Episode 6 of "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story" unfolds in the idyllic yet tumultuous landscape of Illinois, 1962. It's the dawn of a love story gone awry, as Jose and Kitty's paths first intertwine on college grounds. Their union, forged in passion, faces an uphill battle against disapproval – Jose's family disdainful of his choice of a "quintessential All-American girl," while Kitty's mother, too, disowns her for this unconventional pairing. Undeterred, the duo vows to tie the knot, defying familial objections and embarking on a journey fueled by Jose's promise of a life beyond Kitty's wildest dreams.
Yet, beneath the veneer of a whirlwind romance, cracks begin to show. In the confines of therapy, Kitty's dark secrets spill forth – a mother who harbors an abysmal disdain for her own children, viewing them as nothing more than burdensome parasites. Lyle inspires fear, Erik elicits pity, and Kitty's love, though present in fleeting moments of tenderness while they slumber, is largely absent from their waking hours. Her obsession with Louise, Jose's mistress and perceived escape from the children's clutches, only deepens the rift within her psyche.
As the holiday season descends upon them, tensions escalate at the Menendez residence. Christmas arrives, fraught with undercurrents of resentment, as the brothers arrive tardily to find Kitty indulged with gifts – a gleaming convertible and sparkling jewelry – while they are relegated to mere books, symbolic of their father's unyielding expectations and the biblical doctrine he wishes them to internalize.
From Jose's perspective, the aftermath of the burglary reveals a man on the brink of emotional collapse, his tears and struggles hidden behind a facade of stoicism. It's not shame over his sons that consumes him, but rather the shattering of his reputation. Driven by this, he decides to uproot their lives, not for the sake of his career ambitions but to flee the stigma that now clings to their name.
The specter of ineffective therapy looms large as we witness Dr. Jerry Oziel's encounter with the Menendez family, a meeting that was merely a court-mandated formality, as Kitty and Jose sit silently in the room, their presence a testament to the dysfunction at the heart of this household. When Erik and Lyle dare to mention the hardships of their home life, the therapist remains mute, while Jose's resentment boils over, lambasting their very existence. This chilling scene sheds light on why the brothers may have remained silent about the abuse they endured.
Jose, at the end of his rope, confesses his shattered dreams of a harmonious family, an ideal that has crumbled beneath the weight of reality. With a heart heavy with disappointment, he announces his intention to relocate to New York, seeking solace in the promise of financial gain, while castigating Kitty and the children, declaring his love for none of them. The stage is thus set for a tragic tale of fractured family bonds and the twisted legacy of the Menendez brothers.
Kitty is merely striving to muddle through each day, her task made all the more arduous by her isolation in Beverly Hills, far from the comfort of her friends. Her despair deepens, to the point of contemplating the unthinkable. Following her heartfelt confession, Jose responds coldly, bidding her to retreat to her bed, his words devoid of empathy.
As Jose departs to conclude his business, his pent-up rage and frustration find an unexpected outlet in the form of a callous encounter with a prostitute within his own abode. His "Spartan fury" unleashes in a torrent, painting a grim picture of his inner turmoil.
Meanwhile, Kitty's descent into alcoholism becomes apparent at dinner, where she stages a drunken charade, feigning poisoning and bitterly wishing the same fate upon her companions. Upon returning home, Jose confronts his wife, determined to rectify his ways—severing ties with his mistress and insisting that Kitty confront her demons, abandoning her reliance on pills.
Regarding the recent burglaries, Jose singles out Erik as the scapegoat, exploiting his youth under 21, while sparing Lyle, whose life he deems less tarnished. Amidst his aspirations for political office, Lyle's expulsion and suspension from Princeton deal a crushing blow to Jose's plans. In a macabre display, Jose leads Lyle to a graveyard, flaunting acres of land he has reserved for their eventual resting places. Amidst the confrontation, Jose cackles, mocking the abuse he's heaped upon his son, comparing him to a subservient dog. His deepest regret? That he hadn't struck Lyle harder, echoing the brutality of his own father's discipline.
Returning to the domestic front, Jose sets his sights on Erik, dismissing tennis dreams and charting a new course for him—business school at UCLA. Erik, however, will remain under Jose's watchful eye, shackled to their home, his true aspirations of male modeling only fueling Jose's ire.
Erik engages in a heated exchange with his father, only to be met with an unfortunate turn of events. His father, with a steely resolve, escorts him upstairs, where he subjects Erik to a deplorable act of abuse, sealing the door shut behind them. Kitty, who finds herself serendipitously outside, overhears the muffled commotion before a sense of discomfort prompts her to quietly retreat. It is at this juncture that Jose broaches a delicate subject with Kitty, revealing his involvement with boys, Craig being a specific name that lingers between them.
Later that evening, Kitty confides her worries to Jose, inquiring if there are undercurrents of a sexual nature swirling within the children's world. She yearns for transparency, a realm devoid of secrets, but Jose's response stumbles, his words faltering. He attempts to normalize the horrors he faced, sharing that as a child, he too was a victim of his mother's abuse. He dismisses it as a mere fact of life, even alluding to his sister Marta's suffering as something that simply occurred within the confines of their family, an accepted norm.
Together, Jose and Kitty embark on a journey to therapy, where Kitty bares her own soul, revealing that she too was scarred by abuse in her formative years. She recounts being forced to sit at the table, a helpless witness as her father's fist met her mother's flesh. Kitty confesses that she was inexplicably drawn to this toxic masculinity, a darkness that seemed to define her existence. However, when the conversation veers towards the realm of sexual abuse, Jose finds himself unable to continue, abruptly exiting the session.
Haunted by the unspoken truth, Jose retreats into the darkness of night, dialing his mother's number with a heavy heart. He confronts her, seeking validation for his pain, only to be met with a barrage of denial and gaslighting. Her refusal to acknowledge the truth fuels Jose's anger, igniting a fiery rage within him. This collective denial, this willful blindness to the atrocities they've endured, ultimately sows the seeds of tragedy as Erik and Lyle, driven by despair, take matters into their own hands, ending the lives of their parents.
