Ryan Murphy's latest deep dive into the lives of notorious murderers is the sordid tale of two brothers who killed their parents.
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story begins with "Blame It on the Rain," an episode that takes a closer look at the affluent young men and the events leading up to the shocking murders that stunned the nation.
In Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story episode 1, viewers learn more about the brothers and their complex family dynamics.
The perfect song
In the back of a limo, Lyle (Nicholas Chavez) and Erik (Cooper Koch) look (and act) like they're going to a Hollywood premiere. In reality, they're headed for their parents', Jose (Javier Bardem) and Kitty (Chloë Sevigny) Menendez, funeral. It's hard to tell because Lyle is more concerned with TCBY yogurt shops and the need to have a Mr. Buffalo next to every single one of them. He jumps up and demands their driver turn the radio to KISS FM. Milli Vanilli's "Blame It on the Rain" comes on as Erik realizes his brother is wearing their father's shoes. He starts to crack, so Lyle immediately tells him to "suck it up" while assuring his brother he loves him and that their parents would be proud.
Lyle freaks out at the driver again because he's going around back to avoid the crowd, but Lyle wants to jump out in the middle of it. He makes sure he knows where the cameras are as he dares the mafia to come for him after they killed his parents. Peter Hoffman (Jeff Perry) rushes up and assures the brothers they'll have full security in place to protect them.
They enter the church. Images of the family are playing on a big screen. Erik gets up to eulogize his parents, sharing a story about how his mother help injured birds to heal and fly away. He hopes someday they can hit a few balls together in heaven. When it's Lyle's turn, he talks about his father, "the icon." He pledges to carry on and make his family proud, then another Milli Vanilli classic, "Girl, I'm Going to Miss You," plays. The audience looks around in confusion as a tribute to Kitty plays on screen.
The good stuff
It's Halloween 1989. Two months have passed since Jose and Kitty were killed. Erik is trying to channel his rage through working out. A news story reveals the police are no closer to solving the case, but the mafia has not been ruled out. When he hears the death penalty would be sought for the culprits, Erik looks shaken.
He walks to the double doors leading to the library. Inside, he can hear what happened that night inside his head and sees the bloodstained couches right in front of him. He imagines putting a gun to his head when the sound of a gunshot wakes him. He'd been dreaming.
Erik calls Dr. Jerome Oziel (Dallas Roberts), the family therapist. He gets last appointment of the day and Oziel promises they can talk as long as they need.
As Erik leaves, he runs into his brother and his girlfriend on their way inside. They've been buying Halloween candy (the full-size "good stuff") to keep up the family tradition. They joke at his appearance as he rushes off.
Last appointment of the day
Erik admits he's suicidal to Dr. Oziel, then asks if Oziel will share any details of their session. Oziel reassures Erik everything is confidential, saying when he shared details Erik told him of his burglary case to his parents he was required because he was a minor and it was court-mandated. Satisfied, they go for a walk and Erik talks about having dreams of seeing his parents dying, but they won't die no matter how many times they've been shot. Oziel asks what killing himself will solve.
Erik praises his father and his work ethic to get where he was in life, saying he should write a book about him. His father wanted to be the first Cuban-American senator, from Florida. Jose wanted to be like the Kennedys, leading to him being hard on his boys. The conversation triggers a memory and Erik says he and his brother killed their parents. Oziel suggests they return to the office.
When they return, Erik asks if Oziel is recording the conversation. He assures Erik he's not. He wants Erik to tell him what happened because it will help him process his feelings.
Billionaire Boys Club
Erik explains the idea to kill their parents came from watching 1987's Billionaire Boys Club. The story was similar to their own. He told his brother to watch it, which led to conversations about removing the "negative, controlling force" from their lives. They agreed to do it in a week.
Oziel asks if that was their reason behind the patricide. Most incidents like this come about from abuse or disputes about money. Not from watching a movie.
Erik thinks back to a tennis competition where he made a mistake and Jose stormed the court, firing the coach and throwing his racket, embarrassing him in front of everyone.
