All American: Homecoming - General Discussion

[KWalkerInc]

The writers obviously didn't want to have to tie Simone into the sadness of the tragedy on the parent show, but I guess they felt they had to do something to acknowledge her connection to the Bakers, so they did the very least they possibly could!  Of course they have the excuse that the memorials were done so quickly that Simone couldn't have gotten there, but the voicemail/text reply was lame.  I think it is a sign that they plan on not really linking the shows so much if there is another season, but maybe they could have just had Simone be a little subdued for at least part of the episode. 

Damon blamed JR for convincing him not to pursue Simone at the end of the previous show, but I hadn't thought he was really convinced.  I thought Damon was still going to say something until Simone said they were just friends.  Of course, that doesn't matter now anyway.  I don't think they will get together, but it is nice that Damon actually said something, because I expected it to just drag on in limbo for a long time (which can be annoying to watch).

When they had Thea receiving the dance invitation and jewelry from Damon at the beginning, I was really annoyed thinking that he was trying to pivot back to her immediately because he couldn't get with Simone, so I was glad that it was just something previously set up.  Thea's scene with Nate when they were discussing going to the dance was great.  I'm glad Thea doesn't seem devastated about being rejected by Damon, but she'll probably find out she's not ready for pro tennis and suffer a major setback.

I hope that Nate's secret admirer will be a real romantic prospect and not some underhanded ploy by Nico to distract Nate from the election.  It should be fun watching her try to track down her dance partner, but I just don't trust Nico so that popped in my head.

I was surprised that there are only three episodes left in the season (though it made sense that someone in the episode said it was "almost May").  I thought there would be more than 15 episodes, but I guess the CW will have either another show premiering or some cheap filler crap to finish out the year.

[Rae Spellman]

The "advice" was only part of it. Damon wanted his older brother to support him. But, JR told him that their fledgling friend group was more important to him than Damon's feelings! On a day when Nate, JR, and Simone essentially told Damon to keep his feelings to himself, he gave up. The more Damon thought about it, the more upset he was that he didn't follow his gut. Fortunately, Cam gave Damon the talk that he needed and JR came around. 

Other Random Questions/Thoughts: Will we ever see Thea's roommate Rochelle? Rome might not be the guy for Thea. In addition to pressuring Thea to continue taking cortisone shots, he kissed Simone on New Year's Eve. 

 

Edited February 27, 2023 by Rae Spellman

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Did Thea declare as a pro?

Remind me to never travel through Loveland County, GA.

TPTB went too far and ended up portraying caricature with the po po harassment.  At a minimum, they should have at least had one of the cops say, lie or not, that they had been tipped to some type of illegal transport. 

Of all the absurdity we witnessed, I think the biggest was Simone's standard imposition of herself into the situation.  Just what was she thinking she'd accomplish by getting out of the bus when insane cop had yelled for all of them to stay the F inside as they conducted business with the driver and coach.  Oh no, our intrepid hero just haaaaaad to show out.  This show performed a major disservice by showing the young audience just what NOT to do when dealing with such a cop - especially when the cop is agitated.  

I don't understand Amara's solution to the development of the property being fought over by the AD.  Just what is she planning to use to pay for ongoing mental health services, which will be hugely expensive?  How much space would such a place need, given the relatively small number of students and staff? 

I also do not understand how she would ever get away with keeping the AD in the dark when she was apprised of the tennis team's ordeal.  He would rightly scream to the heavens to the Board, who would back him all the way.  Speaking of...what the heck changed the Board's antithesis toward Amara?  They were clearly cold to her and her efforts to stop the AD.  Now they are all besties again?  When, and how?

Nate got served in the debate.  Nico did way more than needed to solidify his election.  What farce that Nate was declared the victor due to her "stick to the issues" meme.  She used that in the first half and still got destroyed.

Keisha be trippin' if she thinks she can take down Pace for the decision Keisha made - unless she lies about it.  Pace clearly told her to concentrate on mastering the basics of that dance.  Case closed.  The wee lass just does  not have what it takes to make it as a dancer.  She might could make a good instructor and/or a choreographer.  It is not Pace's fault that she is not strong and coordinated enough to cut it.  It is not on Pace that our Icarus had her wings melt.

Why is that Intro to dance 101 class is given so many opportunities?  There would be any number of upperclassmen who would have proven themselves over and over again and who would have needed (and earned) the exposure every bit as much as the Freshmen and Sophomores.

All in all, I got the sense that TPTB tried to cram as much as they could into this ep, knowing that renewal prospects were not great.

[luckyroll3]

Since when is Simone the "most logical" person?!?!?!? Do these writers not watch their own show?

Oooh Dr. Pace is eeeeeeeviiiiiiiiiilllllllll! And I kind of love it! Keisha is no match for this kind of mastermind. 

[KWalkerInc]

If they wanted Simone to be the one to get credit for keeping everyone safe, they should have written most of the episode differently.  Some of the time she made sense, but she is the one who yells out of the bus after telling everyone else to stay calm.  I can't remember, but I hope she wasn't the one who suggested they all get up and start stretching.  I was cringing even though I didn't think the show would have them get killed.  Not only is her mom a lawyer, but her ex-husband was put in a similar situation on All American several seasons ago (with Spencer keeping him calm as they were harassed), so I don't know what she was thinking some of the time.  If they still make reference to being a spinoff, they might have Simone hear from Olivia once the video makes news

Spoiler

(because of her experience releasing a video--rather questionably given that her mom was D.A. in midst of the case--of police killing a woman)

, but maybe just a text or something.

I know that Dr. Pace is supposed to just be so evil, but sometimes I sympathize with her, that she just wants to get this pain in the ass out of her class so she can go back to teaching the other students.  It doesn't seem like she's that unreasonable most of the time or that anyone but Keisha is complaining.  I guess they can't make her super-abusive to everyone (though it seems like we're supposed to see it that way) or she wouldn't have lasted so long.  Or they could have had someone from the past come forward and tell Keisha some legitimately terrible thing that Dr. Pace did.  I suppose that will happen soon to help Keisha oust her, which would still be better than if Dr. Pace suddenly declares that she just pushes Keisha because she sees greatness in her or some crap like that.

