We’re down to the final four episodes of this somewhat controversial ‘The Dynasty’ documentary on Apple TV.

Personally, I haven’t found this to be as bad as a lot of other people. I think some of the B-roll and behind the scenes stuff has been well worth the watch. Have stories been embellished to make Bill Belichick look slightly worse? Sure. Are there some glaring omissions in some of the seasons? Of course. But, overall, for a lifelong Patriots fan turned reporter, this has been a pretty good watch.

Anyway, as I’ve been doing, here’s a running account of thoughts I had while watching the latest episodes…

Episode 7

-Rupert Murdoch to open the show isn’t really necessary, but sure.

-“Little guy, but frightening figure.” -Murdoch talking about Vladimir Putin. I’d like to think people describe me the same way when applicable.

-If you had given me 50 guesses on random people to make an appearance in this, Putin would absolutely not have been one of the guesses.

-I also do not remember the story of Putin stealing RKK’s ring but it reminds me of Mr. Burns going to Cuba and handing Castro his trillion dollar bill. Mr. Burns says ‘give it back’ and Castro says ‘give what back?’ If you’re a Simpsons fans you’re laughing at this analogy, if not just carry on.

-I will never let this go, but seeing the tiny ass AFC Championship trophy annoys me every single time. Bring back the old distinguished ones.

-Hearing Vinatieri say he (with his teammates) had a hate for the Patriots is soul-crushing for 13-year old Stone. Biggest hero in Boston sports history beside Brady and Ortiz. It’s absurd that he was actually a Colt longer than he was a Patriot, feels criminal.

-James Develin TD in the 2014 AFCCG. Need to bring the full back back this season.

-What a brutal pick from Brady on the throw to Jackson. He had a good amount of those in the postseason but it obviously doesn’t get talked about much (it doesn’t need to).

-Forgot about Chris Mortensen’s tweet about under inflated balls, sad to see now. RIP.

-I remember immediately dismissing it as a fan waking up hungover the next morning (man, I miss those days just going to bars to watch the game and partying all night after a big win, to be in your 20’s again…). I also remember thinking ‘of course this happened’ and assuming – like most fans – that it would just add motivation to smoke Seattle.

-Remember the press conference from Bill, but didn’t remember the tone and manner in which he dumped it all on Brady saying ball preferences were something “he could talk about it in much better detail than I could possibly provide.”

-“I don’t believe so,” when being asked if you’re a cheater is a sneaky smart response from Brady. It’s not a no or a yes, but somewhere in the middle. It’s also so clear when national news guys ask questions over local beat reporters, that guy was going in for the kill with that question.

-Always impressed with how Stacey James does his job, but I can’t imagine what Spy and Deflategate were like for him and the staff. The fact he’s still doing it after all these years having to deal with situations of that magnitude is mind boggling and a testament to his work ethic and love for the organization.

-Brady spending 31 minutes at the podium during the Deflategate presser with a Super Bowl now on the horizon is such damn good leadership. Even if you just stand there and nod, it’s better than him going up for 10 minutes and taking off.

-Oh, man, I forgot all about The Wells Report In Context. What a sh*t show these two weeks were.

-Seeing Revis on here was a nice surprise. Arguably the best signing in Bill Belichick’s entire tenure here.

-Unless I missed it years ago the nugget Revis provides about Brady addressing the team regarding Deflategate wasn’t something we knew, so that was cool. Revis says Brady was ‘balling his eyes out in front of us,’ which makes me think he either knew it was true and had to lie or knew Bill couldn’t take the fall so he had to, even if it made him look terrible publicly. All while trying to win his first Super Bowl in 10 years…

-Just hit me they fast forwarded through the regular season including the ‘we’re on to Cincinnati’ debacle that was a launching pad for the season. No mention of the wild divisional game against Baltimore either, not even like 30 seconds? Terrible decision.

-There are few better feelings as a sports fan than watching your team get introduced at the Super Bowl. They should always come out of inflatable helmets (yes, I’m 8 when it comes to that), but seeing them come out of the tunnel in 2014 brought me right back to the Super Bowl party I was at in my buddy’s living room as we were about to get hit with a blizzard.

-I remember wanting them to win this one as bad as I wanted the 01 title. I think the 10 year gap kind of hits you and you realize how much can happen in 10 years of your life. Championships are like life yard markers, at least that’s how I look at them.

-Legacy game for Seattle too. I believe this game was a ‘pick em’ at kick off for a reason. All-time matchup here.

-Can’t believe they gave up a TD after Cronk’s down the sideline made it 14-7 in the last minute of the 2nd.

