The Last Dance Is the Best Thing on Television Right Now

Michael Jordan has largely retreated from public life in recent years, but he conducted eight hours of interviews with Hehir. Sitting against a gorgeous backdrop, with a glass of liquor to his side, Jordan talks candidly about his experiences in his final, storied season with the Bulls, which would win the franchise's sixth NBA title that year. Plenty of other key figures serve as talking heads as well: Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, coach Phil Jackson, owner Jerry Reinsdorf, and even former Chicago resident Barack Obama. The first two episodes jump back and forth in time, offering both a walk up to the central season, detailing the conflict between the players and Bulls' general manager Jerry Krause, as well as the backstory of Jordan and his teammates.

The second episode shifts focus to Pippen and his negotiations with management for fair pay. But the access is also about the archival material. Hehir was granted the right to use never-before-seen footage that NBA Entertainment captured during the lead up to the 1997-98 season, assuming that it would be Jordan's last. But there was a catch. Adam Silver, the current NBA commissioner and then head of NBA Entertainment, essentially gave Jordan the right to say when and now the footage could be used. "Our agreement will be that neither one of us can use this footage without the other's permission," Silver said, according to an ESPN report. "It will be kept I mean literally it was physical film -- as a separate part of our Secaucus [New Jersey] library. Our producers won't have access to it. It will only be used with your permission." Reportedly, a bunch of filmmakers expressed interest in turning it into a documentary over the years, among them Spike Lee and Danny DeVito. Ultimately, producer Michael Tollin, inspired by O.J.: Made in America, sold Jordan on the idea of making a lengthy series, and enlisted Hehir, whose previous credits involve 30 for 30 installments like The Fab Five, which centered on the University of Michigan's freshman phenoms in the early 1990s.

Having only seen two episodes, the question remains how deep The Last Dance is going to dig. Access comes with a price, and that price might be that you're not necessarily getting the most scandalous or controversial version of this documentary possible. Jordan's history of gambling is alluded to in the early hours, but it's not really explored, and his prickly persona off the court toward his teammates is both visible but also largely unspoken. It remains to be seen how deep The Last Dance will get into the reasons behind Jordan's switch to baseball. (Fingers crossed there's at least some discussion of Space Jam.) Meanwhile, over at Slate, Nick Greene has already pointed out at least one imbalance. Krause, the main antagonist of the narrative, is no longer alive to offer his side of the story. Alas, The Last Dance is not bingeable all in one sitting, unless you wait until all 10 episodes have aired. ESPN is rolling it out airing two episodes every Sunday for the next four weeks, through May 17. The new episodes will begin airing at 9 p.m. each night, but will be preceded by the prior two installments, in case you need a refresher or just have nothing else to watch. (Outside the U.S., it's debuting on Netflix.) There are also two versions of The Last Dance you can watch: The first, airing on ESPN, is uncensored, but there's a more family friendly cut airing on ESPN2 at the same time.

Shishilian

"Full Power" Shishilian is a lion mink and the captain of the Inuarashi Musketeer Squad, as well as one of the Three Inuarashi Musketeers leading the squad. Shishilian is a lion mink with a curly red mane that falls down to his chest, a long and curly tail, and a swirly black handlebar mustache. He wears a purple cape and a large black hat with a feathery pink plume over a olive colored dress shirt bound with a bandolier, black pants held up by a thick red belt, brown boots with puffy furred pink rims, and purple gloves. Shishilian approaches every situation with his entire being in a very over-the-top and dramatic manner, such as making a flying leap before kneeling in gratitude. If people talk about "sweet" things like affection and sugar in his presence, Shishilian will throw them into the Bottomless Valley near Inuarashi's sanatorium and force them to climb back up because he despises such things. Despite his aversion to "sweet" emotions, Shishilian is more than willing to express gratitude, having knelt before the newly-arrived Straw Hat Pirates while proclaiming that he was forever indebted to them and later tried to accompany Monkey D. Luffy on his journey to stop Sanji's wedding alongside the other two Inuarashi Musketeers. He was also saddened by the death of his rival Pedro and paid respects at his grave marker. As one of the Three Inuarashi Musketeers, Shishilian has authority over the rest of the Musketeers.

