S02.E09: Alone

[ElectricBoogaloo]

SEASON FINALE!

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The hunt for spree-killer Andrew Cunanan comes to a frantic end.

Promo:

 

Edited March 15, 2018 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Florinaldo]

According to my on-screen guide, the episode takes up an hour and 15 minutes of broadcast time. We should make sure to adjust our recording (or viewing) habits accordingly.

[dubbel zout]

Mine has it as 1:19, so if you're recording it, I'd throw in a few extra minutes to be on the safe side.

[Spartan Girl]

Modesto may be a scumbag, but I laughed my ass off at how shocked Andrew was seeing him sell him out on the news instead of helping him escape like he promised. You actually thought that deadbeat loser was actually gonna help you?! What an idiot. 

[fellini]

It was hilarious when Andrew tried to eat dog food.

[Spartan Girl]

And just like with OJ, no real justice was served. Sure, Andrew killing himself meant he couldn't kill anyone else, but the victims' families were denied closure, the chance to get any real answers. Andrew's motives died with him.

8 minutes ago, fellini said:

It was hilarious when Andrew tried to eat dog food.

Yeah, I loved that part too. Getting notorious sure came back to bite you in the ass when you were cornered with no escape, huh, you smug bastard?

Jesus poor Antonio. Losing his lover and his home. The priest publicly snubbing him at the funeral made me want to hit something.

Felt for Donatella when she broke down over ignoring what was her brother's final call. But couldn't she have tried to do more to help Antonio? Even if she didn't like him, she knew Gianni would have wanted him to be provided for.

Pissed we didn't get a postscript epilogue like with OJ. They should have at least clarified that Antonio survived his suicide attempt...

Well, if nothing else, Darren proved he isn't just that "pretty boy from Glee" anymore.

Edited March 22, 2018 by Spartan Girl

[Primetimer]

It's the end of the line for Andrew Cunanan, but for others, a long sad story is just beginning in our Epic Old-School Recap of the season finale.

View the full article

[CeeBeeGee]

A stroke of genius to show Marilyn again (and later on, David's father). Keep reminding us of the human toll this monster caused. Fantastic acting by Judith Light--you could see her relax ever so slightly when they said her children were safe.

I can well believe Andrew fell asleep to the lullaby of his own TV coverage.

Ronnie's statement to the police skated right up to the edge of being an apologia for Andrew. Homophobia was an important factor in this but Andrew is one of the biggest homophobes in the series.

I really wish they had committed to showing Cunanan's physical state at the end--the weight gain, the bloat, the dishevelment. Criss is giving a fantastic performance but he's awfully cut and cute for someone who's been on the road and the lam for months now.

Where did Andrew get the money to call overseas?! $.25 for four more minutes, do those rates sound legit? I always used a calling card in those days.

Jesus, Modesto is a monster. 

FUCK YOU, Donatella, for callously turning your back on your brother's lover. And FUCK YOU to the bishop who refused to name Antonio in his homily and who rebuffed him. FUCK YOU HOMOPHOBES. FUCK ALL OF YOU.

Beautiful scene where Andrew was watching the funeral, and fell on his knees, singing along. The patterns of childhood, the music, the rhythms, are powerful.

YES, Marilyn telling us about Lee's good deeds. Remind us again about the victim. Also maybe an interesting reference to his hidden life.

Jesus, dude, is it even possible to swallow that many pills at once? I thought when people OD'ed it was 2-3 at a time, not 15. Did Antonio really try to kill himself?

Andrew's final resting place--he is naught but ashes, in a white drawer, just one of many, nothing special.

 

I have such complicated feelings about this season. I felt I had to keep watching, to honor the victims, to bear witness to their suffering and agony. And a lot of the homophobia on display and that was talked about here, was honestly new to me. Here's where I was in '97--living with a gay man, working with a ton of gay men in musical theater, living in a major East Coast metro area. I was in a big sweet bubble of denial--there was no homophobia in our circle at all and we didn't talk about it that much, except for DADT. I had NO IDEA it was that bad. I remember warning my roommate about Cunanan, saying stay away from the clubs, I'm worried for you. (ironically I went to gay clubs more than he ever did, because the dancing was so excellent there and you knew no one would hit on you. MAN, do I miss the club scene of the late '90s in DC. The Zei Club, Wet, Decades....)