-Brady asks for a “fu**ing championship drive” and gets it with Gronk and Edelman. I’m not sure there will ever be two more sure-things in life than No. 87 and No. 11 with the game on the line. I honestly wish I appreciated that entire trio more at the time now that I think about it.

-F that Kearse catch on the sideline. Traumatizing with immediate ’07 flashbacks again.

-“He’s looking over here too much.” -Malcolm Butler on Russ Wilson before the play. What a great little nugget on what he was seeing/thinking in that exact moment.

-I remember knowing he picked it immediately and shoving my buddy into a wall next to me while yelling ‘he f’n picked it!’ while he repeatedly yelled ‘are you sure?!’ like it was yesterday. What a moment all across New England.

-“Without him, we don’t win that Super Bowl.” -Brady on Butler. No matter what that kid does the rest of his life, he’ll always know Tom Brady loves him and that’s all that really matters.

-Forgot about ‘they hate us, cuz’ they ain’t us,’ and the wonderful gem we got from Wiggy saying ‘because they’re jealfusus.’

-Wow, totally forgot that Wells Report came out in friggin May that year. For some reason in my mind it happened in like late February or March but this thing dragged on SO much longer.

-“Is he emptying his bladder? Or is he emptying the bladder of footballs?” -Tom Curran on McNally stopping in the bathroom with footballs at Gillette. What a line from Tom, delivered in a fashion only he could deliver it in. Man, I forgot about all the absurd texts and everything that came along with this too. Well, maybe not forgot, but definitely forgot how insane all of this was.

-Brady destroying his cell phone is much less egregious than Hernandez doing so (along with home security footage) but it was treated like it was as bad or worse.

-Suspension for Brady was a makeup to the league for Spygate and this just clarifies it. League had it out for the Pats (as proof by Baltimore tipping off Indy) and they got caught, but it was a common practice around the league for every QB to adjust air pressure in balls or scuff them up like baseballs.

-What a wild move to make Salem your first public appearance since the sh*t hit the fan. Like, I get why, but Salem?

-Just listen to the crowd. That’s 2001-2004 type Pats fever. This organization needs another scandal to get the passion back. (Kidding, obviously).

-The Boston sports celebs defending him is lame. They did it. If you’re a normal adult you can also be a fan and admit something was going on. Was it an overreaction because people hated New England? 100%, but SOMETHING was going on.

-Not a Barstool fan (I’m not 16-25) but at the time the sit in was pretty damn funny.

-The absurdly terrible court sketches were so god damn hilarious and still are.

-“This is a story that should have been a speck, but it’s the Patriots.” -Al Michaels. Yup. Pretty much.

-The Boston Americans Simpsons episode being included in this is awesome. Go watch it if you’ve never seen it, fantastic local references with a relatable storyline between Bart and Homer.

-Ray Rice domestic issue and NFL labor issues at the time, completely forgot about both. What an insane time for the NFL and its fans.

-“We weren’t going to win the battle and I wanted to get it over.” -RKK on Brady’s suspension. Again, this was more of a case of Goodell just saying ‘look, I gotta do something, I saved your ass on Spygate.’

-Tom still denies to comment on The Wells Report. Perfect chance (no longer a member of the organization) to say what happen but he’s still loyal to RKK and won’t. Gotta credit him for going down with the Deflategate ship even all these years later.

-“He was fu**ing angry.” -Amendola on Brady in 2016 camp before missing 4 games. Nice. Played like it too.

Episode 8

-Forgot about/loved McGinest’s “your New England and my New England Patriots’ jab at the draft while announcing Jimmy G. One of the all-time great Patriots.

-Even seeing Jimmy walk the stage he just looked like a franchise QB. Should’ve been here all along. The plan was in place. I know it wasn’t feasible but damn it was there.

-“Wow, this was a big move and it was a statement from Bill Belichick.” -RKK on taking Jimmy G. Interesting.

-Quick appearance from the Herald’s Rich Thompson at a BB presser, Rich is one of the best people you’ll ever meet.

-The line from BB about Tom’s age and contract situation after Tom Curran asks him if Jimmy G is a backup or a successor is always staking even all these years later. This truly was supposed to be the start of the new era and TB 12 just kept playing his ass off.

-“Age is age.” -BB defending the pick. He really thought Brady was on that back 9. Crazy to think about now…he wasn’t even close.

-BB using Brady’s throws over 20 yards as a stat to emphasize his decline is wild. The offense made a killing for 20 years throwing short, the only years he really pressed the deep ball was when Randy was here. Kraft says BB said “we have to be ready to move on.” RKK sat at every game and watched the offense, that’s a weasel move by BB and BS from Kraft to buy it.

