The Assassination of Gianni Versace: Andrew and Donatella’s legacy

In previous weeks, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story has focused much of its energy on the crumbling of Andrew Cunanan. Instead this week, we get to see a side by side comparison of Andrew and Donatella Versace.

Andrew, known as a man plagued with a murderous streak, is working at a pharmacy. He dreams of the life he could be leading how he could make them a reality. Donatella is struggling to hold up the mantel that her brother has created as his disease progresses.

As we have seen in previous episodes, Gianni Versace was almost to the point of death years before Andrew Cunanan took his fate into his own hands. There is a beautiful moment in the episode where Gianni tells Donatella that she is his legacy, not the clothing they are creating together.

Andrew, on the other hand, is still trying to reach his fashion goals. Those goals don’t come to fruition, as we know, but he is flipping through Vogue as he works. It’s nice that the show is, seemingly, getting back to splitting more of the story between the Versaces and Cunanan. For so long, it seemed as if Ryan Murphy only wanted to tell of the rise and fall of Andrew Cunanan and, to be quite honest, it isn’t exactly the show we wanted to see.

Last night’s episode showed the support system that Gianni and Donatella built around each other. That was more on track with what I, as a viewer, wanted out of the show. Here’s to hoping the show follows the combination of these storylines moving forward.

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story episode 7, Ascent, advanced preview

Last week, American Crime Story invited us to Andrew Cunanan’s birthday bash aka the beginning of the end. Everything began to fall apart on the day of his birthday, and the latest episode “Ascent,” introduces Norman and how the two met.

So what can you expect to see this Wednesday? We’ve screened the first eight episodes of the season to bring you an advanced preview each week of what you’ll see! Avoiding all spoilers? This is your last chance to turn away now!

Here’s the official synopsis for episode seven, “Ascent,” from FX:

Andrew Cunanan leaves behind a troubled family life as Donatella Versace struggles to find her role within the Versace empire.

We’ll finally see more of Donatella and Gianni Versace in this episode for more than a couple of minutes. Antonio D’Amico is in this episode, too, but he unfairly only gets 2-3 lines. Donatella is dealing with finding herself. Gianni is at the beginning of an illness and preparing to leave Donatella in charge, but she severely lacks confidence. This causes a fight between the two.

Not only will we see the beginning of Norman and Andrew’s relationship, but we get a few scenes of Jeff Trail and Andrew from back in the day. Fans will also learn why Andrew Cunanan pursued Norman in the first place, as well as the first time he sees David Madson.

Lines to look out for. Can you guess who delivers them?

“I believe, for a woman, a dress is a weapon. To get what she wants.”

“You have the opportunity to be great. And you choose to assist.”

“Can’t sell a clever Filipino, even one with a big d*ck.”

“It doesn’t matter really. They talk about us. They love it, they hate it, but they talk about us.”

“My brother is stubborn. Don’t forget that. He is stubborn about life and he will beat this sickness.”

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story episode 7, Ascent, advanced preview

The Assassination of Gianni Versace Recap: ‘Descent’

The most recent episode of The Assassination of Gianni Versace begins to reveal bits and pieces of Andrew Cunanan’s twisted and broken state of mind as he starts to break down. The episode opens to Cunanan in a luxurious waterside mansion in sunny San Diego swimming naked in the pool. The timeline for this falls a year before he commits his first murder.

It is shocking to understand just how much Cunanan was able to accomplish in a short amount of time. In this flashback, he is pretending to be an art curator who lives with his wealthy, old client (sound familiar?).

The client/fling, Norman, is throwing Andrew a birthday party with all of his closest friends, including Lizzie, Jeffrey Trail, and the love of his love, David Madson. So for someone who seemed to have it all, what exactly pushed him to go on a murder spree? This is what this episode helps us understand.

Cunanan’s goal in life has always been to be something he’s not, and in a similar fashion, he attempts to craft Jeffrey in a more “presentable manner” for the party. He goes as far as personally wrapping a present and asking Jeff to regift to him at the party. This is the moment where his subtle urges to manipulate start to shine through–and perhaps the beginning of one insane journey.

