“American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez” Summary: “Dirty Pain”

At 38 minutes, “Dirty Pain” is the shortest episode of Aaron Hernandez And I would be surprised if the summary I’m about to write doesn’t follow a similar pattern. Paranoia is the focus this week, and Lee Edward Colston’s script never strays far from the theme.

After the shootout in which Sherrod’s eye was gouged out but not killed, the man is no longer interested in traditional means of justice. He’s more interested in psychologically torturing Aaron than talking to detectives, and it’s obviously working: as soon as he calls Aaron from the afterlife for the first time, Aaron rushes home to check on Shayanna and the baby. It just escalates from there. He spends hours watching footage from his newly installed security cameras, tensing up and reaching for his gun when a car slows down in front of the house. He also smokes more weed than ever before, apparently in a failed attempt to calm himself down. And he gets a new phone number to hide what’s going on from Shayanna, leaving the old phone as a target for all the text message threats.

To be fair, it’s not like Aaron is coming from a place of baseless paranoia: Sherrod is actively stoking his fears, constantly taunting him and claiming he’s right outside Gillette Stadium just to screw him over. The show revealed that Sherrod Is a scary guy, possibly someone who could exact bloody revenge. But Aaron has no one to blame but himself. Hiding out in California with family for a few months while he recovers from surgery might heal the torn labrum in his shoulder, but it won’t solve the larger problem. Even Aaron knows this deep down. In fact, he visits Bill Belichick during the scouting combine to tell an edited version of the story and ask for a trade that gets a resounding “no.” It’s Belichick who suggests Aaron use his trip to LA to take it all in; If he’s still getting threats at the end of the spring, they’ll just bring in a few Pats safeties.

It’s usually not clear exactly how much time passes between scenes on this show, but it seems like Aaron and Shayanna only have about two or three good days in California before he receives another unpleasant message: Alexander Bradley, aka Sherrod , sues him . This is where Aaron’s poker face (and poker voice) really fails. He simply can’t credibly answer Brian Murphy on the phone without arousing further suspicion, such as when the agent says, “You say you shot that guy in the face,” and Aaron stammers, “What?” No, that’s crazy; Get out of here.” Convincing! And the way he asks how much money Sherrod wants—at least $2 million—immediately sets off alarm bells for Murphy, who responds with his general “don’t ask, don’t tell” strategy.

At least Aaron has Chris as physical comfort, even if he still refuses to acknowledge anything real in their emotional connection. But I think Chris is one of the biggest question marks on this show, as solid as Jake Cannavale’s performance is. We don’t get a real sense of his interiority; Just in the previous episode he made some great points by ending things with Aaron, but now he’s sending “I miss you” texts and happily resuming their sexual relationship, even though nothing has really changed on either side . Their reunion in this episode only seems to serve to fill Aaron with shame and push him even closer to the edge.

And at this point, it seems unlikely that life will ever truly be like that Great again for Aaron. Keep in mind that his NFL career is essentially over now, even if no one knows it yet. He will be in jail until the end of June, charged with first-degree murder. “Dirty Pain” doesn’t introduce Odin Lloyd, but it sets up his murder by immersing us in the psychological state of his killer. Aaron can’t spend an evening alone with the baby without the help of weed, beer and Oxy – the last two of which he buys at the pharmacy at the same time. These fictional bits of black comedy may seem a little strange given the grittiness of the true story, but they’re a welcome change from the overwhelming darkness of the second half of the season.

Of course, Aaron falls asleep instead of watching the baby or tending to her dirty diapers, and of course he reacts with anger when Shayanna calls him out on his constant lies and secrets. His latest half-truth – that the “I miss you” texts were harmless messages from his old coach and not from a woman – doesn’t comfort her. In fact, a visit from the police occurs when Aaron becomes violent, knocking a vase off the mantel and screaming at Shayanna about the baby. They both stick to the story that they were “violent” to keep the police from probing too deeply, but you get the feeling that Aaron wouldn’t be in lasting trouble even if they told the truth. He’s a celebrity and at least one of the police officers at her door is a fan.

Aaron Hernandez has shown many of its titular character’s demons, but this may be the first episode where he seems truly depressed and capable of anything. It’s a bit of a surprise when DJ sees his brother sitting on the beach with a gun, but it makes sense – this is a man at the peak of his powers, with more money than God, but who quickly realizes that he’s a lucky man Life requires more than money and fame. It requires you to live your life truthfully and sincerely. For Aaron Hernandez, however, that will never be possible again.

The scene with the brothers is probably the highlight of this episode, a truly emotional moment that hits home because of the characters’ history. DJ admits he would give up anything for the life Aaron has, but he misses so much of the whole story. He has no way of knowing what’s going on in Aaron’s head, so he can only offer platitudes, whereas he should take Aaron’s “I’m not feeling well” confession as a serious cry for help. The mention of her father is enough to give Aaron the drive to get back up and be there for his family, but there is an irony there. This constant pressure from the ghost of Dennis Hernandez is one of the reasons Aaron is having so much trouble in the first place.

In the final scene, Aaron appears rejuvenated, equipped with a new security team and an entire hidden rack of weapons in a secret apartment. This final shot almost hints at a tense shootout and home invasion next week, but that’s not the kind of story we’re watching. This is a story about a certain man and all the mistakes he couldn’t learn from. There is no joy in watching a man collapse.

• The shot of the doctors removing bullet fragments from Sherrod’s eye socket was cool, but also pretty nasty and graphic for this show, right? I was kind of shocked.

• If I were a police officer and heard a shooting victim say, “I’ll take care of it myself,” I personally would be a little concerned.

• Just a brief appearance by General Hospitalis Dominic Zamprogna as Alex Guerrero, Tom Brady’s miracle coach.

• “Who are you texting?” “Nobody.” Smooth, Aaron.