I was, and am, grateful for this board. This was difficult to watch. Thank you for listening to me and to each other. Rest in peace, stalwart Jeffrey, sweet David, kind Lee, decent William, beauty-creating Gianni. Let flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.

[TobinAlbers]

Wow, I think they pretty much gave everyone a final appearance. Was nice to see David's father defending him and insisting that David was trying to somehow mitigate or stop Andrew. 

My goodness Judith freaking Light. In the scene where the FBI Agent said that they didn't know where Andrew was, the way Marilyn bolted up and with only her face saying You damn well better find out!' was amazing. Then another beat later she throws a look of utter disgust and scorn at the agent when he tries to say that they will find him. Withering. Absolutely withering.

As someone on Twitter said, when you call out for someone in their house or boat or houseboat and they don't answer, don't go further into the house! Especially when you see stuff is amiss. Andrew really must have been done killing because he had clean shots at both the nosy lady on the boat and the old man in the houseboat. Hell, he fired a warning shot with the old man which basically brought the cops to him. I hate to admit it but I did laugh, that old man ducked and rolled with a quickness! He wasn't quite ready for that action.

Lizzie was still in denial while Modesto proved what kind of scum he was yet again. I think he saw it as a win either way- if Andrew escaped it was because he was smarter than everyone else and special. If he didn't and died, then Modesto could still live off his son through 'managing' the telling of Andrew's story in tv and film and embellish it any way he wanted and rewrite history. He still would make money if Andrew had lived but he doesn't have to share the money if Andrew is dead nor have Andrew contradict him.

Andrew's mom was so sad. First words out of her mouth is 'Did you kill my son?' And then she's hauled out of that house under a blanket and then exposed to the world and trapped in the car looking so out of it and frightened. Andrew at least stopped to watch; with Marilyn Miglin she was just background noise on the tv to click off and ignore.

Not a powerhouse series like OJ but still damn good. For me you just can't beat that poignant final image reminding us that the two victims lost in the shuffle were Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman and that their murders remained unsolved hit hard. 

[Blakeston]

I really hope the series causes Donatella to get some pushback for her treatment of Antonio. She claims to be all about preserving Gianni's legacy, but she wasn't willing to respect that his relationship deserved the same respect and protections as straight people's relationships.

Edited March 23, 2018 by Blakeston

[Mountainair]

I've really "enjoyed" this season and was surprised to see that tonight was the finale! 

On the episode two thread I asked if I was supposed to find Cunanan (really, Darren) attractive. Tonight for the first time I felt sorry for him and now I feel like I'm some weirdo or something. I guess I just felt sorry that anyone feels that they have to resort to this type of murderous lifestyle. Like, what went so wrong in your brain that this is the only answer? The fact that you can't cope with life and relationships in a semi mature matter without resorting to murder makes me feel sorry for you. I have two boys of my own and watching this play out just made me even more sad. For the victims, for Cunanan, for the families. He was a supreme douche that deserved to die for his murderous rampage but damn.I can't help but think how someone could have helped him before it got to this point if his parents weren't such ass wipes one of them would have been able to speak to him, steer him in the right direction. 

I came to like the backward story telling and really appreciated the way it worked to make me feel vulnerable, scared, intrigued.

[voiceover]

Marilyn, rereading the letters people sent her, pouring out stories about how much good Lee did -- how much soft-spoken, *private*, good -- finally knocked me over into weeping.  

Death doesn't end with the victim.  It eddies out, and the undertow is frightening and so terribly sad.  

I might almost have tiptoed up to the edge of something that might have almost made me forget, just for a *nanosecond*, the destruction that young man wrought.  All praise to Darren Criss for that!   But, Judith and Penelope and Ricky, pulled me back.

