FX's Grotesquerie continues to blur the binaries of dreams and reality after its major episode 7 plot twist revealed that Detective Lois Tryon (Niecy Nash-Betts) was in a coma instead of her husband. When she managed to miraculously wake up, her team of doctors, including Doctor Charlie Mayhew (Nicholas Alexander Chavez) determined that she was actually in a liminal state instead of completely comatose, which is why she was able to revive.

Since Lois has woken up, a gruesome murder from her nightmare has already come to fruition – only that all the other surrounding Grotesquerie.

The Grotesquerie Murders

The First Murder Is Real

As Lois emerges from her comatose-like state, she begins meeting with a specialist (Santino Fontana), who is working to help her unravel her Grotesquerie dreams. The therapist also seeks to analyze and provide Lois with the keys to resolving her personal issues in her waking life. Among these is determining what the meaning of the grisly crime scenes at the center of Lois' nightmares could indicate, which the therapist immediately presumes to be Lois' interpretation of the cruelty of the world.

However, at the end of episode nine, it is revealed that the first Grotesquerie murder, in which a family who were advocates for social justice was murdered at their dinner table, comes to fruition from Lois' dream. Knowing how the story ends in her dreams, Lois immediately suspects someone from the hospital is involved, as the only people who knew the full nature of her nightmares were her therapist and her doctor.

Marshall's Affair

Marshall Is Really Having An Affair With Redd, But She Is Not A Nurse

Marshall (Courtney B. Vance) is indeed having an affair with Redd (Lesley Manville), only she is a cam model instead of a nurse. At the same time, it is revealed that Lois slept with Ed Laclan (Travis Kelce) in Grotesquerie, her Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor, and is currently married to her daughter Merritt. The affair blew up her family's lives, and is in part the reason for the chaotic hospital scene when Lois is set to be taken off of life .

As a result, Lois feels much more comfortable leaving Marshall, as she feels immense remorse for destroying her own and her daughter's marriage. As Lois was once consumed by her career and alcoholism, she later commends Redd for taking care of Marshall during the years that she couldn't, explaining why Lois pictured her as a nurse in her dream.

Merritt's Role As A Reality Star

Merritt Is Actually A Cancer Researcher

In Lois' dream state, she frequently harshly criticizes Merritt's weight. Merritt is highly intelligent, but spends much of her time watching movies and doing trivia, while preparing an audition tape for a reality show centered on weight. However, Merritt's reality is far different from what Lois envisioned in her nightmare. Merritt has actually received two degrees and now works as a leading cancer researcher. She is married to Ed Laclan, Lois' AA sponsor with whom she had an affair behind Merritt's back.

While Merritt has seemingly made a name for herself in reality, Lois' harsh views of her in the dream make it evident their relationship had been strained long before Ed came into the picture.

While Merritt is a successful scientist and homeowner, she is struggling in her relationship after her mother's affair, and a brief conversation with Lois alludes to Merritt having previously been in a cult. While Merritt has seemingly made a name for herself in reality, Lois' harsh views of her in the dream make it evident their relationship had been strained long before Ed came into the picture.

Megan & Charlie's Relationship

The Pair Are Not Connected In The Real World

In Lois' coma dream, Father Charlie Mayhew is a priest and Sister Megan Duvall is a nun. The pair secretly become lovers against the Catholic Church's celibacy vows. Father Charlie is seeking to modernize the Church, while Megan's parish newspaper continues to garner viral attention. Their real-life counterparts appear to be very different people once Lois wakes up. Father Charlie is actually Doctor Charlie, and Sister Megan is Detective Megan.

Thus far, it appears that the pair do not know one another personally in Lois' waking life. Her therapist suspects that Lois subconsciously paired them together in her dream because she viewed them both as "holier than thou", as Megan pointed out Lois' investigative pitfalls in the poorly managed murder case of Andrea Solano (Victoria Abbott) and Charlie was in charge of Lois' life . This notion ties in with the Grotesquerie.

Lois' Retirement

Lois Did Retire, And Was Comatose After Having COVID

Towards the end of Lois' dream, she is pushed into retirement from the police force. In reality, she had already retired pre-coma. She reveals that she was in a comatose state after having COVID-19, which she contracted at a women's rights rally she attended with her housekeeper, Maisie Montgomery (Kathryn Hunter). Despite her retirement, Lois finds herself sucked back in when the Grotesquerie murders start coming true as she feared.

Overwhelmed by the depraved nature of the murders, while also escaping an abusive relationship, Megan calls Lois for help. It is clear that Lois has resources that the rest of the force does not, given that these murders have already happened in her nightmares. Lois is reluctantly willing to help with the investigation when Megan is attacked by her abusive partner. It is clear that while Lois understands her dream was fictional, she intends to use the mental tools it gave her to solve this case.

Ed Serving As Lois' Sponsor

Ed Is Really Lois' Sponsor, But The Rest Of His Life Is Quite Different

In Lois' dream, Ed Laclan is an orderly at the hospital in which Marshall is on life . He rescues Lois after a drunk driving accident and becomes her friend and sponsor, watching over Merritt while Lois is out late at night fighting crime. He is smooth-talking, drives a vintage car, and meditates, making it appear as though his days of substance abuse are far gone, and he now lives a successful and disciplined life. Ed is Lois' AA sponsor in reality as well, but instead works at Cinnabon in the local mall and is married to Merritt.

He lacks ambition, and this comes between him and Merritt. Unlike their friendly nature in her dreams, Lois is having an affair with Ed behind her husband Marshall and daughter Merritt's backs. Lois envisions herself as a functioning alcoholic in her dream, when, in her waking life, she has already been sober. At the end of episode 9, Lois asks Megan to cut her to make sure she is awake. When she bleeds, she realizes that her current situation must be real. The coma twist is only the beginning of the mind-bending finale of Grotesquerie that is soon to come.