Cunanan’s love interest, David Madson, flies in from Minneapolis to attend the party but appears to form a connection with Jeffrey. This puts Cunanan in a state of panic as he heads to the bathroom to snort a line of coke. This is strike one on the path to Cunanan losing it.

And if that isn’t enough to send Cunanan off the rails, one of Norman’s friends approaches him to exchange a few harsh words. He tells Andrew that he is protecting Norman and knows exactly what he is up to which sets something off inside of Cunanan. And while the party already had two of Andrew’s victims in attendance, the entrance of Lee Miglin added a third. Talk about awkward, right?

This illustrates yet another connection Cunanan had to one of his victims and helps the audience begin to piece together the road that led him down a murder spree.

Following the aftermath of his birthday party, Andrew sits down with Norman to go over a list of demands he has if they are to stay together as a couple. This moment seems quite odd seeing as how Cunanan needs Norman more than the other way around. Nonetheless, he begins to list off the need for a higher allowance, Norman’s entire inheritance, and a car.

Unfortunately for Andrew, Norman begins to attack him by revealing he knows exactly who Cunanan is. The truth hits Andrew like venom, as he begins to lash out. Despite Andrew being a basket case, Norman attempts to offer to help out in other ways but Andrew just won’t have it. He storms off after Norman refuses to follow the demands on his list.

Following his fight with Norman, Cunanan heads to the only place he can think of–his real home which is a small tiny apartment inclusive of one mattress and his dear mother. It is here where he begins to take revenge on Jeffrey, who he feels is trying to David away from him. Some episodes ago, we learned Andrew sent a postcard to Jeff’s house outing him as a gay man. In this episode, we see him committing the act of writing it.

Upon finding out, Jeffrey confronts Andrew and tells him he is moving to Minneapolis. The same place David Madson currently lives. Andrew perceives this as a threat and begins to court David into an all-expenses-paid trip to L.A. Even though David shows up for the trip, he ultimately ends up rejecting Andrew and his advances. He tells him he is not the one for Andrew and while Andrew requests he simply gets to know him. When Andrew begins to spin a web of intricate lies, David walks away once and for all.

It has been quite some time since we’ve seen Versace in an episode, but lo and behold he made an appearance in this one. However, it was in one of Andrew’s dreams where Versace is his tailor and tells him they are not the same because he is loved, unlike Andrew. And this is where things get crazy. In a meth-induced state, Andrew goes back to Norman’s house violently shouting to be let into the house as Norman calls the police. Andrew goes back, broken and defeated, to his mother’s house where he tells her his next destination is…Minneapolis.

The Assassination of Gianni Versace Recap: ‘Descent’

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: ACS season 2 episode 6 recap: ‘Descent’

On The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, we’ve learned slowly that the show is more a vehicle for Darren Criss and his performance as Andrew Cunanan than anything else. Based on his 26th birthday, last night’s episode showed us the beginning of Cunanan’s bloodthirst.

From what we’ve seen in the show, Andrew targeted gay men who remained in the closet. The thing is, most of the recounting of these stories is either speculative or part of stories that Andrew told. So we can’t really trust a lot of what we’re seeing.

Unlike with The People Vs OJ Simpson, Andrew Cunanan’s killing spree was not as documented for the public eye until he murdered Gianni Versace in cold blood. But seeing the final straw and taking it back to the beginning is an interesting way to spin this show.

This is a story that not that many people knew going in. So do I wish that we could have seen Cunanan’s descent in chronological order? Yes, I do. I get it, this is a dramatic take on the story, but it isn’t what we originally thought we were getting. And if we just saw the rise and fall of Andrew Cunanan, knowing he would be the reason for Versace’s death, it might make for more thrilling television.

Instead, most weeks I’m struggling to not play games on my phone while watching Cunanan, who I’ve already seen murder countless men, figure out that he’s psychotic. But then again, it is a Ryan Murphy show so something crazy could still be up his sleeve.