The 23rd Psalm at Gianni's service was a perfect choice; just the right words: "And though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil...". And didn't  Marilyn and Donatella, just show that!!!!  Damn.  Fearing no evil.  

(And as a side note, fuck the agent who greeted Marilyn with "Can we talk inside?" instead of "Your children are safe!")

Co-sign, we needed an epilogue, Where-are-they-now? screen crawl.  Why didn't we get one?

[TheOtherOne]

ACS Versace: Fact-checking the Season Finale

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It is true that Antonio was more or less exiled to Lake Como by the surviving Versaces, allowed to live in one of the homes controlled by the company but otherwise estranged. And in an interview with the Guardian, he acknowledges having entered a lengthy depression. He stops short, however, of saying that he tried to kill himself in the immediate aftermath of his lover’s death. According to those close to Antonio, the loyalty of friends like Elton John helped him through the grieving period.

Versace: Everything We Know About Andrew Cunanan’s Suicide

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(There is no evidence that Cunanan placed a call to his father Pete, or saw his father participate in any televised press interviews, as is dramatized on the TV series. Orth reported that Pete did not return to America, to begin shopping the movie and book rights to his family’s story, until after Cunanan had killed himself.)

Edited March 22, 2018 by TheOtherOne

[TobinAlbers]

22 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

And just like with OJ, no real justice was served. Sure, Andrew killing himself meant he couldn't kill anyone else, but the victims' families were denied closure, the chance to get any real answers. Andrew's motives died with him.

Sadly, in the case of Marilyn (at least in this show's portrayal) I think Andrew killing himself was the justice she wanted. If he had been taken alive and interrogated and had a trial no telling what he'd say about Lee. She didn't need or want a confirmation of motive beyond what she could live with which was 'Andrew was evil and deranged and took advantage of a kind, decent man and murdered him.' Her saying 'Good' when she was told Andrew was dead and killed himself was as much about his being dead as it was about Lee's memory being protected.

Now Jeff and David's family? Especially David's father? He'd want to know why. I think he'd want to know it all. He knew who his son was so for him there was nothing to hide or fear. He was determined that his son not be labeled as an accomplice but be remembered as a victim. He copped to not having all the answers, but he didn't seem desperate. He was sure about his son's character and just wanted answers.

[MiamiGuy]

Excellent series. Not OJ excellent, as noted above, but still gripping.

What happened with Andrew's two siblings? We see them briefly in one episode, dad mentions that he loves Andrew more than them, and that's it. If not for that glimpse, the general impression left is that Andrew was an only child.

Obviously, so many events had to be omitted or telescoped but it seems odd that with everything going on with their father and brother, and with their mom descending into her own private hell, that neither one of them showed up.

Did they turn out well-adjusted or were they as twisted as Andrew in their own way? Or did they just bail and not look back? If it's the latter, I can't really blame them.

[Shadow Wave]

I think the wistful piano music Andrew was playing on the cassette was George and Ira Gershwin's The Man I Love. "Someday he'll come along/The man I love/And he'll be big and strong/The man I love/And when he comes my way/I'll do my best to make him stay."

Here's Ella Fitzgerald's recording:

[LoveLeigh]

Does anybody know the music played at the every end? Was it Beethoven? 

[CeeBeeGee]

17 minutes ago, DakotaLavender said:

Does anybody know the music played at the every end? Was it Beethoven? 

Albinoni's Adagio in G minor. It also underscored the opening sequence (including Gianni's murder) in the first episode.

WRT to the PTV recap: Andrew shot himself in the temple? I thought he shot himself shooting up under the jaw. I've seen photos of the suicide scene and he has blood all over his chest. ETA: per Vulture, the show got it right. he put the trigger in his mouth.

Edited March 22, 2018 by CeeBeeGee

[vixenbynight]

6 hours ago, fellini said:

It was hilarious when Andrew tried to eat dog food.

