Aaron Rodgers: Enigma

This docuseries is very well done and I really enjoyed watching it. Like many, I had myself convinced that Aaron Rodgers is a selfish attention-seeker. I can't say after watching "Enigma" I am completely certain that I was wrong, but I certainly see things a bit differently now. I loved hearing about some of these offbeat wellness retreats straight from Rodgers himself. It was also interesting to hear his perspective on the tumultuous COVID years. I will never agree with how he handled his vaccination, but I'm glad I at least understand how everything really happened now. Aaron Rodgers truly is an Enigma. This docuseries does him justice, for better or for worse.

Anyone who truly embodies change, enlightenment or openness would never intentionally broadcast it to the world. Especially not through a highly curated set of footage to shape their personal image.

I find Rodger's to be incredibly self centered and disillusioned in how he views the world. This docuseries a glorified PR stunt.

Go truly meditate and discover yourself and you'll find so much peace. You also won't feel the need to convince everyone it happened to you.

If you're looking for any true rationale into where the drama came from, you'll simply find a weak attempt at showcasing why everyone else is wrong.

I went into this thinking I'd check out the 1st episode, but after that I was hooked. I had to binge it all.

This documentary starts out slow for about the first 15 minutes, but then really starts to get interesting. You get to see what happened behind so many of the biggest media headlines of the past 20 years. From Rodgers' roots playing high school football, to what happened with he replaced Favre, to Jordan Love replacing Rodgers, to his ayahuasca trips, to his darkness retreat, to Rodgers getting traded, to his accelerated Achilles rehab regimen.

It also goes into Rodgers' mindset of how he reached greatness while interviewing several of his former coaches & teammates including Mike McCarthy, David Bakhtiari, Marshawn Lynch, & Matt Lafleur

Even the most locked in, hardcore NFL fans haven't heard this stuff. It was interesting to see how it all played out from the inside.

The documentary takes on an interesting format too, starting out slowly progressing & digressing through 2 entirely different timelines, both culminating at the beginning of the 2024 NFL season. This is a must watch for any NFL fan who wants the inside baseball on how it all played out.

I'll be watching this one again.

9/10.

Enigma is not the most objective documentary you will ever find (if you want more of that, read Ian O'Connor's "Out of the Darkness" tome). To a certain extent, it trades Aaron Rodgers' involvement for a little bit of narrative-shaping. But I was still enthralled by Enigma because it allows Rodgers to tell his story in his own words-not clickbait headlines-and he always gives a thoughtful accounting (whether you ascribe to the exact same beliefs being somewhat immaterial).

For a very basic overview, Enigma focuses on the "present" of Rodgers rehabbing from his 2023 Achilles tear as a member of the New York Jets. While seeing him navigate one of the quickest rehab processes for that injury in NFL history, doc directors Gotham Chopra & Liam Hughes flash back to relevant Rodgers' life moments-high school, college, NFL draft, Brett Favre relationship, Packers dominant QB ascendence-to allow him to tell his story. Supplementing Rodgers' own thoughts are interview snippets from the likes of Mike McCarthy, David Bakhtiari, Matt LaFleur, Davante Adams, Nathaniel Hackett, Brett Favre, Matt Flynn, and many others who have/had personal or professional relationships with Aaron.

If you only know Rodgers as "the guy who does psychedelics and sits in darkness", the first thing that will immediately "pop" in this doc is how physically talented at football Rodgers is and how much adversity he battled to get to where he is from a dominance perspective. He was smaller-than-average, he wasn't recruited by a major college, he had the most embarrassing draft day in NFL history, Favre basically shunned him, and he himself was shown the Green Bay exit a little before his time. But through all that, Rodgers developed an intense confidence/focus that allowed him to become one of the best NFL quarterbacks of all-time.

Of course, the more sensitive topics are discussed here as well: family foibles, darkness retreats, ayahuasca use, vaccine stances, and political involvements. Like anywhere else in life, I can't promise you'll like-or even respect, in some cases-Aaron's stance or inclusion within these topics. But at very least you will be hearing it "straight from the horse's mouth", and there is a lot of value to that. Regardless of what you think about Rodgers' life choices, his thought processes on those issues have clearly been given much thought and help him work through life issues as a quasi-celebrity. In a way that many athletes simply cannot, Rodgers brings a thoughtfulness, curiosity, and open-mindedness to his personal journeys.

I completely understand how and why Enigma could be a little "triggering" in the current age of extreme political/societal sensitivity. You likely won't agree with everything Rodgers has to say here. But hearing those thoughts straight from the source rather than twisted/utilized by clickbait sites or sports "talking heads" is refreshing and may soften the image of Rodgers you currently harbor in your mind. At very least, Enigma represents a chance for him to tell "his side of the story" in relatively unfiltered fashion.

Aaron Rodgers is one of the most misunderstood and misrepresented American sports superstars of all time. Media and brainwashed people all around the country have created an agenda against him because of his personal choices. By diving deeper into Rodgers' interviews, his own podcasts, or balanced journalistic profiles, one can often gain a more nuanced understanding of his personality and choices. Misrepresentation often arises from a combination of personal complexity, cultural differences, and media dynamics, which this docu does fairly well. It succeeds in showcasing his complexities but stops short of delivering a fully balanced portrayal. For die-hard Rodgers fans, it's a must-watch. For others, it's an intriguing, albeit incomplete, exploration of a modern-day sports icon.