income countries, possibly for nefarious reasons. Vic, however, noted the other side to that sword, where testing could become available to those who need it most. It's why Vic was happy Pamela is involved; she needed it. Pamela agreed she was lucky to be a part of it; the device could prevent numerous cardiovascular issues, keeping her heart going and saving her life for many more decades to come. Vic promised her that by the end of the week they'd likely be able to start with Dr. Ruiz onboard.

Answer: A dead animal

Over dinner, Frederick tried to get into Morella's second phone and asked Lenore what she thought. With neither of them having any ideas about it, and doubting that she would have a second device altogether, Frederick reasoned that it was someone else's. Maybe, he decided, they needed to find who it really belonged to and give it back. Lenore thought creatively-- the wallpaper on the phone was factory preset, so it probably wasn't Morella's. That was enough for Frederick.

Leo struggled to sleep that evening, tossing and turning in bed and keeping Julius up. Though the two decided to take the opportunity to have a good time, Leo was distracted, first by the glowing eyes deeper in the apartment and second by the blood he found on his hand. In his horror, he jolted up, hitting Julius in the nose by accident. Alone in the bed he was able to find the source of the blood: a disemboweled rat left under his pillow.

Roderick tells Dupin that his family is used to displacing anger, pushing frustration onto more harmless sources. All of the Ushers, save for him, displaced but lacked the ability to sublimate, coping by redirecting harsher emotions into a safe object or activity. As Roderick continues to explain his methods, Leo's body drops on the floor between him and Dupin, interrupting the chat. Dupin doesn't see this; he only sees the reaction from the other man. Roderick has to calm down before they can keep talking.

Answer: Potentially forged signatures

Roderick thinks back to the day that he and Dupin met. Dupin showed up at his apartment door because, as a Medicare fraud investigator, he was looking into Fortunato from people affiliated with the company. Dupin admitted he wasn't after Roderick, but he wanted to get some answers. Annabel let him in.

Dupin doesn't beat around the bush-- he's hunting an explanation down as to why a certain Dr. Brevit has signed many of the trial forms in his research as, per his investigation, the signatures seem to be forgeries and they are linked to cases in which many people have suffered major side effects. Dupin explains that in each case, Roderick's signature appears alongside Dr. Brevit's, making him the ideal person to speak to regarding the matter in determining if all patients consented to treatment. Annabel was certain it was not Roderick's signature; Roderick stated that he could not recall the papers. Dupin understood-- it was hard to say the right thing, but with two kids and not a lot of money, it would be even harder to act against Fortunato and risk a job.

Answer: A wall

Roderick would end up bringing the info of Dupin's visit to Mr. Griswold who, to Roderick's disappointment, ended up being extremely evasive of the matter the investigator brought up. Roderick brought up that his own signature was forged on at least half a dozen forms and Griswold asked, simply, if he was a team player. If Roderick wanted to stay part of the Fortunato team, he would stop bringing up the issue. Fortunato needed to be more than a team; they needed to be a wall against what's happening. The investigator obtained stolen documents. Griswold would look into the clerical errors, but for what it was worth, everyone approved everything, so it shouldn't have mattered. If Roderick kept his nose clean, his mouth shut, and his eyes open, soon he'd be driving any car he wanted, living in any house he dreamed of having. He had the Golden Ticket.

That night, telling Annabel and Madeline, Roderick realized he couldn't quit or else Griswold would destroy him for knowing too much. Madeline, angry that Roderick ate their promises up, reminded him that Fortunato was formerly their father's company; it should have been their birthright.

She told him what to do. He would keep going to work and he would keep eating their promises and sucking up. And at the same time, they would call Dupin's number and Roderick would become best friends with him.

Answer: Drugs

Leo woke up when Julius opened the curtains in their bedroom and he apologized for hurting his nose the night before. Despite being well-meaning, Julius had to bring up the obvious elephant in the room-- Leo's recreational drug habits. Leo generally had it under control under most circumstances, but recently it'd gotten bad. Julius asked that he make it a favour to lay off a bit.

