The verdict is in regarding the latest season of Ryan Murphy’s Monster anthology series.
On 19 September, Netflix dropped the show’s highly anticipated second season, subtitled The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
As the title suggests, the nine episodes follow the story of the titular brothers (Nicholas Chavez and Cooper Koch), who were convicted for the 1989 murders of their parents José (Javier Bardem) and Kitty (Chloë Sevigny).
The synopsis reveals: “While the prosecution argued they were seeking to inherit their family fortune, the brothers claimed – and remain adamant to this day, as they serve life sentences without the possibility of parole – that their actions stemmed out of fear from a lifetime of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse.
“The series dives into the historic case that took the world by storm, paved the way for audiences’ modern-day fascination with true crime and in return asks those audiences: Who are the real monsters?”
Since its release, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story has received mixed reviews from critics. While the cast performances’ earned high praise, the show’s storytelling received less than stellar reviews.
Alongside the lukewarm critical response, the show has also received backlash from viewers, with many accusing the show of sexualising the relationship between Erik and Lyle.
One moment that shocked fans was a scene from the third episode, which featured the brothers lounging around a hotel room in their underwear.
After giving Erik a speech about “demanding more out of life” following the murder of their parents, Lyle is shown kissing Erik before exiting the room.
Another scene that didn’t sit well with viewers featured the two brothers sensually dancing with each other at a party.
Over the last few days, social media users have held nothing back regarding their opinions on the show.
One person on X, formerly known as Twitter, wrote: “Creating fanfiction involving incest between real-life brothers, especially when they have been victims of abuse and incest themselves is absolutely vile and insane. I’m literally speechless.”
Another viewer tweeted: “Ummmmm…okay. This is starting to feel like some kind of weird fantasy that the show’s creator is living out since the brothers/actors were/are attractive….because WHAT is DIS hunnnnnnny.”
A third viewer added: “I do not understand why Ryan Murphy made it seem like Erik and Lyle menendez had an incestuous kind of relationship…. like c’mon now. just pissed me tf off.”
Netflix users weren’t the only ones to express their disappointment in the series.
In a statement to Lyle’s Facebook, the real-life Erik slammed the show, describing it as a “dishonest portrayal” of their story.
“I believed we had moved beyond the lies and ruinous character portrayals of Lyle, creating a caricature of Lyle rooted in horrible and blatant lies rampant in the show,” he wrote.
“I can only believe they were done so on purpose. It is with a heavy heart that I say, I believe Ryan Murphy cannot be this naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives so as to do this without bad intent.”
Erik went on to say that he was saddened by Netflix’s dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding their crime, adding that it has taken the “painful truths several steps backwards.”
“Back through a time to an era when the prosecution built a narrative on a belief system that males were not sexually abused, and that males experienced rape trauma differently than women.”
Despite the online controversy, the second season of Murphy’s Monster series has become a hit for Netflix, securing the number one spot on the streamer’s top 10 list.
A third season is also set to make its way to the platform and will focus on the serial killer and bodysnatcher Ed Gein, played by Charlie Hunnam.
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