5 things the first episodes of "The Last Dance" told us The two parts focused on Jordan, Pippen and the figure of Jerry Krause

"The best sporting event of the pandemic" someone called it, halfway between satire and reality. The Last Dance, as expected, generated dizzying partial numbers: 6.3 million viewers for the first episode and 5.8 million for the second between the ESPN and ESPN 2 channels, according to what reported by the television broadcaster itself. Understandable numbers considering the hype created in these months of waiting and above all the quality of the product launched last Sunday in the USA and Monday morning in Europe via Netflix.

 

After just 20% of the series it is difficult to sum up, nor is it correct to unbalance yourself on the technical aspects of the story. It would amount to judging a book by its cover and an error could never be more fatal. In the first two episodes, however, already very interesting things emerged and one could debate for hours on the style of the narrative, on the incredible beauty of the unpublished images and on how much the Chicago Bulls - and Michael Jordan above all - were cultural icons before even be sporting legends. But what emerged new or relevant from the first two acts of the series? The answer in 5 points.

 

The Chicago Bulls, as mentioned, were considered "moving history" thanks to the presence of Michael Jordan and the comparison with a real rock band is not so reckless, neither in terms of popularity, nor in terms of safety and even less in terms of style. The explosion of style that we witness in the first two acts is to be contextualized with the times - let's talk about the end of the 90s - but it undoubtedly approaches something incredible. MJ's ego - which raises the volume of the radio on more than one occasion, suffice it to say that the team arrives in uniform in Paris while he in Nike outfit different from the others - is evident immediately, from the first time he appears his infamous beret at the initial scene in which two jewels like the Nike Air Jordan 1 and the very first Nike Air Ship come out of the bag.

 

 

MATTER OF DETAILS 

The series impressed everyone with the quality of the montage seen so far, on the smoothness of the story, but there are some details that represent the plus of these two episodes. Details that can be spotted in the form of expressions: the phrase that James Jordan used to stimulate his son Michael ("If you want Michael to do his best, tell him that he's incapable") or Mike's explanation of how anger - and not the simple obsession, an important distinction - allowed him to shake his teammates without Scottie in the gym or on the pitch. Details that can be identified in the form of episodes: the face of the child who receives the autograph of his idol, the unsuccessful attempt of a steward who sees himself rejected by Michael but by one of his bodyguards, the slap that Oakley trims at Pippen or the sketch of the embrace between Harper and Burrell repudiated with superiority by MJ.

STORIES IN THE STORY

The intersection of personal stories could be the leitmotiv of the series, going deep into the lives of the individual players who made those Chicago Bulls immortal before tackling the last dance. Jordan's images in North Carolina are not new and the tales of the protagonists - among them coach Roy Williams stands out - add only small details to an already known story. Different fate for the images of Scottie Pippen, a boy who always put the large family first and then everything else. Without forgetting the rise to power of Jerry Krause, who starts from the Major League to play a first-rate role in a run-down NBA. In short, stories that retrace and retrace from here to the end, crossing each other over and over again, to give life to what everyone, absolutely everyone, knows as The Last Dance.