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: ACS season 2 episode 6 recap: ‘Descent’

The Assassination of Gianni Versace Recap: ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

The most recent episode of The Assassination of Gianni Versace takes us deeper into the mind of Andrew Cunanan (Darren Criss) through an interesting turn of events. As you may recall, we last left Andrew at the lake house where he took David Madson’s (Cody Fern) life. A flashback takes us to April 1997 where we see Cunanan trying to convince American Express to give him a credit line increase so he can buy a one-way ticket to Minneapolis. What’s there you ask? According to him two of his “best friends”, David and Jeff (Finn Wittrock).

This episode is interesting because it focuses on homosexuality from a personal and political standpoint. At the time, Clinton passed a “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy concerning gay individuals in the military. This policy comes to light when the story dives deeper into understanding Cunanan’s first victim, Jeff Trail. Being a homosexual in the military, Trail faces the harsh reality of the resistance against it. The episode unravels his journey of discovering and facing his sexuality which ultimately leads him to discuss it in the darkened shadows of an interview.

Simultaneously, we see Versace (Edgar Ramirez) decide to be open about his sexuality to the world through an interview. It was interesting to see the different perspectives of two individuals coming out of the closet, one behind the curtain and one out in the open. This aspect of the plot spoke volumes about the political and societal culture of the 90s.

After being cured of his “sickness,” he is ready to take on the world which leads to his decision of revealing that he is gay. He shares this with Donatella (Penelope Cruz), who does not share the same sentiments as her brother. She believes it will ruin the company name and prevent other companies and countries from doing business with them. Donatella blames Antonio for Versace’s sudden desire to tell the world he is gay.

While Versace grapples with his decision, the rest of the episode reveals the events that lead to Cunanan murdering Trail. We learn that Cunanan met Trail two years prior in a gay club when Trail was trying to embrace his homosexuality. However, over the course of the time he comes to know Cunanan, Trail realizes Andrew isn’t who he claims to be. Darren Criss’ portrayal of Cunanan shines so brightly once again as we see him face rejection and isolation from two guys he believes to be his best friends.

Ultimately, we know where this story ends and that Trail’s brutal demise is inevitable. Wittrock’s version of Trail was extremely phenomenal to follow during this episode. He not only represents an important societal issue of the time but embodies everything that makes Cunanan snap.

This episode of The Assassination of Gianni Versace stands strong over the ones that precede it for multiple reasons. While the episode itself played out relatively slow and uneventful, it was the underlying issues that made it stand out. Tackling the topic of homosexuality in the 90s from different perspectives was a feat they beautifully achieved during the episode. Temporarily we are taken away from Versace’s story to understand a deeper issue that existed at the time. However, incorporating Versace’s reveal adds to the story and brought it full circle.

As we reach the midpoint of the season, it will be interesting to see how the story develops from here and how it will all come together. We have spent a lot of time in the past but will we see the events that unfold following Versace’s murder? We sure hope so because that is where things are going to get interesting.

The Assassination of Gianni Versace Recap: ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

Is The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story new tonight, Feb. 21?

Every week, we’re obsessed with The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. Unfortunately for us all, we don’t get our fix this week. The show, which has been focusing on the previous murders of Andrew Cunanan the last few weeks, is taking some time off.

Maybe that’s for the better. I know in the beginning, I was obsessed with the show and everything it represented. But as the weeks have gone on, it is almost a chore to keep up with. To be fair, that’s not because the show isn’t good.

On the contrary, it is one of the best shows out right now. The problem is that it isn’t what we were promised. I’ve said it before, but I tuned in thinking I was going to get a show about Gianni Versace. Instead, it is the life and crimes of Andrew Cunanan with a side dish of the famous Italian designer.

Penelope Cruz has barely been in the show. But then again, what else is there to tell about Gianni that isn’t already known? We don’t know much about Andrew Cunanan, so it is a little bit of information (or at least one story about) into the man who shot Versace dead on the street.

