The final episode of the "Tom vs. Time" docu-series was released yesterday on Facebook Watch, and it was an "introspective, raw, emotion-filled episode highlighted" by what Patriots QB Tom Brady describes as a "crash landing" after losing Super Bowl LII to the Eagles, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. Brady during the episode said of filming the series, “I’ve really enjoyed it. I think it’s been a great experience for me to try something different" (ESPN.com, 3/12). In Boston, Steve Buckley writes viewers all "morphed into make-believe detectives" while watching the final episode, looking for the "various clues and hidden messages that were planted in the film during the editing process" about Brady's future. Buckley: "Our collective assignment was to find the clues, to listen for the hidden messages" (BOSTON HERALD, 3/13).
DIRECTOR'S CUT: "Tom vs. Time" director Gotham Chopra said of Brady and the Patriots losing the Super Bowl, “The loss in that way gave us this thing for him to reflect on. I think he’s really reflective on it. I think people will be surprised by the ending and some of his takeaways. I think I kind of know what Tom’s going to say and how he’ll wrap up the season and look toward next season. He came in with a surprise ending. It’s subtle, but it’s there. I think people who watch and listen closely will be surprised” (USA TODAY, 3/13). Boston-based WEEI.com's Ryan Hannable wrote the series finale "capped what was a tremendous production" by Brady and Chopra. It was "truly fascinating to get a peek behind the curtain of the greatest quarterback to ever play the game and see what goes into him performing the way he does, as well a look inside his personal life." Within that it "gave some clues as to how he feels about certain things and also some insight into what was going on inside the walls of Gillette Stadium this past season" (WEEI.com, 3/12).
ARE WE FORGETTING ANYTHING? In Boston, Tom Curran wrote the final two scenes of the finale "carried with it a heavy sense of foreboding." Given the editorial control Brady "had over the project, there’s no confusing the point." The "final words spoken by Brady’s wife, Gisele Bundchen, allude to a sense of disenchantment for Brady with the atmosphere in Foxboro." After Bundchen speaks, the final scene "cuts to a philosophic Brady who is plainly asking if it’s all still worth it" (NBCSPORTSBOSTON.com, 3/12). Meanwhile, Boston Sports Journal's Greg Bedard tweeted, "I might be mistaken -- and I'm sure Twitter will tell me if I am -- but now that Tom v Time has concluded ... I don't recall one mention or comment on @SethWickersham's piece or Bill Belichick" (TWITTER.com, 3/12).
THE LATE SHIFT: Brady appeared on CBS’ “The Late Show” last night, and host Stephen Colbert asked, “At a certain point do you say to yourself, ‘You know what, I've got the five rings, do I really need to work at a job where I stand on a field and 300-pound men attempt to murder me with their bodies?” Brady said at age 40, he tries to “avoid those 300-pound guys, but I'm always the slowest guy on the field, so I have to throw the ball as fast as I can.” Brady said of NFL players kneeling during the national anthem, “It brought up a lot of healthy discussion in the locker room.” Brady also discussed the danger of playing pro football: “I was in a car crash and it wasn’t as bad as getting hit on the football field.” Brady: "I'm going to stop at some point, I don't know when" (“The Late Show,” CBS, 3/12).
