Grotesquerie episode 8 recap: Lois learns her new reality

The seventh episode of FX's Grotesquerie totally flipped the murder mystery on its head — after Lois realized Sister Megan had something to do with the series of killings, the audience was in for a shock when learning that Lois was the one in a coma this whole time, not her husband Marshall. Wait, what? Yep, it’s true. It was revealed that Marshall and Merritt were about to pull the plug on Lois, but in the nick of time, she took a breath. Now that she’s out of her coma in episode 8, she’s about to find out what’s actually been going on in real life, not just her dreams.

WARNING: Major spoilers for Grotesquerie episode 8 are below.

After realizing that everything Lois has been seeing this season so far is not true, we’re starting to put together the pieces of what the reality is. Episode 8 opens up with Merritt, a doctor, teaching a class. Another doctor approaches Merritt wanting to talk about Lois and the dreams she had while she was in her coma. We then cut to Lois who is in physical therapy at the hospital. Charlie is her doctor, but Lois, unsurprisingly, doesn't trust him.

The reality

Nurse Redd — who, remember, is not actually a nurse at all outside of Lois’ dreams — comes home to Marshall. He tells her that he's going to divorce Lois now that she's awake, but Redd questions this decision, saying she'll stay with him even if he doesn't go through with it. Marshall recalls telling Lois he wanted her to die while she was in a coma, something he now knows she must've heard.

The same doctor who speaks with Merritt then goes to meet Sister Megan — who is actually Detective Megan — and she tells him about her strained relationship with Lois. The doctor is trying to figure out what Lois’ dreams during her coma mean and how they connect to her actual life. They talk about the murder case Megan worked on with Lois, the girl Andrea. We then get to see a glimpse of Megan’s home life. She lives with a man named Justin who drinks and relies on her to make him food. What is this toxic relationship she’s in?

Justin follows her into the kitchen and begins beating her up, and she pulls a gun on him. She tells him her coworkers will see the bruise he’s given her just like the other ones, but he doesn’t seem to care. Before leaving, she throws hot noodles in his face, burning him. She then checks in at a motel.

Lois then finally meets with the doctor, who asks her if she’s ready to return to the real world. Understandably, Lois is intimidated by how much she has to process to do so, with her coma dreams feeling very real. She explains that she feels stuck on how to move forward with the memories of what happened in her subconscious. The doctor then begins asking her questions as they go through the things that she dreamed, though Lois doesn’t want to be therapized.

Putting together the pieces of reality

Despite her hesitation, Lois listens to what the doctor thinks about what she dreamed and why she dreamed it, more or less agreeing. It’s all starting to make sense, though the show’s twist still isn’t any less shocking.

Lois leaves the hospital and is greeted by Megan outside who’s there to pick her up. During the car ride, Megan assures Lois that she’s not her enemy, referencing Lois’ depiction of her in her dreams. She seems offended by what Lois thought of her in her subconscious. They then talk about the Andrea case and begin arguing before Megan drops Lois home. As she closes the door, Lois tells Megan that she is “possessed.”

Lois returns home to Maisie, who we learn Lois helped out with a job and more. In a later scene, Maisie drives her Merritt’s, wanting to have an important talk with her daughter. Merritt doesn’t waste time confronting her mom for having an affair with Eddie, though Lois is unfazed. She comes inside and they talk about Lois’ dreams, but Merritt says she understands she couldn’t control them. What she’s angry with her mom about is the affair, bringing it up again. Lois blames her alcoholism and feeling alone after Marshall all but left her, calling her relationship with Eddie about “emotion” and “connection.” To this, Merritt slaps her mom across the face.

Meritt tells Lois that she “broke [her] heart” with the affair, which makes her mom cry. Eventually, she kicks her mom out of her house and Lois doesn’t push back.

We've got one more episode tonight, followed by the Grotesquerie finale one week away — and apparently, we can expect yet more twists ahead. Tune in for episode 10 on FX on Wednesday, Oct. 30 at 10:00 p.m. ET. The finale will stream the next day on Hulu.