Viewers of Netflix’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story were well aware that they were in for a harrowing experience. However, no one could have anticipated the shocking moment in the premiere episode when Lyle’s mother aggressively yanks off his hairpiece during a chaotic dinner scene.
“The toupée became a significant symbol for me,” Nicholas Alexander Chavez shared in an interview. Portraying Lyle, who, along with his brother, is serving life imprisonment without parole, he remarked, “I reflected deeply on the concept of mask work—essentially, who we are versus the personas we project.”
He elaborated, “Often, the identity we present isn’t one we choose for ourselves. It can be a role imposed by others.”
In Lyle’s situation, it was his abusive father who forced him into the position of the dominant son. This expectation demanded that he embody perfection, including not being bald—an image his father sought to maintain while aiming to recreate a façade of a flawless family, reminiscent of the Kennedys. “He made Lyle wear a toupée,” Chavez explained. “That became a powerful representation of Lyle’s oppression and loss of individuality, which I found deeply tragic.”
What was your reaction to this heart-wrenching twist among the many in Monsters? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.