Then at the end, accustomed himself to the taste AND that it was the only thing left to sustain him.

[vixenbynight]

6 hours ago, TobinAlbers said:

Wow, I think they pretty much gave everyone a final appearance. Was nice to see David's father defending him and insisting that David was trying to somehow mitigate or stop Andrew. 

My goodness Judith freaking Light. In the scene where the FBI Agent said that they didn't know where Andrew was, the way Marilyn bolted up and with only her face saying You damn well better find out!' was amazing. Then another beat later she throws a look of utter disgust and scorn at the agent when he tries to say that they will find him. Withering. Absolutely withering.

Lizzie was still in denial while Modesto proved what kind of scum he was yet again.

Andrew's mom was so sad. First words out of her mouth is 'Did you kill my son?' And then she's hauled out of that house under a blanket and then exposed to the world and trapped in the car looking so out of it and frightened. Andrew at least stopped to watch;

It was very interesting that they had scenes of David's father public denouncement of the media's attempts to try and place blame on David "Why didn't he fight?!" Why did he go on that car ride?!" for Andrew's actions. Jeff, David, Lee, William and Gianni were victims, whose lives were unnecessarily taken away from them.

I loved that Marilyn's drive to keep going was based on rage over the FBI not being able to find her husband's killer. They had two months and nothing. 

As for Lizzie, Andrew's friends, his family, especially his mom, the denial makes sense to me. You want to believe that you know that person, that they could never, ever do something, anything as horrible as murdering 5 people.

Modesto just makes my skin crawl.

6 hours ago, Blakeston said:

I really hope the series causes Donatella to get some pushback for her treatment of Antonio. She claims to be all about preserving his legacy, but she wasn't willing to respect that his relationship deserved the same respect and protections as straight people's relationships.

Maybe this is one of the main reasons why both Gianni's family and Antonio did not approve of the series. It shows how little Gianni's family respected his relationship with Antonio, who was with him for almost 15 years. Something like that would have never have happened if Antonio was Antonia.

[Snow8585]

I thought this season was absolutely gripping. Everyone played their roles perfectly.

[txhorns79]

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Where did Andrew get the money to call overseas?! $.25 for four more minutes, do those rates sound legit? I always used a calling card in those days.

From what I've read over at Vulture, the call never occurred.  According to police records, Andrew actually reached out to an unnamed friend, not his father. 

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Maybe this is one of the main reasons why both Gianni's family and Antonio did not approve of the series. It shows how little Gianni's family respected his relationship with Antonio, who was with him for almost 15 years. Something like that would have never have happened if Antonio was Antonia.

This is something I'm curious about.  My understanding was that Donatella personally disliked Antonio, not because he was gay, but for other reasons that were personal to the two of them. 

Edited March 22, 2018 by txhorns79

[Sarah D. Bunting]

I forget where I read that he shot himself in the temple. No doubt Vulture is correct. 

 

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As for Lizzie, Andrew's friends, his family, especially his mom, the denial makes sense to me.

I got the sense from Lizzie's speech that she had been coached by law enforcement, a la the senator in Silence Of The Lambs, on what to say that might induce Cunanan to surrender. On the other hand, according to the Orth book he was living with the Cotés for literal years and was entrusted with childcare -- apparently with good reason -- so either way it's hard to reconcile that with what he did in the last year of his life.

[AttackTurtle]

I wanted to love this as much as I loved the O.J. Series, but that series set an incredibly high bar and this just didn’t measure up for me. OJ had the advantage of having multiple colorful characters and some total laugh out loud moments.   It managed to balance those light moments with the terrible crime.  This show was rightfully dark, but it was 9-10 hours of really dark material.

Darren Criss did a perfectly fine job. Penelope Cruz is wonderful, but I could not buy her as Donatella.  I thought Ricky Martin did a really nice job.  The standouts were definitely Judith Light and the actor playing David.   

