Photo source: Lifetime
Today, we are reviewing everyone’s favorite psychopath Lizzie Borden in the 2015 miniseries called The Lizzie Borden Chronicles, starring the beautiful Christina Ricci.
Lizzie Borden was charged with brutally murdering her parents with an axe at their estate in Fall River in 1892. Upon arriving, the police suspected that Lizzie Borden was the killer but did not arrest her. During her trial, Lizzie Borden burned the dress that she was wearing the day the police came to her house.
Lizzie Borden never took the stand in her own defense, and the outcome of the trial was determined by the testimony of others. In 1893, she was acquitted of the murders but her reputation was tarnished. Even though she was acquitted in a court, in the eyes of the community, she was guilty. In 1897, she was accused of shoplifting and, in 1905, her sister moved out of their estate. The two Borden sisters remained estranged until their deaths in 1927.
The Lizzie Borden Chronicles take place in the years after the trial with the presumption that Lizzie Borden was guilty. In this series, Lizzie Borden is portrayed as a psychopath who kills anyone that gets in her way. Her sister, Emma Borden, is the only thing that Lizzie loves and she has a yandere like affection for her.
There is a sort of murder-victim-of-the-week theme in the series that is mixed with a bit of suspense. Borden is portrayed as being a predator looking for her next victim. Interestingly, Lizzie is not portrayed as a vixen like many female killers are; she does not use any form of sexual enticement in the series to lure men to their death.
Lizzie Borden is portrayed as an extremely ruthless and intelligent woman. Rather than being angry when she kills, she seems excited. Typically, Lizzie’s victims have wronged her or someone she loves. When she is not killing, she shows a sweet and adventurous side to her personality.
Emma Borden is Lizzie’s opposite in the series and is much more conservative. She wants to find a man, get married, and have kids. She is shy and deeply devoted to her sister, Lizzie, before she finds out that her sister is a killer. Emma loves Lizzie and feels obligated to take care of her. Lizzie is extremely possessive of Emma, but she does not seem to notice at first.
Emma was considering a move to Boston with her fiancé, and Lizzie tried to cause a break-up between them. She sent Emma’s fiancé to their old house to look for a string of pearls, which he finds in a box with Emma’s dead child. Lizzie kills countless people throughout the series who threaten her life with her sister, so it is shocking that she did not just kill Emma’s fiancé.
Once Emma finds out that Lizzie is a killer, she does everything to get away from her. This pushes Lizzie over the edge, as she then goes on a killing spree in an attempt to find Emma, who is hiding out with a family. Emma finally promises Lizzie that if she stops killing, she will go back and resume their life together. At the end, Lizzie is tricked by Emma, who disappears and leaves Lizzie alone. Tragically, Lizzie was “protecting” Emma, but she drove her away.
Although Lizzie Borden is a mass-murdering psychopath, the Lizzie Borden Chronicles does a great job of making you root for her. Roughly 85-90% of the people she murders are evil in some way. You get a feeling that she would stop killing and instead live a peaceful life if people would simply stop blackmailing her and digging up her past.
Watching this series is like jumping down the rabbit hole of madness into Wonderland. Naturally, I loved the series and I wish Christina Ricci would be in more films today. #BringRicciBack
Moral of the Story: If you meet two single spinster sisters, don’t come between them. The crazy one will kill you.
