From the finish line of The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, this season feels even more muddled in hindsight.

After weeks of unraveling Andrew Cunanan’s motivations backward through time, tracing his pathologies all the way back to childhood, last night’s finale episode brought the story to its only fitting conclusion with Cunanan’s suicide.

The series touched on a variety of potentially interesting topics — from prejudices against the LGBT community to resentment between the haves and have-notes — but none felt nearly as well-developed and clearly articulated as it could. A lot of it has come down to the lack of known details surrounding Cunanan’s killing spree and upbringing. The combination of his penchant for spinning elaborate tales and his desperate death left so many unanswered questions. It gave writers far too much leeway to embellish and rely on some of the usual Ryan Murphy, ham-handed theatrics.

Despite the series’ strong start, much of the luxurious aesthetic fell away instead to shift focus off Versace. The upshot was getting more of Darren Criss’ powerhouse performance, and it was important to shine a light on Cunanan’s other, less well-known victims. The downside was too much time spent making assumptions about Cunanan’s mental state and motivations.

The finale unfollowed with a bit more urgency as authorities drew closer to Cunanan in a tense chase and standoff. Plus, we got another appearance from the incomparable Judith Light as Marilyn Miglin, and any time she’s on screen is a good one.

Let’s recount the events that led to Cunanan’s end in our recap, below.

We begin the conclusion of this story the same way it started: the titular assassination of Gianni Versace.

From those fateful steps, Andrew makes a beeline to a houseboat where he holds up to watch the news coverage.

Lee Miglin’s widow, Marilyn, is in Florida filming for the Home Shopping Network. FBI agents think it’s best for her to leave the area, given their suspicion that Cunanan is still local. She’s frustrated they still haven’t been able to catch him, but, more importantly, she’s never missed a broadcast, and she’s not starting now.

Not that Andrew has plans to stay in town. He steals a car to make a break for it, but police have set up checkpoints at all the major thoroughfares. Frustrated to the point of shouting into the horizon, Andrew gives up escaping by car.

Police turn to Andrew’s mother, but she’s too heartbroken to be of much use to the police. They also track down Ronnie, Andrew’s buddy (played by Max Greenfield in earlier episodes), but he’s not eager to throw his friend under the bus, either. Instead, he opts to deliver a powerful (if not overly dramatic) speech to the authorities about how Andrew disgusted them “before he was disgusting.” It’s an impassioned monologue about their prejudices against gay men; an indictment to society’s blind eye to problems plaguing the LGBT community (including a literal plague) that, despite feeling a little heavy-handed, still resonates today.

Now stuck in the houseboat, Andrew starts running low on supplies. Desperate for food, he turns to the cans of dog food, but he’s hardly able to keep it down. He could not be farther from those free-wheeling nights at the Mandarin Oriental.

As he binges TV coverage, he manages to catch Marilyn shilling her perfume. Marilyn is relaying a story about growing up, and it clearly hits Andrew somewhere deep down. He runs to a pay phone and calls, of all people, his father in Manila. Presumably, the show wants us to believe he was moved by Marilyn’s TV pitch.

His father tells him he’s coming for him and to be ready in 24 hours. Modesto promises to be on the next plane to get him out of there.

Of course, that’s a lie. Andrew catches Modesto on TV bragging about how he’s been in close contact with Andrew and how Andrew has entrusted him to negotiate the film rights to his story. (According to Modesto, the title was to be “A Name to Be Remembered By.”) Modesto also denies that Andrew is nor has he ever been a homosexual. Realizing his father’s not coming, Andrew shoots the TV.

He wheels in a massive projector to watch Versace’s funeral. Now fully resigned to his fate, he eats dog food easily and catches a cockroach under a glass. (“It’s a metaphor, stupid,” the show seems to be telling us.) He watches the grand mass and sings along to the hymn, which is a bit of stretch, even for Ryan Murphy.

The grandiose services are difficult for Versace’s partner, Antonio. First, Donatella tells him that, although Gianni willed him one of the Versace homes on Lake Como, the residences all belong to the company now. Therefore, they weren’t for Gianni to give. Sorry, Antonio! At the services themselves, the priest, unsurprisingly, doesn’t acknowledge Antonio, refusing to even touch his hands as he comforts Gianni’s siblings.

Back in Miami, someone comes to check in on the houseboat Andrew has been crashing in. Andrew is able to scare him off with a warning shot, but it’s too late. The jig is up. He watches as reports come in about his exact location and authorities surrounding the houseboat.

