Lizzie Borden
USA Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story is already doing more or less what Netflix would have hoped it might do. The newest entry in Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan's true-crime anthology arrived this week to the franchise's familiar mix of strong audience interest and bruised reviews, and within roughly 48 hours it had climbed past USA Netflix's other September titles to take the No. 1 spot on the platform's USA TV chart.
The Monster anthology also turned Jeffrey Dahmer into one of the most-viewed figures in Netflix history while drawing complaints from victims’ families in the process, and then did it all again with the Menendez brothers and Ed Gein. Each installment has been accused of glamorizing its subject, and each has been enormous anyway, which is presumably why the anthology keeps going.
USA Across its first three seasons, Monster used Jeffrey Dahmer, Ed Gein, and the Menendez brothers to explore male isolation, toxic masculinity, and intergenerational trauma and abuse. But with The Lizzie Borden Story, the show shifts from a dark fascination with male depravity to a sharp — but no less controversial — examination of female rage and agency, specifically focusing on how society has historically treated women who refuse to conform to the expectations placed upon them.
The newest season, Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, is the first Monster installment centered on a woman, dramatizing the 1892 axe murders of Andrew and Abby Borden in Fall River, Massachusetts, a case that remains formally unsolved given that Lizzie was acquitted at trial and lived out her days as one of America's original true-USA crime celebrities. It's also the franchise's first period piece, trading the anthology's usual mid-century Americana for a corseted Gilded Age setting.
Ella Beatty, the daughter of Warren Beatty and Annette Bening, takes the title role in her biggest showcase to date, with Rebecca Hall, Billie Lourd and Vicky Krieps rounding out the household. Murphy has been open about wanting each season to interrogate why America manufactures its monsters, and Borden is arguably his cleanest test case yet, since the ambiguity of her guilt is the entire legend.
Previous seasons were criticized mostly on ethical grounds, whereas the early response to Lizzie Borden splits more on execution, with some USA reviewers finding the show's swings into psychosexual gothic melodrama either the best or the most exhausting thing about it, depending on the outlet. That's a familiar spread for anyone who has followed Murphy's output since American Horror Story, and it seems to have mattered to viewers about as much as it ever does, which is to say not at all.
As of Sept. 20, the season sits comfortably at number one on Netflix's USA TV rankings, ahead of Crew Girl, Not a Stranger, Theo James' returning hit The Gentlemen, and The Perfect Lie, a lineup that includes some genuinely strong performers it simply walked past. Meanwhile, Netflix has treated Monster as a renewable resource, greenlighting new installments before previous ones aired, and the Borden season's instant chart win makes a fifth chapter feel close to inevitable even without an announcement.
Andrew had suffered 10 to 11 blows to the head, while Abby had 19 wounds. Lizzie, then 32, was one of only 2 people known to be inside the house with the victims that day. The other was the family’s maid, Bridget “Maggie” Sullivan. A jury of 12 men acquitted Lizzie of both murders the USA following year, and the case remains unsolved.
Lizzie inherited a substantial share of her father’s estate. About 2 months after the verdict, she bought a 7-bedroom Victorian house in Fall River’s wealthy Hill neighborhood and named it Maplecroft. Her sister Emma moved in with her, and Lizzie later began using the name Lizbeth.
The move didn’t bring social acceptance. Neighbors followed and stared at Lizzie, children pelted Maplecroft with gravel and rotten eggs, and pranksters rang her doorbell at night. Members of her church also shunned her. She bought expensive clothes, went to the USA theater and entertained guests, but Fall River’s upper class kept its distance.
Her interest in theater took her to Boston and New York, where she met actress Nance O’Neil around 1904. Their friendship widened Lizzie’s social circle, and she hosted elaborate gatherings for O’Neil and other performers at Maplecroft. Lizzie also helped O’Neil financially when the actress was in debt. Their friendship ended around 1905.
Lizzie’s relationship with Emma collapsed during the same USA period. Emma left Maplecroft in 1905, and the sisters never spoke again. Newspapers linked their split to Lizzie’s parties and her friendship with O’Neil, though that explanation was never confirmed.
Even after their estrangement, Emma defended Lizzie. Speaking USA publicly in 1913, she acknowledged that her sister’s conduct during the case may have seemed “queer,” but said, “as for her being guilty, I say ‘no’ and decidedly ‘no.’ ”
Lizzie remained at Maplecroft until she died there on June 1, 1927, at age 66. Reports about her funeral conflict: some accounts describe a small gathering of friends, while The New York Times reported that only 1 person attended the service at Maplecroft and that only the undertaker’s assistants were present for her burial.
She was laid to rest at Oak Grove Cemetery in Fall River with Andrew and Abby. Her grave bears the name “Lizbeth Andrews.” Emma died 9 days later and was buried in the same family plot.
The house where Andrew and Abby were killed now operates as the Historic Lizzie Borden House, a bed-and-breakfast museum. Maplecroft is a private residence, while the Fall River Historical Society preserves trial evidence, crime-scene images, Lizzie’s letters and the only known photograph of her taken inside Maplecroft.
