Ryan Murphy's "Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story" is an example of the brand undermining the mission - Salon

The nature of Dahmer's singularly horrific crimes, several of which are studiously dramatized in Netflix's "Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story," made him an international sideshow after he was finally caught in 1991.

The most infamous incident re-enacted in "Monster" revolves around the two patrolmen called by Dahmer's concerned neighbor Glenda Cleveland (Niecy Nash), who encounters a dazed 14-year-old Konerak Sinthasomphone outside their apartment building after the boy escaped Dahmer.

If one were to draw a Venn diagram with "American Horror Story" in one circle and "American Crime Story" in the other, "Monster" would snugly fit in the overlap.

Using the Dahmer case to illustrate the deadliness of prejudicial policing and the government's unequal applications of justice would seem to be the central undertaking of "Monster." In case people missed that – which is easy enough to do, given the story's fixation on Evan Peters' Dahmer – series co-creator Ian Brennan, Janet Mock, and David McMillan have civil rights leader Jesse Jackson (Nigel Gibbs) verbalize it in the episode titled "Cassandra.".

If one were to draw a Venn diagram with "American Horror Story" in one circle and "American Crime Story" in the other, "Monster" would snugly fit in the overlap.

Brown as Tracy Edwards and Evan Peters as Jeffrey Dahmer in "DAHMER Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story" (Courtesy Of Netflix).

Niecy Nash as Glenda Cleveland in "DAHMER Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story" (Courtesy Of Netflix).

In theory "Monster" is supposed to return our focus to the victims, but in Glenda's story, along with that of Dahmer's mother Joyce (Penelope Ann Miller), we have flesh-and-blood cautionary tales of the terrible price communities pay for disregarding women and their warnings.

The Dahmer of "Monster" is designed to promote Peters' talent which, again, is part and parcel of Ryan Murphy's brand.

Most recognize Peters as a core member of Murphy's repertory stable, having appeared in multiple seasons of "American Horror Story.".

The writers could have employed Peters similarly in "Monster," for the nobler reason of ceding more space to people Dahmer's shadow obscured.

Brayden Maniago as Somsack Sinthasomphone and Kieran Tamondong for Konerak Sinthasomphone in "DAHMER Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story" (Courtesy Of Netflix).

And yet, by the end of "Monster," we know Jeffrey Dahmer's story down to his parts