Whenever Spencer needed advice, Coop was always there with the right thing to say, making me wish I had a Coop in my life. How will Spencer’s revelation affect their friendship?
Not even Spencer (Daniel Ezra) moving to Beverly could break Coop and him apart. As Coop (Bre-Z) descended into Crenshaw’s gang world, Spence always stuck by her side. He was trying to get her out of the messes she got herself into.
This year she is in yet another mess, needing to make up classes, so she doesn’t have to repeat her junior year. And, she’s determined to find out what Mo (Erica Peeples) is up, while she should probably be focusing on school.
The last time Spencer helped Coop, he ended up getting shot, and it’s now time for him to be honest with how he’s feeling.
We had to wait through the entire episode for the conversation that would blow-up their friendship.
Coach Baker (Taye Diggs) asking Spencer to talk to Chris (Spence Moore II) was a great excuse to put off the conversation with Coop, but it also turned out to be just what he needed to find the courage finally.
Chris has been off since he got back on the field from his injury. Chris and Spence haven’t exactly been on good terms since he got back to South Crenshaw High.
It turns out Chris blames Spence for his injury, and seeing him on the field is making him tense up.
This led to one of the terrific monologues from Mama James. Grace (Karimah Westbrook) told him that as painful as it was to hear the truth, he can own his part and find a way to be there for his friend.
I always love her motherly advice. It’s one thing that keeps All American grounded and focused on the characters trying to figure things out in high school.
It’s exactly what the Chargers needed not to go down 0-3. It didn’t happen magically. But the team rallied around Chris, and that’s exactly what Chris needed to get out of his funk.
It’s nice to see the Chargers uniting. Everything isn’t going so well at Beverly, though. In the second game of the season, Jordan (Michael Evans Behling) got a concussion and was out for at least a week.
Concussions in football are an important topic. And you can see why even more so with Jordan’s storyline. He hated being sidelined so much. He took an anti-nausea drug to help beat the protocol to get him back on the field. And, we all know this won’t end well.
The pressure can push these kids to do things they shouldn’t. Just like Asher (Cody Christian) did. His consequences were being benched, but Jordan’s could be much more significant. I’m interested to see how the writers tell this story. It’s an important one, so they need to tell it right.
Jordan went from neglecting his football responsibilities to being outraged that he was sidelined. Jordan yelled at Ashe for his mistakes and for helping the team. He wants to be the one leading the team to victory. Maybe coach Montes (Alexandra Barreto) needs to remind him that it’s a team sport. His actions and attitude definitely foreshadow the path he’s about to go down.
Olivia (Samantha Logan) has also been getting herself into trouble. She may not be using, but she is drinking. Her mom doing a drug test behind her back might be what she needed to stop, but then what was the storyline’s point?
It can’t just magically be over. There has to be more to this arc. It hasn’t even been revealed why she started drinking. What is bothering her that drove her to that? And the writers have hinted it’s intertwined with Spencer. There’s a lot more to explore with this storyline.
Hopefully, another story isn’t wrapping up so quickly, Layla (Greta Onieogou) suing her dad. She went head to head with him, and now Mo has fixed the problem. I did like his text, though. He definitely was proud. But now she won’t talk to him. Where do they go from here?
Circling back around to Coop and Spencer. The devastating conversation finally happened. It was as intense as we all expected. It was heartbreaking to watch. And there is no clear path to how these two move forward.
How do you think Coop and Spencer come back from this? Tweet me @MandyTTCarr or comment below.
