The long-delayed final episode of Tom Bradys self-styled miniseries is coming. And it has a lot of explaining to do. – Yahoo Sports

Finally, after a long pause that leaned into the oddity of Tom Bradys brief retirement, were going to see the finale in the quarterbacks Man in the Arena documentary. Is it going to dig under the fingernails of the past few months or gloss it all over with a manicure?

Given the pause that has gone into this 10th and final episode, its hard to believe it will be anything but the latter.

Brady has been nothing but calculated these past few years when it has come to his brand, career and narrative. From his end with the New England Patriots which seemed to begin inside the Facebook series Tom vs. Time to seemingly every step taken inside and outside the Tampa Bay Buccaneers organization. But the past month has seen the heavily crafted plot whipsaw significantly, with overlapping reports from ProFootballTalk, The Boston Globe, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and a handful of others. You should know these reports by now. The ones that have outlined a plan with a lot of moving parts, which would have allegedly come together with Brady in a Miami Dolphins uniform in 2022, then landing a stake in ownership down the road.

Some have criticized it all as dot-connecting mythology, despite lacking an alternative timeline that makes Bradys five-plus weeks of retirement make any sense. The fact is, it all looks more like a spider web than a smattering of dots. And most of it didnt even get deeply into the granular details that offer the fabric of a complicated plan like the two supposed Miami targets, Brady and Sean Payton, sharing agent Don Yee, or the serendipity of Brady and wife Gisele Bndchen completing their move to a $17 million Miami estate thats a half hour from the Dolphins' practice facility and 20 minutes from Hard Rock Stadium.

What's the real story behind Tom Brady's brief retirement and return to the Buccaneers? (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Remarkable coincidences all around, none of which are likely to get anywhere near the final episode of Bradys Man in the Arena.

So what exactly is supposed to get answered in this grand finale?

Story continues

Certainly its something that could roll out some detailed descriptions and footage of what the hell happened between February and March, when Brady didnt want to commit himself to football anymore and then suddenly did again. Because theres dirt under those fingernails and plenty of time to get into all of it. Only, it likely wont. Instead, whats more likely to happen is an effort to move Brady out of the zone of anything dicey.

Exit plans? Never. Dicey relationship with a head coach? No way. Never mind if it feels familiar to the end in New England and has the very recognizable fingerprints of a narrative-controlling Tom Brady who is becoming more recognizable by the year.

If anything, the grand finale and bow that ties it all up will dovetail with the fuzzy bow Brady has already tried to put on his semi-retirement. One day he wasnt feeling the tug of football. A few weeks later he was. Simple as that. Anything else that happened that weird, dragged-out coaching search in Miami, Brady seeming wishy-washy about his football future almost from the second he retired, Arians stepping aside as head coach in Tampa Bay thats the stuff for the editing floor if you believe it would have ever been considered for a final cut in the first place.

So heres what the final episode is promising, in a release from ESPN, who is partnering with Brady on the project and has been remarkably quiet on the whole Brady/Dolphins front:

In episode 10, Brady leaves New England to start a new chapter with the Buccaneers. Joined by former teammate Rob Gronkowski in Tampa Bay, Brady captures his 7th Super Bowl title. As he reflects on life outside of football, Brady shares his hopes of living up to the example set by his hero, his father. The episode features exclusive interviews with Brady, as well as his father Tom Brady Sr. and teammate Rob Gronkowski. The docuseries is co-produced by ESPN, Religion of Sports, 199 Productions, and NFL Films.

It sounds like a dad-centered episode wrapped in something contemplative and ultimately open-ended. That apparently necessitated a long pause in the seasons rollout to produce. For reasons that likely also wont have a litany of explanation.

Perhaps it will be more. Well see. But when it comes to many of these documentaries that are really more of a miniseries of me, by me, for me with the centerpiece being the driving partner, something is going to get flushed. Betting money should land on it being most of what really went down in Bradys offseason about-face.

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The long-delayed final episode of Tom Bradys self-styled miniseries is coming. And it has a lot of explaining to do. - Yahoo Sports