A quick take on Netflix’s “Monsters” series (The Menendez Brothers)

Somehow, I wasn’t aware of this story at all. I came to the U.S. in 1994 as a foreign exchange student, and it feels like I should have caught at least some of the noise from the trial. But I didn’t. I remember the O.J. Simpson coverage well, but not this case.

First, I enjoyed the series. I’m usually bad at watching TV shows, but this felt light and fascinating — perhaps because of my interest in modern America, even in parts of America I didn’t get to witness before the 1980s. I also watched Netflix’s two-hour documentary, where you hear the brothers talk from prison many years after the murder.

So.

There’s no doubt that the main impact of the show and documentary is to create empathy for the brothers and, to one degree or another, justify the parricide they committed. Underpinning this empathy, of course, is the story of sexual abuse and bullying they suffered from their parents. Both brothers also come across as very self-aware and civilized in their adult recordings.

But here’s the problem: Coming across as “civilized” can be deceptive. Smart criminals can be master manipulators. This is a loose analogy, but I’m reminded of Ted Bundy’s final interview, where it’s easy to feel some empathy for Bundy as he talks about the damage he suffered from pornography (link).

I’m not making judgments — this is a very complicated case. If the jurors were deadlocked after months of deliberation during the…