I hope that Nate will still win because it could set up more storylines for her for season three (oops, almost forgot this was the second season), but the show probably won't last anyway.  It's too bad the network seems to be going in some other direction and cancelling most everything.

It was nice that the player from the other baseball team was trying to help out Damon and that they showed that rivals don't always have to hate each other.  I laughed before that when JR and Santiago were like, "I guess cocky Damon is back" and "This isn't going to end well."

Edited March 16, 2023 by KWalkerInc
spoiler tagged aa info.

[luckyroll3]

2 hours ago, KWalkerInc said:

I suppose that will happen soon to help Keisha oust her, which would still be better than if Dr. Pace suddenly declares that she just pushes Keisha because she sees greatness in her or some crap like that.

I skipped a lot of words reading this and totally thought you were saying that Dr. Pace would suddenly push Keisha out a window!  🤣  Would make this a totally different show, but I'd watch it!

 

[TVForever]

Something about Keisha annoys me. I'm still trying to decide whether its the character or the actor. I was actually not that angry with Dr Pace until this episode. I thought she was ridiculously strict, but she wasn't wrong about how tough the dance world would be outside of school. 

But setting Keisha up to injure herself and get kicked out of the dance program?That was straight up Mean Girl behavior. And it was wrong. Especially from a person of authority.

[Rae Spellman]

#6, the girl that Thea (almost) beat with one arm, is now "queen of the court." Not Tootie. Not the #3, 4, or 5 player. Simone.

Connections surely matter A LOT. Lawyer mom. President Auntie who hosts team slumber parties, best friend/MLB prospect's mom. 

Julian and JR were a terrible team. Maybe things could have turned out differently if JR spoke to Julian privately and pled his case for changing the pledge process instead of telling him in front of the pledges that he was changing things. At least Julian tried to speak to JR privately before calling in the old guard. That said, Julian is awful. First poor Lou was limping. Now he has a dislocated shoulder. 

Lando pitched 8 innings of 1 run ball despite JR's early fielding shenanigans. JR's brother, gave up the game winning run. Not long after that, the MLB prospect essentially told Lando that he wants them to be cool when Simone ends their "not serious thing" so she can be with Damon.

Simone and Damon should get together and leave the other people who like(d) them alone. Surely there's someone at Bringston who appreciates a guy who brings dessert when they are invited to family dinner and drops off care packages when one can't be alone with a guy for six weeks.

Showing up to that KEK party certainly worked out for Trevor. 

[KWalkerInc]

In another implausible budget-related absence, I absolutely do not believe that Keisha, regardless of how upset she is with Dr. Pace, would just take off after what happened to Simone and the team.  They could have had her leave last week without knowing about the tennis team's trauma, but it doesn't make sense that she would leave afterwards.  I guess she really is trying to find someone to back her up about Dr. Pace being evil.  That is better than if she tries to bait Dr. Pace into admitting to manipulating her in a recording or something.  What I was wondering was why Dr. Pace (if she really did manipulate Keisha into injuring herself, as she likely did) didn't just say her dancing wasn't good enough and flunk her for that, but maybe that wasn't dramatic enough.  (At least Thea being gone last week was tied into the plot with everyone being mad at her at first.)

The championship game was at Bringston, but they didn't bat last.  Obviously it was for plot reasons, but I wonder if it was the kind of crap they like to do in NCAA regionals, where they have the lesser seed bat last because otherwise it's "not fair" because they're the away team and don't have as many fans there, that the top seed already has an advantage.  Usually that's only in multiple game settings for one of the games though.  I wasn't paying enough attention to see if Damon shook off Santiago when he was insisting on throwing the curve (Santiago looked surprised, but maybe he was surprised just by the homer).  I kept wondering why Marcus wouldn't take JR out of the game, but of course he had to have Damon's speech fix his terrible play instead.

I don't know if it's the way the writers intended, but Simone seems to act like she likes to be around Lando more than Damon.  Maybe it's just meant to show that their relationship is "easier."  If not, then don't continue to drag out Simone and Damon forever (if the show is renewed, that is).

[Lonesome Rhodes]

So much to process...

Once again, we are "treated" to the absurd dynamic between Amara and the Board.  This one takes the proverbial cake.  I could totally see the Board warning her off about the rally.  That's what Boards do - avoid rocking boats at all costs.  But, the switcheroo to full support of Amara after the fact was ridiculous.  Worse than all that, the communication between the Board and president Amara was, and remains, atrocious.  

I do like that Keisha is forced to look elsewhere to really "get" Pace.  She has almost nothing by way of proof of actual personal abuse.  But, as noted by KWalkerInc above, leaving for NYC while her besties are truly suffering from a civil rights outrage?  Nuh uh. 

I am sad that Thea appears to be gone.  She certainly has had an impact.  Just as Pace made Keisha and sooooo many others better through tough expectations, Simone is much better at tennis for having Thea push her, which was acknowledged.

Can we please have hanging chads in the election?  Kidding!  I can not stand the "journalist" from the student paper.  Folks like that pretending to be objective yet acting on personal agendae are very dangerous to our country.  Good on Nate for at least calling it out.  Because Nate is portrayed so sympathetically, most young viewers almost certainly care more that Nate will benefit and are dismissive of the critical need for honest reporting.  Not good.

The KEK arc has been tedious from moment one, for me.  I don't care if there is a J.R. cliffhanger over it. 

Hard to decide what I most want to see in the probable final episode.  In a perfect world, Simone gets bounced.  Of course, I also would like to win the Mega Millions lotto.     

 

[Rae Spellman]

The best thing about the KEK plot might be Lou's hair! Who does JR want stripped of their letters, Julian or the alumni guys whose shenanigans resulted in Lou's most recent injury? 

