The last scene of “Bring the Noise” really had me shaking. It was one of the most intense scenes of All American, right next to when Spencer got shot.
When Olivia (Samantha Logan) had the cop following her, I was having flashbacks to Grey’s Anatomy when Winston got pulled over. The police are not too happy that she released the footage, even though the police in question were the ones in the wrong. It’s a brotherhood. They stand by each other no matter how dirty their colleagues are.
I’m glad she took Spencer’s (Daniel Ezra) comment to heart about her mom fighting even harder for her and called her mom during that situation. You can tell her mom was scared too, but she kept it together so Liv wouldn’t lose it.
Luckily, everything is okay for now, but that cop definitely gave her a look of, I’m warning you or a threat.
This scene provided a different side of Olivia that we haven’t seen before. We’ve seen the fighter in her countless time, and we’ve also seen when she’s lost and struggling, but this was pure fear. Much like the same fear we saw from Winston on Grey’s Anatomy.
Samantha is really bringing it this season while showing us what it’s like for her community.
I love the activism that Liv and Spence are doing, but this hit’s hard. Are the writers going down this road that the police will be harassing her, or was it just an intimidation tactic to make her back down?
On the other side of this, Spencer and his team’s stand got noticed. Multiple teams across the state also took knees and forfeited their games in support of Crenshaw. So, now the team is still in it to become state champions.
In some ways, this twist doesn’t seem so surprising. All American is based on true events. While I’m glad the show is talking about current issues, that’s clearly not what originally happened. The writers found a way to meet the moment while also not losing the football.
This storyline has also gifted us with a lot of Splevia moments! They are seriously the cutest together. Keep these scenes coming!
“Bring the Noise” wasn’t all about Black Lives Matter. We got to celebrate Grace (Karimah Westbrook) because she got her bachelor’s degree! She’s sacrificed everything for his boys, and when she finally does do something for herself, as Spencer said, she didn’t want to make a big deal about it. I’m glad Spencer and Liv didn’t listen and threw her a very nice party.
And Mama James was on fire with her advice as per usual. First, with Carter (Lamon Archey). If it wasn’t for her, the Chargers might not have had a second chance at impressing recruiters. Of course, that was before their season was suddenly not over.
Maybe Carter will finally stop sacrificing the students’ future to get back at Billy (Taye Diggs). He did do a horrible thing, but Billy was a teenager dealing with the fact that his mom would die. He’s grown since then. And I think Carter has punished him enough.
I’m also just kind of over this storyline. Unless there is more to it than Billy thinking, he might have Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), let’s move on.
Grace also reminded Coop (Bre-Z) that Spencer was family too. Does this mean that they can find a way forward? The show just hasn’t been the same since Spencer broke their friendship. While I love Layla (Greta Onieogou) and Coop’s friendship, we still need our besties back together.
I like how the writers are bringing Preach (Kareem Grimes) more into Coop’s career. I totally understand Layla’s reservations, but he’s a hustler. I’m sure he can get the job done. I also just like the Preach/Coop friendship.
We finally got an answer to will they or won’t they, with Asher (Cody Christian) and Vanessa (Alondra Delgado), but I don’t think we were actually waiting for one. It would be nice for him to confront his mom about what’s bothering him, though. Even if that is just because he’s upset his mom is getting remarried. Ash was acting like the old him. That’s not him now. I’d like to see that rectified. I don’t want to see his growth diminished.
We did get to see a little bit more of Layla in this episode. She was meeting with Preach. But she was also watching afar from Instagram as her friends celebrated Grace without her. She and Spencer are far from him inviting her to his mom’s party, but it was sad that almost all of her friends were there, and she was alone at home.
Then, there’s a knock at the door, and in walks an old friend from the rehab center. Does this mean Layla will finally get her own storyline this season?
What do you want to see from Layla for the rest of the season? Tweet me @MandyTTCarr or comment below.
