Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story’s creator explains the meaning behind that wild ending

If you finished Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story wondering what on earth that ending was about, you’re definitely not the only one.

The Netflix series takes a pretty surreal turn in its final moments, when Aileen Wuornos is welcomed into the afterlife by Lizzie Borden and Bridget Sullivan.

Via Netflix

It’s a bizarre crossover between two women from very different periods of history, but according to creator Ian Brennan, there was a very deliberate reason for bringing them together.

The finale connects Lizzie and Aileen through the trauma, violence and social judgement surrounding both of their stories, despite the fact their lives ultimately ended very differently.

Speaking to The Wrap, Brennan explained that the scene was intended to offer the women some kind of peace after everything they experienced.

“We wanted to tip our hat and hope that someplace these women, particularly Lizzie and Aileen Wuornos who were real tortured souls, hope at some point they found some peace.”

Aileen, who was executed in 2002 after being convicted of murdering seven men, had a particularly brutal life before her crimes.

Brennan said that was an important part of how he viewed her story, without ignoring the horrific things she did.

Via Netflix

“She [Aileen] did horrible things, but she had horrible things done to her. If a 10th of what was done to her was done to me, who knows what I would turn into? So that was was the motivation: to send them off, in a way.”

Most Read

How to do the Hotel Lobby AI trend from TikTok that puts people into Quavo and Takeoff video

Gone but not forgotten: Honouring the 13 Glee cast members who have passed away

40 years later, one of the Unsolved Mysteries cold cases has just been solved

That also explains why Aileen is given such a different kind of ending to Lizzie.

While Lizzie was acquitted of murdering her parents and lived out the rest of her life, Aileen was eventually executed for her crimes. Brennan told Tudum that the contrast between their endings made it feel right for Lizzie to be the person who welcomes Aileen in.

“In a way, Lizzie has a happy ending, and Aileen didn’t,” Brennan says. “She didn’t get away with anything. So it felt right to land on her and give her, if not a happy ending, one that is satisfying.”

Brennan says he doesn’t believe Aileen was naturally destined to become the person she eventually did.

Via Netflix

“This anthology asks the question, ‘Are monsters made or are they born?’” he says. “And I don’t think Aileen Wuornos was born that way. I think she was made into the thing she was.”

Rebecca Hall, who plays Abby Borden, also hopes the show leaves viewers asking those questions for themselves rather than simply deciding who was good or bad.

“I think the show is an exercise in empathy and an exercise in trying to understand complicated people’s brains and their trauma,” she says. “Audiences are really smart, and they’ll take away completely different things based on their own hearts and minds. But I hope at least we will be successful in making people more curious about Lizzie and her story.”

For all the latest Netflix news and drops, like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.

Featured image via Netflix