He heads up to the bedroom, seeing an apparition of his childhood self. It all ends like this. Smoke bombs come crashing in the windows and police knock down doors. As they wind their way upstairs, Cunanan puts a pistol in his mouth and kills himself.

We see a flashback to the (likely completely fabricated) meeting between Andrew and Versace. Andrew is trying all his tricks to seduce his way into Versace’s orbit — intellectually and romantically — but it doesn’t work. Versace instead encourages him to finish his novel, become a designer, do something. He wants to inspire Andrew, to nourish his genius.

Even in this (probably completely made up scenario) both men are blind to the other. On the one hand, Andrew can’t see how he can’t just keep faking it until he makes it. To earn the respect of the people he admires, he’s needs some substance behind all style. Versace can’t understand how not everyone has the opportunity to develop their genius with the support he enjoyed. In another world (a third world, outside reality and this alternate telling), maybe the two of them could have actually learned from one another.

Marilyn Miglin receives word that Andrew is dead and finally seems to be at peace that this is “done.” In her dressing room, she reveals she’s been receiving letters about Lee and all the people whose lives he touched. She doesn’t understand why he never spoke to her about these people — probably out of a mix of humility and maybe hiding some of his alleged homosexual affairs — but she answers each letter thanking them for keeping his legacy alive.

In Italy, Donatella confesses she ignored a call from her brother the day he was killed. She’s heartbroken over the decision, but what she should be worried about is how she treated Antonio. Versace’s lover takes a handful of pills and booze, but is found by the maid. (He survived.)

Gianni’s remains end up on an elaborate altar, surrounded by gilded gold. Andrew’s final resting place is a much less glamorous nestled in a community mausoleum. It’s the ultimate disappointment for Cunanan: Spending the rest of eternity blending in, being ordinary.

It All Comes To An End On ‘Versace: American Crime Story’ Finale: RECAP – Towleroad

I was expecting a little more from the penultimate episode of The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. Instead, we continue our journey backward through the life of Andrew Cunanan. This time, we traced his early childhood and high school years. With only one episode left to go, I don’t think we’ll follow him back to the womb, and I, for one, am glad.

I’ve been lamenting this storytelling technique all season. With Cunanan, so few details are known that it feels disingenuous to portray the series as an exploration of why he did what he did. I don’t think I’m coming away with more of a sense of sympathy for Cunanan, nor do I want to.

The focus on Cunanan’s formative years also robbed us of spending time with Versace. All the decadence and luxury the promos promised feels a bit like a bait and switch. Remember the bungled manhunt for Cunanan that started in the premiere? I guess we’re only getting the bulk of that in the last episode.

It’s a strange choice considering how little happened in last night’s 90-minute episode. “Creator/Destroyer” was directed by Matt Bomer, who did a serviceable job of it, although it could have been condensed, for sure.

It was another mostly Versace-less installment, with just a quick glimpse of a young Versace being bullied at school, but showered with support and adoration at home. His sexuality and his passion for fashion were encouraged by his mother.

Andrew, on the other hand, didn’t enjoy the same level of acceptance or comfort. As a young boy, his father, Modesto, treated him like a prince. (He actually had the master bedroom, turns out.) He groomed him to be “special.” Modesto is all about projecting success to help blend in with white, suburban life. He’s thrilled when Andrew gets into a prestigious private school, so much so he buys young Andrew a car he’s not even old enough to drive.

Although he’s beloved at home, he faces a bit more trouble at school. Fitting in isn’t Andrew’s strongest suit. He’s got style and flair. Whether he’s bemoaning the staid yearbook photo setup or rocking a red leather jumpsuit to a house party, he’s very, very extra.

It draws a few side-eyes and name-calling from classmates, but even then Andrew did better with an older audience (including the married man he was seeing while he was a teen). At the aforementioned house party, he connects with Lizzie, the female friend we’ve seen him with later in California. Apparently, they met at this high school house party she crashed because she missed being young.

She calls it being an “impostor” which is a pretty heavy-handed way of characterizing her actions as a means of forcing a connection to Andrew’s later lies.

Modesto’s lies had much more impact. His pathological obsession with keeping up with the Joneses drove him to start swindling. After trying to get more cash out of a 90-year-old woman, the feds are on his tail. As they close in on him, he flees the office, grabs cash from under the floorboards of the house and flees the country.

Modesto’s spiral from Merrill Lynch broker to sleazy con artist destroyed the family and left them with nothing. Andrew can’t accept his father being a fraud, so he tracks him down in Manila. His father is shacking up in an actual shack. He’s still spinning lies about having millions of dollars hidden from the feds.

