Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story – Episode 1 Recap & Review

Blame it on the Rain

Episode 1 of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story starts with a look at our titular characters on their way to a memorial service for their parents. Lyle is eccentric and easily annoyed, while Erik has a deep-rooted anger and grief linked to their father. When he finds out his brother is wearing their dad’s shoes, Erik struggles to hold back his tears.

Now, the general consensus among the media is that their parents were killed by the Mafia. It’s been 2 months since Jose and Kitty died, and there’s still no clear sign over who killed the pair. However, it does appear to be linked to their home video business.

Erik is suffering from nightmares as a result of this, feeling suicidal and struggling to hold it together. He organizes a meet with his therapist, Dr Oziel, explaining how he’s been feeling. Apparently his father was pretty hard on them, and just like that, Erik admits that he and Lyle were the ones who killed their parents.

The plan started while watching Billionaire Boys Club one afternoon. They put a plan into place together and decided to kill their parents. They were pushed to the edge by their dad in particular, who was very domineering. There’s a moment here where Erik is asked if they were ever physically abused, but he says no.

As for Kitty, they decided to kill her as part of a “mercy kill” to put her out of her misery for being addicted to Jose. The man had multiple affairs and she’d take him back every time.

As for Lyle, it turns out he’s been losing his hair due to the stress. He was given a wig years back and from this moment, seeing his brother in that vulnerable state, Erik is dead-set on sticking together and killing them.

And then we see the murder in all its ugly glory. It’s shocking, with shotgun blasts knocking chunks off the pair. Erik is traumatized, while Lyle remains fixated on the job at hand. “I’ll finish off Mum,” He says as they load the shotguns in the trunk of the car. After, the duo head out and try to give themselves an alibi, buying tickets for a movie, going to the local hangout spots and then eventually ringing the police.

Back in the present, Erik, teary-eyed and grief-stricken, explains to his therapist about his dreams. All of these end with him blowing his face off to get some rest. As for Lyle, he’s on a short fuse and after antagonizing a bunch of trick or treaters, is called into the office by Dr Oziel.

As for the good doctor, he immediately rings Judalon, his mistress, to come be a witness to their confession. I mean, maybe phone the police? I know confidentiality plays a part here, but if someone is a danger to themselves (like Erik is, given his suicidal tendencies) then he’s under obligation to say something, right? Alas, more will be revealed in due time!

Lyle shows up in the office but Oziel is rattled. He thinks Lyle has a gun in his pocket but in reality, it’s actually just a Snickers Bar. The therapist tries to talk his way out of this, encouraging the brothers to “tell the full story”. They refuse, and walk away. Unfortunately, they make plans to kill him, believing Oziel is going to be a problem.

The Episode Review

Dahmer was a really solid series and this follow-up, focusing on  Lyle and Erik Menendez, looks to be just as enticing. The character development is great so far, with the two brothers bouncing off each other and having solid chemistry together.

Similarly, we get a good deal of tension throughout, and seeing that murder play out the way that it does, with the blast to the face in particular is gory and absolutely shocking – which is the obvious intention here.

This looks like it’s going to be a solid series and with 8 more episodes to go, all dropped at once too, we thankfully don’t have to wait too long to find out what happens!