The ground isn't the only thing shaking in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story episode 8, as the Menendez brothers discover their wave of popularity might be over.
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"Seismic Shifts" begins with Judalon (Leslie Grossman) stating her name for the record as she walks into the courthouse. She explains she specializes in crystals and stones, and publishes a newsletter for doll collectors. She describes how she met Dr. Jerome Oziel (Dallas Roberts). Leslie (Ari Graynor) smiles as Judalon enters the courtroom.
When Leslie asks about what her relationship with Oziel was, she outlines how abusive he was and how his license was revoked. She calls herself a sex servant to him because he put her on xanax and took advantage of her. A contract of the 500 sex acts she'd perform for him is on the record, with her two cats listed as witnesses. All of their conversations are recorded because Judalon's business involves transcription, so several conversations are played for the jury. Lyle (Nicholas Chavez) and Erik (Cooper Koch) are trying not to smile but they know her testimony is working in their favor.
Judalon explains how Oziel begged her for help with the Menendez brothers' sessions. She insists Oziel was not scared when the brothers left his office and all he cared about was their money. He plied her with pills and had her admitted to the hospital; once she woke up he said if she ever tried to leave him then he'd have her committed. Judalon says Oziel raped her twice. Leslie asks if Judalon went to the police for safety, then if Judalon was in love with Oziel and wanted to have kids with him? Judalon said never want kids who look like him.
Northridge
On the bus back to prison, Lyle tells his brother they've got this trial in the bag and he's going to have $14 million after this. Erik doesn't seem convinced but Lyle is going on and on about who will play them in the movie about their lives. That night, the ground starts shaking. It's the Northridge earthquake. Erik falls off his bunk as Lyle braces himself. Leslie's husband says they need to get out of the house because of a gas leak but she's trying to find out if the jail is still standing.
The next day, aftershocks rattle LA and Jill (Jess Weixler) tells Leslie they won't be able to continue in their current courthouse, so they're moving the trial downtown. On the bus ride, Lyle tells Erik Norma told him John Malkovich played him in a Saturday Night Live skit. They're famous.
Erik takes the stand. Every time he talks, the microphone pops and whines, making it hard for him to talk and Leslie has to keep giving him instructions. Lyle mutters he's messing it all up. Asked to talk about the cause of the murders, Erik's eyes fill with tears as he tries to say their father had been molesting him and that's why he told his brother. He's asked about the different kinds of molestation he experienced. The jurors and prosecutors shift in their chairs, partly because it's an uncomfortable subject matter and partly because the mic is so bad.
When he's cross examined, Erik admits he told a lot of lies after the murders but now he's starting to tell the truth. Lyle gets angry with him on the ride back. Erik blames Lyle for the whole thing, but Lyle reminds him he's the one who wrote a script about killing his parents and he's been trying to hide his relationship with his friend. Erik denies being gay. "You made this happen," Lyle tells him. Erik reminds him that Lyle was the one who shot their parents in the head. Lyle reminds him what their parents did to them. "They got what they deserve."
Burden of proof
Leslie and her husband meet their new son, delivered via surrogate. In the prison yard, Lyle shows off photos of his girlfriend as he talks about Kirk Cameron playing him in a movie. Another aftershock hits. Erik congratulates Leslie on the birth of her son, but she cradles his face and tells him today is about him; they're going to get him out.
As she addresses the jury, Leslie says the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt is on the prosecution. She reminds them of the witness statements and how it wasn't about the money. She says they bought the guns because they were defending themselves, and if they were planning a murder they could have waited for handguns. She reminds them of the cousins who knew about the abuse. Leslie says the boys were trophies for their parents and that's all they were. She asks if it would change things if her clients were female; she says it shouldn't make any difference because they were abused.
As the brothers change their clothes, Lyle thinks the jurors are on their side and that the trial would cost too much for them to do it again. Erik isn't so sure. An aftershock interrupts their conversation. Erik thinks something shifted in the atmosphere.
Dunne (Nathan Lane) hosts another dinner party and tells everyone Erik is terrified of the earthquakes, he has a new girlfriend named Tammy and he's writing constantly. Another aftershock hits and they all laugh.
Leslie has the baby in her arms as she seeks out her husband during another aftershock. She looks at the baby and remembers how helpless they are. Her husband knows she isn't worried about another earthquake, she's worried about the verdict.
Dunne thinks Lyle's testimony was brilliant but Erik looked terrible. And then there's Judalon. He recalls Judalon running up to him after the trial asking if he has contact information for the major magazines because she wants to be on the cover. Dunne's dinner guests ask what he thinks will come in the verdict. All he knows is that the ghosts of Jose and Kitty will haunt the brothers for life no matter what.
The next day the judge declares a mistrial because the jury is deadlocked. Lyle and Erik ask their attorneys what this means. Leslie says they need to blame the men.
The VIP
Six months later, Leslie meets with all of the female jurors — she calls them her heroes — to pick their brains about how they ended up with either a not guilty or a guilty of manslaughter charge for Erik. She wanted to know what the men needed to hear from him. One woman says she felt like they were her sons while another woman says no one would kill their parents unless something was happening. Another woman brings up the fact that no one believed sexual abuse could happen to men.
Shortly after the conversation, the women ask if they can call Erik to say hello. He asks to speak to Leslie alone, telling her he's not sure they can win. The media has turned against them and he's getting hate mail. "Something's different," he tells her. It feels like everything's over. One of the women stays behind and tells Leslie the men on the jury really didn't like her.
Jill meets with Lyle and tells him they have a lot of bad news. There's no money left. Lyle doesn't believe her, saying there’s going to be a book that Norma is helping him write, but Jill tells him that Norma has been releasing the recordings. Jill reads off a number of quotes from the recordings, and while he denies it's real she says he can't testify in the new trial because the recordings can be used against him. That means he has to rely on Erik for the whole thing. Jill says she won't be able to defend him anymore.
Leslie tells Erik he's a better witness than Lyle. They can't use self-defense in the trial but Erik says that was the truth. Leslie reminds him Lyle was the one who ultimately killed their parents. He interrupts and asks if she knows how much people hate her. She made so many bad decisions in his defense and now people hate him and his life is over. He tells her she can't fix it.
Erik is in his cell when he's told they have to clean the cellblock because they have a VIP coming in. It's OJ Simpson (Trae Ireland). That night, Erik is in his cell when he hears the guards asking if they can call him "Juice." OJ is led to the cell next to Erik’s and the guards offer to get him food and whatever he needs. "My man," one guard says as he walks away. Erik introduces himself. OJ knows who he is. OJ says he's not going to be there long because he didn't do it. Erik asks if Robert Shapiro is going to be his lawyer, revealing he was originally going to be their lawyer but he screwed them over. His final piece of advice: accept a plea bargain.
The entire season of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is available to stream now on Netflix.