Still, I wish it was less about Andrew and more about the actual crime. But we’ll have to wait until next week to see what the show is going to do since we don’t have any new episodes on tonight. Maybe then next week, we’ll be ready for a new story.

Is The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story new tonight, Feb. 21?

The Assassination of Gianni Versace Recap: “House by the Lake”

Interestingly enough, The Assassination of Gianni Versace chose to present another episode without, well, Versace. However, I am not complaining because it means lots and lots of Darren Criss channeling Andrew Cunanan–a role for which he is most definitely snagging an Emmy nomination.

This week we continue to learn about the murders that transpire before Versace’s untimely demise. The episode begins a week before Lee Miglin’s murder in Minneapolis, Minnesota with Andrew and his ex-lover, David Madson (Cody Fern). From the emotional tension of the scenes that follow, we learn that Andrew was rejected by David after he proposed to him–and believes that Madson is having an affair with their friend, Jeff (played by Murphy favorite, Finn Wittrock).

Cunanan’s psychotic crazy starts to pour out as he struggles with Madson’s rejection–and then proceeds to brutally murder Jeff with a claw hammer, aka his very first murder. After witnessing Andrew calmly take someone’s life, David tries to convince him to call the police. As we have learned, Cunanan’s ability to manipulate and emotionally blackmail is next-level and he uses this on David to stop him. He tells him that David will be arrested for being an accomplice to the murder–so, now what?

Whether out of obsession, love, or madness, Cunanan clings to Madson’s side after the murder. David’s absence at work alarms his co-worker who comes knocking on his door looking for him. Before they have a chance to enter and discover the both of them with Jeff’s body, Andrew and David flee the apartment.

Throughout the season, it’s alarming and strange that Cunanan shows no concern about leaving damning evidence behind–whether it’s the murder weapon or the body itself. With the help of the super, the co-worker gets into David’s apartment only to discover the scene of a gruesome murder. However, they initially mistake the dead body for David’s.

The co-worker recalls that David had a friend that was staying with him by the name of “Cuy-nan-nan”. The case takes a twist when the cops realize the body is not David’s because of the dark hair. This places the blame on David for the murder.

Meanwhile, Andrew whisks David away on a road trip–final destination, Mexico. The episode consists of a series of flashbacks showing David as a child and as a teenager coming out to his father. These moments come full circle in the final moments of the episode, but we’ll get to that later.

Andrew tries to connect with David as he maniacally jams out to music and tells him to begin “planning his new life.” While Andrew dreams of their future, David is riddled with paranoia over someone recognizing them, in the case the murder has been reported.

Meanwhile, the authorities visit David’s parents to report that he is a suspect in an ongoing murder investigation. At the same moment, David shares his concerns about his parents being affected with Andrew–who could probably care less. A moment of freedom grazes by David when they decide to take a pit stop at a bar. He breaks the bathroom window but surprisingly returns to Andrew to resume their trip.

This trip, however, is the end of David’s life. As much as Andrew tries to resist his psychopathic tendencies, he finds them taking over when David begins to attack him and calls him fake. The episode closes out with David and Andrew literally next to a house on the lake, where Andrew shoots him in the back and then in the face.

In his final moments, David hallucinates his father and snaps back for his final minute of life. The episode fades out with Andrew lying next to David’s dead body–his face oddly calm and peaceful.

The Assassination of Gianni Versace is diving head-first into the mind of Cunanan and his brutal, spastic murders. While we experience this horrifying journey through Cunanan’s mind, it highlights a very frightening crime story in America’s history. Now that we have seen all four of Cunanan’s murders, it begs the question–where will the story go from here? And will next week’s episode lead us back to Gianni and his story? I guess we will have to wait until next week to find out!

The Assassination of Gianni Versace Recap: “House by the Lake”

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story needs a new name

Every week, it seems that The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story gets further and further away from the designer. Last week, we saw as Andrew Cunanan met Marilyn and Lee. This week, it’s David. So what does this have to do with actual Versace? Very little.