It’s one lie too many. Andrew traveled around the globe to find his father, and he’s not leaving without facing a hard truth. He confronts his father in a heated scene wherein Modesto calls him a “sissy” multiple times before spitting in his own son’s face.

This is the moment, American Crime Story seems to suggest, that Cunanan snapped. Upon his return to the States, facing homelessness and bankruptcy, he applies for the job at the pharmacy. He tells the boss his father is in Manila running pineapple plantations, a first step into the twisted world-building we’ve seen Andrew master over time.

Next week the story comes to an end with Gianni’s funeral and the climax of the manhunt for Cunanan.

A Final Step Backward For ‘Versace: American Crime Story’ Before Next Week’s Finale: RECAP – Towleroad

After several mostly Versace-less weeks of The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, we finally revisited the fashion haus in last night’s episode, titled “Ascent.” However, it wasn’t about the titular Gianni. Last night gave us a glimpse at his iconic sister, Donatella.

It’s a long-awaited showcase for actress Penelope Cruz, and it’s an interesting time to follow her character. We see her struggling to assume more responsibility of the Versace empire back in Milan, 1992. This not the oft-parodied Italian party monster we’re used to. Instead, this is Donatella struggling to step into her brother’s luxury loafers at the leader of Versace while his health is on the decline.

Donatella lacks the confidence (if not maybe the vision) to lead the company in the shadow of her brother. His staggering genius is something that’s hung over everyone around him in this series, including his sister, his lover and, of course, his eventual killer. Donatella sheepishly tries to share designs, but can’t quite assert herself.

Gianni’s answer is tough love. He’s shouting at her to be more than an assistant, to find her place in the company. He knows he is not well, and he seems desperate to comfortably situate her as his successor. He offers to design a dress with her.

It’s her idea to create “a dress as a weapon,” something Gianni manifests as a leather-accented black dress, complete with belts and harnesses. It’s something Adam Rippon would have loved to wear. He insists she wears it to the Vogue 100th Anniversary Gala, and it is a complete smash. The paparazzi eat it up, encouraging Gianni to step away to Donatella could (literally and figuratively) take center stage.

The dress is a hit, and it lights up Donatella’s confidence. The bold design earns heaps of attention (not all of it good, but you know what they say about no such as bad publicity … ).

Unfortunately, all of that attention hasn’t translated to sales. Women want to see the dress, but it’s not something they could wear in their everyday life. Donatella suggests Gianni make a simpler version — a ready-to-wear, if you will — but he hates the idea. In a fit of frustration, he takes scissors to the dress, hacking off some of the harsher elements.

It’s only mostly about the dress. As his fit reaches its crescendo, he realizes he’s gone deaf. He’s scared, and his health is failing.

Meanwhile, Andrew Cunanan is preparing for his own ascent. (Truly, these shows don’t make you work too hard to unpack metaphor … ) Given the series’ backward storytelling technique, a lot of what we witness in Andrew’s story feels like a bit of a rehash. Many of these contextual details have been doled out over the course of previous episodes to fuel the reverse chronology engine. The scenes were still compelling, thanks to the dependably excellent performances, but hardly anything felt particularly revelatory.

We see his humble beginnings working at a local pharmacy where he’s telling handsome young men that he’s working on his PhD. We see him slam a tub of store-brand ice cream on the ground, because his mother bought it instead of Haagen-Dazs. We see him hit the gay bar with Jeffrey Trail, only to find himself alone at the end of the night, because he fears rejection. (Been there, gurl.)

Despite the fantastical tales he spins and all his wealth of knowledge, he can’t fake the fact he’s broke, as one older gentleman reminds him at closing time. He heads home drunk, reassuring his worried mother that they are moving on up, and he’s taking her with him.

His plan is to begin his escort career. He goes to an agency where, despite his intelligence and allegedly large junk, he’s told clients don’t want Asians. Frustrated, he vows to sell himself.

Andrew stalks the local the press for arts and philanthropy patrons. He meets a target at the La Jolla Playhouse, smoothly deploying all his research on the mark, Norman Blachford (whom we met as the host of Andrew’s party). He impresses Norman and his friends, earning an invite to join them for dinner. He regales them with tales we’ve grown accustomed to hearing Andrew spin.

It’s not Norman that wins the prize to stay with Andrew that night; it’s his friend Lincoln. Cunanan becomes Lincoln’s kept man, living off an expense account and taking trips to San Francisco. That’s where we see him meet David and play out their wild, over-the-top stay at the Mandarin Oriental.

