All American: Homecoming - General Discussion

[KWalkerInc]

Deadline interview with Rhoyle Ivy King.

(But why does the interviewer have to use the expression "learning lesson"?  That's what a lesson is, when someone learns something.  It drives me crazy!)

[KWalkerInc]

From what I remember about Simone's mom, I think she's going to be rather pissed when she finds out that Simone and Amara chose to "protect" her by not telling her about Simone's cancer.  I wish that Amara's (understandably devastated) reaction to Simone's news hadn't been to list all the bad things that have happened to Simone, which she had already done herself last week.  Even if she hadn't been a pregnant teen, had to go through a divorce because she and Jordan were stupid enough to get married, etc., getting cancer at 21 (or any age) is horrific for anyone.  When Amara asked Marcus why this was happening, it took me out of the moment and made me question why the writers chose this as the story arc for this season.  I don't know how long Nkechi Okoro Carroll thought the show would last, but at least one cast member (Rhoyle) thought they might not even get season 3 and approached it as probably the last, so it's just interesting that they thought, "Let's end the show with a cancer arc." 

There was a lot of exposition in this episode.  Have they explained before how Simone's mom gave up everything to take care of someone and I don't remember, or was that new info?  Maybe the writers got confused with Damon's mom.  Noah is handling things fairly well, but I think Marcus probably needs to tell him there is family history of being bi-polar.  It may freak him out, but it is something he may need to know.  I knew that Marcus was going to send the photo with Noah to his dad.  I couldn't read the whole text even on the big TV, but I presume that he told him about Noah (I think that is a conversation that would be better at least in a phone call, if not in person).  It's interesting that they presented the rift with his father in a way that did not make Marcus look good at all.  Obviously it was painful to have to send his wife away for help, but Marcus acts like he was just throwing her away.

I'm glad JR and Keisha turned out to just have a brother/sister relationship.  I hadn't seen a romantic spark really, but I thought maybe it just hadn't gotten there yet.  I thought maybe Gabi would be understanding at the end but that Cam wouldn't.  Maybe that's just because I get tired of Cam sometimes, even when he has the right to be upset, because he doesn't handle it well.  It probably goes back to when he was Spencer's nemesis on All American, that he can still bug me.

I liked the part when they were all trying to rush Amara out the door and act like things were fine and someone (Keisha?) yelled, "Thanks for letting us live here!"  That was almost as funny as the announcer's enthusiasm during the commercial for Pac-2 football.  (I feel bad for the teams left behind, but the guy was so excited yelling about "Washington State takes on PORTLAND STATE!" and "Oregon State battles IDAHO STATE!" like these matchups will draw nationally and save the CW.  They also put this on the screen during the show.)

Edited August 20 by KWalkerInc
Typo.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Among the best eps in the series.

Netta had probably her strongest performance.  I totally bought her breakdown early in the ep when she was telling Cam he had no real reason to believe there was anything going on.  Just perfect, imo.  I also think she was at her prettiest in the beginning when she had a simple straight hair style with a couple of soft curls.  This ep is the reel I would use were I her agent.

We never got any explanation as to any issues in DC which led to Amara coming home early.  I got the distinct impression she was hiding something, very much like Simone was.

The angry dinner was great.  For once, they all behaved like normal folks.  There was seething and rage underneath the entire gathering.  99% of the time, this show glosses over such and fashions ridiculous happy outcomes.  Not this time.  It allll came out and it was REAL.  I wish there would have been much more of this through the seasons, but I get that this is basically a fantasy and idealized show.  I'm glad we got some realism and that the arcs progressed organically.  

I really wanted to buy the menacing blow-up between J.R. and the frat brother.  I thought it was a joke that J.R. had a final snarky retort, just smiled, and walked away.  This was one of those situations I mentioned above where tough consequences get smoothed over without cause.  IRL, they would have thrown down.

I, too, missed the backstory of Mama Simone having given up her career to help someone else.  The text from Marcus to his father was simply, "Happy Thanksgiving, Dad.  When you have time, I'd like to talk."  The Cougs and the Beavs got royally shafted by their Pac 12 brethren.  I hope they, and the CW, somehow do well.  I also want an election based on ideas and facts.

 

 

 

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Hard to believe what I just saw.  It's arguably the most indulgent ep I've seen across TV through decades.  There certainly was a freedom in understanding the series was done.  Good on all concerned for taking full advantage.

It's official. This Lando is the coolest one since Billy Dee Calrissian.  I feel sorry for the lad since Simone is the focus of his ardor.  