Getting Dr. Pace fired won't help Keisha's relationships with her classmates. It might have been wiser for Keisha to drop Dr. Pace's class and take classes with other dance teachers. Keisha choreographed the event we saw in the backdoor pilot before any formal instruction. The type of dance she does/wants to doesn't seem like the type of dance where one needs a degree/major in dance. 

How is Jesse fit to coach JR for Cape Cod League tryouts when we only saw him at the games that he coached? Even if the actor isn't available, or the budget doesn't all the actor to be in the background at the game, there could be an offhanded comment about him being around. We heard Lando's uncle was at the game last week and took him to celebrate. We hear about Nate's parents when she's away. We've heard about Keena several times and haven't seen her in ages.

[Rae Spellman]

What was the point of the KEK storyline? Damon convinced JR to consider Cam for KEK. Cam was protected of the roughest part of hazing during pledging because of his aneurism. Julian, Cam’s musical theatre partner went harder on the other guys. Cam complained to Gabby. Gabby got JR to change things. Julian went rogue and complained to some guys who kidnapped Cam and Lou. Cam gets a scholarship. JR loses KEK. On top of that, JR probably loses Cape Cod League because he is sick after receiving a transplant and being in remission half his life. At least he found his long lost brother, had a brief hoe season, and got a new girlfriend.

Simone really is the center of the Bringston universe. She walked onto the tennis team, was initially only #6 because Thea was injured. Now, she’s apparently the best and beats the best. PKZ was terrible to Nate and Thea last year. But, they rearrange the final events around Simone’s tennis match. 

At this point Lando may as well exist off camera with the other pitchers on the Bringston roster. But, if the show is renewed, what does the story look like for Damon and Simone if they have absolutely everything at 18-19 years old including each other?

 

[KWalkerInc]

Poor JR.  It sucks that they had to go and make him sick again in their quest to throw in a bunch of cliffhangers that may never be resolved.  At least if the show gets cancelled, he won't die.

I'm guessing that if the show does come back, Simone probably picks Lando just so they could drag things out with Damon longer.  When Damon had his scene with Jesse, I thought that would occupy him for the rest of the episode and it meant that Simone had picked Lando.  That was when I foolishly thought they would actually show her choice.  Then I thought that Damon could have been getting a text from JR about his health, or any of a number of characters, so Lando's must have been from Simone.  But of course they could just show Lando getting a random text to throw viewers off, so I don't know.  It reminds me of a season finale of One Tree Hill where a character called a woman to declare his love and ask her to meet him at the airport, and they had three women he had been involved with at various times all answer their phones at the same time.  Then all summer, the CW would show the ad with them going, "Hello?" simultaneously.

I'm glad Nate won the election and is happy, although her new man would probably turn out to be creepy with the way the writers are on these shows (maybe they don't have the same writers as the parent show though).  My favorite part of the episode was Nate's advice to Simone about her choice, and her reaction to learning that Simone had actually slept with Damon.

Dr. Pace's amazement that Keisha was able to bring her down was pretty good too, and showing some insight into why she ended up like that.  (I still think she was going, "I'm taking a sabbatical to get away from your ass.")  But what if Keisha finds out that a lot of the dance world is full of people like Dr. Pace?  Of course Keisha wants to help break that cycle, but good luck.

I guess they couldn't just let Amara and Marcus be happy in the finale, so he has a secret wife?  WTF?  Did he marry someone during a manic phase and just didn't bother to deal with it?  That was weird.

[Rae Spellman]

If Amara watched Carlos on 9-1-1: Lonestar, Derek on Grey’s, or Hollywood on Queen Sugar, she’ll get over Marcus having a wife who doesn’t have keys to his apartment and wasn’t there during the baseball scandal or his breakdown. It isn’t necessarily worse than Zeke being hesitant to make their relationship official or public when he’s been widowed since Keisha was in elementary school.

Lando’s losses being so Damon-focused is tiring. Simone choosing Lando wouldn’t even be a win for Lando. At this point I’m rooting for Simone and Damon to get together and stay together if the show returns so that there aren’t anymore Lando or Thea-esque casualties. 

[Lonesome Rhodes]

It's a shame that a series with lofty goals resorted to the tried and true shock and choice season finale.  I understand that TPTB were under the gun and had to play the game in order to survive cancellation.  It's simply a shame that this is de rigeur in this industry.

Has any character in any show had a better ending than Nate?  Wins the election and finds Prince Charming who left his slipper, er pen.  

I loved that the show used insurance costs as the reason for the cancellation of the exhibition.  Sooooo much good IRL is thwarted for that very reason.

It is truly stunning to me that violence was celebrated.  It is not stunning that the newest KEKs never learned the value of being peace, not war, makers.  Cam is no question gonna pay for this.  He'll probably get an earned suspension.  This will be a major arc.

The choreography of the probate initiation was fun to watch.  Nice that this significant element of HBCU student life was given such a prominent place all season.

I seriously want to know what happened to Daddy Keisha.  Did Amara officially blow him off?  Did he get some great job somewhere?  Seems to me TPTB ghosted him.

Keisha's plan was fab.  Too bad she didn't understand it was not merited until it was too late.  The little speech about how Pace's students would go out and find early success but then get burned or grinded out had nothing to do with being scarred by Pace.  Every last one of her students who ventured out into the cutthroat world of Dance was stronger and better because of her.  She is not the one who created the super tough reality of that profession.  I think of the countless folks who could not pass muster in her classes and thus were spared the delusion of making it (they never would have) and the regret of investing soooo much time and energy into it.  They were able to go on to other things which were presumably more a match for their talents.  

IRL, I believe Pace would be celebrated as an icon of HBCU development through toughness.  Bringston would be known for its dance program.  Oh well, at least they did not write her out.

The interview process for Cape Cod baseball?  Hilarious.  You think they give a rat's patootie up there about well-rounded growth for its players?  Can we now dispense with the dense Damon?  Has he had enough breakthroughs?  Ugh.

