Netflix's 'Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story' premiered on September 17, 2026. The series leaves viewers wondering if 'Lizzie' and 'Aileen Wuornos' were spiritually connected in the end.
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Add BollywoodShaadis on GoogleNetflix's latest offering, Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, is the fourth installment of Ryan Murphy’s hit Monster anthology. Based on the true story of Lizzie Borden, the show premiered on September 17, 2026.
The eight-episode series stars Ella Beatty as ‘Lizzie,’ who was tried and acquitted for the 1892 axe murders of her father and stepmother in Fall River. Now, for those who want to give the series a watch over the weekend, let's unpack Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story’s unsettling ending.
Spoilers ahead.
In Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, we see that ‘Lizzie’ is constantly harassed and verbally abused by her stepmom, ‘Abby Borden.’ To make matters worse, she is rejected by her father, ‘Andrew Borden,’ forcing her to live a life in the shadow of her older sister, ‘Emma Borden.’
When it seems that nobody in ‘Lizzie's’ family is on her side, her maid, ‘Bridget “Maggie” Sullivan,’ shows her some much-needed love. She even tells ‘Lizzie’ stories of many misunderstood yet powerful women in history who took matters into their own hands and solved things violently.
As the show progresses, ‘Lizzie’ and ‘Bridget’ come up with the plan to kill the former’s parents with one of her father’s axes. ‘Lizzie’ gets away with the murders because, when she is put on trial, the jury thinks that a woman like her would not have the physical strength to kill a man.
In the final episode of Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, ‘Bridget' is seen living with her older husband in a small mountain shack after marriage. It is clear that her husband does not love her and only sees her as a servant. ‘Bridget's’ days are filled with boredom and monotony as she spends time caring for her husband.
Meanwhile, ‘Lizzie' is living in her new home called Maplecroft, which she bought with the money she inherited from her late father. The place felt like a haven for her at first, but she soon realized that it had become more of a prison for her. Like ‘Bridget', 'Lizzie's' life also appears unfulfilled.
‘Bridget' decides to leave her husband one night after terrifying him with an ax. Ending up at ‘Lizzie's’ doorstep, she tells her that she'll move into Maplecroft and the duo could start a new life together. However, with ‘Lizzie' still struggling to let go of her past, ‘Bridget' encourages her to ask for forgiveness.
‘Lizzie’ takes the maid's advice and goes to the woods behind her home to pray to her father and stepmother to forgive her for taking their lives. When she is finally ready to begin her new life, 'Lizzie' and ‘Bridget' join the suffrage movement.
‘Lizzie,’ ‘Bridget,’ and the suffragettes win the right to vote and throw a massive party. However, during the party, ‘Lizzie’ appears strangely distant and detached. The scene then suddenly cuts to ‘Aileen Wuornos’ in the room where she was executed. The song Carnival by Natalie Merchant can be heard playing in the background, which she had requested before her execution by lethal injection.
When ‘Aileen’ opens her eyes, she sees ‘Lizzie’ and ‘Bridget' standing in front of her. ‘Lizzie' tells her, “We’re here to take you to the next place.” The trio walks through a door of bright light. The scene then cuts to ‘Aileen's’ body in the real world. Her body is surrounded by the executioner, the coroner, and the police, who announce her time of death.
The makers of Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story chose to keep the ending open to interpretation. One might think that ‘Lizzie' and ‘Aileen Wuornos' were spiritually connected to each other. Another interpretation can be that ‘Aileen' had simply created a fantasy version of ‘Lizzie Borden' in her head to cope with the fact that she murdered seven men.
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