Production almost blew it by including the absurd hissy fit Lando came with.  Super out of the character and context of the moment.  Really, really, bad misstep.  Glad they chose to clear it up straight away.  The repeated cookie burning was ridiculous, too.

The J.R. scenes were pretty cute.  I would have lost a ton of cash betting on Damon being behind the door at the end.

Am I a bad person for believing the make-up artist is prettier than Simone?

[KWalkerInc]

I like Lando, but not really invested in the potential romance, so the description of the episode had me thinking I would have a hard time keeping my attention from wandering.  They did a nice job though, although I still prefer having multiple stories to go between.  I don't think Eva will be very happy when she inevitably finds out about the photo shoot, as she was already suspicious when they hugged in that other episode.  (Even though it was a team effort with JR and all of the absent characters helping out, so Lando could argue that to Eva.)  Of course the only reason Lando even has a girlfriend is that they probably wouldn't know what to do if he and Simone got together with more than a couple episodes left (there's only five left now, which is fewer than I would have guessed).

The part about the cookies was definitely silly.  It only takes 6 to 8 minutes to bake a batch, so they shouldn't have been so distracted that they forgot THAT many times.  During my holiday baking, I sometimes dread the sugar cookies because bouncing back and forth between cutting cookies, getting another batch out of the oven and removing a third batch from the cookie sheet to cool gets hectic (was much better with my mom); but I still haven't burned any even when I sometimes forgot to set the timer for a minute.  I guess Dr. P doesn't have a timer on the oven (maybe my old one didn't) and these two are so smitten they can't focus on the simple task of baking ONE batch.

I think they did want to set it up to make it seem like Damon was at the door.  I only guessed it was Simone's mom because she hadn't called back, though the idea she could make it from Japan in that amount of time is probably ridiculous even though I don't know the time zone factors.  Damon would have been at the door if Simone and Lando had kissed or made some romantic declaration and she was opening the door expecting/hoping for Lando.  I wonder if we'll eventually learn that JR hasn't been allowed to tell Damon about Simone's diagnosis, as I think he would have shown up if possible otherwise.  They clearly try to limit references to Damon as much as possible though.

The commercial that made me laugh this week was the one saying to have Siri remind you to watch the show.  It was pulled off in a very cheesy way.  The ratings aren't really that much lower than All American at this point, but apparently never had the same streaming support.

[Rae Spellman]

On 8/20/2024 at 9:15 PM, Lonesome Rhodes said:

I, too, missed the backstory of Mama Simone having given up her career to help someone else. 

At some point in Season 1, Tina mentioned that she delayed or took a break from law school so that Amara could continue at Bringston. While Tina may have been caring for their sick father, I thought the stated reason was that during/after their father's illness there wasn't enough money for both of them to be in school at the same time. 

JR has been though a lot in 22ish years He almost died twice, lost his fraternity, lost his brother, found his brother, and lost baseball. JR and Gabby look good together. But even without the Keisha of it all, they probably wouldn't have lasted.

Gabby may be better for Cam than for JR. She supports Cam's development as a singer and musician. She encouraged JR to support Cam's desire to pledge KEK and encouraged JR to change the pledge process primarily out of concern for her friend. Now Cam lives at the KEK house and has a thriving music career.

When she was JR's TA, Gabby nudged JR into experimenting with a ho phase. Perhaps because she liked him, noticed the "hey JRs" and wanted him to get his ho phase out before they got together.

 

[Lonesome Rhodes]

"Simone don't need anybody."  Perfect encapsulation of the narcissist.

Keisha figured out that she needs to be a very high, if not supreme, priority for her mate.  Fair enough.  Any chance she does not make her career more important than J.R.s needs?  What she still refuses to get is that it is all about professional performance opportunity and not "schooling."  She's already studied under a bigtime instructor and can't even get into a school which she has to pay gazillions of dollars to, and not receive any from them? If Luam asked her to join her crew, THAT would be the break of a lifetime.  THAT is where Keisha would learn if she's really got it.  

Thea let slip this very point when she plaintively cried out that she started too late (because 15-yr olds were beating her).  YES!  A star at Bringston is practically nothing in the big bad world of pro tennis.  Thea has the makings of being a good coach.  That is where she could carve out some big success in tennis.  

