The Assassination of Gianni Versace, episode nine

July 15, 1997 in Miami Beach. Andrew is walking down the street. He passes a few cops before getting to the gates of Gianni’s mansion. He crosses the street and shoots Gianni. That night Andrew is still in town. He breaks into a houseboat and pops open some champagne to watch the news coverage about the murder. He finds out that he’s a suspect.

He takes his champagne to the balcony and watches helicopters and listens to the sirens. In Tampa, Lee Miglin’s widow has a knock on her door. It’s the FBI. They tell her that her husband’s murder is linked to Versace’s. She’s pissed. It’s been two months. How have they not caught him yet? She asks where he is now and they tell her Andrew evaded capture.

They don’t think it’s safe that she stay in Florida and have a flight waiting for her. She isn’t willing to miss a broadcast though. She goes to the studio. Andrew wakes up the next day to coverage about himself. He sees Mrs. Miglin on the news as well before getting dressed and heading out. He goes downtown and steals a purse to get some car keys.

As he drives out of the city, he hits traffic because of a road block. Cops are searching cars. He turns around and barks a few blocks away. He’s going over a map when an older man finds him. Andrew asks for directions but the guy tells him that all the roads off the island are blocked. Andrew takes off pretty quick after that. He ditches the car.

Andrew’s mother is watching the coverage as well when agents show up at her door. Andrew goes back to the houseboat he was in the night before to regroup. His friend gets picked up by the FBI and questioned about Andrew’s whereabouts. He talks about how the gays usually play by the books and stay quiet. Andrew isn’t like that though.

He’s not hiding. He wants to be seen. Andrew hears to the marina and breaks onto a boat. He’s reading a map when he hears someone yelling. He ducks into the bathroom and pulls out his gun. The woman is aboard the boat checking. She pushes on the bathroom door and he slams it shut. She runs away.

Once she’s gone, Andrew gets off the boat and heads back to the houseboat. With his binoculars, he sees that the FBI is talking to the woman in the marina. He hears Lizzie make a plea for him to surrender on tv. News coverage is wall to wall. They are talking about Jeff and David and how Andrew was linked to them.

David’s father is interviewed. He is adamant that David was a good man. Andrew is running out of options. He’s out of food and starts picking through his own garbage. It yields nothing so he turns to dog food. He can’t keep it down though. He turns to the tv and Mrs. Miglin is talking about how rough it was growing up after her father died.

It’s a touching story. Afterward, Andrew goes to a pay phone and calls Modesto in the Philippines. It seems that he has been doing quite a few phone interviews, and charging for them. He tells Andrew he will fly back and help him escape. Modesto asks for the particulars on where Andrew is, then tells him to pack and meet him in the same spot the next night.

Andrew goes back to the houseboat and does just that. The next night, Andrew is getting ready to head out. He walks outside and then goes back in and hears his father. He’s doing an interview on tv and lying through the whole thing. He never flew to the States. Andrew is pissed. He shoots the tv.

July 22. The day of Gianni’s funeral. Donatella and Antonio talk about being heartbroken. She asks him what he plans to do. He wants to stay in one of the houses to be close to Gianni but the board owns them. She tells him to go to Lake Como for a while and then start fresh. There’s nothing she can do. Andrew can stomach the dog food now.

He’s got facial hair and catches a cockroach under a glass. He’s examining it when he hears the news. It’s coverage of Gianni’s funeral. Andrew hooks it up to a projector and watches it. At the funeral, Antonio is left out of the list of loved ones left behind. He’s upset. Andrew shaves his head. A man gets a call tipping him off about a burglary at a houseboat.

The guy goes to investigate. He announces himself and says that he’s armed. When he gets to the living room, a shot is fired at him. He takes off. Andrew sees on the news that police are swarming the houseboat. He stays holed up inside. Cops know so they cut the power. Andrew puts the gun in his mouth and pulls the trigger.

Years earlier, Andrew and Gianni are on stage. Andrew talks about being inspired and working for Gianni. He leans in and kisses him. Gianni shuts him down though. He tells him that it’s not because he’s not interested but because he has other things to do. The cops find Andrew’s body.

Marilyn Miglin finds out Andrew is dead. She’s not upset about it. She tells someone about all the letters that she has gotten about Lee since his death. The letters keep him alive. Donatella is beating herself up because she ignored the last call she got from Gianni. They had talked earlier in the day and she was annoyed with him so when he called back she ignored it.