Lincoln is not thrilled that Andrew lavished all this attention on David in SF while on Lincoln’s dime. He ends it. Lincoln hits the gay bar to pick up some new trade, choosing to take home a jittery “straight guy” he found in a bar. The man ends up murdering Lincoln for getting a little too close (which actually happened). Andrew witnesses the killing (which likely didn’t actually happen), but the man runs off, eventually turning himself in and using the “gay panic” defense.

At Lincoln’s funeral, Andrew makes the connection with Norman. They share a too-real discussion about how no one cares when they’re murdered, how no one cares they’re dying in the AIDS epidemic. It’s heartbreaking, but it’s their truth; maybe the most true thing Andrew has said.

He convinces Norman to relocate full-time from Phoenix to start a life with him. First, he needs to tell his mother he’s leaving, giving her the explanation that he’s leaving with Versace to work at opera houses around the globe. She’s so excited for him, but also so excited for herself. He promised he would take her with him on his ascent, but now bringing her along would risk exposing all of his lies.

Andrew flips out, shoving his mother, leading to a fractured shoulder blade. In the hospital, his mother refuses to turn him in, telling the doctors what a good boy he is.

The episode ends with Andrew and Norman walking through their gorgeous new home. Andrew steps onto the balcony and remarks, “If they could see me now.” When Norman asks to whom Andrew is referring, he tells him, “Everybody.”

Donatella and Andrew Cunanan Make Their ‘Ascent’ On ‘Versace: American Crime Story’ [RECAP] – Towleroad

After a brief hiatus, we’re back with another installment of The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story delving further back into the unraveling of Andrew Cunanan. Perhaps more than ever before, ACS has provided an exact breaking point from when Cunanan went from merely a huckster to a full-blown threat.

Before we get into last night’s episode, we need to talk about what went down two weeks ago. The episode aired the same evening as the horrific tragedy in Parkland, Florida, and I just couldn’t bring myself to devote this much brainspace to such a violent story. However, the episode was particularly relevant to this season’s (and this website’s) thesis.

Focusing on the parallel coming out stories of Jeffrey Trail and Gianni Versace, the episode tackled visibility and Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell with visceral storytelling punches. We witnessed Trail’s uneasy coming out while serving in the Navy, including rescuing a fellow officer suspected of being gay, attempting to cut out his own tattoo to avoid being identified from random hookups and culminating in an “anonymous” TV news interview.

At seemingly the same time, Versace sat down with The Advocate for a tell-all about living as a gay man with his partner, Antonio (Ricky Martin). Even with the contrast between the buttoned-up military world and the creative fashion world, both men share a struggle. Donatella tries to warn Gianni against doing the interview at all.

It’s a neat narrative bow that encapsulates this season’s theme. Not only did the shame, secrecy and stigma around both men’s sexualities create an enormous burden on both of their lives, but they likely played a significant role in their deaths.

From a storytelling perspective, it’s almost too neat a bow. I’ve griped before about how all the unknowns in these men’s stories have led to writers taking too many liberties. Sometimes it feels too salacious, while other times it comes off cheesy (like the ending of a Grey’s Anatomy episode). For example, the previous episode ended with Jeffrey’s answering machine playing messages from his family announcing the birth of his niece, unaware he was already murdered. In reality, Jeffrey’s sister gave birth before he was killed. It’s a small gripe, but it cheapens the overall product in a way The People v. OJ Simpson avoided.

On to this week, it feels as if we’re journeying further into speculative fiction.

It begins with Andrew returning home to a gorgeous oceanside home, fully appointed with outstanding views, gorgeous swimming pool, all the finest things. It’s not his, of course. It belongs to the older man, Norman, and Andrew is working for him as a live-in interior designer. It’s a year before any of the murders, and Andrew is preparing for a lavish birthday party.

His straight lady friend is there, curious (as are all of us) about the nature of his relationship with Norman, his feelings for David and how Andrew labels himself. To hear Andrew tell it, Norman is strictly professional, David (whom he recently shared a wonderful time in San Fran) is the love of his life and he doesn’t like labels.

He’s playing a dangerous game at this party. With so many people from different facets of his life all together in one place, the lies are bound to catch up with him, so Andrew is forced to shuffle around the party, making sure no one is left alone too long to start putting pieces together.

One person who already has Andrew figured out is Norman’s quippy friend. He mocks Andrew, telling him he’s “too lazy to work, too proud to be kept.” He also is quick to remind him that if that party, a mix of Andrew’s “friends” and Norman’s, is truly a room full of people that loves Andrew, “then that room is full of people that don’t know you.”