Amara reveling in how much she is "liked" was very odd.  Her entire professional life has taught her to be wary and to keep things tight, else someone chop her head off.  We've seen ample evidence of this peril all season.  It's one thing to be proud of the progress of the wellness center.  Quite another to do a Sally Field.

I vote that Simone chooses neither one and returns to L.A.  I'd bet a lot she goes with Lando, though.  The actor said that is what she prefers.

Thea sure spends a lot of time in Atlanta when her brand spanking new pro tennis career awaits.  I wish they hadn't turned her into such a sugary supporter of all things Bringston and especially Simone.  

Well, I wish all concerned good luck.  They really did try, imo, to share a piece of America not widely known and certainly not understood.  The biggest lesson of all, imo, is that for all our differences, the way this show was presented proves that we all have the same wants and motivations.  AAH deserves our respect.

 

[luckyroll3]

Keisha arranged all of that in a week and half?!?!?!? If that's the case, then she should rethink her future career as a dancer and become, I don't know, a corporate raider or a CIA operative who works to take down fascist regimes or something. 

[Rae Spellman]

This show will lose me if JR loses KEK or baseball for more than a few episodes. 

Thea went from injured to having the option to go pro in season two. Jessie mentioned JR's hopefulness. Maybe JR, the hopeful fighter will be sidelined from baseball for a few months only to recover in time for a championship rematch that Bringston wins and/or Cape Cod League next year. 

Simone's potential season-long suspension was reduced to a single match. Maybe JR will lose KEK  for an episode or three while his brothers figure out how to save the chapter and JR's standing with the fraternity. 

Unpopular opinions: Damon's relationship with JR is more interesting than his relationship with Simone. Simone's relationship with Thea is more interesting than her relationship with Damon. I'd rather see the conversation Simone had with the guy she turned down than the ridiculous conversation she had with the guy she chose. 

 

 

[luckyroll3]

4 hours ago, Rae Spellman said:

Unpopular opinions: Damon's relationship with JR is more interesting than his relationship with Simone. Simone's relationship with Thea is more interesting than her relationship with Damon.

I don't think these are unpopular opinions at all! I think many of us are over the Simone/Damon end game. We've just prepared ourselves for the writers pushing this will they/won't they love story when we all know they'll be forcing a they will, even when there are clearly better story options they could roll with.

[KWalkerInc]

Renewed for season 3.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Just found out.  I am happily stunned.  Now let's see the details...

Certainly there will be cast reductions.  Who stays?  How many of the writers will come back?  When will the writers writ large ever return?  Is there any real chance season 3 airs before next Spring?  

We're looking at a dismal Q4 for new original programing.  But, we'll have this series to look forward to.  Party at Lonesome's if Simone somehow got expelled from the show.

[KWalkerInc]

Many of the articles about renewals have mentioned the possibility of severe cast reductions, and I am a little frightened after reading how many people are to be cut from Superman & Lois, although that likely had a bigger previous budget with the special effects.  I hope Nate will still at least be on from time to time, maybe Cam and Keisha could be recurring too (it would probably be a matter of how much they are paid for the difference between regular and recurring, as they certainly were already missing a lot of episodes even before).  Thea is probably the most likely to be written out completely since they already had the storyline of her turning pro.  I hope they will keep JR, and Amara and Marcus for old(er) people like me even if those two aren't in every show.  (They have to at least explain his secret wife.)  I'm kind of afraid it will be all Simone and Damon all the time--not together, as I think she picked Lando even though he was never a regular and might end up in like one or two episodes--but continuing to circle around each other endlessly.

[luckyroll3]

At this point, I'm only tuning in for Nate. So if she goes, I don't know if I could stomach the Simone and Damon will they, wont' they. 

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Miss Nathanielle is clearly the most important and impactful character.  It sure as heck ain't J.R.  But, it's difficult to see how the show goes on without our favorite baseball prospect.

Amara is the glue and allows for some very interesting looks at the abuse of power.  I think she is a "gotta stay."

The whole Greek thing ought to go away, but it is too easy/obviously a mechanism for draaaaaama.

Since the chances of continuing beyond season 3 are not all that great, TPTB have an opportunity to eschew the standard ratings precepts, eg the dreadful Simone/J.R. fiasco of a relationship.  I sincerely hope they use this license to bring in new blood who will come with/create very specific HBCU issues.  In a perfect world, there would also be an arc with outside privileged students who would show how difficult it can be to foster unity and friendship when there are so many pressures related to man's natural tribalism.  Even the very best intentions can be co-opted and this show has a rare opportunity to teach this. /gets down from soap box

 

 

[Rae Spellman]

Even if JR misses Cape Cod League, maybe he'll recover and get to attend the All American Universe's version of HBCU Swingman Classic during MLB All Star Week at some point before he graduates. 

Instead of having Thea go pro, Damon could have gone pro. He could have been drafted by the Braves, or some other team with a minor league team in the Atlanta metro, and spent plenty of time with his brother and/or Simone. He could even take classes at Bringston in the off season. 

[Artsda]

Well wow he's not who I expected to go. He's the male main.  

 

 

 

 

 

[KWalkerInc]

So I guess everything is supposed to just revolve around Simone?  This is just stupid!

[luckyroll3]

9 hours ago, KWalkerInc said:

So I guess everything is supposed to just revolve around Simone?  This is just stupid!

12 hours ago, Artsda said:

Well wow he's not who I expected to go. He's the male main.  

Also surprised by this since the showed seemed to be a vehicle to feature him after they wasted him on Legacies. Looks like they both might be recurring, but hopefully he's found something better. 

[Lonesome Rhodes]

The three I most wanted to return were Keisha, Nathaniel,  and Thea.  I got two out of three and a maybe on Thea.  I'll take it.

I'm happy that Amara was significantly reduced.  Not sure how Marcus recurs, but hopefully (for his own good) this all means Amara kicked him to the curb.