I loved how Mrs. Miglin let the officers know how disgusted she was that Cunanan was allowed to evade justice and essentially go on to kill two more people despite having limited means.  

I thought they would’ve given a little more attention to the manhunt as I recall it capturing pretty much the entire country’s attention.

[Chaos Theory]

I honestly thought this came just shy to being on par to People vs OJ.   The only thing that was lacking was really not its fault and came down to semantics.  Everyone who was even remotely connected to the OJ trial either wrote a book or went on to fame and fortune.  Sometimes both.  No there is not much not known about the case.  The reverse is true about the Cunanan murders. A lot of what happened is rumor and innuendo which makes for a much harder storytelling.

Still in a lot of ways I enjoyed this more then I enjoyed the OJ story.  I found it all so fascinating and sad because so much was unknown and unknowable.   I wrote off Darren Criss because of Glee.  That might have been a mistake.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The funniest moment in this episode was Andrew going through the closet to find a shirt to wear and then emerging dressed in head to toe yellow like a fucking banana. I couldn't figure out if he wanted to look like a tourist or a sunny valet (so he could steal a car) but nope, just felt like wearing all yellow.

Listening to "The Man I Love" while waiting for his beloved daddy to come rescue him gets an A for the music supervisor.

Edited March 22, 2018 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Blakeston]

So what was with that moment in the season premiere when Andrew rubbed himself while watching Lizzie and her husband sleep in bed?

Was the idea that he desired what they had - love and success? I really have no idea.

[sugarbaker design]

13 minutes ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Listening to "The Man I Love" while waiting for his beloved daddy to come rescue him gets an A for the music supervisor.

So much good music from Vienna all the way to the theme song from The Vicar of Dibley.  :)

1 hour ago, txhorns79 said:

This is something I'm curious about.  My understanding was that Donatella personally disliked Antonio, not because he was gay, but for other reasons that were personal to the two of them. 

This went way beyond homophobia, Donatella herself said something like "If we had done what we were supposed to do, he wouldn't be dead"  Did Antonio ever have a job besides orchestrating threesomes?

 

10 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

And just like with OJ, no real justice was served. Sure, Andrew killing himself meant he couldn't kill anyone else, but the victims' families were denied closure, the chance to get any real answers. Andrew's motives died with him.

So a motive would've given the survivors' closure and not a funeral nor the death of the killer?  There was a sudden death in my family several years ago, and in the ensuing years the concept of closure seems more and more like a myth created by therapists. 

No one delivers irony like Judith Light!  When Marilyn said "It's over." (Like it's ever going to be over.)  and "Why didn't he tell me?" (Good works and secret life) I wept.

[txhorns79]

Quote

Was the idea that he desired what they had - love and success? I really have no idea.

Giving them the benefit of the doubt, I took it as a scene meant to show us that Andrew was skilled at playing parts and how quickly he could turn it off and on.  With Lizzie and her husband, he appeared threatening and leering right up until the second they woke up and he then became their "fabulous" gay friend. 

[marceline]

I hadn't been planning to watch this series (I'm not a Ryan Murphy fan) but I found myself really enjoying reading Sarah's recaps and decided to give it a shot. I'm glad I did. I "experienced" both OJ and Cunanan in real time. To this day I still avoid all things OJ but it was interesting to revisit Versace's murder and the aftermath now that I have a better grasp of the homophobia that all the coverage was filtered through. I don't remember any real coverage of Cunanan's previous victims. It took him killing a famous gay man for the media to care and even then they couldn't stop smirking. 

I shudder to think what Cunanan would be like today in the age of social media. I assume he'd pretty much be Milo Yiannopoulos (sp?).

There was some damn fine acting in this. I think Darren Criss did a great job of showing what a soulless husk of a human Cunanan was and Judith Light was perfection.

Edited March 24, 2018 by marceline

[Charlie Baker]

It wasn't as solid as ACS/OJ. It had a different tone and scope. The writing had its occasional bumps, but the storytelling and production were strong, and the casting was freaking outstanding. Going in, I wasn't sure but it held me.

