Grotesquerie Season 1 episode 3 ending explained: Who is Ed Laclan?

Grotesquerie Season 1 episode 3 dropped on FX on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, bringing more tense, puzzling murder mysteries. Previously, on the two-episode premiere of the latest horror crime show, a series of murders mess with the small town and Detective Lois Tryon, who's heading the investigation.

A whole family was murdered, with a horrific scene of them eating human organs. Two men were killed and drained of blood. A suspected killer, who had been dead for weeks, was found. And a group of unhoused people were horrifically murdered and posed like the Last Supper.

The killer is yet to be named, and the detective, with the help of Sister Megan, tries to piece together clues to find the murderer. So far, they only know him as "Grotesquerie" based on the calling card the killer left in one of the crime scenes.

As the killer remains on the loose, the town is still in danger of more murders, but Detective Lois and Sister Megan are not likely to stop their quest to find the killer. In episode 3, titled "The Bender," Detective Lois finds comfort in another person, an orderly named Ed Laclan, who works at the hospital where the detective's husband is admitted.

Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers for Grotesquerie Season 1. Reader's discretion is advised.

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Who is Ed Laclan in Grotesquerie Season 1 episode 3?

Long before the third episode arrived, the series teased a new person who was going to appear in Detective Lois's life and give her comfort somehow. The Grotesquerie Season 1 episode 3 teaser trailer also teased the much-awaited Travis Kelce acting debut.

When episode 3 aired, it confirmed that Travis Kelce's character is the person the episode's one-sentence logline refers to: "Lois finds comfort in an unexpected person."

When the detective visits her comatose husband, Nurse Redd guilt-trips her again about not being an attentive wife. During their conversation at the cafeteria, the nurse presents the detective with papers that, if Lois signs, will grant Nurse Redd a power of attorney toward the detective's husband. Lois is understandably horrified and walks out.

Detective Lois is getting some fresh air around the garden and is ready to light up her cigarette. But before she can do so, Kelce's character, Ed Laclan, aka Eddie, appears out of nowhere and lights her cigarette. He begins sweet-talking her as the detective takes out her flask to start drinking.

During their conversation, Eddie Laclan implies that he is an orderly working at the hospital where the detective's comatose husband is. He also warns Detective Lois not to get into her car and drive, given that she has been drinking. But Lois goes anyway, and in his parting words, he creepily tells her, "I don't want you to have any regrets."

In the next scene of Grotesquerie Season 1 episode 3, Lois is seen driving before she crashes into a pole. When she wakes up, she finds herself handcuffed to the bed, with Eddie as her nurse. She asks him to help her sneak out of the hospital, and he does.

At the end of the third episode, Eddie and Lois are seen holding hands as they run through the hospital hallways before getting into a swanky red convertible and speeding off.

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Who died in Grotesquerie Season 1 episode 3?

So far from the Grotesquerie Season 1 premiere, there have been four murder incidents—the Burnsides, the two men, Sullivan Firkus, who the detective initially thought was the killer and the group of unhoused people.

A fifth murder terrorizes the town and Detective Lois in episode 3. After passing out drunk early in the third episode, the detective receives a call that there was another murder. When she arrives at the crime scene, which appears to be a nightclub, the lights in the room flash, and Mariachi music blasts in the background.

On the stripper pole is one of the most horrifying evidence of murder—dismembered bodies of different s*x workers sewn together to create one body with the head of a goat. While the police have no idea who the dismembered parts belong to, the detective can identify who they are based on their tattoos.

Detective Lois lists murdered individuals in Ryan Murphy's Grotesquerie Season 1 episode 3:

• Jessica Holt
• Drea Rhymes: She was a Broadside Motel crew who previously went to the police because she was afraid of her pimp. She had a cherry blossom tattoo on her ankle.
• Nini Lynn-Taylor: She was a tattoo artist.
• Danny Cotter: He used to "wander all the time in between 7th and Camino" looking for drugs. He has a scar on his chest as a result of an open heart surgery when he was six months old.

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Detective Lois is nowhere closer to finding out who the killer is

In Grotesquerie Season 1 episode 3, Detective Lois is nowhere closer to finding the killer who has been terrorizing their small town with a series of horrific murders. During a deliberation with the police, where Sister Megan is again present to share her many theories about the killer.

Lois tries to piece together what they know or think they know about it. She theorizes:

"It's a surgeon, a coroner, someone who knows anatomy, and knows how to sew."

Detective Lois Tryon in Grotesquerie Season 1 episode 3 (Image via FX)

Detective Lois suggests that the murderer can be a trauma surgeon or a medic. So, she tells the others to check the Army and Air Force bases for clues. She also reckons that the killer is someone who knows her, to which Sister Megan agrees that the detective is being taunted by the serial killer.

When asked about it, Lois reveals that she has a close relationship with the s*x workers because she has helped them one way or the other. She had driven them to clinics, taken them for detox, advocated for them, and more. Except for their theory that the killer has some deep contempt towards the detective, they still have no concrete clues about the murderer's motivations.

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Catch the latest Grotesquerie Season 1 episodes, which are now streaming on FX. New episodes will be available for streaming on Hulu the day after the release date.