It appears that Simone and Damon will be long distance, at best.  Run, Damon, RUN!

Of course, all of this is subject to who and what survives the strike.  I wouldn't be shocked if the show as a whole gets canned.

Here's another blurb on the announced changes:

https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/all-american-homecoming-season-three-several-cw-series-regulars-to-have-reduced-roles-for-2023-24/

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Series creator fleshes out some of the changes for next season.

Seems like some budgetary reductions - not removals - for several characters, including Damon.  The cut I most dislike is Nathaniel becoming a lesser regular.  No mention of Simone's presence.  I'd bet that may even increase.

https://screenrant.com/all-american-homecoming-season-3-damon-exit-explained/

[KWalkerInc]

Martin Bobb Semple (Lando) will be a series regular.

He probably should have been promoted anyway, but I still am not thrilled with how cheap this show will seemingly be (and likely a LOT of Simone all the time).  There was another article where the CW head was saying that the show's fate (and some others') will be based on creative and not financial decisions now.  (He seemed to be gloating about how much money they saved by dumping people, but maybe that's just what I read into it.)  Who knows when it will start anyway, as it still wasn't on the latest schedule that announced the return of All American.

[Artsda]

So they dumped the people that cost more and promoted him? 

[KWalkerInc]

The season premiere will be Monday, July 8 at 9 PM.

Also, it appears that Thea is still a regular (this wasn't clear before), as she is mentioned in the press release.  (Nate, Cam and Keisha get a throwaway line at the end, so they may not be given much in terms of storyline.)

[Artsda]

It's been cancelled after this season.

 

 

[KWalkerInc]

There had been rumors that the show was going to be cancelled, but I guess they just couldn't wait until some episodes from season 3 aired to axe it.  All of the storylines were probably affected by budget considerations and slashing of the cast, and now there likely won't be any kind of an ending, so what was the point of even renewing it?  I guess it's just seen as more filler.  (Meanwhile, All American, which did have more episodes ordered for a wrap-up, gets renewed just so they can likely slash THAT cast and destroy all the storylines.)  Oh well.  Nice for them that they save so much money so that they can invest in Pac-2 Football.  (Sure they can make more money from sports, but it's a two-team conference!)

Edited June 6 by KWalkerInc

[Lonesome Rhodes]

The concept of the series was superior.  Unfortunately, as with most all scripted TV, it devolved into standard entanglements in romantic relationships.

The lead, however, was thoroughly entitled and unlikeable.  I wonder if more would have watched with a more sympathetic character. 

[KWalkerInc]

I think--at the rate the CW is ditching shows now--they would have had to have had a lot more viewers for the show to continue.  It seems like people liked Superman, Lois Lane and Walker, but those shows got cancelled anyway.  I would have still preferred Simone leaving to Damon, even if it would have screwed with the concept of the show either way.

The CW still keeps showing the same ad for the new season (featuring Damon front and center at the beginning), but now they have slapped "final season" across the screen with the time and date of the premiere.  Classy!

[KWalkerInc]

So long, Damon.  Without the budget cuts, the writers probably would have either had Simone pick Lando and continued the love triangle, or broken up Simone and Damon after a season.  This way, they only had to write them together for one episode, which it seems most writers probably prefer to writing a couple together for the long term.  Of course it turns out not to be Simone's fault that the baseball program gets cut.  And she breaks up with Damon for noble reasons (to follow his dreams, blah blah), not because she already had a long-distance relationship that didn't work.  And Damon acted like he was going to be totally supportive of Simone causing trouble (in the scene with Nate)...until it affected him.  He probably just knew she wouldn't have listened anyway, which I was saying the second that Coach Lani told her not to interfere.  I think Nate said something snarky about Simone when she insisted doing the article with Nate's boyfriend, but I can't remember what it was. 

I don't know why they were so convinced that both sports to be cut would be women's.  What about Title IX?  That should have given them at least some protection, and yet no one bothered to mention that.  And Damon couldn't have transferred (except to evil Coach Shaw's school) without sitting out a year?  I don't know when they wrote this episode, but the transfer rules (if there are any) seem much looser than that.

When Marcus was scolding Amara for apparently leaving Bringston, before she could explain, I had her saying, "No, I'm recurring, damn it!"  And she apparently is, unlike Damon, who if anything will probably pop up as a surprise because he misses Simone or something and find that she is now with poor Lando (who should know better after going through all that).  And Thea, nothing against her, but she's just going to be hanging out sometimes even though they already wrote her out?  Maybe she's still pursing a degree when she has time?

It looks like they'll probably put JR and Keisha together now.  Sorry Cam and Gabby who was yelling at JR in the season 3 trailer!  (Also sorry for forgetting her name, and I had to scroll up the page to find it.)

[Lonesome Rhodes]

I will say this for our girl, Simone...the lady sure 'nuff be consistent.  So, too, the incredibly klunky exposition/explainers from these writers.  

Damon was free to transfer immediately with the shutdown of his scholarship sport.  Then again, the way this worked out ends up being the biggest break he will ever get.  And no, I am not referring to the early leap into the pros.

One thing I appreciated was that he did not hit a walk-off, title-winning home run.  It was a sacrifice fly.  Then again, it was an absurdly short one.

The Title IX concerns are very real.  Given how most of the cast was consumed with finding some leverage, any leverage, this would absolutely have been a major focus.  At a minimum, the male Laxers would be gone.

The Trustees still treat Amara as a step-child and she continues to just take it.  Didn't she vow to never let that happen anymore during the last existential crisis?

LOVED to see Thea again.  She's my favorite character.

I also love Keisha, but I don't see how she will drive the story.  The hint of a new love interest smells of Simone, to me.  No bueno.

A major irony in the plot twists for me is that I would actually support a more serious commitment to academic excellence at the expense of a Div. II, or III (or even lower?) athletics program.    A not-so great irony/co-incidence is that Coco got launched from the actual Wimbledon tournament the same day she was announced as the tennis savior of Bringston.