Kudos to Sarah D. Bunting for the expert epic old school recaps.

[Ellaria]

The finale left me underwhelmed. It was a tad too long and there was a bit too much melodrama for my liking. Nonetheless, I thought that this series was well-done.

I prefer not to compare it to last season's OJ drama. Although I clearly recall both events when they happened, I am much more familiar with the OJ story.  Over the years, I've read a number of the books written by the key players (Chris Darden and Jeffrey Toobin in particular) and watched the OJ documentary that is now on Amazon Prime. While I recall the events of Versace's murder and Cunanan's other killings along the way, I appreciate the detail about other victims. I also enjoyed the reverse chronology because it created a different focus on this story. Rather than watch the series anticipating Versace's murder, we got to see the journey that brought Cunanan to that moment.

The acting was extraordinary. There should be a lot of recognition for these performances, especially Darren Criss.

[sugarbaker design]

14 minutes ago, Ellaria Sand said:

The finale left me underwhelmed. It was a tad too long and there was a bit too much melodrama for my liking.

I agree, halfway through I was "kill yourself already".  Little pre-murderous Andrew sitting on the bed (without his copy of Brideshead Revisited) was so ridiculous.

[LilWharveyGal]

12 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Well, if nothing else, Darren proved he isn't just that "pretty boy from Glee" anymore.

Yep!  When the show started all I could see was Blaine.  By this episode, the image was totally gone.

1 hour ago, sugarbaker design said:

So much good music from Vienna all the way to the theme song from The Vicar of Dibley.  :)

I have to admit, that song choice did give me an unintentional chuckle during the funeral scene.  :)

[MaryWebGirl]

So I think there are is a big narrative parallel between this season and the OJ season, in that both stories are about murderers but they both illuminate a deeper injustice. In the OJ case it was money and celebrity and a frenzied media and racism, but all of that has been covered endlessly since the trial. The injustice with Andrew and his victims was the inherent homophobia hindering so many aspects of the case. That's something this season really helped bring to the forefront and will hopefully be part of the story of these murders from now on.

And for a less weighty thought, did they ever explain the wound on Andrew's leg that we saw in the first episode? Also one of the articles mentioned some sort of stomach wound.

[dubbel zout]

12 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Sure, Andrew killing himself meant he couldn't kill anyone else, but the victims' families were denied closure, the chance to get any real answers. Andrew's motives died with him.

Do you think his motives would give anyone closure, though? "I wanted to be famous and these people wouldn't help me," was basically what I got from the show. I don't think anything Andrew could have said would be adequate. 

2 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

The funniest moment in this episode was Andrew going through the closet to find a shirt to wear and then emerging dressed in head to toe yellow like a fucking banana.

I thought, How convenient he chose the one houseboat where everything in the closet fit him perfectly.

[Blakeston]

3 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

This is something I'm curious about.  My understanding was that Donatella personally disliked Antonio, not because he was gay, but for other reasons that were personal to the two of them. 

I think it's a complicated situation. I doubt it was old-school homophobia on Donatella's part, but I wouldn't be surprised if on some level she resented Antonio because she really wanted Gianni to be married to a woman with a bunch of children; and Antonio was the embodiment of her disappointments. And an easy scapegoat.

If she blamed Antonio for Gianni's HIV, that's ridiculous. Unless Antonio forced him at gunpoint to have sex with other men, then Gianni was responsible for his own sexual choices. But again, easy scapegoat.

Even if she had valid reasons for hating Antonio, she still should have fought for him to be treated like a spouse. Even if you don't like your sibling's partner, you don't try to have their relationship invalidated. It's a matter of respect for the sibling. Using the lack of legal equality for gay relationships as a tool to keep their partner from inheriting would be flat-out wrong, not to mention a slap in the sibling's face.

[NinaH]

13 hours ago, fellini said:

It was hilarious when Andrew tried to eat dog food.

 

13 hours ago, fellini said:

It was hilarious when Andrew tried to eat dog food.

