'Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story' Episode 5 Examines Edward Borden's Misogyny
The latest episode of the FX series delves into the patriarchal worldview of Lizzie Borden's father, portraying him as a man defined by his reductive and objectifying views of women.
The fifth episode of FX's "Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story" shifts focus to Edward Borden, offering a deep dive into his deeply ingrained misogyny and his complex, often abusive, relationships with the women in his life. The episode highlights how Edward perceived women through rigid archetypes, from his first wife, Sarah, whom he remembered as a silent, beautiful vessel, to his second wife, Abby, whom he viewed as frigid and useless.
His perception of his daughter, Lizzie, is depicted as similarly distorted, described by Edward as "not right" and compared to a "crooked" tree. The family maid, Bridget, is reduced to an animalistic figure and a tool for his sexual gratification. Even in the hours leading up to his death, Edward encounters women through a lens of transactional sex and a refusal to acknowledge their humanity, ultimately demanding back a ring gifted to him by Lizzie after a tryst with a sex worker.
Edward's internal world is presented as a landscape populated by "madonnas and whores, dream girls and ice queens." The episode suggests that his death at the hands of Lizzie and Bridget could be seen as a grim liberation from his constant, negative objectification of women.
Charlie Hunnam's portrayal of Edward Borden in this episode is noted for its devolution into a volatile character reminiscent of Jack Torrance from "The Shining." The narrative culminates in Edward's violent death, where Lizzie insists Bridget participate in the mutilation of their father's head. During this act, Edward experiences flashing images of his life, bleeding out on Abby's fainting couch as the episode concludes with the sound of the ocean.
The episode's intense focus on Edward Borden prompts broader reflection on the "Monster" anthology series. The reviewer posits that the show uses both killers and victims as stand-ins for societal misfits and outcasts, exploring how trauma can lead to abuse. The series also complicates audience sympathies by often portraying its killers as queer, suggesting that individual experiences, while seemingly disparate, often share common roots. "Monster" aims to examine all lives, including those of killers, as a means to find glimpses of shared human experience.