 

 

 

Edited July 10 by Lonesome Rhodes

[TVForever]

Simone remains as obnoxious as ever. 

Sorry to see Damon go. 

Glad to see JR is still here (and not being mourned as a "promising young athlete, gone too soon).

So, Thea's still part of the cast, but she's off playing pro tennis? Why?

I feel like there was so much wasted potential with this show, as a drama set at a HBCU.

Oh well. I was there for the beginning, and I'll be there for the end...

[KWalkerInc]

I hope that Thea will have some sort of storyline and that her friendship with Nate will still be shown, rather than just having her give pep talks to Simone in her spare time or something.  It was nice that she showed up to say goodbye to Damon, but I fear that her being over their break-up in the year-plus will somehow be used to show that Lando should get over being rejected by Simone and should want to be her friend again.  But the season press release said Lando forms new friendships, so maybe his plot won't have to always revolve around Simone.

[KWalkerInc]

So even though it has been over a year, every aspect of Lando's life and personality have been affected all because he is disillusioned about Simone not picking him.  And he only snapped out of it because of being around her.  But he can't be friends because what they had was "epic."  Oh no.  What have they done to his character?  I understood his bitterness toward HER, especially because he probably he had to see her make out with Damon in front of him for a year, but this is all too much.  It's very dramatic, but I guess it has to be to explain why they don't simply start dating now if they want to, as it's not like she didn't dump Damon months ago.  They're probably trying to avoid pissing off the most devoted Simone/Damon fans or something, but they probably left after the premiere anyway.

It's too bad Lando is so smitten, because otherwise it was funny when people kept calling out Simone for being annoying.  (I don't know if she always annoyed me, but she often does now.  I noticed in an interview that they asked Geffri Maya about what she thought about Simone doing certain things and she basically said she just tries not to judge because she has to play it anyway or something.)  When she ran off to bother Lando, it was hilarious how puzzled Nate and Keisha were about what she took from the "lesson" and Nate's added comment about the dishes.  I also liked the registry clerk, Dolores, responding to her never-ending explanation about her major with "I don't need the back story, just the form."  Even the tennis ball machine was annoyed with her.

I don't understand why Amara gave up her place to the trio when she is still supposed to be around a decent amount of the time.  Will she stay with them when she is in town, or does she have to go to a hotel?  It's probably all so they can have fewer sets and could therefore get rid of the dorm rooms.

Between Keisha helping JR with returning to baseball while Gabi is understandably worried after the described collapse and Cam not supporting Keisha's new dance approach, the writers aren't exactly subtle.  I hope they will explain what is going on with Keisha.  It looked like she got a text from "unknown" that said she looked good that morning.  Is that a stalker?  I hope not.  I can't read TV show texts very well.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

What a wreck.

I see Gabby earned her certificate from Simone's "I Am the World, the World Is Me" seminar.  Honest to goodness, all the show did was take Simone's words and had Gabby deliver them when she challenged J.R.  Pitch perfect - or is it b*tch perfect?

This was a peak Simone ep.  Goodness, her self-absorption is breathtaking to behold.  The only cause worth spending time on is whatever cause she is momentarily working on.  Poor Land-ho (KEK name).  Creating her own major?  Pure Simone.  I have to admit, she would make a great talent agent or marketer.  She has zero conscience.  I think my favorite reaction was when she went all  Marie-Antoinette when she discovered that mere serfs were allowed to use varsity facilities.  Again, I loved her fantastically pathological lack of self-awareness.  

I will say I appreciate that we are not getting an idealized presentation of HBCU experiences.  College is messy across all humanity.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Was there a single instance where a given sport facility was not available to students because they were being used?  I know the weight and exercise machines were always free after the one incident in the first scene, or so. 

How is it that Coach Lani was never seen nor heard?  Nobody would have texted her about Miss Thing being meeeeean?  Four team mates walk off, and nothing?!   Also...would it have killed production to put uniforms on the opposing tennis team?  

Ezra may be the brightest and most grounded character of the entire series.  Love him. Too bad he is the only one to call the others out on their narcissistic and self-absorbed actions.  All the fools insist they are acting out a higher good.  In the next act, they apologize.  Lather, Rinse, Repeat. 

And no, Nate, that was not a hate crime.  It was a vicious bullying crime.  Wrong place, wrong time.  

Now we are on to Coach Marcus deciding to insert himself into a child's life without accounting for the boy's needs.  This may be the TV trope I most hate - that it's always right to impose yourself in a youngster's established life.  Simone acted similarly when she gave birth, but a baby has zero clue about that dynamic.  Speaking of, when is the last time she mentioned or acted as a mom to her baby?  If she completely gave up on having a relationship of any kind, I missed that declaration.  

It's quite an indictment of Amara and the school that they had not seriously considered expanding patrols to protect off-campus students.  It's impossible, actually.  But, the show needed to have Nate somehow fashion a plausible action plan.  

Amara's plan was excellent and it made sense, given her new DC connections.  Interesting that TPTB would not name the VP.  Especially so now that she is the nominee for president.  I'd love to know their rationale.

 

 

[KWalkerInc]

This is the way one scene should have gone:  Simone:  "Have you seen Keisha?"  Nate:  "Please, girl.  You know that Dr. P. is in this episode so half the cast had to stay home this week to meet the budget."  I'm glad that Amara did tell Nate that her speech did include some good ideas, aside from ignoring Ezra's wishes and leading to everyone bugging him of course.  I think people would have eventually seen Ezra's injuries, or if he couldn't go out as he stated due to the bad wheelchair battery, they would have worried about him not seeing him in class anymore.  This does not justify Nate's behavior at all, but could have been a factor in Ezra deciding to speak out at the end, that he couldn't avoid the situation even with his friends helping him out.