Antonio pours a whole bottle of pills onto a plate. Donatella leaves the house in the rain. Antonio swallows all the pills and starts drinking wine to wash them down. Donatella gets to her house and lights candles for Gianni. The nameplate is put at a gravesite. A maid finds Antonio. He’s still alive. Donatella cries. The nameplate is for Andrew.

I don’t know why but I really expected this to be a lot more about Versace and not like… a profile of Andrew’s crimes. I don’t know. There was never really a payoff on this. Why was he doing this? Was he sick? What came next? I liked it but it’s not what I expected.

The Assassination of Gianni Versace, episode eight

1957 in Italy. A woman stops by the Versace household to try on and pick up a dress. Young Gianni watches. When the woman leaves, his mother calls him upstairs and tells him that she knows he watches and encourages him to pursue it. She will help him but it will take a lot of work. He gets caught sketching in school and his teacher calls him a pervert.

Gianni is upset as he tells his mother what happened but she calls the sketch beautiful and says they will make it. She tells him that the work will be hard but he can do it. They get to work. In San Diego in 1980 the Cunanan family packs up and moves. They are doing all the work themselves to save money. They are definitely upgrading.

When they get to the new house, Andrew gets a tour of the house while his siblings and mother have to unload the truck. His father gives him the master bedroom because he is special. The rest of the family is packed like sardines in smaller rooms. He dresses in a suit as his mother takes him to enroll in school. His father goes on a job interview as Andrew gets an entrance interview.

Modesto talks about how business is life and that’s what matters. Andrew talks about wanting to be special. That night, Modesto is sitting in the dark when Andrew and his mother gets home. He says that he didn’t get the job and they are stunned. Then he says it was a joke. He got the job at Merrill Lynch and now they will eat like kings.

That’s not the end of it though. He thinks Mary Ann doubted him and implies that she belongs in a mental hospital. At bedtime, Modesto is reading to Andrew about the art of conversation because being smart isn’t enough. He has to fit in. When the mail comes, he gets his acceptance letter and his father kisses his feet. Modesto starts his new job.

He tries to make a stock sale but it doesn’t go well. He pretends that he made it though and that afternoon gets home with a new car for the still too young to drive Andrew. Mary Ann puts up a fight and Modesto throws her down in the yard. Then he gets in the car with Andrew and tells him about his mother’s depression and how he had to raise him alone.

As Andrew lays in bed, he asks his father if he always wanted to be a stock broker. Modesto tells him he just capitalized on opportunities. Andrew wants to be a writer but that’s not going to fly with his father. Years go by. Andrew can now drive the car and gets to school himself. It’s picture day and instead of falling into line, he strikes a pose to stand out.

Modesto is still dealing in stock but it’s not Merrill Lynch anymore. It’s some dead end firm and he’s swindling from old ladies. Andrew is home and his mother asks him if he’s seeing a girl. He smells good. Andrew tells her that it’s an older woman and she seems happy about it. That night he gets in the car of a much older man. They are obviously involved.

Andrew invites the guy to a house party but dude is married and their thing is a secret. He expects it to stay that way and kicks Andrew out of the car. Andrew goes into the party alone and takes over the dance floor. That’s when he meets Lizzie. They spend the night talking. She’s already out of school and married but they bond anyway. He talks about finding his heroes.

At the office, Modesto gets pulled in to talk to his boss. An old lady’s family filed a complaint. It went to the feds and now they are looking to take him in. The FBI comes in with a warrant but someone tips him off. He goes running home and grabs a stash of money and passports. As he heads downstairs, the FBI gets to the door.

He pulls a runner and goes out the back. As he hops the fence into the front, Andrew pulls up. Modesto tells him not to believe what he hears and then swipes Andrew’s keys and leaves. He had already transferred all of their money and sold the house. Andrew and his mother are left with nothing but he doesn’t believe it. He packs his things and goes to find his father.

That takes him to Manila in the Philippines. He gets a taxi out of the city to a small house and knocks on the door. He meets his uncle and is led to a shack out back when he asks where Modesto is. He finds him and hears for himself that the money is gone. Later that night Modesto talks to him about living with the hate and stealing too small.

Andrew snaps about his whole life being a lie and he can’t be a lie. He bragged about his father and now it’s gone. Modesto tells him that it’s not because of the lying and stealing. It’s because he stopped. As long as there was money he was okay but now that there is no money and he has to work he’s upset.

