American Sports Story Season 1 Episode 4 Review
Episode 4 of Ryan Murphy's American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez continues to dive deep into the former New England Patriots Tight End's NFL journey and growing up. It focuses on the football star's relationship with his brother DJ and his path to the draft.
The episode starts with a memory of Aaron and DJ as kids. After DJ finishes playing football with his friends, he comes inside to convince Aaron to play with them, but he finds Aaron's room locked.
He then finds his Uncle Robert leaving his brother's room. He senses something is wrong when Aaron angrily pushes him out of the way.
The show fast-forwards to the present, with Aaron starting to experience some of the finer things in life as talks about his draft stock increase.
He meets with sports agent Brian Murphy, who tells him some hard truths about the combine and what scouts seek in athletes.
"Teams really want to handle the merchandise. They really want to know what it is that they're buying, Murphy said. "A player's draft stock can rise or fall at the drop of a hat."
Murphy emphasizes that he wants to get the tight end ready for Indy to wow the scouts at the combine, so he proposes to help Aaron train physically and emotionally in Laguna Hills.
Aaron accepts and starts football-specific drills and lessons on controlling his anger. DJ also tags along.
Aaron also meets his trainer, Chris, and the chemistry is evident immediately. The spark builds when they mention being both from Connecticut.
While in Laguna, Aaron and DJ’s bond seemed solid. DJ always did his best to have his brother's back, but the cracks start to show when DJ's envy of his brother's opportunities rise.
DJ asks Murphy if there are any teams in the NFL looking for a practice squad quarterback, but Murphy encourages him to take an opportunity in coaching instead.
Tensions flare during draft night. The two brothers get into a massive fight after Aaron isn't drafted in the first few rounds and blames DJ for it.
Emotions that both had individually buried include DJ's declaration that he should be the one getting these NFL opportunities and Aaron's resentment of DJ not protecting him when he was a child.
Again, there's a flashback to the football star as a kid and his uncle. It will make the audience question what he truly went through with Robert as a child.
Aaron and DJ may have had fights as brothers do, but they're always there for each other. That's proven when DJ turns on the TV and hears that his brother got drafted by the New England Patriots in the fourth round, which leads to a fantastic reunion between the two at the end.
Episode 4 may be the best yet, as it highlights the power of the sibling bond. Josh Andrés Rivera and Ean Castellanos play incredibly well together.
Episode 5 premieres on FX on October 8. As this story keeps unfolding, there are sure to be more intense moments.
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