Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story – Episode 9 Recap & Review

Hang Men

Episode 9 of Monsters: Lyle and Erik Menendez Story begins with OJ Simpson found not guilty. We’re up to 1995 and with OJ let go, those in LA are livid. They’re out for blood and want to see justice served. And unfortunately, Lyle is not helping matters at all. Not only is Leslie working pro-bono, Lyle has also been sending out letters, trying to drum up money, and even bringing in a $2500 wig.

Unfortunately, Erik has lost it. He scribbles down hangmen on his notepad, while Lyle claims he’s to blame for what’s happened. Only… he’s not. Given Lyle’s book has been released, thanks to Norma profiting off his story, and with hours of incriminating recordings, Erik speaks up now. He hates what they’ve done but now they’re stuck in jail to rot and he knows that any hope of getting out is lost.

What happens during the second trial?

The second trial is an absolute disaster. Leslie is overruled constantly, outclassed and outwitted, as the witness statements show a completely different side to everything. Lyle is painted as a bratty teenager, Erik a compulsive liar and the shocking reveal that the Menendez parents were asleep when the boys killed them. So self-defence is out the window.

When Erik is questioned about whether he thought about using a crossbow, he actually scoffs on the witness stand. Erik is backed into a corner where this murder is made out to be premeditated given the sheer brutality of it all.

A day before the murders, on Saturday, the gardener overheard Lyle calling his father a faggot by the pool. The kids didn’t seem scared then, and according to him, both Jose and Kitty looked scared. And as for the boat ride? Well, the boys were apparently joking around and happy together.

Erik testified that it was a violent home and a lot of fighting took place in the house. But their live-in maid disputes that. She claims she never heard anything. A whole string of witnesses stand up and speak highly of Kitty and Jose as character witnesses, and the prosecution even show off a book that goes into detail about child abuse, right down to how to wear a yellow sweater while taking the stand.

The prosecution argue that the sexual abuse never happened and picks up where Dunne left off a few episodes back, claiming that Leslie is using her previous case to project a defence onto these boys. To make matters worse, Leslie is caught playing hangman with Erik, which is incredibly unprofessional. Unfortunately, the prosecution brings up the safe incident, believing that there may well have been a Will in there which Lyle hid.

After their parents’ death, the pair spent nearly 700k in 2 weeks. To put that into perspective, that’s nearly the equivalent of producing The Acolyte on Disney+ three times! The prosecution believes the boys are stealing sexual abuse victims’ stories to gain sympathy for themselves.

What do the Jury decide?

The case ends and it seems like Lyle may well have found his beloved on Anna Erikssen. Starting off as pen pals, they’re now very much in love. As for Erik, the Hurt Man has been having a rough time of it in prison. He’s been thrown in the hole for several violent outbursts, along with trying to concoct another escape plan. He’s a lot more on edge this time, although he too has a long-distance girlfriend. 

Through it all, Dunne hopes that justice is served with the Menendez case. And just like that, the boys are found guilty. Now everything falls on whether they’re sentenced to death or life without parole behind bars. A lot of the jury don’t care and write off the abuse, claiming the kids lied about the whole thing.

What do the Jury decide?

However, one of the jurors, Leigh, ends up having a heart attack after demanding they put the boys to death. In her place is a much more level-headed. This new juror points out that the boys never had a history of violence before this, not even once. The guy harks back to how the relatives never mentioned their violence. But then, he also knows they won’t ever find out the truth about the abuse. He does reiterate though that the decision they make here will echo through the entirety of their lives.

After three days, the jury agree on life sentences without parole for the boys. However, despite this tiny win, Leslie tries to fight against the boys being split up. Unfortunately, the pair are taken to different prisons and as the cars drive off, it’s the last time they ever see each other.

How does Monsters end?

The last scene recontextualizes the moments on the boat before the pair agreed to kill Jose and Kitty Menendez. It seems they weren’t living it up and having a good time like the prosecution claim.

While the adults talk about their careers and what they’ll be doing next, Erik tells Lyle at the front of the boat that he better now be chickening out now. This hints that he may have actually been the one who goaded his brother into following along with his plan. Tears fall from their cheeks, as they eventually agree to kill their parents

The Episode Review

Monsters finishes with a thought provoking last episode, one that sees a different side to the boys and the case itself. Whether Lyle and Erik made up the abuse they suffered from or not is left up for debate, but given the intricate detail they went into, and how hard it was to listen to, it’s likely to assume they’re not lying.

However, we also saw Lyle boasting to Norma after giving a moving testimony in court, alongside suddenly switching on the waterworks with Leslie, crying on demand while she coached him, so it’s hard to know for certain.

The show does manage to hit everything from a different angle in this last episode, with big questions around the case and who’s telling the truth and who’s not. Ultimately, Monsters does a damn good job of showcasing that.

In the end, we’ll never know who’s telling the truth in this case. We won’t know whether the pair were abused to the level they say they were, but we do know that the mood at the time, given the string of other cases around it, almost lead one to believe the boys were made an example of. Regardless, this Netflix series has been a damn good watch.

The acting has been great, the camera work sublime and the narrative nicely paced across the 9 episodes. This has definitely been one of the stand-out series of the year, no doubt.