Modesto spits on him and Andrew grabs a knife. He doesn’t stab Modesto though. He squeezes his own hand around the blade. Modesto taunts him because he couldn’t do it. Andrew flies back to the States just as the FBI seizes all of their belongings. Andrew goes to the pharmacy and applies for a job. The owner makes small talk and Andrew lies about his father.

I mean. I’ve watched eight episodes of this now so I’ll stick it out but this one was just filler and I don’t know what they are going to do for two more. It’ll have to be more about Andrew and Versace right? How that obsession came to be? I don’t know.

The Assassination of Gianni Versace, episode seven

Donatella is talking about dress designs. She’s not the one sketching though. She collects the drafts to show to Gianni, who is just getting there. The designers talk amongst themselves about how they don’t acknowledge his condition. Gianni and Donatella talk about her ideas. He gets mad and calls her an assistant for not drawing them herself.

She leaves the room in tears and Antonio tells Gianni to apologize. That night he gives her a pep talk because soon enough this will all be hers. She has to be ready to handle it so they are going to design a dress together as though it’s the last one he will ever create. It’s not his legacy though. She is.

Andrew is working in a pharmacy. He tries to chat with a customer but the guy doesn’t really care. He gets a shit paycheck and his boss tells him that he needs a plan for his life. He goes home and snaps at his mother about not buying name brand ice cream. That night he goes out to the bar with Jeff. He doesn’t charm anyone and an older guy calls him on having no money.

He goes home and talks to his mother about dreams. Andrew has a way to fix his money problems. He goes to get a job as an escort but the lady there is not impressed. She sends him on his way and he tells her that if she won’t sell him, he’ll sell himself. Gianni and Donatella put the finishing touches on their dress. He convinces her to wear it to an event that night.

They go together and he walks with her but when the press notices her dress and starts snapping photos, he steps away. Andrew goes through the newspaper looking for targets. He finds Norman and his friends at a play. Andrew is a hit with the older crowd and ends up invited to dinner after the show and then to stay the night with one of Norman’s friends.

Norman and Gallo leave and Andrew and Lincoln discuss terms of an arrangement. Donatella’s dress gets a lot of press but doesn’t sell. She suggests making some changes to make it more accessible. He freaks out and by the time he wraps up he can’t hear them anymore and melts down.

San Francisco. Andrew is out with friends. He thinks about what the other people in the restaurant think of them. He sees a man alone at the bar and sends a drink over. It’s David. He invites David to sit with them and then eventually up to his room. They have sex in the shower and then David talks about a friend from school. Andrew seems smitten.

Andrew is at home in San Diego and gets a call from Lincoln. He knows Andrew was with someone else and ends their arrangement. Lincoln goes to the gay bar, chats with a straight man and then brings him home. They are talking as Andrew comes in. Lincoln makes a move and the straight guy beats him to death. Andrew walks in and tells the guy to run.

Norman is at the theater. Andrew finds him and tells him that they caught the killer. Later they walk on the beach and Norman talks about going home to Phoenix. Andrew talks to him about moving to San Diego, tells him that he will set up a house for him. Norman wants to think about it. Andrew uses the sad story David told him to play Norman.

He must accept it because Andrew is home packing up and telling his mom that he is going out on the road with Versace. She thinks because of their conversation about dreams that she is coming too. He says no but she begs. She won’t stop so he shoves her. She crashes into a wall and has to go to the hospital. Broken shoulder-blade but she covers for Andrew.

Donatella tells the staff that Gianni will be resting from ear cancer in Miami but she will not let anything happen to the company. With him not at the head, they will have to be more bold, not less. She starts to sketch. Andrew and Norman move into the new house. Andrew is happy.

I feel bad for Andrew’s mom. She needs help. Also, poor Jeff and David. They had no idea what they were getting themselves into. Andrew fell for David’s story the same way that girl did. A sketch was all it took.

The Assassination of Gianni Versace, episode six

La Jolla in 1996 sees Andrew getting home to a swanky cliffside house. He goes for a swim before wrapping a gift and getting dressed in a huge fully stocked closet. It’s a year before the murders and it’s Andrew’s birthday.

He’s having a party and his older gentleman friend, Norman, who owns the swanky house is hosting it. Andrew wanted to have two parties to keep his friends separate from Norman. He explains as much to Lizzie because he really just wants this party to impress David, the love of his life.