I'm surprised when Coach Lani actually DOES appear because it happens so seldom that I kept calling her the invisible tennis coach in one of the earlier seasons.  I think they had an assistant coach on sometimes in the past, or Coach Lani just lets the captain do whatever she wants.  I don't really remember Thea being as bad as Simone was in this episode.  It was just supposed to seem terrible because it happened to Simone or something.  I was just thinking tonight about how Simone hasn't mentioned her son in forever when she used to talk about  him all the time.  The last time he was mentioned may have been that time that Damon of course magically got him to stop crying when he was visiting.  Anyway, I hope that they don't give Simone cancer.  It looks like the storyline might be more about her difficulty getting a diagnosis.  I knew it couldn't be a shoulder injury because they already did that with Thea and they haven't had nearly enough episodes for the writers to have forgotten that.  They had to make Simone have something wrong to try to make me feel bad for thinking it was funny that she lost when all the other players did well.  It couldn't just be that the other team's top player was better, of course. I had thought they just did that to show that she had learned this week's lesson and was supporting her teammates.

At least Marcus so far only called Crystal (?) instead of directly bothering the son.  Of course if she doesn't give the answer he wants, he'll probably do something to interfere.  He shouldn't take advice from JR on this matter.  I know JR thinks Marcus would be a good influence because he was for him, but that's not the same.  He sought that type of relationship with Marcus voluntarily.  I'm surprised he didn't say, "My dad got rid of a kid that he thought wasn't his and then wanted to be a part of his life after he found out he was actually the biological father, and that all worked out in the end, so this will for you too!"

Edited July 24 by KWalkerInc
Left out a word.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

I could not  believe how awful Simone was at the beginning of the ep.  I don't like her, but this was truly horrible.  Yes, it ended up being an anvil about her scary path to a diagnosis.  I still think they went way too far.  She didn't go to Amara for support and guidance about this??????! 

We have a Shay communication annnnd a mention!  She really did have a baby, huh. 

I feel for Keisha, but as I recall, she was a marginal take to begin with for the dance class at Bringston.  I'm not understanding why she instantly went to Cam and asked him for his help.  What was that look on her face?  Has she decided she's just going to accept that she is not gifted enough to make it as a dancer and she is simply gonna enjoy the heck out of the time she has left at Bringston?  Yeah, I know.  No way in Hades.  Oh...since when don't acceptance notifications get sent digitally?  

The solution for J.R. is to support him risking death to play baseball?  Whah?  Gabby is great.  She also lost a HUGE showdown with her potential hubby.  Let's see if resentment does not creep in.

I don't see how TPTB are gonna stick the landing at the end of the season, but I really hope they somehow do.

 

  

[KWalkerInc]

I thought maybe they had fast-forwarded through most of JR's health crisis because they wanted things to be less heavy, but instead they just wanted to show Simone having one.  I am way too familiar with blood tests turning out normal when there really is something wrong and the "news must be delivered in person" phone call (at least for Simone it didn't happen at 8 AM on Black Friday).  I don't need the flashback, but at least that was a long time ago.  Anyway, it was weird that Marcus had to remind Simone that Keisha's dad is a doctor, not Keisha herself when Simone was discussing things with her.  How does Keisha manage to remember entire dance routines if she can't remember that her dad is a doctor?  I'm old so I didn't even think of acceptance letters being sent digitally, but I thought it was weird that they all sent such big envelopes for a rejection letter.  It's like they were trolling her by getting her hopes up!  I think her weird thing with Cam at the end was meant to be showing her desperation and self-doubt, that she thought she wasn't good enough to do the fashion show by herself anymore.

Another weird thing was when Marcus told JR that Gabi had been the one to change his mind about coaching baseball even though he'd clearly had that epiphany earlier when his son repeated the line about helping young men carry the weight or whatever.  Even though the son was a little sullen at first, he seems fairly nice for a kid that age suddenly having a dad he never knew about.  The stepfather must have done a good job with him, as I thought we were supposed to believe Crystal was unstable with the way she burst in during that finale yelling about being his wife.  Maybe that was just for drama and they changed their minds about how to write her.  (I'm guessing the stepfather must have been around for a while, even if they couldn't be married until recently.)

I'm guessing that Shay's adoptive mom must have done that whole card herself, because I was looking at how neat it was and thinking, "Isn't the kid like three?"  Of course, there have been so many time jumps between All American and this show that maybe Shay would have been enrolling at Bringston if there had been another season.

I like the fact that I can rewind the show while watching live, as I wasn't paying attention when they gave the excuse for Nate's absence this week.  Then Keisha ended up repeating it later anyway.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Boy, was my inner Clara Peller triggered!  If that's beef, World Peace must be right around the corner.  J.R. for U.N. Secretary-General!

Keisha makes Fosse look like Urkel.  Smash hit show...All That New-New!   Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland must surely recognize the passion for putting on a show.  I was really confused, however, when the infamous final practice for Simone was held in the open public space of the student union.  There was even an extra walking through the scene.  What happened to debuting at the actual show?

So, if Simone still has the musculoskeletal issue, how on earth is she supposed stay tennis active?  She chose to avoid Amara, but open up to J.R.  Riiiiight.  

I love Thea, but for the life of me, I can't figure out why she is recurring.  It was good to see her court ferocity again, though.  

I have found myself concentrating much too much on the costuming lately.  The ladies certainly bring the pretty, but those rags they are wearing?  What was with that monstrosity of a leather chest version of a fanny belt Keisha was featuring?  The baggy and beltless everything, especially jeans, is not flattering, imo.  No denying their comfort.  I'll give them that.   

I am definitely curious about the coming end.  Will it be a wedding, like the original AA?  Multiple engagements?  Bringston shutting down?  (Yeah, right).  There's gotta be the return of our pitching hero, si?

