If we very briefly imagine the previous seven hours of American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace as a kind of twisted superhero movie, then this eighth episode is very much the ‘origins’ prequel. The penultimate episode reaches way, way back into the two lives of the main protagonists and gives some fascinating and much-needed context and explanation for the grisly events that were to follow.

This week’s slice of The Assassination of Gianni Versace recovers well from previous weeks’ ever-so-slight slackness, delivering a quite remarkable hour of television. It’s a tale of childhood. Well, two childhoods, to be exact. The first is that of the famous fashion designer of the title. We see his supportive, caring and loving mother nurturing his gift for design and instilling into him values like hard work and dedication. The second childhood is that of Andrew Cunanan’s – the spree killer who would go on to gun Versace down outside his home in 1997. As you can imagine, the parallels between the two backstories are limited, to say the very least…

While Young Versace is encouraged, involved and taught how things work, Young Cunanan is put on a mile-high pedestal by his domineering father. Constantly told he’s special and better than others with little explanation as to why, we quickly discover how Andrew grows up into the man he does. He sees his father schmooze, lie, cheat, scheme, steal, use violence and ultimately run when things got too hot – tricks the older Andrew will employ all too readily as 1997 approaches.

The reverse chronology of the series has left us wondering if we would get a full explanation or exploration as to Andrew’s psychology and, at the beginning of this week’s instalment, we were still slightly concerned. But such was the level of detail and realism that followed, the audience’s patience and dedication so far were to be rewarded no end. Our killer is now a fully-rounded figure.

There’s been a rather familiar pattern to this series and this week’s episode wasn’t keen to break the mould. Each episode seems to glimpse the famous Versace but cut away from him – leaving you wanting more. We’re then shown Andrew Cunanan, expertly and mesmerisingly played by Darren Criss. To top it off, every week, a new character is paraded and the actor behind them totally steals the show. This week that thief is John John Briones, who steals the show so brazenly and completely there should probably be a warrant out for the man’s arrest.

While portraying Andrew’s abusive father Modesto Cunanan, a Filipino immigrant, Briones also guides us through a secondary subtext – that of the deception of The American Dream. It’s a familiar trope for US TV and movies to explore, but it’s no less fascinating for it. Modesto buys into ‘The Dream’. He works hard. He starts a family. He continues to work hard. He erects a flag in his front yard that he proudly salutes each morning. He carries on working hard… And in the end? He’s left with very little. The American Dream works for America, but not the average American. It’s an interesting side note to the episode’s narrative and helps round out Andrew Cunanan’s worldview somewhat.

Another little story that’s played out – again, not first the first time – is that of the damage that greed can do. Modesto’s trade is stockbroking and seeing his rise and fall brings to mind shades of Oliver Stone’s Wall Street and Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street. The violence and destruction that the 1980’s need for greed caused also hints a little at Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho.

The structure of this series, which we had been slightly concerned about, has turned out to be a stroke of genius. We started with the crime. Then we slowly worked backwards to see how it came to be. And just as we learn the ‘origins’ backstory of Versace’s murderer and begin to feel sorry for him, we move into next week’s final episode. Where, presumably, we’ll see the cold-blooded slaying once more and the frantic manhunt, followed by the story’s conclusion.

There is still a slight disconnect between Andrew Cunanan the man and Andrew Cunanan the murderer, though. Perhaps the final episode will fill in that blank for us. Or perhaps we’ll be left with the altogether more difficult dilemma of how to process a strangely likeable killer of four innocent people. We’ll have to wait and see.

The Assassination of Gianni Versace episode 8 review – Dead Good

When you’re telling a story in long form, you need to pace yourself. With any drama there’s always a beginning, a middle and an end. It’s the classic three-act structure. If your story is a work of fiction, you can add spice and intrigue and, well, whatever you want. You need to keep the audience rapt until the dramatic final scene. If your story is based on reality, though? Well, you need to be smart with how you tell it. Especially if that story is really just ‘a very famous man got shot’.

American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace is, as we know by now, told backwards. But consider how it would have played out were they to have relayed the story in a more traditional way, in chronological order. The final instalment, episode 9, would feature the shooting. Requiring some 400 minutes of build-up to the main event, and with Andrew Cunanan’s murders being bunched together in a spree, the audience would have to wait some five episodes to see their first murder. That’s some leap of faith that’s required.

So, sensibly, The Assassination of Gianni Versace opted for a reverse narrative style that allowed us to get the money ‘shot’ nice and early. The only downside to toploading a nine-episode run? There’s a very real chance that things will start to tail off a little towards the end. And, for the first time here in episode 7, ‘Ascent’, that’s exactly what we’re faced with.

In one way this lack of any real story is quite useful. We see Cunanan helpless and pathetic and understand his ‘social climbing at any cost’ mentality and where it comes from. But for a show that’s brought us murder, plotting, style, tension and real verve, this week’s was – dare we say it – just a wee bit dull.

Even the episode’s highlights lack any real punch. Sure, we see how Andrew seduced David in San Francisco and how he came to meet Norman. But we already know the details from earlier weeks. That said, there is some solace to be taken from occasional details. David’s childhood tale of a promise made to a bullied friend was touching. And when Andrew steals the memory for his own purposes later on, repurposing it for personal gain, he sullies such a sweet thing in a way that only a truly damaged sociopath can.

Again, we have to applaud Darren Criss’ performance here. At once he makes Cunanan a dead-eyed narcissist and a vulnerable kid. A spoiled brat at home with his mother and a charming socialite while out for an evening at the theatre in the company of older gentlemen.

For a few weeks now we’ve complained that The Assassination of Gianni Versace was lacking the ‘Gianni Versace’ part. This week we were treated to a healthy dose of the man – although ‘healthy’ may be the wrong word, given that we see the fashion designer struggling with what seems to be HIV, something Versace’s family have always disputed. He debuts a daring new dress with his sister Donatella as his model, as part of a symbolic ‘handover of the business’, it seems.

As touching as this should be, it just lacks any real drama. Again, there is one sweet moment, when the two sit down to design a dress together. But the lack of scope in the episode and the rather ropey set design left us cold.

There are two episodes left. We’re still yet to really see what Andrew Cunanan’s motive was for killing Versace, if there even was one. Plus, of course, we still – when we go back to the future – have the manhunt. Here’s hoping episodes 8 and 9 pick up and this was just a minor blip to an otherwise gripping crime drama.

Our hunch? This was a six-part series stretched a little too far.

The Assassination of Gianni Versace episode 7 review – Dead Good