Unlike the first season of American Crime Story, the show focuses its energy this season on Andrew and his motives over the actual crime. A move that I don’t particularly love. But it is introducing us to amazing characters like Marilyn and David.

Basically, we’re seeing all the men that Andrew Cunanan killed before shooting Versace and then killing himself. Should the show maybe have started with his first kill and kept us in suspense until finally reaching the assassination? Yes. That way we at least were waiting for something.

Now, we’re just living in this insane world where we don’t know if any of it is true or not since Andrew Cunanan is an unreliable narrator. So basically the entire show is a big shrugging emoji because very little of it is the world we were (seemingly) promised in the promotions.

Would I love to see more of Donatella or more of Gianni? Of course. We barely know anything of his relationship with Antonio or the creation of his empire. And yet we’re supposed to feel for his death at the hands of Cunanan.

So maybe the show needs to take a step away from a murderer and focus on the victim? Who knows, but we’ll just have to wait and see what happens next week.

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story needs a new name

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: “A Random Killing” recap

This week’s episode of The Assassination of Gianni Versace whisked us away to the windy city of Chicago. An eerie flashback shows Cunanan at the site of Lee Miglin’s murder which takes place before Versace’s–and it was not pretty. Before focusing on Cunanan, the episode spent time on Lee and his wife Marilyn’s life together, which is not as it appears.

While Marilyn was all the hype on the Home Shopping Network, Lee was known for his accomplishments in real estate. Unbeknownst to his wife, Lee dabbled in other extracurricular activities–a.k.a. hiring young, male escorts. Cue, Andrew Cunanan.

The episode opens with Marilyn returning home from a trip to a freakishly quiet home. The feeling of impending doom was palpable as she enters the home and learns of her husband’s demise. What exactly went down?

The episode wastes no time intricately unfolding Cunanan’s involvement with Lee. Lee and Marilyn’s marriage was a sham and with her out of town, Lee takes the opportunity to invite over his young male escort–Cunanan. As we have witnessed Cunanan doing in previous episodes, he duct-taped Lee’s face for some brief moments of erotic asphyxiation. Yikes. This was an incredibly horrifying moment as we witnessed a sexual escapade turn into one hell of a brutal murder.

With Miglin’s murder behind him, Cunanan stole what he could. This includes the gold coin, which he later pawns in Miami along with Miglin’s car. This was an interesting trend through Cunanan’s murders–stealing the car of the individual whom he had just murdered. Unfortunately for him, the police began tracking his whereabouts via the car phone.

As the manhunt for him began, Cunanan headed to New York City to spend some time in the Versace store. It was only natural he began preparing for the murder he would commit mere months later.

The Assassination of Gianni Versace explained the episode’s title very poetically through Lee’s wife when she refused to acknowledge his involvement with male escorts. She believed it to be a random killing, and nothing more. The idea of a “random killing” persisted when Cunanan learned about the police tracking him and opted to steal another car.

In true Cunanan style, he selected a victim, murdered them in cold blood, and sped off with their car.

This episode was an interesting shift from the previous ones as they did not even focus on Versace. Instead, we were given more insight into the complicated, scary mind of Cunanan–and the events leading up to Versace’s murder.

The series has been doing a stellar job of going past the series title and honing in on who Cunanan was–and what drove his insanity.

This episode of The Assassination of Gianni Versace was slightly more disturbing than the two that preceded it. This is merely due to the fact that as we learn more about Cunanan, the more frightened we feel.

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: “A Random Killing” recap

Assassination of Gianni Versace Recap: “Manhunt”

The second episode, appropriately named, “Manhunt”, continued on the heels of last week’s dramatic episode. The story is being told in a bit of a reverse, back-and-forth manner to elucidate Cunanan’s journey to Miami.