The party is getting started and in walks Jeff. He has on jeans and sneakers so Andrew whisks him away to give him a bit of a makeover. He also has the gift he wrapped earlier there. He wants Jeff to give it to him so that David is impressed by his loving friends. Andrew also told David that Jeff is a naval officer.

That’s a line Jeff won’t cross. The party continues and David arrives. Andrew is thrilled to see him and greets him accordingly. As they walk through the house, David is suitably impressed and Jeff presents Andrew with the gift. Jeff also introduces himself to David and they start to chat. Lizzie ushers them outside while Andrew pops upstairs to do a line of coke.

One of Norman’s friends catches him and tells him off for being a pompous shit. Andrew snarks back and takes off. He finds Jeff and David still talking and butts in. They are approached by another man who wants to wish Andrew a happy birthday. Andrew doesn’t seem to recognize him though. He introduces himself as Lee Miglin.

Andrew steps away with him and tells him off for approaching him in public. Lee has a gift for him but Andrew keeps looking at David. He blows Lee off and tries to get a picture with David but Normal, Lee and Jeff crash it. Andrew is not happy.

In the days after the party, Andrew presents Norman with a list of requirements. He wants to be Norman’s sole heir in his will because of all that he’s sacrificed. Norman asks what he’s sacrificed and then goes off on all the things he knows Andrew lied about. Andrew storms away.

Norman tracks him down outside and talks about how he’s willing to give him money and allow him his lies but he has to work. Andrew isn’t game. He gave up the love of his life because of this arrangement. Norman is not backing down so Andrew breaks a table and leaves. He tells Norman that he expects a call.

With hardly any money Andrew rents a little apartment. Jeff gets a phone call from his father. Andrew sent him a postcard and signed it “love.” His father is not happy. Jeff goes to see Andrew and confronts him about the postcard. They fight and Jeff tells Andrew that he’s moving to Minneapolis. Andrew sees it as an attempt to get with David and is pissed.

He yells at Jeff who denies it. He’s moving because he’s unhappy. Andrew calls up David. He’s going to be in LA and bought David a ticket to join him. David is reluctant but Andrew begs. Andrew gets a fancy room in a five star hotel and gets flowers and a car charged to the room as well. He’s sparing no expense.

David gets to the hotel and is sent to the room. Andrew flew him in first class and tells him that he wrapped up work and just wants to relax. They go shopping and Andrew buys him a fancy suit. Andrew talks about David’s future, with Andrew staying by his side. That night David apologizes. He shouldn’t have come. He’s not the one.

Andrew is adamant but David explains that they had one great night but that’s it. This whole thing seems like a recreation of that. He doesn’t really know Andrew so Andrew says that they should get to know one another. They start to talk but Andrew is still extravagant. After only a few minutes David claims he’s tired. Andrew tells him he just wants to be good to him.

Back in his crappy apartment Andrew has no messages and a huge credit card bill. He goes out and scores some drugs. He takes it and trips out. He sees himself going to buy a suit from Versace. He talks to Gianni about being generous but alone. He says that he knows Gianni thinks he is better than him but he knows they are the same. Gianni is because he is loved.

He goes back to the bar and tells the dealer he needs more time. The dealer tells him time isn’t the issue. He needs money. Andrew sneaks onto Norman’s property and tries to get into the house. Norman sees him. Andrew runs around to the front door and tries his keys. They don’t work. Norman stands on the inside with the phone as Andrew begs to be let in.

With no other options, Andrew goes back to his mother’s place. She baths him and talks about family. He tells her that he won’t have children and she freaks out. After the bath, she talks about the people he went to school with that used to judge them for not having much. Now Andrew is a bigshot. When he’s leaving, she asks where to next. He says Minneapolis.

I don’t know if I like that this is just glorifying the life of a serial killer but I do love the way it was set up. The whole show has just been him having this lavish lifestyle which is the part I don’t agree with but I do like that each victim is getting their own episode. The bath thing was weird but I’m most fascinated by Norman.

The Assassination of Gianni Versace, episode five

June 1995 in Milan. Gianni tells Donatella that he plans to come out in an article in the Advocate. She does not take it well. He thinks it’s his own business but she tells him that it could tank the company. She figures it is Antonio’s fault that he is doing this but Gianna tells her that he was sick and is better now. This is his second chance.

April 1997. San Diego four days before Jeffrey Trail’s murder. Andrew is in a barren room making deals on the phone with American Express just to get to Minneapolis. He gives himself an injection while he’s on hold. After the phone call, he packs up all his stuff. He also has a shrine of sorts to Gianni in the closet.

