So the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.

On American Crime Story: Versace Season 1 Episode 8 we meet Andrew's father for the first time. And Modesto Cunanan is every bit the domineering, scam artist that his son would become.

As we near the end of this series, we finally get to see a young Andrew Cunanan. A child born into an extremely dysfunctional family.

Within the first few minutes of the episode, it's abundantly clear where Andrew's sense of entitlement came from. Who gives their 10 year old child the master bedroom? Who gives that same child a car after they get into a stuffy private school?

Modesto has an unhealthy obsession with his youngest son. We don't see enough of the older Cunanan children to see why they were unable to take the top spot in their father's heart, but we do see that Andrew is every bit the smart and cunning person we know him to be as an adult.

Teacher: Andrew if you could have one wish, just one wish, what would it be?
Andrew: To be special.

Permalink: To be special.

From a young age, Modesto starts grooming Andrew to believe that he is more important than everyone around him. He's more important than his siblings. More important than his peers. Heck, he wants him to feel like he's more important than his own mother.

It's strongly hinted at that Modesto may be abusing Andrew both mentally and physically, adding another layer to the case study that is Andrew Cunanan. There was no one in those early days to protect him.

Modesto was an abusive, abrasive jerk and he was of the belief that he was owed something from this world. He came to America and wanted to work, but on his own terms. And he instilled those beliefs into his offspring.

Just like all the many 'what ifs' we've asked ourselves along the way, one has to wonder had Andrew not grown up in that household, what man he could have become? Free from a father who was almost co-dependent, would Andrew have been the same person?

This is of course something we will never know, but it's interesting to think about. Every single thing that happens in Andrew's life, leads him to the moment he shows up at Gianni's doorstep to kill him.

By the time Andrew gets to high school, he acts a lot more like the Andrew we've come to know. He's arrogant, talkative and bold. He's the man that walks into a party demanding that all eyes be on him.

I kept wondering throughout the hour at what point would Modesto leave. We already know that Andrew is left to take care of his mother by himself, but it's never clear what happens to his father, as he tells a different tale to everyone he meets.

Turns out Modesto stuck around until Andrew was in high shool and then at the first sign of trouble he fled. Abruptly and selfishly, Modesto was gone.

Don't believe a word they say.
Modesto [to Andrew]

Permalink: Don't believe a word they say.

Of all the events in his life, the trip to Manila may have been the moment that defined the path Andrew was destined to take. It was there that Andrew realized he did not want to be like his father.

His father was nothing. A shell of the man he once knew who had power and money and influence. He looked at this man living in the oppressive heat, with very little money to his name and saw someone who was no longer special.

It's a tough realization to come to and yet as Andrew vows to never become someone like him, we all know what's going to happen. Andrew is going to become a better liar than Modesto ever was. A better con artist. A better manipulator.

He will be the monster his father never believed he could be.

Okay guys, with only one episode to go, I need to know what you're hoping to see on the finale and what you thought about 'Creator/Destroyer'. Although this was another entry that was heavy on Andrew, we did get a brief scene of a young Versace in Italy.

There was a major contrast between Gianni's relationship with his mother and the relationship between Andrew and his parents. I was hoping we'd see more Gianni as we're so close to the end, but we did not. My hope for the finale is more Gianni and the Versace's in general.

Leave me a comment down below so we can discuss. And watch American Crime Story: Versace online right now so you're all caught up!