Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story episode 9 recap and review: "Hang Men"
It's now 1995 in the finale of Netflix's Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story and OJ Simpson's case has reached a verdict. The former NFL player is found not guilty, which sends shockwaves through the nation. After this, the prosecution needs a win, and they desperately want it to be the Menendez case. This adds another layer of difficulty for the brothers as they start their second trial.
Major spoilers for Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story episode 9 are below.
Trigger Warning: This episode references child sexual abuse.
Ahead of the second trial, Lyle gets a new lawyer and Leslie is fed up with him. He continues to raise money for himself through his "Lyle Menendez Defense Fund," which Leslie tells him makes the brothers look very bad. Erik and Lyle argue, with Erik understandably very angry that his brother ruined their defense. As they fight, Lyle calls Erik "pathetic" and a "b***h," which triggers Erik. He pushes his brother up against the wall and tells him he should've killed him too. Unsurprisingly, they're in a very bad place as they enter the second trial.
The prosecution is determined to win
The second trial begins and the prosecution comes in hot. They have testimonies from people who make the brothers look very bad, including Craig, who talks about the screenplay and reveals that Erik told him they killed their parents when they were sleeping. Craig tells his audience that the brothers basically copied Billionaire Boys Club, and Erik didn't just stumble upon the movie one day. They all knew it because they actually knew the son of the parents from the true story.
Erik takes the stand and the prosecutor tries to catch him in lies as Erik has trouble remembering small details of what happened. The lawyer asks about the mafia lie he and Lyle told and tries to prove that the murders were pre-meditated. One of the people who comes to testify is a pool repairman who heard the brothers yelling at their parents one day, even cursing them out. He claims that Kitty and José were scared of Erik and Lyle, not the other way around. The captain of the boat they took their fishing trip on appears as well, saying that the brothers did not seem scared that day at all.
The Menendez family maid Flor then appears and tells everyone she never heard the family yelling or fighting at all. The prosecution has more people testify who are on José and Kitty's side, making villains of Erik and Lyle.
The prosecutor tells the jury that Leslie must have come up with the sexual abuse angle because it worked for her in a previous case, claiming that it never happened. During this, Leslie and Erik get called out for playing a game of hangman, which makes them look bad. Ultimately, the State argues that Erik and Lyle's motive was money.
The verdict is in
So what does the jury think? The verdict comes in and Lyle and Erik are found guilty of first-degree murder. They have two sentencing options — either life without parole or death. We then see the jurors debating what the sentence should be, with one woman arguing that the brothers were abused their whole lives which they should consider. Another woman is very domineering and controls the conversation, yelling at everyone before falling to the floor. Whatever happens to her, the alternate comes to replace her, and he is very sympathetic towards the brothers.
Erik and Lyle are sentenced to life in prison without parole. It's not a win, but at least they will live. Leslie tries to keep them together but they will likely be sent to separate prisons. Erik speaks with a priest in jail who tells him that getting out can't be the only thing he hopes for. He needs to find meaning in prison because it's likely he'll be there the rest of his life despite going through appeal processes. Erik and Lyle are transferred to separate prisons, which seems heartbreaking for them.
In the final scene of the season, we see go back to the fishing trip the day before the murders. José and Kitty are having a fun time, joking and laughing, before Kitty brings up José's mistress. José assures her that it's over and the thing he's needed the most is her. He even encourages her to get back into journalism as they make plans for their future. We then cut to Erik and Lyle sitting together, with Erik asking if his brother is backing out of the plan after already buying the guns. Lyle tells his brother he's not, before stating: "Let's f**king do it."
The ending of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is a bit of a curveball as we plainly see that the murders were pre-meditated. But if Erik and Lyle were abused their whole lives, does that really matter? I wonder what might've happened if they turned themselves in and spoke about the abuse from the start. I told our readers that this story doesn't have a happy ending.
Does Monsters have anything to say?
In the end, the finale itself is fine, but it makes me frustrated with the direction this season goes. Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story could've created a conversation about sexual abuse in men and how many people — especially then but even now — don't believe them. The prosecution of the first trial in real life argued that men could not be raped, which is unbelievably preposterous. The Netflix show touches on this very briefly in episode 8, but shies away from actually making any point.
Instead, the overall message is muddled, confusing, and disappointing. Erik Menendez has already made a statement about the show, calling it out for "horrible and blatant lies." Not a good look.
Whether or not you believe the Menendez brothers, their case undoubtedly creates a larger conversation the show failed to adequately address.
The real-life Erik and Lyle Menendez are currently serving their life sentences at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in California. Just like in the show, they were transferred to different prisons at the start of their sentences but reunited in 2018 after 22 years apart. They are both married. As the Netflix show states, the brothers both maintain that their parents abused them.
I wouldn't say Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is a bad show; the strong performances ultimately save it. But it's distasteful and displaced, and after reading Erik's statement, I'd also consider it exploitative. Haven't seen it yet and are curious? The full season is streaming on Netflix.
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story concludes with episode 9, "Hang Men," which drives home the fact that the season is displaced and distasteful. I'm left questioning what the point to it was.. . "Hang Men". Monsters Ep 9. C
Read all of our Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story recaps and reviews: