American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez episode 2: We're not in Bristol anymore (Recap and review)

The series premiere for American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez continued with episode 2, “Consequences, With Extreme Prejudice,” and it wasted no time escalating the troubles for the former NFL star. We’re not in Bristol, Connecticut, anymore; this is Gainesville now, and the drastic change hits Aaron like a ton of bricks. How does he handle it? Worse than one may have expected. But before we dive in further, here is your one and only spoiler warning. 

Spoiler alert! Please note that there are spoilers ahead if you missed the two-episode premiere of American Sports Story. Go stream both episodes on Hulu before reading along. 

After the first episode of Sports Story, I complained a bit about how I wish we had spent more time exploring the toxic relationship between Aaron and his father, Dennis. But only a few minutes into episode 2 did I realize that what I really wanted to get into was the “sports” part of Sports Story. And boy did episode 2 deliver! We got to see the lack of consequences for college athletes, and how money and power are the driving force of the priority. 

Coach Urban Meyer (Tony Yazbeck) sees the potential in Aaron (Josh Andrés Rivera), but his judgment is askew. Meyer is blinded by dollar signs and fails to see the ticking timebomb Aaron is. And it’s not like Aaron isn’t trying to stay out of trouble, he’s just not doing a very good job at it. Aaron hangs out with the wrong crowds and is easily influenced by those around him. 

While out at a bar with his team, Aaron refuses to pay for his drinks, but only because his new friends told him not to pay. “Ballers don’t pay,” they say. This quickly escalates into a bar fight, but his new lawyer, Huntley Johnson (Jeffrey Nordling), bails Aaron out of trouble and no charges are filed. Meyer invites Aaron to his home for dinner, where he meets Meyer’s family. The coach's true intentions come out after. Meyer brings up Aaron’s dad, reminding him how much trouble Dennis got himself into and telling Aaron that he doesn’t want the same for him. Though Aaron doesn’t seem to appreciate hearing these things about his dad, the motivational talk works. Remember, Aaron is used to interpreting abuse as "tough love."

At the next practice, Aaron is doing just what Meyer asked him to do: dominating. Aaron proves his worth in the following games and practices, but his success is short-lived after he finds himself in trouble yet again. Coach Meyer is pressured to let some guys go, but he decides to keep Aaron, suspending him for one game – the first game of next season. Now, I don’t know much about football, but even I understand that this is barely a slap on the wrist. 

Finally, Aaron’s struggles with his sexuality are also on full display in episode 2. Aaron meets someone online and finds the courage to meet him in person. This doesn’t go well. Aaron is extremely paranoid about being seen and jolts out of the man’s car as soon as he believes someone has recognized him.

After the two-episode premiere, only one episode will be released weekly Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. ET on FX -- stream the episodes the following day on Hulu.