If you feel angry about Monster Season 2, aka Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez story, you’re not alone – Ryan Murphy made a significant mistake with his new true crime series. The new season of the Netflix show is proving to be as controversial as the first, which was perceived by many as being empathetic towards its subject, cannibalistic serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Monster Season 2 turns its attention to Lyle and Erik Menendez , who murdered their parents, Kitty and Jose, at their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989.
The show isn’t without its merits – Murphy knows how to spin a good story and pull the most impeccable casts together. However, in true crime cases, which are full of nuance, Murphy tends to have the subtlety of a sledgehammer, and this could have dire consequences for the Menendez brothers, who are fighting their case from prison. Warning: some may find this content distressing.
Lyle Menendez is made out to be the monster What’s the golden rule in dramatizing a true crime case? Always stick to the facts. Sure, certain elements will be hyperbolized for dramatic effect, but Monster Season 2 depicts Lyle Menendez as a yuppy parody. He’s a coke-snorting, bad-tempered sociopath who cares only for his own selfish needs.
First things first, while it might fit into the description of a spoiled rich kid in the ‘80s, there’s no indication that Lyle ever did cocaine. Lyle was often described in the first trials as more assertive than Erik, and that he had.