-Love seeing Coach Druggan (Hopedale track coach) making an appearance. He’s been doing security at Gillette for years and years, one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. If you’ve waited for an autograph at camp you’ve probably met or seen him.

-Jimmy G not being able to answer what advice TB had given him to that point in his first camp is telling. He obviously hadn’t, but it’s an interesting dynamic to think about for today’s Patriots. If they sign a vet and take a QB at No. 3, does he really need a ‘mentor’ or are they ok as long as the vet isn’t trying to sabotage him?

-I remember watching that Arizona game and saying ‘wow they have the next guy’ but the fan in me still never had a doubt it was Brady’s team until it wasn’t.

-You can see immediately how much BB loved Jimmy G. Man, I wish we could have seen what it looked like with him after TB.

-Didn’t really need to go back to the Michigan competition at this point in the documentary. I get it but we all know the story. Couldn’t find a better way to portray what he was feeling here other than just revisiting the Michigan days?

-It’s WILD to think Drew Henson and Chad Henne were once better than the GOAT.

-I’m now using ‘FEA’ whenever possible. Love that little quote from Brady about the mindset in 2016. “F em’ all, baby, they’re not pulling for us anyway.”

-What a god damn dime to Hogan against Cleveland

-“Watch him get pissed off and go.” -Amendola on Brady. Simply put, if guys don’t have that kind of belief in you you’ll never be able to lead them. This guy had the team by the balls for 20 years.

-“I don’t think I’d want to be treated differently, but I’d want a certain level of respect, especially as a grown man.” -Slater on if Brady felt disrespected. Nice little glimpse into Tom’s mindset there.

-Those poor Texans teams never had a chance in hell

-“It feels like at times with Belichick, we lost a game even though we won…it was brutal.” -Slater after BB rips team following Divisional win. Can understand why it was so hard for guys to survive here.

-Johnny ‘F’n’ Foxborough story confirmed! Great detail from Stallworth.

-Weird that they’re using 09 Buffalo film here to talk about BB ripping Brady in 2016…it’s been an issue with the documentary at various points.

-Welker egging Brady on telling him he’s “an abused dog” with Bill could NOT have been helpful to the relationship.

-Kraft says he and TB had multiple conversations about how BB treated him. Sounds like TB was mentally softer than he portrayed at times. He clearly knew BB wasn’t going to change (I guess that’s why he finally left).

-“We worked for Bill, but we played for Tom.” -Amendola. We’ve all seen and heard this quote for months now since the trailer came out, but man, again it just shows how much he owned this team.

-Well, that first half against Atlanta sucked, huh.

-Interesting to hear Brady admit he thought about people talking about him being washed up after the pick six.

-Hearing Dante Scarnecchia swear is JARRING. Having now met and worked with him a few times I couldn’t picture him doing it on the sidelines for some reason.

-Even when they started chipping away in the second half, I didn’t think there was a shot in hell. Will never forget my buddy at a Super Bowl party pointing out the fact they would need two two-point conversions still made me even more sure this wasn’t going to happen.

-Scott Pioli knew.

-For the ENTIRE second half I paced back and forth behind a buddy’s couch during the party. Legit, if I had kept track of my steps back then I would’ve been at like 5 miles by the time the game ended. Never sat down. Not once.

-Hightower is the man, but god damn Atlanta is so stupid. Just run the friggin ball.

-Malcolm Mitchell sighting on the sideline. He was HUGE in this game and could have been a notch on the Belichick draft belt at a position where they’ve had zero luck if it wasn’t for Mitchell’s injury. Damn shame we didn’t get to see him develop more.

-Forgot the tying drive was 91 yards. Friggin Brady, man.

-I’m not lying when I say I saw Edelman make that catch in real time. I don’t know how or why, but I was so confident I had seen it.

-I thought it was a pick play flag on the two-point attempt to tie it. My heart dropped while all my friends went nuts knowing it was on Atlanta. I’m a pessimistic bastard.

-Coin toss. Ball game.

-I still think White was down at the goal line. But, nevertheless, I’ll never forget the dogpile in my buddy’s basement. Another epic night of memories we all have thanks to Brady.

Two more episodes to go next week, thanks for reading along. This has been a fun little exercise reliving the last 20 years and has helped me appreciate getting to cover the team now even more than I already did. Looking forward to see how the Philly loss is presented as well as that final Super Bowl and the ultimate end of the relationship.