After the brutal murders of Jose (Javier Bardem) and Kitty (Chloë Sevigny) Menendez in episode 1 of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, Erik (Cooper Koch) and Lyle (Nicholas Alexander Chavez) cope with their parents' deaths in a very unique way.
Let's see what happens next in the Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story episode 2 recap.
"Spree" begins with a flashback to Erik and Lyle firing their shotguns and burying them later. We then see them at the movies and at Taste of LA. Then, upon returning home, they’re both shocked that no one is there. This leads Lyle to make the infamous 9-1-1 call.
Both brothers are sobbing as the police arrive and tell them to put their hands up. Detective Les Zoeller (Jason Butler Harner) and Det. Tom Linehan (Drew Powell) question Lyle about possible suspects. Lyle says his father was a powerful businessman who dealt with “shady” people in the past. They’re put in a police car and taken to the station. Linehan and Zoeller survey the crime scene. It’s horrific.
Erik is the first to be questioned. He gives a teary account of what happened, including that Lyle called the police while Erik called his tennis coach. He admits his father didn’t have many friends and he always thought the mafia was coming after him.
The tennis bag
At the house, the police figure out the possible time of death and ask about the time between the deaths and the 9-1-1 call. They’re baffled that the rifle shells are missing, which prevents them from discerning the order of shots being fired. And if it was the mafia, they likely would have left Kitty alive. Zoeller recalls that one of the brothers mentioned that the room was full of smoke when they walked in, but he sees that one of the windows is shattered, which means there wouldn’t have been any smoke after so much time passed.
Lyle’s statement is more calculated. He reveals that his father, a powerful executive at RCA Records, believed in the “bottom line” above all and didn’t care about anything else. Once he’s finished, the young men are allowed to leave. They return home to find the police still searching the house. When Lyle asks to get his tennis bag for a lesson later that day, he’s told to leave the car alone while they look to see if anything was stolen. Lyle manages to sneak out and get to the car, grabbing his tennis bag, an empty box of shotgun shells, two bullets and the receipt from the sporting goods store.
Later, they meet with their father’s advisor, Peter Hoffman (Jeff Perry), about the funeral. The brothers want it to be a celebration of their lives with lots of music. Peter notes that there was likely a life insurance policy and a hefty inheritance coming their way. In a flashback, Kitty and Jose confront Erik and Lyle about the burglary charges. Jose says they’ve made their mistakes and now they’ve been written out of the will.
Peter says that if it was a mafia hit then they’re still in danger so they’re being assigned a bodyguard and a driver. They want another car, and a few assistants, too. This all surprises Peter. When they ask about police suspects, Peter says there was a car spotted in their driveway that matches one seen in the Valley where a porn producer was shot nine times. Erik and Lyle both take a deep breath and visibly relax, but they point out that they won’t be safe in the house so they want rooms at The Bel Air.
The Bel Air
At the hotel, Lyle snorts some cocaine while Erik orders a grilled cheese and tap water from room service. Lyle grabs the phone and orders two dozen shrimp cocktails. Erik cautions him about spending too much money but Lyle says they need to “demand more out of life.” They need to find the will, he says, and destroy it.
Twin limos drive through Beverly Hills, where the brothers go on a Rodeo Drive shopping spree. They hire trainers and have clothes custom made for them. During a party in the hotel room, cocaine flows freely and in a heated moment the brothers share an embrace that appears, to those gathered around them, to have more than fraternal overtones to it. They buy watches and cars like they have money to burn.
Zoeller and Linehan give an update to their chief, who is concerned that a wealthy couple was killed. This isn’t Compton, he says, and it’s sending people into a “white panic.” We see people installing cameras, hiring security and buying guns. The police are getting heat for “manhandling” Zsa Zsa Gabor instead of solving the Menendez case.
Erik and Lyle meet with a financial manager who cautions them about their spending. It’s out of control, he notes. The brothers insist that they’ve been raised with a certain expectation of luxury. The office is in the middle of procuring the will, which hasn’t been located yet. Lyle says they’re trying to “spend their way to some happy feelings,” which earns some sympathy. But they have to wait for the will and their uncle, the executor of Jose’s estate.
Lyle tells Erik they don’t need to worry about the will. He knows it’s in Jose’s safe. They call a friend whose father is a probate attorney, hoping that he can help hire someone to open the safe. He refuses until Jose’s brother is in town. The next day their uncle arrives and together they open the safe. Lyle makes up an excuse to be the first to open it, claiming that his father may have kept nude photos of his mother. Lyle tells them there’s no will inside. Later, the maid discovers the will in Jose’s closet and it reveals that the sons get everything.
During the funeral, Lyle reads a letter from his father while we see the brothers buying real estate and making business plans with their uncle’s help. Erik does an underwear photo shoot.
Blame Fidel Castro
Fast forward two months. Lyle finds Erik, who doesn’t want to kill Oziel. They thought the money would make them feel better but he only feels worse and he can’t kill the therapist. Lyle agrees, but that means Erik has to keep seeing him. Erik also needs to stop confessing to things or else Lyle will be forced to kill him. They share a hug.
Oziel (Dallas Roberts) tells his mistress, Judalon (Leslie Grossman) to lock up the tapes. She wants him to go to the police but he can’t. Not yet, anyway. She thinks she’s in danger and asks to stay with him (and his wife and children). He agrees, telling Judalon he’s still planning on leaving his wife.
Linehan says that they should blame Fidel Castro for the deaths and call it a day. Zoeller goes down the list of suspects: the Mafia, a cartel or a San Fernando Valley gang. There’s no sign of forced entry, which makes them think the sons did it. They’re refusing to talk to the police; Linehan is upset they never tested the brothers for gunshot residue. They get a message from one of Erik’s friends.
During therapy, Lyle berates Erik for writing a screenplay about killing their parents. Oziel reveals he’s placed the session notes in a safety deposit box to ensure their safety. He wants to record the sessions as an insurance policy. Lyle says his two biggest issues in life are now dead.
Judalon
Zoeller and Linehan interview Erik’s best friend, Craig (Charlie Hall), who claims that Erik confessed to the murders. They’d been writing a screenplay together based on a wealthy man who kills his parents. It’s hearsay for now, but he can help them by wearing a wire. We see Craig having dinner with Erik, but their conversation is drowned out by noise from the restaurant. Craig mentions reading their screenplay “to see how it holds up.” He thinks they could make it more believable by using some of the things he did with Lyle. Erik shuts him down, and after hearing that the police questioned Craig, doubles down by stating that they didn’t kill their parents.
Oziel asks if they thought their mother deserved to die. It was more of an afterthought. Lyle didn’t want to kill her without Erik’s consent. Oziel asks if they killed their mother just in case Jose’s will left everything to Kitty and not his sons. He presses them harder, but Lyle ends the conversation. Before they leave, Oziel presents a card for a startup business he owns and suggests that they could become business partners.
Judalon tries to sway Oziel’s daughter into thinking she'd be a better mother, which leads to a big argument with Oziel. He admits he’s not leaving his wife and she says he’s going to regret this because she knows things. He says that for her own sake she can’t talk about the Menendez case, but she’s not worried.
Zoeller is at his desk when Judalon sits down. “I have some information about the Menendez case,” she says.
The entire season of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is available to stream now on Netflix.
