‘Devil In Ohio’ History of Suzanne Mathis, Explained: What Was The Reason Behind Suzanne’s Obsession With Mae?

“Devil in Ohio” plays a very important role in highlighting the ill effects of religious beliefs and Satanism. This suspense drama on Netflix will enlighten more on the downfalls of Suzanne Mathis and her family. Well, as a psychiatrist, Suzanne invited the wrong person into her family, and this person was none other than the devil worshiper, Mae Dodd. From the very beginning, Mae and Suzanne became instantly obsessed with each other while Suzanne’s one happy family broke down due to her neglect. She chose to save Mae from all the problems, which is indeed her job, but involving her in the family turned out to be a huge mistake.  Suzanne’s children began despising her for her actions. From the very first day of Mae’s arrival, Jules and Dani were uncomfortable with her presence since her ways and lifestyle were weird. Moreover, she even overshadowed the feelings of the children, and there came the point wherein Suzanne only cared about Mae’s upbringing.

Well, it was not like she didn’t care, but in reality, Suzanne was so meddled up in Mae’s cultic history that she forgot to choose her children over Mae. The day Suzanne met her, they instantly connected since Mae’s scars were similar to Suzanne’s. Suzanne devoted her life to social service since she was trying to hide her painful past. As time went on, Suzanne got to know more about Mae’s mother who betrayed her and chose Malachi over Mae’s life. Well, the same thing had happened with Suzanne as well. Moreover, when the hospital staff caught her stealing files about previous patients of the Remmingham Memorial Hospital, Suzanne was suggested to attend therapy sessions and not reported for the crime by the higher officials. The whole therapy session revealed the dark past of her childhood and the way Suzanne’s mother abandoned her in need.

Growing up, Suzanne was a rebellious child, and the main reason for this nature was her stepfather Dennis’ abuse. She would often spend hours in her bedroom trying to shut out the voices of her parents fighting with the help of music. But still, the voices got to her head, and Suzanne spent the majority of her time trying to convince her mother to leave him. But she refused to listen as she believed that Dennis was the only person that she could rely on. In this process, Suzanne was heartbroken and left all alone by her mother. So, as she grew up, Suzanne knew that she had to save herself. Moreover, Dennis portrayed himself as the perfect man around the whole town, but in reality, he was a monster. At one point, Suzanne knew that her mother was never going to choose her over Dennis, and one night, Dennis’ abuse reached its threshold when he handcuffed her to the radiator, which, in turn, gave her a huge scar.

The sound of the radiator brought Suzanne’s mother into the room, but still, she chose to obey Dennis instead of saving her child. At this point, Suzanne realized that she had to escape this painful environment to create the best opportunities for her future. Suzanne chose that one night when Dennis was heavily drunk and ran to Grandma Helen’s house in Remmingham. Despite all her attempts, Suzanne’s mother never left Dennis, and years later, she passed away from cancer. Suzanne always wanted to help other children who were stuck with abusive parents, and it became one of her most important goals. As Suzanne was a victim of abuse, she believed she had conquered her fears. Although in reality, there was a part of Suzanne that was still stuck in her past.

According to Suzanne, her pain was attuned to the fact that she couldn’t save her mother from the abuse. But to be honest, there was a part of Suzanne that resented her mother’s actions. The child Suzanne hated the fact that her mother couldn’t do anything to save her from the atrocities of Dennis. Well, this became a huge link between her and Mae. The main reason behind the obsession with Mae was Suzanne’s resentment. She wanted to save Mae as there was no one to save Suzanne from all the painful memories. On the other hand, there was another revelation about Suzanne wherein she blamed herself for all the problems. Despite all her attempts, Suzanne couldn’t save her mother from Dennis’ manipulation and gaslighting. As Suzanne didn’t work on her childhood trauma, this side of her personality is causing her to neglect the needs of her children as well.

After her therapy sessions, Suzanne realizes the side effects of her ignorance where she failed to become a part of her children’s lives. Soon, Suzanne decides to send Mae away to focus more on her family, but before she could do that, Suzanne is lured back to Amontown.  She had this one chance to keep her family, but her decision to save Mae took that away from her. The “Devil in Ohio” ends with a cryptic note, wherein Suzanne is stuck with Mae for a long time, as her lack of decision-making has certainly taken away everything that she had. Mae’s ultimate wish was to be with Suzanne, and to accomplish that, she placed their pictures together at the wishing lane of Lucifer. This time Mae’s wishes were finally granted. Peter Mathis began living with his children separately, and maybe there was a chance that they might work on their differences to get back with each other, but for the time being, it will be Mae and Suzanne.


See More: ‘Devil In Ohio’ The Ritualistic Sacrifice, Explained: Why Did The Cult Render Pig Fat To Create Accelerant?


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Raschi Acharya
Raschi Acharya
Raschi Acharya is a Mass Media graduate and she is currently working and living in Mumbai. From a very young age, Raschi was heavily interested in reading and writing. She prefers to write everything that her mind nurtures her to do as shaping up her imagination is her forte!

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