In Minneapolis, Jeff is working in a factory. He gets a lunch break and talks about his time in the Navy with a co-worker. The guy asks a lot of questions about why he left and it sets Jeff off. He claims that he made the decision to leave. The day progresses and Jeff gets a message that Andrew will see him at the airport.

Jeff goes and David is already there waiting. Jeff knows what’s up. He doesn’t trust Andrew or anything he says and he has no intention of hanging out. This weekend will be a last hoorah and that’s it. Andrew turns up and Jeff is short with him. Apparently Andrew outed Jeff to his family.

Both David and Jeff tell Andrew that they can’t really hang out before heading out. David takes Andrew home with him and Andrew pulls out a watch and proposes. He tells David that he doesn’t need to decide right away but David says no. Andrew tries to talk him into it and tells him to keep the watch anyway.

Meanwhile, Jeff is crashing at his sister’s house. They talk about Andrew trying to control and threaten Jeff. She wants him to just come out to their parents. He’s still hesitant. He just wants to focus on the baby she is having. He can’t wait to be an uncle.

David takes Andrew with him when he goes out with his friend Linda from work. David introduces Andrew as his friend but Andrew isn’t having it. He butts in and calls himself more than a friend. Andrew watches David have fun with Linda.

Later he has a chance to talk to Linda and tells her about his career building movie sets. When David comes back to the table, Andrew whisks him away so they can dance. David knows what’s up though and says no officially to the proposal before leaving.

The next morning, David tries to give the watch back but Andrew is stubborn. David tells him he knows that he has been telling stories but he wants to help Andrew denies it. He heads out as planned to crash at Jeff’s since David has plans. David offers to cancel but Andrew tells him not to. Andrew just wants to know if the plans are with Jeff. David says no.

That night Andrew lurks outside David’s building to watch him go inside with another man. It sort of looks like Jeff. Then Andrew goes back to Jeff’s place. He looks at the pictures hanging and snoops through Jeff’s stuff. He even rummages in his Navy locker. He finds a videotape and watches it.

The tape is a special about gays serving in the military and Jeff anonymously speaks on the special. He talks about the time he saved a gay sailor being what made people suspicious of him. He regrets saving the other sailor. Andrew now has Jeff’s gun. He shoots the tv.

November 1995. Jeff is onboard his ship. He stops a fight in the lower decks between two sailors. One is gay and brushed up against the other. That night he’s asleep in his bunk and hears something. A group of sailors went back after the gay guy. Jeff intervenes again. Then comforts the gay sailor. He’s spotted doing so by a superior officer.

Now the other officer is suspicious. He makes a crack about gays being identified by tattoos to get rid of them. That night, Jeff tries to cut off his own tattoo. He’s called in to see the captain and given a book on dignity and respect. They have a code and a standard to live up to.

He reads the book. The next day he puts on his dress whites and tries to hang himself. He doesn’t go through with it though. He gets off the ship and goes to a gay bar. That’s where he meets Andrew for the first time. He gets scared and tries to leave but Andrew talks him into staying. They have beers and talk. Jeff thanks Andrew for keeping the night from being a humiliation.

During another visit to the bar, Jeff tells Andrew about the idea of being in the tv special about gays in the military. Andrew thinks it is a bad idea. He will be made to look like a criminal while the other side looks dignified in their uniforms. Jeff says he has to do it though.

Gianni goes to a classy hotel. He’s got Antonio with him but he’s nervous. Jeff heads to a sketchy motel. He heads inside and asks about his anonymity. That’s what he is concerned about. He gets reassurance and is willing to go forward.

He talks about how it feels to be in the military during the time of DADT. Gianni agrees to talk on the record. He even brings Antonio in to join the interview. Jeff knows that his superior officers know he is gay. That’s why he’s never been promoted and his career is over.

April 1997. The day of Jeff’s murder. Andrew is at Jeff’s place. Jeff gets home and finds that Andrew went through his stuff, including his uniform. Jeff is pissed and Andrew tries to tell him that the military didn’t want him. He does though. Jeff regrets ever knowing Andrew and tells him as much. Andrew tells Jeff that he is just confused but Jeff snaps.

Andrew packs up and leaves. He goes back to David’s place and finds David and his gentleman friend. The latter is on his way out when Andrew charges in. The guy leaves and David goes to confront Andrew. Andrew tells David he needs help though and suggests they talk that night. David agrees.