When Jeffrey arrives, Andrew immediately has some notes for him. First, here is a bigger, nicer gift to present to Andrew in front of David so David knows how loved he is. Also, here are nicer shoes. Oh, and one more thing, please lie to David about still being in the Navy because that sounds so much better.

By the time David makes his grand entrance, Andrew’s eyeballs might as well be full heart emojis. Andrew rushes over, so excited David made the trip from Minneapolis. He shows him around, but starts to get a little uneasy about how friendly David and Jeffrey are. Also, hey, look! It’s Lee Miglin! Let’s all take a group photo, Andrew!

After the party, Andrew confronts Norman about their relationship. Maybe it was seeing David that made Andrew realize what he was missing out on, but whatever the reason, Andrew wants to renegotiate the terms of their arrangement. He wants a larger allowance, first-class travel arrangements and to be the sole heir in his will. Norman ain’t having it.

He’ll up the living allowance, but there’s no way he’s budging on the rest. He’s no dummy. He already investigated Andrew and knows he’s not Andrew DeSilva. He knows all about Andrew’s real identity and past. He’s willing to provide for Andrew, but he’s not willing to play the fool.

This is not a good enough answer for Andrew. He picks up a chair and smashes it through the glass table on the patio before making a dramatic exit.

In a tiny, unglamorous apartment, Andrew gets a visit from Jeffrey. Apparently, Andrew “accidentally” sent a flirty little postcard to Jeff’s dad, essentially outing him. It’s definitely a threat, as Andrew gets more and more threatened by Jeffrey’s relationship with David. Speaking of which, Jeffrey wants to tell him that he’s found a job. In Minneapolis. Thanks to David.

Taking that news about as well as you’d expect, Andrew reacts by inviting David to Los Angeles for a lavish weekend. He’s booked a fancy hotel, fancy meals, fancy shopping, all under the auspices of working on a Hollywood set. The entire set up makes David profoundly uncomfortable. It’s obvious Andrew has feelings for him, and he shows David how much he cares the only way he knows how: Treating him like a kept man.

Back at the hotel, David can barely choke down his lobster dinner. In an attempt to forge an authentic connection with Andrew, David tries to get him to cast aside all these affectations and share something truthful. Even now, Andrew can’t do it. He’s still the heir to a pineapple fortune. He still had the master bedroom as a child. His mother still brought him lobster to school. David’s not buying it. He’s done.

Rejected and alone, Andrew hits the bar. He regales the bartender with tales of his romantic weekend and how David wants to spend the rest of his life with him. After giving the barkeep a hefty tip, he sidles up to the drug dealer/close-up magician who demonstrates how much more powerful his latest offering is compared to Andrew’s current fix using a big ol’ flame.

He’s not kidding. Andrew shoots the stuff and hallucinates (I think?) a meeting with Gianni Versace. Waking up back in his messy apartment, Andrew is desperate for another fix.

Back at the bar, a visibly strung-out Andrew can barely keep his lies straight. He tells the bartender that he and David were going to Paris! To see the Vatican! No, Rome! Rome! Because they’re saving Paris for the honeymoon! The bartender wants none of this mess. Andrew tries to get another hit from the dealer, but the time has come for him to pay his tab.

Andrew tries going back to Norman’s place, but in the state he’s in, Norman calls the cops.

Andrew has nowhere left to turn. He’s alienated Norman, Jeffrey, his drug dealer, the bartender. So he heads home. Actual home.

His mother welcomes him with open arms. She takes him to the bath and scrubs him clean, working hard to get him to smell like himself again, whatever that means. She’s proud of the life she thinks he’s made for himself. It’s heartbreaking to hear her recount how good it felt to tell another mother, someone who was much better off than their family, how successful Andrew had become.

As he leaves, he tells his mom he’s on his way to Minneapolis. “They have an opera house in Minneapolis?” she asks, wondering how his work assisting Versace with opera costumes will lead him to the Midwest.

“No, mom, I don’t think they do.”

This is the closest we’ve seen to Andrew being a sympathetic character. Though, watching this story in reverse, is it possible to view him in any kind of humanizing light after the horrors we’ve seen him commit? The strange stylistic choices continue to muddy the message of Versace. I’m starting to get very concerned about how this season will end. It’s looking more and more like a typical Murphy, American Horror Story-esque, heavy-handed finale.

What do you think of this season?

Behind Andrew Cunanan’s Breakdown On ‘American Crime Story: Versace’ [RECAP] – Towleroad