That was so disgusting I had to turn my head because I felt the vomit coming on. Served him right tho. 

[ahpny]

As others  noted above, there's no evidence of an actual call between  Andrew and Modesto just before Andrew shot himself. Nevertheless, in the version presented by the show, are we to infer that Modesto ratted out his son to the authorities? If Modesto had no intention of going to Miami - which would seem pretty apparent, though maybe not to Andrew in his unhinged state - why would Modesto specifically ask Andrew for the address where he was? Modesto seemed too insistent on getting that information even if his motivation for asking was to sell better the con of his going.  In real life the authorities found Andrew in the houseboat some other way, but here it almost seemed like Modesto (off screen) told them where Andrew was perhaps to cut some deal to lessen the charges against Modesto.

[sugarbaker design]

25 minutes ago, ahpny said:

are we to infer that Modesto ratted out his son to the authorities?

I don't think so.  We saw the property manager get a phone call, and then grab the keys to the houseboat.  He later called the police.  I'll admit we don't know who called the property manager, but wouldn't it be simpler for Modesto to call the Miami PD than to find out who the property manager was and call him?

And then there's the fact that the phone call between AC and daddy didn't actually take place!

Edited March 22, 2018 by sugarbaker design

[Spartan Girl]

51 minutes ago, Blakeston said:

I think it's a complicated situation. I doubt it was old-school homophobia on Donatella's part, but I wouldn't be surprised if on some level she resented Antonio because she really wanted Gianni to be married to a woman with a bunch of children; and Antonio was the embodiment of her disappointments. And an easy scapegoat.

If she blamed Antonio for Gianni's HIV, that's ridiculous. Unless Antonio forced him at gunpoint to have sex with other men, then Gianni was responsible for his own sexual choices. But again, easy scapegoat.

Even if she had valid reasons for hating Antonio, she still should have fought for him to be treated like a spouse. Even if you don't like your sibling's partner, you don't try to have their relationship invalidated. It's a matter of respect for the sibling. Using the lack of legal equality for gay relationships as a tool to keep their partner from inheriting would be flat-out wrong, not to mention a slap in the sibling's face.

Not to mention she could have at least been kinder to Antonio just because IT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO. Regardless of whatever she thought of him, he loved her brother and she could see he was suffering. But grief can bring out the worst in people and Donatella was already a bitch queen.

I get that finding out the motive wouldn't really give the families closure (and I don't blame Marilyn for wanting to keep things quiet) but a trial would have at the very least give them the chance to vent out their hate for what he did to them. Plus, David would have been officially cleared.

[Chaos Theory]

Trials don’t always bring closure.  Add to that the media circus Andrew Cunanan’s trial would have created.  The media would have had a field day digging into Lee, David and Jeffrey's lives.  Andrew would have probably enjoyed a trial and being  the star of the show and Modesto would have racked up whatever profits he could from it.       

The whole point of the story is that there really is no closure for anyone when you kill good people like Lee, David, Jeffrey and Gionni.   

Besides I don’t think there really was a motives besides internalized homophobia, greed and jealousy.  Andrew was vain.  Andrew was lazy.  Andrew was a sociopath .  Sometimes that is enough. 

Edited March 22, 2018 by Chaos Theory

[Joimiaroxeu]

That Freddie Mercury-looking guy was right. If Andrew hadn't killed a huge celebrity like Versace he probably would've evaded capture long enough to leave the country. It's likely though that on some level he wanted to be caught so he could claim his fame.

Hearing "The Man I Love" while Andrew was waiting for his father to show up was creepy given the sexual abuse that was alleged. Then all the scumbag did was try to use Andrew's notoriety to make money for himself.

Was the Versace funeral actually televised live?

Too bad this series ended up trying to make audience feel sorry for AC. There's just no excusing his having killed all those innocent people. He was a hollow person inside and probably never had any emotional foundation that wasn't based on superficialities. It was the only thing about him that I had some sympathy for.