Later that day, Andrew calls Jeff to tell him that he took his gun. Jeff flips. He tells Andrew he will come over to take the gun back but he’s done. Jeff comes over and Andrew sends David down to buzz him in. Andrew gets a hammer and waits for the two men to come back. He attacks. Jeff’s sister goes into labor. His mother calls to leave a message. The family leaves him several messages. He never answers.

Jeff had a rough go of it. Andrew destroyed everything for him years before his death. That’s so sad. I read about David after last week’s episode. They had to make a lot of that up since no one was actually there to talk about it. I wonder if that’s the case with this one because most of this is stuff from years earlier. Maybe Jeff told his sister.

The Assassination of Gianni Versace, episode four

A week before Lee Miglin was killed in Chicago, Andrew is at the apartment of David Madson in Minneapolis. It’s April 1997 and Madson is in a good mood. He just secured a new job and he apologizes to Andrew for his behavior during the weekend. Andrew isn’t in a good mood though. He invited their friend Jeff over and sends David down to let him in.

On the way back up, David tells Jeff that Andrew proposed and he got out of it by saying that it’s illegal. They get upstairs and David makes his way across the room to tend to his dog. Andrew pounces on Chris and beats him to death with a hammer. Then he takes David into the bathroom to shower. He cleans the blood off both of them.

Afterward, David asks Andrew if he is going to kill him too. Andrew says no, that he just lost control, and then David tells him to call the police. He doesn’t though. Andrew tells David that he’s just thinking of him. The place is in his name. The cops will see two suspects, not two victims.

David tries to leave but Andrew won’t let him. He wants David to really think it through. He locks them both in the bedroom for the night. Hours pass and David tries to make a break for it but Andrew catches him. David’s got an excuse through. He was going to walk the dog. Andrew goes along with it.

They go out into the main apartment and the body is still there. Andrew rolls it up in a carpet and then David tries to leave but Andrew goes with him. David seems worried that Andrew will hurt someone else and turns around after a little while. They are back in the apartment when there is a knock on the door.

David’s co-worker came looking for him because it’s uncharacteristic for him to miss work. His landlord is with her. They hear the dog in distress and get the keys. David and Andrew hear them and make a break for it. As they get inside and find the body, Andrew and David take off.

Cops move through the apartment and talk to the women. The co-worker, Holly, remembers something. A guy named Andrew something was staying with him this weekend. He didn’t sit right with Holly. She describes him and notes his dark hair. That’s when the cops ask about David and both women mention his blonde hair. The cops notice something. The victim has dark hair.

They have a new theory. Andrew is the victim and David is the killer. Flashback to young David hunting with his dad as a kid. It doesn’t sit well. Adult David and Andrew are driving. They stop for lunch and Andrew talks about going to Miglin for money to get across the border and then going their separate ways.

The cops are back at the apartment with a warrant. They take the body out and then start talking to the neighbors. The ME identifies the body. On the road, David talks about how everyone will figure out all of his secrets. The cops go and talk to his parents. His father stands up for him and says he didn’t kill anyone.

Andrew and David stop at a bar. David goes to the bathroom and breaks the window to escape. Andrew is in the bar crying as he listens to Aimee Mann sing. David didn’t escape. He comes back to the table and holds hands with Andrew.

A young David tells his father about an award he received for college and then comes out. His father needs a moment but does tell him that he loves him. It changes things though. David wakes up in the back of the Jeep and Andrew is nowhere in sight. He goes running to find him. He does and they go to get food. They reminisce about the first time they met until David turns the tables.

He’s onto Andrew. He knows that the whole thing is a lie. They are on the road again and David keeps talking about Jeff’s murder but that pisses Andrew off. They had a plan but David is stuck in the past. He pulls over and holds a gun on David who tries to talk his way out of it. It doesn’t work.

Andrew shoots and David is suddenly back in the cabin drinking coffee with his dad. Andrew hit him in the back and then comes over and shoots him in the heard. Andrew lays with the body for a bit and then gets in the Jeep and drives off.

I felt really bad for David. I guess it wasn’t actually quite this long that they were on the road together and there is no way to know what actually happened. I feel bad for David’s parents too. I guess next week it’ll be back to Miami.

The Assassination of Gianni Versace, episode three

May 1997 in Toronto. Marilyn Miglin is selling perfume on TV. She heads to Chicago and hopes a taxi to the burbs after calling Lee for a ride and not getting an answer. She gets to a house and goes in but senses something is amiss. There is a melted gallon of ice cream on the counter.

