Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet Of Curiosities Episode 7 The Viewing Ending Explained- Consumerism And Pandora’s Meteorite

Episode 7 of Guillermo del Tor’s Cabinet Of Curiosities, The Viewing from Panos Cosmatos, is easily the wildest of the bunch. Fans of Cosmatos will recognize his signature style. If Claire Denis’ films are a vibe, Cosmatos’ are an intangible, indescribable feeling. Mandy and Beyond The Black Rainbow are violent fantasies. The Viewing has the same sensibilities as these films. It’s a weird, wacky, psychedelic experience unlike anything else. Between all of the cryptic dialogue, copious drug use, and alien blobs, something very pointed is being said about how we consume things and the evils of greed. Here’s everything you need to know about Cabinet of Curiosities Episode 7, The Viewing.

Cabinet of Curiosities Episode 7 opens with the mysterious Dr. Zahra(Sofia Boutella, Prisoners Of A Ghostland) giving Lionel Lassiter, the supremely talented and perfectly cast Peter Weller(RoboCop), an injection. It’s only the first of many drugs imbibed in this episode. We next meet four strangers who have been invited to Lassiter’s for a viewing. Of what and why they were invited, no one knows.

Lassiter has chosen each person specifically, although they don’t know it yet. Randal Roth(Eric André, Bad Trip) is a talented musician, and Charlotte Xie(Charlyne Yi, Lucifer) is a brilliant astrophysicist who has recently discovered a formula that she thinks proves alien life exists. Guy Landon(Steve Agee, Peacemaker) is a famous writer who has no shortage of confidence, and Targ Reinhard(Michael Therriault, Chucky) dabbles in ESP, spirituality, and the esoteric arts. The only thing they seem to have in common is spots on radio shows and Lassiter’s invitation.

Shortly after they meet Hector, Lassiter’s driver, they are shuttled into a van without windows in the back and instructed to listen to the soundtrack and stop talking. Once at Lassiter’s impressive but strange home, they find themselves in a stark and hedonistic place designed to lower their inhibitions and impress them with its grandiosity. The group immediately notices their favorite drinks prepared precisely the way they like them are available. That wouldn’t be that unusual today in the internet era, where even the most cursory social media stalking would tell you what someone liked to eat, drink, wear, read, watch, or listen to. In 1979 when The Viewing takes place, however, that is concerning.

Each person is encouraged to drink and later smoke their way to enlightenment, all while Lassiter and his “doctor” pontificate about worldly concerns and inflated senses of importance. Lassiter is a consumer in every sense of the world. This pompous nightmare of a man thinks his money shields him from everything and allows him to own anything. Intellectual property, precious liquor, valuable artifacts, and even people are all within his reach.

As the night progresses, the group is encouraged to partake of rare alcohol, pot, and pure cocaine laced with Dr. Zahra’s fairy dust. After taking the drugs, they are taken into an antechamber and shown what they came for, a meteorite emanating the softest starbursts of light. This is why they are here. Each possesses some quality Lassiter needs to hopefully open or define what is inside. His curiosity is so great and his arrogance so profound it never occurred to him that some things are better left alone. Money only matters to those who value it. Alien life certainly wouldn’t care about human currency.

The ending of Cabinet Of Curiosities Episode 7 The Viewing

After being shown the meteorite, Randall begins smoking a cigarette and later a joint and is told both times smoking isn’t allowed in the chamber. He blows smoke on the meteorite, and the once-inert rock begins opening as a yellow light emits from its core. An orange blog comes out of the meteorite, and the entity paralyzes the group. Targ, whose face melted almost immediately, said it best, “You think you are looking at it, but it is looking at you.” It next probes Landon’s mind before exploding it impressively. Finally, Dr. Zahar tries to touch it and is melted for her efforts. When Randall and Charlotte bang on the door, Hector opens it and sees what has happened.

While Lassiter kneels in shock, Hector goes for the golden AK-47 hanging on the wall. Before he can shoot anything, the alien oozes onto the floor and consumes Lassiter. As the alien blob that has now merged with Lassiter emerges, Hector tries to shoot it, but the bullets pass right through. The alien retaliates by frying him with massive bursts of electricity. While all of this is happening, Charlotte and Randall run from Sandpiper House and steal a car. Charlotte drives like a bat out of Hell as the alien walks into the woods and sees his reflection.

Cabinet Of Curiosities Episode 7 The Viewing ends with the alien walking out of the sewer into the city. The electricity is presumably being sucked into the alien, as it did in Lassiter’s home when Hector was cooked. Who knows if the alien will continue to kill everyone it meets? The blinking electricity, though, seems to indicate it has immense power and might be a little riled up.

Why does the alien scream at his reflection?

We will never know exactly what he is thinking, but either there is a piece of Lassiter still inside that is horrified by what has happened, or the alien is horrified by his situation. Both have possibilities. Lassiter has believed himself above everything, and the idea of becoming subjugated by the alien is a nightmare. He doesn’t care about looks, as his power stems from control and ownership. He bought the musician who made the soundtrack for his house and intimated that he might be interested in Randall doing his new home in Ecuador. This man believed nothing was beyond his money. He now knows that isn’t true.

The alien who has merged with him found himself on an alien planet full of terrible people. Those who it has come into contact with so far are not great examples of humanity and the only ones who were decent ran. Randall and Charlotte were likely allowed to live instead of being melted or blown up because they weren’t as obnoxious or selfish. Charlotte was a woman of science who was more concerned with truth and proof, while Randall recognized the darkness in us all. He wanted most of all to have the gaping void in him filled or at least quieted.

Be careful what you wish for. Some boxes and some doors should never be opened. Beneath all the subtext is a message about control and value. Not everything can or should be consumed. Ownership always comes at a price, and Lassiter learned the hard way that money can’t buy you security. If curiosity killed the cat, it also consumed the consumer. You can find all of our Cabinet Of Curiosity coverage here.