Quote

are we to infer that Modesto ratted out his son to the authorities?

I wondered about that too. At the very least his mentioning during the TV interview that he had spoken several times to Andrew by phone probably enabled someone to track back those international calls. It doesn't appear to have been the FBI though and was likely some tabloid entity like the National Enquirer (which was based in Florida at the time) or the 90s equivalent of TMZ.

[txhorns79]

Quote

The finale left me underwhelmed. It was a tad too long and there was a bit too much melodrama for my liking

This season left me somewhat underwhelmed.  I really feel like they wanted to make this season about homophobia, and sometimes it worked, but other times it fell really flat.  To me, Andrew's killing spree really had little to do with his being gay, so much as he was shown to be a callow, spoiled man who went through life trying to con people into providing him with the lifestyle he thought he deserved, and when that failed, he began killing people.     

[dubbel zout]

2 minutes ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Was the Versace funeral actually televised live?

I don't think it was on a major network, but maybe a cable network carried it? I remember seeing chunks of it on the evening news.

4 minutes ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Too bad this series ended up trying to make audience feel sorry for AC.

I didn't get that at all, but I can see how any explanation of his life might make that possible.

[sugarbaker design]

8 minutes ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Was the Versace funeral actually televised live?

I don't know if it was televised live, but it sure was televised.  I was tending bar at the time and it was must see TV.  We were all engrossed with Princess Di consoling Elton.  Of course it would be a short time later that Elton would be performing at Diana's service.

 

10 minutes ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Too bad this series ended up trying to make audience feel sorry for AC.

I sincerely doubt that was the aim of the script, and if it was, it failed miserably.  

[Robert Lynch]

Ryan Murphy really upped his game on the soundtrack. Hearing Ultravox's Vienna in the beginning is probably the best chilling 80s song ever. One thing you can say is that Ryan knows how to use music for a certain scene. 

[dubbel zout]

I had to laugh (ruefully; sadly) when Donatella told Antonio that the company owns all of Gianni's houses and it's up to the board to decide if it's okay he stays on in any of them. As if her hands were tied and she had no say whatsoever. Ugh. What a coward. 

Edited March 22, 2018 by dubbel zout
added crucial missing words

[Chaos Theory]

Although now I am vaguely curious at the Lifetimeque documentary  Modeso would have come up with that would have Andrew as the hero.  Actually from what I understand Modesto is the hero of the story so.....still I am weirdly intriguied at how bad it sounds.

[Madding crowd]

I found this entire series riveting and I have never said that about a Ryan Murphy show since they all disappoint me in general. I also loved the OJ Crime Story and thought it was well done. This series made me feel horrified, scared, sad and shocked in different places. I do think the last two episodes were not as strong and could have been shorter. There were too many scenes of Andrew in the houseboat IMO.  I also thought the scenes with Judith Light, as wonderful as she is, didn't add much for me and I was left wondering exactly what they were trying to convey. It was obvious she loved her husband  but we already had scenes where she is grieving and in shock. 

Another thing that annoyed me was showing Antonio attempting suicide when it did not happen. They also showed Jeff Trail consider and plan to commit suicide and I saw no indication that this happened. I understand the point is to show the characters in utter despair, but it's possible that Antonio and Jeff's families do not want to see this about their loved ones, many cultures have taboos on this sort of thing and as a person who had a family member commit suicide-it just isn't something to make up out of thin air. On top of that, it would not be humanly possible to swallow alll of those pills at once. 

The casting was great here and Criss did a good job of playing Andrew as a very lost and evil person. It actually made me wonder if the real Andrew had any sort of real hopes and dreams beyond the lies he continued to spew. And as the aunt of a gay nephew, it makes me sad that crimes against gay people are treated differently than those against straight people. That is changing but still has a long way to go: my nephew was robbed at gun point coming out of a gay bar, and the police acted like "What do you expect, hanging out in a place like that?" although they did investigate and charged someone eventually. 

Edited March 22, 2018 by Madding crowd