Shishilian is an extremely powerful warrior even among the minks. Like his fellow minks, Shishilian can use Electro. Shishilian has extreme level of superhuman strength, as the force of his sword strikes can easily cut down multiple Artificial Zoan Devil Fruit users of the Beast Pirates. Even when injured, Shishilian can throw down multiple members of the Musketeers to roughen them up. In the anime, he even lifted an entire giant pineapple building and threw it down on his subordinates. Shishilian is also extremely fast and agile. In the anime, he could instantly cut down multiple Gifters, including the Gifters Grip Trio, without giving them time to retaliate. Shishilian is extremely skilled in swordsmanship. In the anime, alongside his fellow Inuarashi Musketeers, Shishilian expertly cut down numerous Gifters who were powerful enough to brutally overpower the other Musketeers with their Artificial Zoan Devil Fruit abilities, including the Gifters Grip Trio.

Shishilian's sword style is highly aggressive, reflecting his fierce personality of going all out, swiftly cutting down numerous enemies in an instant.  Shishilian wields a rapier, which he can channel Electro through. Sometime in the past, Shishilian tried training Carrot in swordsmanship, but Pedro commented that Carrot lacked the talent in using a sword, much to Shishilian's annoyance. When the Beasts Pirates, led by Jack, invaded Zou in search of Raizo, Shishilian and the rest of the Inuarashi Musketeer Squad fought against them, with Shishilian himself saving Wanda from a Gifter while ordering the agile Musketeers to lead the townspeople to the forest. When dusk fell, Shishilian and the musketeers fell back to allow Nekomamushi and the Guardians to take over the battle. The battle against the Beast Pirates lasted for five days. On the fifth day of the battle, Jack lost his patience and unleashed Caesar Clown's Koro gas, which left the Mink Tribe poisoned and drastically weakened. As one of the strongest mink warriors, Shishilian was crucified and tortured for information regarding Raizo, though he denied having any knowledge of the ninja and his whereabouts. The following day, Jack left Zou after hearing about Donquixote Doflamingo's defeat and capture, and the minks were later saved when Sanji and his group came to Zou.

While guarding Inuarashi's sanatorium, Shishilian threw several minks into the Bottomless Valley for speaking of sweet things in his presence. When Wanda brought the Straw Hat Pirates to see Inuarashi, Shishilian knelt before them and expressed his gratitude before allowing them to enter the sanatorium. At 6:00 P.M., Shishilian explained how the city-dwellers were active during the day while the forest-dwellers were active at night before falling asleep. The following day, as Bariete rang the bell and spoke of the arrival of samurai, Shishilian and the rest of the minks rushed to Kurau City. When Kin'emon and Kanjuro revealed themselves, Shishilian and the minks welcomed them and revealed that Raizo was on Zou before standing proudly at having kept his presence a secret. Kin'emon showed Shishilian and the other minks the crest of the Kozuki Family on his back to confirm his allegiance. When Inuarashi and Nekomamushi reluctantly called a truce for the sake of Kozuki Momonosuke, whom they recognized as their lord, Shishilian and the rest of the minks were overjoyed. When Inuarashi, Nekomamushi, the samurai, and the pirates returned from the Whale Tree with Raizo, Zou began shaking as Zunesha started crying out, throwing Shishilian and the others into a state of panic. Jack had returned and was attempting to destroy Zou by killing Zunesha, who retaliated on Momonosuke's command and sank Jack's fleet with one blow, calming down Shishilian and the others in the process. Later on, he requested to accompany the Sanji retrieval team to Whole Cake Island, but was told to stay behind on Zou by Nekomamushi. Shishilian later went with Inuarashi to Wano Country. He and his group later found a severely injured Tama at a wasteland. At Mt. Atama, Shishilian witnessed Inuarashi's clash with Shutenmaru. Sometime later, the Musketeers worked to steal food and weapons from the Beasts Pirates and they left a note saying that Shutenmaru and his gang were responsible for the thefts. Prior to the raid on Onigashima, Shishilian, Wanda, and Carrot were later at the place where graves for Pedro and Yasuie were placed. While having a discussion with Nami, Robin, Wanda, and Carrot in Amigasa Village, the Three Inuarashi Musketeers talked about how the weather conditions could affect their chances in battle. On the day of the Fire Festival, Shishilian joined the Straw Hats on the Thousand Sunny as they entered the battle with the Beasts Pirates. After Jinbe arrived to aid the rebels, Shishilian joined Law and the Scabbards on the Polar Tang and volunteered to lead the minks. He also took part in their discussion on how to enter Onigashima.