She goes back out front and some neighbors are walking by. They go in with her. The man tells his wife and Marilyn to wait outside and call the cops while he looks around the house. It’s eerie but there is no sign of anyone. Marilyn waits in the kitchen. She hears her neighbor scream a few minutes later.

One week earlier Lee and Marilyn are enjoying a fancy a dinner because he is being honored. She gives him a thoughtful introduction before he gives his speech. Later that night they get home and she asks a question about her early storefront. He doesn’t remember. She quietly washes her face and gets ready for bed.

He’s in his office and gets a call. It’s Andrew. He’ll be in town for a few days. Lee makes sure no one can overhear him and makes plans. The next morning Marilyn is headed out for her business trip. She asks Lee what his plans are and he seems melancholy. She invites him to tag along but he declines.

Andrew parks in a parking garage, reclines his seat and goes to sleep. Lee is in the house all alone. He injects himself with something. He has a drink. He goes down to the basement and prays. Andrew gets to the Miglin house.

Lee welcomes him in, makes him a sandwich and they talk. Lee has blueprints he wants to show Andrew. He walks across the room to get them out and unbeknownst to him Andrew pulls a gun on him. He puts it away. Lee keeps talking until Andrew finally decides to stop messing around.

It’s time to get down to business. He calls it what it is, a business transaction. Lee wants to pretend and he wants Andrew to pretend too. Andrew leads him out to the garage and tapes his head up. They don’t have sex though. He breaks Lee’s nose and then confesses to already killing two other people. He tells Lee that he is going to kill him and disgrace him.

He keeps his word, beating Lee to death with a bag of concrete and then burning things in the house. The police are at the scene when the department superintendent, Rodriguez, gets there. He tells the CSIs that he wants no leaks. Just confirm that an elderly man was killed.

The superintendent heads into the house and Marilyn rattles off all the items that are missing, including easily traceable unique gold coins. Rodriguez tells her that there were homosexual pornographic magazines near the body. She doesn’t care. She just wants the killer found. Rodriguez learns that the killer showered, shaved and spent the night.

Rodriguez goes back downstairs and meets Marilyn’s son Duke. He’s an aspiring actor that flew in from California. A patrol cop notices Andrew’s truck and calls it in. It’s been reported stolen from a different murder scene. Rodriguez finds out that the car Andrew stole from Miglin had a phone with a tracker in it. They can find him.

Andrew is in New York, dressed sharply and is browsing Versace. Rodriguez asks Duke and Marilyn about Andrew. She says that she’s never seen him. He tells her about the other murders associated with him and that now its a federal case. She just wants justice. Rodriguez gets an update on the car. He’s on the move and the FBI is closing in near Philly.

Marilyn finally breaks down. Her life was a fairy tale, not a sham. There’s a leak. The news is reporting about tracking the phone. Rodriguez is pissed. Andrew hears the report and freaks out. He rips the antenna off the car and pulls out the wiring.

Then he heads to a park and gets out. He sits for a while, waiting and watching. He picks a victim and approaches. As he gets his gun out, another person walks by. He has to stop but he looks around and picks a new guy. He follows this one by car. He goes inside, pulls the gun and tells the guy he is just there to steal the truck.

He asks the guy if there is a basement and heads down there. As the guy pleads for his life, Andrew shoots him in the head and takes the truck. Marilyn is back on the Home Shopping Network. She has a prepared statement and reads it, though she does get choked up along the way.

I feel bad for the guy that owned the truck. I mean I feel bad for the Miglins too and the other victims but the truck guy was absolutely random and that’s a shame. I’d like to see this pick up where it left off but I really don’t figure that will happen. It’s weird that a show called Versace didn’t have the family in it.

The Assassination of Gianni Versace

March 1994 in Miami, Versace is in the hospital talking to doctors. They tell him about treatments and struggles. He talks about learning about death. Antonio is with him.

Later on at home, Donatella wants to talk to Gianni alone. She doesn’t know who she is without him. She walks out and Antonio confronts her about hating him. She tells him she does because he has given her brother nothing. The three of them spend time together. Gianni tells them he needs the three of them to do this together.

June 16, 1997. Donatella looks at the crowds from a window. She cries. When she leaves the room and walks by Antonio, he tries to talk to her. She tells him they don’t need to pretend anymore. The funeral parlor gets the body ready.

