The Fall of the House of Usher: Who is Prospero and what is his motive?

In the second episode of The Fall of the House of Usher, titled "The Masque of the Red Death," we are introduced to Prospero, the youngest Usher child. Prospero is tired of being humiliated by his siblings and father and wants to change the status quo. He decides to throw a lavish party in a soon-to-be-demolished building, inviting the city's most powerful and influential people. His plan is to capture compromising videos of them engaging in debauchery and later blackmail them.At the party, Prospero encounters Verna, a mysterious woman who warns him about the consequences of his actions. However, he ignores her warnings. The climax of the party involves activating the sprinklers, which are unknowingly connected to tanks containing acid rain instead of water. As a result, the acid rain falls on the guests, killing them all, including Prospero.Meanwhile, Roderick Usher, Prospero's father, is haunted by his past and suffers from vascular dementia. He is interested in his daughter's research on a heart mesh that can slow down the progression of the disease. However, the research is not going well, and their last test subject has died.Victorine, another Usher sibling, faces problems of her own. Her sister, Camille, suspects her of being an informant and investigates her trials. Madeline, Roderick's wife, is using her grandniece, Lenore, to develop an artificial intelligence that mimics human consciousness, offering the possibility of eternal life.In a flashback to the 1970s, a young Roderick tries to sell his new drug, Ligodone, to a pharmaceutical company. Ligodone is presented as a non-addictive opioid that can alleviate pain. Despite facing resistance, Roderick is determined to make Ligodone a success and rise to the top.Overall, Prospero's motive seems to be driven by a desire to gain power and change his position within the Usher family. He wants to create his own empire and is willing to use blackmail to achieve his goals. While his actions may seem revenge-driven, his ultimate motive is to establish a new pecking order where he is no longer humiliated and overlooked by his siblings and father.