The question about unreliable narration in “The Lizzie Borden Story” finally makes sense in the sixth episode, as Aileen Wuormos’ arc intermingles with that of Lizzie’s, further emphasizing the shared psychopathy aspect of both killers. Previously, Andrew’s deep anguish of losing his beloved first wife, Sarah, was shown to be the reason behind his emotional unavailability towards his family. Lizzie and Bridget brutally murdered Andrew, and in the sixth episode, they initiate their cover up plan to evade accountability of their actions.
The sixth episode picks right from the ending of the previous one, having murdered her father, Lizzie goes into a trance of sorts before Bridget tries to compose her, as she fears they will be nabbed by the authorities. A knock on the entrance door alerts the duo, but as they open it, the narrative at once shifts to the 1988 timeline to show Aileen and her girlfriend, Shelby, to be outside. A century later, the mansion has become a boarding house; as ‘fans’ of Lizzie Borden, Aileen and Shelby want to celebrate their anniversary in the same place where all those dreadful incidents took place all those years ago. For them, this is an opportunity to get in touch with the legend of Lizzie Borden, a fascination of similar kind history enthusiasts feel while visiting ruins of the ancient world. It is also highlighted how Aileen and Shelby’s understanding of the book they are reading on Lizzie Borden, shaped parts of overdramatic accounts of Lizzie’s actions, which confirms that what viewers have been shown so far might or might not be close to the truth after all. While spending intimate moments with Shelby, Aileen’s troubled psyche hallucinates bloody corpses of Abby and Andrew by their side, almost as if echoes of the violent past which were imprinted to the place, are coming alive.
On Aileen’s request, Shelby continues reading Lizzie’s story, and reveals how Bridget and Lizzie came up with an almost fool-proof plan to fool the authorities. Drawing the attention of locals and cops to the gruesome crime, Lizzie and Bridget initially manage to get on the safe side. Judging from the severity of the crimes, cops assess that it was committed by one or two men. In the Victorian era, due to stern gender roles being enforced, it was almost impossible to believe that women could commit such violent acts, let alone pulverize victims with such ferocity. The narrative is interrupted a bit as Aileen expresses her amusement upon knowing how stupid the cops were, and the fact that Lizzie was able to get away from repercussions of her crime. Aileen herself is a serial killer, and in some way, she too believes that just like Lizzie, she too will be able to get away scot free. When Aileen learns doctors gave Lizzie morphine to help her calm her nerves, she takes drugs to feel a similar sensation- Aileen not only worships Lizzy, she wants to emulate her life in every way.
During interrogation, Lizzie’s account of what happened on that fateful day, appears a bit sketchy to the investigators. Lizzy’s uncle, Andrew’s brother-in-law, John Morse is interrogated by the cops as he is a probable suspect, but he has alibi strong enough to dodge all the suspicions.
John is well aware that Lizzie committed these crimes, and he visits her to offer his support, and even testimony supporting her during the investigation, in exchange for the monetary loan he had asked from Andrew repeatedly. Lizzie agrees to hand him the amount, but is quite sure that she will not need his assistance anyway.
Lizzie’s concocted story about the fateful day convinces the cops, but in reality, they merely provide her the assurance while setting a trap. The cops already suspected her lack of emotions during the funeral, and needed something substantial to find a possible connection to the crimes. They leave the mangled corpses of Abby and Andrew for three days inside the Borden house, where Lizzie lives alone. On one occasion, Lizzie feels a sudden, deep sense of remorse upon looking at the corpse of her late father, and shedding tears, she apologized to her old man. As the investigators suspect Lizzie further, they decide to take samples from the corpses to have them tested in order to verify Lizzie’s claims.
Bridget, knowing walls are closing in on them, decides to part ways from her. Aside from her instincts of self-preservation, Bridget knew that her presence as a co-conspirator will do more harm than good to Lizzie. Before parting ways, they share a last dance together in their safe haven,
Lizzie’s dovecote. In the 1988 timeline, late at night, Aileen hallucinates Lizzie’s spirit in a room on the second floor, and visiting her, she shares her obsession with Lizzie. Aileen, who has survived brutalities, sexual assaults at the hands of her own family members during her young age, finds inspiration in Lizzie’s rebellious spirit, and her courage to punish those who did wrong to her, provides strength to Aileen. Relating with Lizzie’s story became both a coping mechanism for Aileen, and justification of the crimes she committed thereafter. While justifying Lizzie’s horrendous actions, Aileen is absolving herself.
The next day, Aileen and Shelby pack up to leave the boarding house, and Aileen takes Shelby to the dovecote to share a dance, mimicking how Lizzie and Bridget had their last dance there. Back in 1892, it appears the thorough investigation on Borden couple murder and autopsy reports have finally brought out evidence which prove Lizzie’s testaments to be false, as the cops arrive at Borden household to arrest Lizzie. It appears she was prepared for something like this to happen, given the fact that she had already packed her belongings and calmly stepped away from her house with the cops escorting her. The conclusion of the episode hypes viewers up on the upcoming trial of Lizzie Borden, which will be the key focus in the final two episodes.
Posted on 2026/09/21 08:40 AM