Frederick ended up stopping by unexpectedly as well, visiting Leo's place for the first time. He complimented the apartment, claiming it looked like "an artisanal brewery or something", but Leo suggested it'd be changing again, confiding that Julius had unknowingly resigned as his boyfriend in light of their recent conversation. Frederick was upfront about his reason for visiting-- he wanted drugs. He couldn't focus or stop feeling awful, especially considering Morella's injuries and the phone and Perry's party.

Leo headed to his safe, pulling out a bag of cocaine and telling his older brother to take a few hits a day-- nothing crazy. But as he went to put his drugs back into the vault, Pluto appeared beside it, taking a moment before swatting out with her claws and scratching Leo along his eye. He told Frederick to grab the cat as it got away, but he seemed a bit unconcerned, taking the cocaine and leaving.

Frederick would end up at the hospital taking the cocaine before speaking to his wife, still asleep in her bed. Taking her vital monitor off her finger he'd try to get access to her phone with a print, but to his disappointment, it wouldn't work. He'd try to get it again by removing her face's bandages instead, much to her obvious discomfort, and much to his disappointment again when it didn't work.

Tamerlane, meanwhile would end up watching her husband's most recent workout video while she walked on her treadmill. As he walked out the Goldbug contest winners, she was upset to find a familiar face amongst the group. Appearing behind Bill, to her worry, was Candy, the hired escort from the other night. That night, she brought it up with Bill and he didn't remember seeing her. He apologized; he should've seen Candy and told her to get lost. On the same token, he recommended that Tam get some sleep.

Answer: In the walls

Sitting down to play video games, Leo was once again disturbed by a gift from his replacement cat when he took a seat directly onto a dead bird. He placed the corpse into a garbage bag and proceeded to take it out to the trash, but when he put his foot in a pair of slippers, he put his foot directly into a dead mouse.

It's why Leo decided to call the woman from the animal shelter, bringing her in to collect his ill-tempered cat; she arrived with a carrier while he panicked, unable to find the creature, and she commented that 'Pluto' was probably just exercising his harmless tendency as a predator, bringing gifts to the apartment for his owners. It was then that he showed her to the bathroom, unveiling more than a dozen dead animals left for him to find.

Leo begged the woman to take the cat back-- it was a psychopath and probably needed to be put down. She quickly motioned to the wall, noting that the cat was inside. Cats, she said, are apex predators, attacking to attain the nutrients that they are deficient in. She warned him to look out as the cat leapt on him, and in the dangerous tussle with the feline, he managed to damage its eye and toss it away. When Verna turned back to face him, she too had a damaged eye.

As the sound of the cat could be heard from the walls, he admitted that perhaps he should lay off the drugs. But first, he grabbed a prop hammer, and started bashing through the wall to get at his tormentor, still scrambling around inside.

Answer: His balcony

In the evening, Roderick sat in front of the fire drinking and waiting for Juno. When she arrived, dressed in her elaborate evening wear, she suggested that maybe she wean herself off the Ligodone a bit. He suggested she stay on it as a proof positive of its miracle success. Asking her to cheer him up, he removed her robe and found, to his dismay, the spectre of his youngest son, Prospero, wrapping his arm around his wife before advancing on him.

That evening, Madeline would stop by on Juno's request and ask what was wrong. He'd be blunt with her-- it was a diagnosis of CADASIL, same as their mother. He knew it could cause hallucinations, but nothing quite like he saw. Madeline recommended relying on Victorine's research; it could buy him time. Realistically, however, there'd be a bit more to think about than that. The vision he had was so vivid.

Julius returned to the loft to find Leo continuing his destructive rampage, tearing into every wall and ceiling in the apartment. Bleeding all over, smashing the apartment in the dark, he finally found what he was looking for, Verna's dead body behind one of the sheets of drywall, and on her shoulder, Pluto with her damaged eye hanging out of its socket. Leo screamed in terror, but Julius saw nothing there. Looking back, he would see nothing as well.

Looking over at the balcony, Leo saw Pluto sitting on the guardrail and lunged towards her, swinging his hammer and careening over the edge. He hit the pavement below, dying on impact. As Julius peered over the edge, the missing cat, the actual Pluto, pranced along beside the body.