Oziel asks if Jose was physically abusive. Erik recalls a time at dinner when Jose broke plates on the wall because they didn't know the capital of South Dakota and would never survive Princeton. Erik doesn't call it abusive, just "domineering." He says they killed their mother because she was addicted to Jose; they were putting her out of her misery.
Ultimately, Erik recalls the big fight when Lyle was kicked out of Princeton and Kitty got involved. At the dinner table, they argue over Lyle getting married even though he's the same age they were when they married. She ends up ripping Lyle's hairpiece from his head; Erik didn't know Lyle was bald, something his brother didn't want anyone to know. Erik idolized his brother, so seeing him so vulnerable made him snap. Erik saw how cruel their lives were and he admitted to his brother how much he loved him and would always choose him over their parents.
The plan had its own gravity. The challenge was getting the guns, as you can't just buy a gun in California. However, there was a loophole that you could buy a rifle at the sporting goods store. They made plans to see Batman and attend the Taste of LA event to give themselves an alibi.
The brothers load their shotguns in the driveway of their parents' house. Lyle tells Erik he has to shoot first so he doesn't back out. They go inside and head for the library, where they catch their parents watching television on the couch. Lyle shoots his father once, then twice. They fire several rounds, until a headshot kills Jose. They go back to the car so Lyle can reload and finish off Kitty. Erik is outside when he hears the final shot. He goes back inside to see Lyle calmly picking up the shells.
Taste of LA
When its done, Lyle and Erik clean up and head into the hills to bury the guns. After showering and burying their guns, they head to the theater to catch the 9:50 showing of Batman. When the clerk won't let them into the 9:50 showing because they're more than 15 minutes late, they buy tickets to a later showing. But this won't work for their alibi, so Lyle storms off and suggests they hit Taste of LA to make sure their faces were seen there. Hours later, they return home.
We cut to a tape of the 9-1-1 call made that night. The young men are inconsolable as they relay what they found upon returning home.
Back in the present, Dr. Oziel asks how Erik feels. He wants the therapist to make him feel better and tell him he's not a bad person. After pressing him, Oziel tells him he's not a bad person. Erik says he's living in the house where he killed his parents and every night he has the same nightmare of killing them, only they don't die. They don't die in his dreams until he kills himself. Oziel tries to calm him down, suggesting they call Lyle.
Lyle is handing out candy to ungrateful kids when the call comes in. Oziel tells him Erik told him everything and he wants Lyle to come to his office. Lyle is furious and demands to speak to his brother, but Oziel stands his ground.
Believing Lyle is on his way, Oziel hurries from the office under the pretense of getting coffee. He runs to a payphone and calls his mistress, Judalon Smythe (Leslie Grossman), asking her to hurry to the office because Erik just confessed and he needs her as a witness. She's reluctant but is the waiting room when he walks in.
The Snickers bar
Lyle is furious his brother told the therapist the truth. Erik admits he was suicidal, but Lyle doesn't care, Erik just confessed to killing their parents. Once Judalon hears the admission, she leaves the office, which leads Lyle to ask if she heard them. Oziel is more concerned with Lyle's hand, which has been in his pocket. It's a king-sized Snickers bar, Lyle says, because he's been handing them out all night.
Lyle tries to spin the story as something Erik made up and Oziel can't prove anything. Lyle wants to know that nothing they say in the office can be used against them in court. Oziel agrees he can't talk to anyone. Oziel says this could be a good thing if they did get convicted, in the off chance that someone saw them. "I can be your lifeline," he says, if they tell him everything about their controlling father and how they snapped. It all makes a difference, whether it's premeditated or a crime of passion.
Lyle asks if Oziel thinks they're sociopaths, then demands to know what Oziel will do once they leave. "Nothing," he says, promising he's going to have dinner with his wife. The brothers leave, with a dejected Erik trailing behind Lyle. Lyle offers to give his brother a ride to his car, pausing to crumble up a parking ticket on his windshield.
When Erik starts to apologize, Lyle stops him. "It's ok. We know what we have to do now," he says. "We have to kill him."
The entire season of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is available to stream now on Netflix.