[KWalkerInc]

I'm glad she doesn't seem to have a death sentence, but I still think it's weak to give Simone cancer.  It's like they had read comments in various places (probably social media) and knew that she's not popular with everyone, so they put her in jeopardy to make her more sympathetic.  Amara is due to find out eventually, but I wonder if Simone's parents will ever know?  I remember her mom being a LOT on both shows, but I think she would want to know.  I thought they were also doing this because it could be cheaper to not film any sports scenes, but it appears Simone is still trying to play tennis.  It sucks if it is for this reason, but I hope she will eventually realize she isn't the greatest tennis player and decides to pursue something else.

It was hilarious that Cam can just type new new (without even quotation marks) into Google and end up with the videos of Keisha, instead of like 20 billion results.  Every time they referred to Keisha that way, it reminded me of on The Soup where they would make fun of this somewhat incompetent entertainment news reporter, Victoria Recaño, and they would show a clip of her admonishing a dog for some reason:  "No no, Nu Nu!"

I don't know how well the finale will wrap things up down the line since they filmed everything long before getting cancelled, but I read that the showrunner was happy and didn't feel the need to change much.  I think Damon will probably pop up after Simone and Lando get together, so that they will rehash the love triangle and then she'll choose Lando this time.  I read a review of last week's episode and the writer was very upset that they weren't together yet, as if that would happen after four episodes!  I wonder if Simone will order JR not to tell Damon about her cancer, as I'm sure he would do his best to visit if he knew.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

We got the ULTIMATE Simone moment.  She is the only one who could twist fantastic news into frustration over a best-case scenario.  She already knew that tennis was impossible if there was to be any treatment.  She literally has not been able to play for some time as it is.  I am in awe of just how cray cray she is.  She got her diagnosis, and she still refused to let her Mom and Aunt know.  That's the girl!  As cunning as she has been from Day One in the other show right through to now, she couldn't see immediately that any and all of her medical procedures could be rearranged?  None of the gang did, either?!  

What can't be put off are the side effects of her course of treatment - to include the actual surgery.  Coach isn't gonna make it her business to see how her "star player" (LMAO) is progressing?  By the by, who is the team Captain?  I sincerely would not want anyone to get the tough break Simone is dealing with.  Yet, this show is too dang important to put out such unrealistic and fantastical solutions like TV has done forever.  The impressionable viewers are getting a warped view of handling intractable problems.  Honoring Simone for her grit at the expense of the tennis team that has a basic need to know the availability of players is very bad form.  Bad on Thea, too, for reversing her ethics.  It's fine that she has created a good path for Simone to maximize her recovery.  Lying to Coach by omission is entirely antithetical to the fierce Captain we were introduced to.  Remember her?

We got the craziest Nate we've yet seen.  Cuz greets her and loves her style/look.  But no, she takes it as a phobic compliment.  Miss Tolerant wasn't very.  The family has long accepted that Nate would not have a thing in the world to do with Cuz.  But, Nate chooses to believe they will chastise her for continuing her rational freeze out.  It is good, however, to see that the most empathic of the "friend group" (tm Lando) can be every bit as silly as the lot of them.  It was also good to see a heartfelt apology by her.

Valerie was an excellent character to introduce, even at this late date.  She does not fit easily into a cookie cutter.  The show has not done well with young characters who were not obviously good or bad.  I truly enjoy thinking about what she is most about.  She could fall anywhere on that spectrum.  Cool. 

If the show is moving to a Simone/Lando ending, they are doing a really good job building him up as a worthy choice.  He's a guy I would have loved to know.  Really good and capable guy, with a fun and mischievous side.  

Thea initiated a sincere hug?  Can peace on earth be far behind?

Edited August 13 by Lonesome Rhodes

[KWalkerInc]

It seems like the writers think that having Simone go through something so terrible and starting the episode with the nightmare showing just how bad things could be will make anything she does acceptable for the audience.  Obviously with the nightmare she is aware that she could suffer greatly throughout treatments or even die, which makes her thinking only of the negative aspects after her diagnosis even more frustrating.  Of course it would be "unfair" for her to lose another tennis season because of cancer.  It's unfair for anyone, particularly someone so young, to get cancer in the first place.  Nate was right to think that she is being completely ridiculous, and I hope that she will learn to prioritize her health and grudgingly accept that she cannot just bully her way through and get what she wants--especially when dealing with something as awful as cancer--but she probably won't.  I think that obsessing over tennis would have made more sense if this had happened to Thea, as she is the one who has played her whole life and had the talent to go pro.  I'm not even sure how long Simone was off from tennis before.  Now they try to act like it was only because of her pregnancy, but when she suddenly mentioned tennis to Jordan out of the blue on that one All American episode, it was the first he'd heard of it.  It seems like the school would have known if they'd had a student who'd allegedly been compared to Serena, so I thought she had quit years earlier.  (I can't remember if she specifically said when she'd stopped playing, probably because I was rolling my eyes so much over the Serena thing.)  Anyway, I've never bought her as the tennis great she thinks she is.  At least since the show was cancelled, they probably can't work in a flash-forward of her winning the US Open at the end!

I think they had enough already going on without throwing in the desire to freeze her eggs.  Of course she doesn't want to worry about not being able to have more children, but she obviously is aware of adoption as an option.  I guess they needed to make things as complicated as possible (and her pursuit of this tennis season more preposterous).

I can see Nate being very defensive with Val just because Nate was so young and impressionable when they had their falling out, and it was obviously very painful if they'd had a close relationship.  It would be interesting if Val's words about the court case had given Nate some pause about her potential future career (or at least made her consider that she may not always be able to control everything in that career), but instead it all just led her back to Simone.  She could have done all those things to help support Simone without necessarily endorsing the stupidity about the tennis.

I was afraid Keisha was acting openly jealous of JR and Gabi for a minute, which would have seemed like a big jump in the storyline, but she was just looking at Cam's message and upset.  It's convenient that he can just disappear right after his big discovery about New New and JR hanging out.  Something something duet with somebody I guess.

I enjoyed Thea's snarky reactions to Keisha and Nate being clearly upset about other things but refusing to admit it, and the quick "Look who I'm talking to" when she actually asked Simone if Coach Lani knew about her plans.