The episode began with a flashback to March 1994, where Versace (Edgar Ramirez) and Antonio (Ricky Martin) are seen lurking the halls of a hospital. While the mystery of Versace’s health remains fairly unknown to this day–the show alludes to the possibility he may have been HIV positive.

His sickness plays a big part in this episode as he battles an “unknown” condition. Donatella (Penelope Cruz) holds his sickness over Antonio’s head, highlighting that their sexual escapades have caused Versace to fall ill. It was interesting to see the show tip-toe around Versace’s health. Perhaps, it was to prevent the wrath of the Versace family that continues to stand by the notion he was HIV negative.

But the subtle hints of his sex life intermingled with the mention of therapy that may help him all pointed to one thing–but we’ll leave that to speculation.

This episode of The Assassination of Gianni Versace took us further into the rabbit hole that was Andrew Cunanan.

Darren Criss shone once again in this episode–channeling a creepy, sadistic, troubled individual. Unclear as to the timeline of his whereabouts, we see that he is in South Carolina. A pit-stop at an old school Walmart shows him switching out his license plate for another, all while creepily smiling at a little girl watching him in action.

As he prepares to drive away, we hear the news on the radio mention he is a suspect in the murder of Lee Miglin (his third victim). This moment and a highway mile sign clarify that this is before Versace’s death–and Cunanan is acomin’.

Donatella was a bigger part of this episode as she handled the arrangements for Versace’s cremation–which was quite interesting, to say the least. The mortician prepared Versace’s body, “restoring” him back to the way he once looked. This was some epic artistry (if one can call it that), as Versace lay there lifeless in his casket, but made us feel he would wake up at any moment.

And after all that fancy make-up and placing him in a beautiful casket–he was cremated and whisked away to Italy in a gold box.

The FBI was a hot mess this episode as they grappled with the manhunt for Cunanan. Clearly unprepared, the FBI agents were way in over their heads. They had only 10 copies of the wanted poster and no idea where to look for Cunanan.

This would present as a problem at the episode’s end when Andrew Cunanan would use his actual name on the paperwork. A moment when the suspicious pawn shop owner could have reported him–but there was no flier up on her bulletin board about him. Sigh, FBI.

Cunanan’s weird behavior went up a few notches this episode as he found a home in a beachfront hotel, Normandy Plaza. It is here where he meets Ronnie (Max Greenfield) and befriends him and continues to embellish and lie about his life.

One of the most bizarre moments of this episode was Cunanan scoping out elderly men to be an escort for and tormenting one he picks up on the beach. This torture session was inclusive of Cunanan wrapping the man’s face with tape, rendering him unable to breathe as he pranced around the room in his underwear. Suffice to say–he let him live.

While Cunanan’s dark side becomes more apparent this episode, Versace’s health went from dire to optimistic. In fact, Antonio even proposed to him–pledging he wants only him–and not the additional entourage of men in their lives. It was a bittersweet collection of moments in Versace’s life, only to be clouded over what was to come.

Out for a walk, Cunanan stakes out Versace’s home where he sees Versace on the balcony. Frazzled over the unexpected opportunity, he rushes back to the hotel for his gun–and bids farewell forever to Ronnie. Unfortunately for him, when he returns Versace has left for the night.

When murder plans fall through for the night, Cunanan heads to a cafe, where he is recognized by one of the employees (thanks to 90’s hit show, America’s Most Wanted). By the time the police arrive, Cunanan is gone and heads to the club where Versace was at.

The final moments of the episode leave us with a haunting feeling as we quietly hear Cunanan tell someone his full name.

The second episode of this intriguing installment was on par with the premiere–if not better. The story is getting darker, the events are coming together, and we are falling deeper and deeper into the twisted psyche of Andrew Cunanan.

Darren Criss’ performance is unlike anything else–and this episode was no exception. Those particular moments where his eyes went dark or an odd, uncomfortable smile took over his face were unlike anything we’ve seen before.

As the story continues to build, watching these events unfold and watching Criss will be absolutely epic.

Assassination of Gianni Versace Recap: “Manhunt”