Donatella prepares herself before walking through the gate. There are paparazzi everywhere. She goes to see and prepare the body before it is cremated. Then she takes it on a private jet.

Andrew is in a supermarket parking lot. He’s got a truck and he switched the plates on it before hitting the road. He heads back to Miami. In Miami for the first time, Andrew gets a room near the beach and starts canvasing the neighborhood. He takes a lot of pictures of the Versace house.

The FBI and police brief on how to find Andrew. Local cops want to pass out flyers and hit the gay bars. The feds think they know what’s best and they have plans. Andrew sweet talks his way into a better room and then goes out to schmooze with the locals.

He picks up a guy on the beach and then prostitutes himself. It’s not just vanilla sex though. Andrew tapes the guy’s head to suffocate him and punches an air hole at the last second. Versace has a fashion show. Donatella takes issue with him but he doesn’t care. The show is a success.

Andrew and his new buddy are in his room. He goes into the bathroom and tapes most of his own head. The other guy sees and get’s a little frazzled. Versace is working on something while Antonio is in bed with another man. Antonio tries to convince Gianni to join them.

He doesn’t but Gianni and Antonio have a moment in the pool later on. Andrew goes to the pawn shop with the gold coin to get cash.

This didn’t hold my attention at all. I don’t know why either. I don’t really care about Andrew I guess. I liked it last week so I was disappointed this time.

The Assassination of Gianni Versace, episode one

July 15, 1997 in Miami. Gianni Versace wakes up and steps outside onto the balcony. Another man is down on the beach. He has a backpack with a book and a gun in it. Versace takes his pills and heads to breakfast. The other guy leaves the beach.

Versace leave his house. He heads down to the beach to buy a few magazines. The other guy throws up in a public bathroom. Versace heads home and while he tries to unlock his gate the other guy comes over and shoots him.

A younger more put together Andrew comes into his friend’s house to tell her that he met Versace. It’s October 1990 in California. Andrew and a friend make their way through a gay club. It’s in the VIP section where he meets Versace for the first time.

In his retelling of the meeting to his friend he doesn’t seem as desperate and awkward as the interaction really was. He also portrays himself as straight which one of his gay friends calls him on. Andrew just tells people what they need to hear, but he does have an opera date with Versace he claims.

Andrew stares into his empty closet. He has nothing to wear to the opera. He goes to someone else’s room that has a full closet. Versace gets the costumes ready. He works for the artists, after all. Andrew’s friend comes home to find him in her husband’s closet wearing his suit. She gives him a watch too.

He goes to the opera, swipes some binoculars and watches the show. Afterward he talks to Versace He makes up a history and tells it to Versace. They have a moment.

1997. Versace is down and bleeding. Andrew contemplates him before walking off with a smile. Someone inside the house hears and runs outside. Andrew takes off. Another man comes out and finds Versace. He yells for help.

After a bit of running, Andrew turns the gun on the guy chasing him. The guy backs off and Andrew gets away. He gets back to his car and does a quick change into different clothes. He is very happy.

Cops turn up and eventually an ambulance. A passerby grabs his Polaroid and takes a picture. Versace is rushed to the hospital and a crowd immediately starts to gather. Andrew runs through the parking garage and manages to get away. Versace is pronounced dead at the hospital.

People at the scene are going nuts. One lady mops up some blood with a magazine ad. Andrew goes to a hotel and cleans up. He sees news coverage of the shooting and starts to smile.

Cops find Andrew’s truck and ID him. The FBI gets involved. Turns out Andrew has killed four other people and he was on their radar. They just hadn’t sent out the flyers yet. They hold a press release.

Versace’s sister Donatella gets to Miami and she draws quiet the crowd. Police start to question his boyfriend Antonio. He is rather shaken up and can’t talk. Donatella comes in and the interview is over. She gives Antonio crap.

Donatella holds a business meeting. The company was Versace’s life and she will keep him alive through it. The family releases a statement saying they don’t know Andrew. A woman sees him on the news and calls the police. She works at a pawn shop. reported him five days before the murder.

She’s pissed but at least this way they get an address. Donatella decides not to go put the company on the stock exchange. Cops talk to the pawn shop lady and get an address. It’s a dead end though. Andrew goes to a newstand and buys several papers.

This went very fast. I’m pleasantly surprised by that.I feel bad for Antonio. I like the way this epsiode was set up with the two timelines and it’s interesting giving the alleged murderer a background story.