Lorena season 1 finale recap: The Cycle of Abuse

The finale of Amazon Prime’s Lorena looks at the aftermath of the John and Lorena Bobbitt abuse and castration case, and offers up a strange “Where are they now.”

Previously, Lorena revealed how and why Lorena Bobbitt likely castrated her husband. Although there wasn’t enough evidence to convict him, there was definite evidence that John Wayne Bobbitt was abusive to his wife.

In episode 4 of the series, we see she was found not guilty by reason of temporary insanity. Not everyone has agreed with the verdict. In fact, Clay Cocalis, the Jury Foreman of the trial, now says he merely “acquiesced” with the verdict, having earlier expressed doubts. Technically, Lorena was not a totally free woman. As the law requires with such a verdict, Lorena was sent to a mental hospital for evaluation, where she stayed 45 days.

Lorena shows how, even after the verdict, the media scrutiny was still intense.

In addition to a helicopter hovering over Lorena’s hospital, her media representative, Alan Hauge, claims Barbara Walters relentlessly demanded an interview. Oddly, he says he wouldn’t budge because Walters was a member of the “Illuminati,” the “Trilateral Commission” and the “feminist movement.” On that note, Kim Gandy, former head of the National Organization for Women, says the coverage obscured Lorena’s victimization.

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John Wayne Bobbitt’s strange stardom

Abuser or not, John Wayne Bobbitt’s life would never be normal again, and he tried to capitalize on that.

At one point he judged a Lorena look-alike contest featuring cross dressers, and also stripped publicly. He starred in porn movies as well. However, according to Bobbitt’s Attorney, Gregg Murphy, Bobbitt never got rich from it.

He also got in trouble for abuse again. In Las Vegas he attacked exotic dancer Kristina Elliott, which sent him to jail for 15 days. He still appeared as a celebrity guest on Howard Stern. Interestingly, Bobbitt’s penis was harmed again, only not because Lorena was freed: He had a botched enlargement surgery! As the saying goes, truth is often stranger than fiction.

The reality of abuse

Lorena gets a little political, praising Joe Biden for supporting the Violence Against Women Act. Kim Gandy says this was crucial legislation. The series suggests it ended the previous “hands-off” approach by police regarding domestic violence. The law didn’t totally keep Bobbitt’s anger at bay, though.

According to the series, when he worked for the Moonlight Bunny Ranch brothel in Nevada, he would go from “nice guy” to raging alcoholic. He (and members of his family) are said to have threatened the Bunny Ranch’s Madam Suzette.

On top of that, John was busted for stealing clothes and returning them for cash. He skipped his bond and fled to Niagara Falls, New York, where the Bunny Ranch’s Desiree paid for his apartment.

How did he pay her back, according to Lorena?

He allegedly beat her, dangled her over a balcony and raped her. Because there was a 12-year-old who witnessed him dragging her, he spent more time in jail. Later, Bobbitt would be imprisoned for 15 months for abusing his wife, Joanna Ferrell.  It seems this guy just couldn’t stay out of trouble! Rather than admit any significant wrongdoing on his part (in any of these cases), he says the prison time was worse than what Lorena did.

John Wayne Bobbitt admits witnessing abuse

Lorena is a polarizing show, as this was always a divisive story. It doesn’t help that John is shown having “D JTRUMP” license plate. However, even though he doesn’t admit to abusing anyone, he maintains that he did see his mother abused, and that he relates to Lorena. In other words, this scene functions as a strange half-confession (which he has done in the past, then seemingly retracted). He also says his uncles beat his father for abusing his mom, which would have been additionally traumatic.

He says that, after his father left, his mother had a mental breakdown. If that’s not enough, he says his family was attacked growing up in the ghetto and that he had a pedophile uncle. While none of this absolves any of Bobbitt’s guilt in any of his cases, it at least partially explains how his life became mired in controversy, and one wonders how different things could have been had he not been around such abuse.

Lorena’s future

Lorena now has the last name Gallo, and advocates against domestic violence. She also married a man, David Bellinger, and they have a daughter together. Despite receiving letters from John, she has no intention of going back to him.

As she says to us: “It’s like, I cut his penis off. Just leave me alone.” Indeed. No matter what one thinks of this story, here’s something we should all agree on: If you are castrated by your spouse, it’s probably a good idea to cut off the relationship. By that point, it’s unwise to get reattached, isn’t it?

What are your thoughts on Lorena? Let us know in the comments!