'ACS' Episode 4 Intros the Love of Cunanan's Life
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story is not generally interested in making us feel sorry for Andrew Cunanan. The reverse chronological structure of his storyline actually ensures the opposite; we begin with Cunanan at his most monstrous, at the tail end of his killing spree, and throughout the season gradually move backwards, to explore his descent and his origin story. But while tonight's episode is bookended by Cunanan's first and second murders - the first physically gruesome, the second psychologically so - it features Darren Criss's most vulnerable performance yet.
The episode introduces Cunanan's first two victims, Jeffrey Trail (Finn Wittrock) and David Madson (Cody Fern), whose murders were rooted in a long and complicated personal history with the killer. As with Miglin last week, much of what we see in this episode is speculation rather than confirmed fact, but it's true that Cunanan considered Trail a very close friend, and Madson and Cunanan were exes - Cunanan called him "the love of my life," and that intense unrequited love becomes the focus of tonight's episode.
Here, six talking points from The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime StoryEpisode 4, "House By The Lake."
1) Cunanan, Trail and Madson share a very complicated history.
Though we won’t see the full backstory of this trio’s past until later in the season, the dialogue early in this episode gives us enough clues to piece the following together: Cunanan proposed to Madson recently, telling him he was “the man of his dreams, his last chance at happiness.” Madson said no, and Cunanan thinks Trail is the reason why. “Did you tell him that he’s the reason you said no?” Trail asks Madson of Cunanan, shadily but understandably - it’s clear this is a friendship of obligation at this point, and neither Trail nor Madson would be that sorry if they never saw Cunanan again. But Trail and Madson’s dialogue suggests that Cunanan is not wrong to be jealous of their relationship (“He knows about us.”)
There’s also been some kind of bitter recent argument between Cunanan and Madson, and while Madson tries to apologize, Cunanan seems disinterested and just emotionally off, and that’s before it turns out that he’s invited Trail over unannounced. Madson is irritated - but not for long, because within a few minutes he’s watching in numb terror as Cunanan beats Trail to death with a claw hammer.
2) What happened in the six days between Trail’s murder and the discovery of Madson’s body is a huge question mark.
As this episode shows, investigators had good reason to assume that Madson and Cunanan had conspired together to kill Trail, and that Madson went on the run willingly with Cunanan. This is one of the big gaps in the known facts, and so ACS writer Tom Rob Smith has to decide on a narrative: that Cunanan coerced Madson into joining him on the run by convincing him the police would never believe he’s innocent - basically, his life will be ruined if he stays behind. “I can’t allow that to happen, David,” Cunanan says, his voice breaking with faux-emotion. “I can’t allow this to destroy your life.”
It works. Even though people are now seeing through the elaborate lies that used to work for him, and he’s getting sloppy in his manic, violent state, Cunanan is still a masterful emotional manipulator. He also uses the homophobia of the period as a tool to persuade Madson that he can’t trust the police: “They hate us, David. They’ve always hated us. You’re a fag.” And there’s a lick of truth here; the local police are indeed shown jumping to a lot of conclusions about Madson’s “lifestyle,” and by extension, his culpability, when they discover he’s gay.
3) Cunanan is disturbingly emotionless throughout most of this episode - with two striking exceptions.
Even though these are his first murders, Cunanan is completely impassive after killing both Trail and Madson, despite considering the first to be “his brother” and the second “the love of his life." It’s textbook sociopathic behavior, which makes the two scenes in which he unravels all the more powerful.
A day or two into their terrifying road trip, Cunanan and Madson pull into a roadside bar where Aimee Mann is singing a mournful cover of The Cars’ "Drive," because why not? (What a delightful, unexpected cameo this was.) Madson goes to the bathroom, leaving Cunanan alone to watch the song and take in its lyrics: “You can't go on thinking nothing's wrong / Who’s gonna drive you home tonight?” In a 90-second unbroken take, the camera slowly pulls in on Darren Criss’ face as Cunanan starts to cry, seemingly understanding for a brief moment that Madson may not be coming back.
Though Madson does consider trying to escape through the bathroom window, he does ultimately come back, and for a moment I feel like pure garbage because there’s a tiny part of me that is like "Yay! He came back!" That feeling did not last long.
The second showing of emotion from Cunanan is much scarier, and ends with him spiraling into a murderous rage. Madson finally reaches his breaking point with Cunanan’s delusions, and sharply cuts dead any possibility of their future together. Which is... understandable, but not the right move when you know you’re with a violent lunatic currently in possession of his last murder victim’s gun, David!
4) David Madson gets just enough backstory to make his murder genuinely upsetting.
Madson’s first scene introduces him as an ambitious young architect, elated by the news that he’s just been given a huge opportunity at work. Cunanan, staying at his apartment, immediately kills the mood with a dead-eyed, flat-voiced “I’m so happy for you!”
Later on the road, as Madson is looking back on his life in flashes - maybe because he subconsciously knows he doesn’t have long to live - he remembers coming out to his father, whose reaction lands in a very subtle, complex middle ground. He’s not thrilled, but he doesn’t reject his son, either, and though the scene’s not idyllic, it’s still touching. “I won’t lie and say that it doesn’t make a difference,” Madson’s father says. “You know what I believe… You wanted to be told I don’t have a problem with that. I can’t say that. But what I can say is that I love you more than I love my own life.” This becomes even more affecting in the episodes final moments, when a dying Trail has a vision of running to safety inside a lakeside cabin, where his father is waiting for him.
5) Dogs always know what’s up.
Poor Prints! And props to that doggo actor for his impressive dramatic whimpering. I knew from the source material that a neighbor really did see Cunanan and Madson walking the dog, and by extension, that the dog did not end up dead, but that did not reduce my stress level even slightly when Cunanan calmly announced he was “taking Prints for a walk.” Even before the murder, this is not a guy I would leave alone with my pet.
6) Cunanan is living out a delusional romantic fantasy with Madson.
And it’s chilling to watch. From the moment of the murder onwards, Cunanan slips into the role of a supportive, loving boyfriend, holding the traumatized Madson close and telling him “It’s all gonna be okay” while literally spattered with Trail’s blood. Almost as bad as committing a grisly murder is using that grisly murder as a reason to get naked in the shower with the ex you never got over, amirite?
Cunanan tries to pretend he’s being realistic about what the future holds for him and Madson once they get across the border to Mexico. “I know you probably want to part ways once we get there. I respect that,” Cunana tells him. “But we make such a great team, and the truth is, we have no one else.” And it seems for a while like Madson might actually be coming around to Cunanan’s rose-tinted view - over breakfast, the pair reminisce about the night they met in San Francisco. Cunanan sent a drink over to Madson, inviting him to join his high-society circle, and brought him back to his suite at the Mandarin Oriental. “I thought, what’s this guy gonna see in me?” Madson admits, before his tone shifts. He goes on to recall how he realized the truth: “You’ve never worked for anything. It was all an act.” And that line in the trailer - “You can’t do it, can you? Stop.” - was not about murder, as it turns out, but lying. That’s Cunanan’s real compulsion.
After being so eerily dispassionate through the episode, Cunanan finally flips out when Madson needles him one time too many, pulling the car over and pulling out the gun while screaming, “We had a future, David!” And though Madson, terrified, tries to walk his rejection back, it’s too late. Cunanan shoots him dead, then curls up tenderly with his body for a while. Though I’ve been getting Talented Mr. Ripley vibes from Cunanan throughout the series, this is the most overt homage yet.
