The sixth episode of American Sports Story, “Herald Street,” is a crucial part of Aaron Hernandez’s sinister, collapsing narrative.Aaron has gone from being a football star to a man who is paranoid, violent, and having a lot of problems inside. With all of his fame and money on the line — Aaron’s life becomes a dangerous balancing act between his public image as a potential NFL player and his hidden personal problems, which have terrible results.
American Sports Story: Episode 6, “Herald Street” Recap
At the start of the show, Aaron (Josh Rivera) is having a happy moment while on a romantic, sun-soaked vacation with — Chris — his secret lover. But this short break quickly turns into a source of stress. Aaron doesn’t want to recognize how important their relationship is to him. Especially when he casually brings up Shayanna’s pregnancy. As the talk comes to an awkward end, Aaron brushes off the seriousness of their relationship, which hurts Chris because he was hoping for more from the trip.
Aaron’s bad decisions and mixed feelings get worse as the show goes on. He tries to keep up the appearance of being a dedicated family man— even though he is having trouble figuring out how he really feels about Chris (Jake Cannavale). He feels personally hurt because he can’t balance these parts of his life, which makes him more anxious — paranoid, and alone. Aaron has emotional breakdowns and anger because he has to constantly switch between his public image as a rising NFL star and his private life.
In July 2012, Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado were both killed. This is the main event of the show. Aaron, who is high on cocaine and feeling paranoid — sees a small event at a nightclub—an accidently spilled drink—as an attack on his person. Aaron decides to fight back because he feels insulted and is acting out because he is scared. As soon as de Abreu and Furtado leave the club —he and Sherrod (a made-up version of Alexander Bradley) follow them through the streets of Boston.
Aaron tells Sherrod (Roland Buck III) to pull up next to the victims’ car at a stoplight. Aaron tells the men right away to roll down their window, and then he shoots them both—killing de Abreu and Furtado (Tristan Duverglas). This violent act is shown to be caused by Aaron’s growing paranoia and his failure to deal with the attention and pressure he’s getting from being a public figure. There’s no question that the murder wasn’t just about the spilled drink; it was also about how angry he was getting at everyone around him who doesn’t believe in him, judge him, or understand him.
Aaron’s paranoia gets worse after the killings. He acts in strange ways because he is afraid that the Boston police will catch him, even though the case is not a top priority at this point. As the show goes on, this rising tension is a reflection of how he falls deeper into darkness.
Aaron tries to act brave when he gets home. He learns that he’s about to sign a new $40 million deal with the New England Patriots. This should make him feel better. Trying to get his life back to normal, he buys a new house and throws Shayanna (Jaylen Barron)a baby shower, where he proposes to her with a big ring. But a high ankle sprain from a previous game keeps him in bed—which makes him angry and frustrated. A montage of him taking painkillers, smoking weed, and playing video games while he was healing shows how much he was depending on drugs and alcohol to deal with his physical and mental pain.
The episode also focuses on his troubled friendship with Shayanna. While Aaron feels sorry for himself, she has to do most of the housework. When she finds out that Aaron can’t even build a crib for their baby, she loses it. This shows that his lifestyle and possible CTE symptoms are starting to affect his mental and physical skills.
In a very important scene, Aaron sees a news report about Junior Seau, the former NFL player who killed himself and was later found to have CTE. This could have been a time for Aaron to think about his own future, but when Shayanna brings it up, he quickly brushes it off, not wanting to face the fact that he too could be affected by the disease that breaks down brain cells.
At the conclusion of the show, Aaron and Shayanna’s families give them motivational speeches. Shayanna’s mom tells her to stay with Aaron and tells her that even though he has flaws, his success in the NFL will make sure they have money. Tanya, Aaron’s cousin, tells him to calm down and accept that a “happy enough” life may be the best thing that can happen to him. In light of Aaron’s life going downhill, both pieces of advice seem like bad ideas. Aaron’s huge wealth and success seem hollower and hollower, and the show makes us feel like he is running out of ways to keep up the life he has built.
What The Show Changes
Some important parts of Aaron Hernandez’s real-life crimes are changed in American Sports Story. There are some changes from the real story to how the show portrays his role in the killings of de Abreu and Furtado. In the show, Aaron himself goes after the victims after the fight in the nightclub. Alexander Bradley, who Sherrod plays in the show, was actually the driver. The real Hernandez sent Bradley in a Toyota 4Runner to drive around the bar until they saw the two guys.
The timeline of Aaron’s NFL career has also changed in a big way. Hernandez was very important for the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI, but the show skips over that game because it doesn’t require it. This was left out, which is strange because it would have given more information about his $40 million contract increase, which is shown in the show to be stressful. In fact, Hernandez wasn’t having a hard time with money at this time.
The episode also makes Hernandez’s ankle injury look like it was hurting him during a game against the Miami Dolphins, but Hernandez actually did very well that game and had his season-high in catching yards.
Additionally, the show shows how Aaron Hernandez’s emotions and mental health deteriorated, but it also changes some facts to make the crimes seem more dramatic and tense.
For more detailed recaps and TV insights, visit otavo.tv.
American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez Episode 7 Preview: “Dirty Pain”
