Netflix’s show Monsters has come back with a second season about the real-life story of the Menendez brothers who murdered their parents in 1989. Amidst the show’s release, controversy has sparked about the way the show depicts the family.
Real-Life Case
Brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez lived in Beverly Hills, California, at the time of the murder of José and Kitty Menendez, their parents. The brothers said they committed the crime because of abuse they had endured by their father during their childhood and acted out in self-defense. The brothers were put on a trial that swept the nation by storm. People watching all across the nation were split between whether the brothers were telling the truth or not.
The brothers were arrested in 1990 after Erik confessed to his therapist about the murders. A couple of years went by with the brothers being scrutinized on trial before a decision was finally made regarding a verdict. Lyle and Erik were sentenced to life in prison, with the brothers being sent to different prisons for over 20 years before reuniting in 2018, when Lyle transferred to the same correctional facility as Erik.
Ryan Murphy’s Newest Season
The second season of Ryan Murphy’s Monsters focuses on the case of the Menendez brothers and the crime that took place during that summer night in August 1989. The series shows the brothers and how they planned out the crime against their parents, the horrible abuse they faced at the hands of their father, and how their mother knew of what was happening to them all along.
The show has heartbreaking moments showing what the brothers had to face as children up until adulthood at the hands of their father. Viewers can see the close relationship that Lyle and Erik had with each other through the trauma they both shared and how it seemed that the brothers could only rely on each other. On the other hand, other scenes can be a bit confusing and questionable in regard to how it depicts the family.
Lyle Menendez is played by actor Nicholas Alexander Chavez, and while the actor does a phenomenal job of portraying anger and hurt, many say it’s not exactly who Lyle was. Erik is portrayed by Cooper Koch as being more docile and fearful. In my opinion, the series makes the brothers seem like they’re evil people who were not victims, which is heartbreaking. At some points they seem to empathize with the father and what he might have gone through as a child that made him the way he is. They also show scenes where José and Kitty seem to be happy and trying to work out their marriage.
The portrayal has caused a lot of controversy online because of the way the show seems to not consider how much of a victim the brothers were. Erik Menendez himself has even come out and spoken about the inaccurate character portrayals.
The Public’s Reaction
One viewer stated that their upset about how Ryan Murphy changes his true crime shows to make victims look bad. User @proudcrybaby stated, “Me after Ryan Murphy successfully changes the entirety of another true crime case making the ACTUAL victims look bad just for it to be a Netflix hit…”
Another user expressed their confusion based on the show’s portrayal versus the real-life court case and how the show made them confused regarding the truth of whether the brothers actually did the crime. User @upto9x stated, “I get now where ppl are coming from. The way they were portrayed was a lot different from the real situation based from the court. They were really painted as the bad guys as if their claims were never real that I got confused if they were really faking it.”
The Menendez Brothers
As of now, people are continuing to watch the show, and for what it’s worth, it’s a decently filmed show with phenomenal acting all around. Actually, as I’m writing this, news has come out that the Menendez brothers will have a court hearing in November to see if they could possibly be resentenced or even released. Will the show’s portrayal negatively or positively influence any decisions made? We will have to wait and find out.