Grotesquerie episode 3 recap: Lois is nowhere closer to the truth

We got to meet Detective Lois Tryon during last week's two-episode premiere of FX's Grotesquerie, and this week continues the investigation. The horror series is created by Ryan Murphy, Robin Baitz, and Joe Baken, following a series of murders that are committed in a small town. Lois forms an unlikely partnership with a nun journalist named Sister Megan who has a thing for true crime. The two ladies are no doubt determined and very smart, but will they get to the bottom of the murders before it's too late? We sure hope so.

WARNING: Major spoilers for Grotesquerie episode 3 are below.

This week's episode opens up with Merritt recording an audition tape for something and her mother trying to help her out. As she starts to nod off, Lois thinks she sees someone walking through their house. Lois continues binge drinking as she makes her daughter a turducken dinner, though her offering comes with a condition. Lois tells Merritt that as long as she stops mentioning her drinking, she will help her get to her goal weight. The two certainly have their vices and agree to avoid judging one another for them.

Lois and Merritt bond in their unique way

Lois and Merritt enjoy their dinner and talk about Marshall, and Lois admits that she does miss some things about him. Merritt convinces her mom to tell her the story of how she and her dad met, and we get flashbacks showing the start of their relationship, from their first date to Marshall convincing Lois to become a detective and more. This leads to Merritt asking if her mom loves her, to which Lois says she does most days, and on the others, she at least wants to. Merritt responds by telling her to stop drinking, to which Lois says to stop eating.

Lois wakes up from a dream in which she shoots at someone in her home to her phone ringing, and she finds out another person has been killed. She shows up at the crime scene, still drunk, and takes a sip from her flash before getting out of her car. As she walks into the building, she's told it's "like a Frankenstein," and there's no sign of breaking and entry. She walks into some sort of banquet hall with a strobe light going off, music blasting, and balloons all around. Lois is told she has to leave considering her intoxicated state, but she doesn't listen. She looks at the body parts, sewn together to create one, complete with a goat head.

More murders

Lois then begins yelling at the police officer, Jack, saying she knows who the body parts belong to. Identifying one woman based on the tattoo on her leg and continuing through other clues, Lois convinces her team of who the deceased are. She's insulted she was asked to leave and gives directions, which are followed. She then apologizes to Jack for being hostile but then takes her apology back.

Lois invites Sister Megan to join a meeting at the police station and the group tries to find patterns in the murders. Sister Megan explains her theories and clues, though the other detectives and police officers don't seem too convinced. Lois theorizes the murderer must be a surgeon, coroner, or anyone who knows human anatomy very well. She also explains why she thinks she's being targeted through her care for the unhoused people in the community.

When Lois and Sister Megan leave, the group talks about Lois' alcoholism and expresses their skepticism in Sister Megan. However, one of the detectives points out that Lois' husband is in the hospital and needs their support, also reminding them that she's solved countless cases and deserves respect.

Father Charlie is confronted by members of the church who advise him to shut down the newspaper for now, but he pushes back. The numbers don't lie, and this argument is all the convincing he has to do. He tells the group that their church must modernize if they want to stay relevant.

Father Charlie and Sister Megan's strange relationship

We then see Sister Megan working on an article before calling Father Charlie, who is prancing around the church in a see-through gown and those chaps again. Sister Megan runs her ideas by Father Charlie but needs his approval to publish something controversial. She proceeds to read her report about the most recent murders to him. Father Charlie requests she bring him a hard copy for him to read over and tells her she's doing a great job.

Sister Megan goes to find Father Charlie and is surprised to see him shirtless and in a towel in his room. He skims through the article and compliments Sister Megan, who questions why he wanted to read it in person. They then begin to engage in an intimate moment, with Sister Megan rubbing Father Charlie's scarred back with a towel and getting very close to him. Things begin to get hot and heavy before Father Charlie puts a stop to it.

As the episode comes to an end, Lois goes to the hospital and sees Nurse Redd treating a concerning infection on Marshall. The nurse calls out Lois for her alcoholism which makes her break down and cry. The two go down to the dining hall and Nurse Redd tells Lois she wants to be Marshall's power of attorney, arguing she cares about him more than Lois does. Lois leaves before signing anything.

Welcome to the show, Travis Kelce

Lois sits outside at the hospital and meets an orderly named Eddie (played by Travis Kelce). They hit it off as they chat and even flirt as Lois continues to drink out of her flask. As she starts to walk away, Eddie advises she doesn't drive in her condition but she leaves anyway. Lois drives off and swerves on the road, hitting a pole. When she wakes up in the hospital, her teammate tells her she was arrested for drinking and driving but she's going to try to make the charge go away so she can continue working on the case.

Eddie shows up again and gives Lois a meal, while her fellow detective scolds her for what she has to do. While alone, Lois convinces Eddie to help her flee the hospital. There's definitely something up with Eddie; am I the only one getting vibes he doesn't actually exist? Could he be a ghost, or even Lois' guardian angel? I'm not sure at this point, but I'll be interested to see what happens next.

New episodes of Grotesquerie air every Wednesday night on FX at 10:00 p.m. ET and stream the next day on Hulu.