A scene that really bugged was when Simone got the call to go see Loni.  She was hella pissed at her mom and walked away, demanding that mom be sure to lockup when mom left.  Then, Nicole goes into her room, assumedly to get ready for the showdown with Coach.  Well, the blocking was horrible!  Why would Simone give that very specific direction, knowing she was about to go deeper into the loft and would have to pass her mom at whatever point she went out?  This type of sloppiness has been an issue throughout this series.  I'm sure they've had a super-condensed production schedule since it's so expensive.  yet and still, this stuff betrays a lack of respect for the audience.

Good that the baseball fantasy is done with.  A great lesson for all was the awareness of J.R. and Lando that what mattered was that they gave it their all.  Indeed.  Life does not always reward being "right."  Outcome goals must not overwhelm the goal of giving your best and living with the results.  Sometimes we win, but mostly, dreams are not fulfilled.  It's all in the effort.  Good stuff, show.

I think Cam needs to reach out to that music mogul, Layla.  He can write for Patience.  He's gonna last maybe two months with Big Hank.  Maybe.  Anyway, here again, the Bringston education has nothing to do with success in the cutthroat music industry.  Did Cam quit his gig as a receptionist for Amara?

Poor Gabby.

Edited September 9 by Lonesome Rhodes
Because Simone is not Nicole.

[KWalkerInc]

So the whole thing of JR and Keisha claiming to have a "brother/sister" bond and seemingly easing the tension with their significant others was just a misdirect before they went ahead with this anyway.  I do feel bad for Gabi but I don't know if Keisha and Cam have ever gone an entire episode without fighting--including some of the episodes where one or both did not appear.  The clip from the next episode, which is hopefully out of context, was funny although it won't be when Cam goes to beat up JR.

Speaking of which, with the time jumps and all, it makes it seem like no one has heard from Nate for months.  Amara probably had a legitimate reason with her job in D.C., but they didn't have a throwaway line about why Nate wasn't at Simone's last treatment.  But they do a lot of implausible things like that because of the budget.

It is understandable that Simone didn't want her mom hovering around all the time, but I liked when she was told how stupid she was for lying to Coach Loni for so long and thinking she would just return to the court without her ever being the wiser.  I liked that Keisha didn't mind Tina being there, because of course she would love to be able to have her mom around, particularly if she had cancer but just in general.

Coach Loni's talk with Thea was good.  She was firm because she didn't like the lying, but also very supportive.  I thought Thea was going to re-enroll at Bringston, but maybe they will go in that direction later if she continues to lose.

JR and Lando of course could not be successful because a decision that had been in the works for years couldn't be reversed easily--and certainly not in time for either of them to be still playing by the time the program came back.  The board probably just listened to them because they didn't want to appear uncaring to the students or something.  If there were more than four episodes left, it would be a little disappointing to not have baseball in future seasons, but I think they would have stuck to the decision because they really only cared about having it for Damon storylines and it's also cheaper to not have to film game scenes.

I think the time jump on All American would put future episodes after Cam's graduation, so it would be funny if he did go work for Layla (though they'd probably have Simone pop in then to show how magnanimous she is about Layla and Jordan even though no one would care).  Amara probably didn't need an assistant because she's never there, so that probably contributed to Cam changing jobs besides wanting to be involved more in music.  But I don't believe he wouldn't know that using another beat would require paying another producer.  That should probably be obvious to someone who seems to have some knowledge about that kind of stuff.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

I was gonna comment on the lack of Nate, as well.  Not even a mention.  Super weird.  

J.R. has it coming, imo.  It's also quite foreseeable that a House war could break out.  

Are we done with the Freshman who Simone took under her wing?

I'm glad Loni gets to go out as a intelligent and fierce woman.  One had to wonder since she was never there when things were falling apart earlier/pre-diagnosis.  Having said that, it is beyond any sense of credulity that she would have been so wholly ignorant of Simone not being coached.  Ya think that maybe Loni would have asked Thea if said coach could stop by and address her team sometime?  How about asking for just one practice session from Simone to see any progress being made?  Simone never left Atlanta that entire time.

Any chance Simone asks one of the young gentlemen to inseminate one of her frozen eggs?  Or, maybe Nate would ask to use one in order to become a mom?

Edited September 9 by Lonesome Rhodes

[KWalkerInc]

They did make reference to Nate a couple times.  When they were celebrating Simone's last treatment, someone claimed to have both Nate and Dr. P on a phone, but we couldn't see them (that probably would have cost money if we could).  They just didn't feel like making an excuse about Nate not being there though.  Then even though it was a month later and school was presumably going on, they said Nate was off with Ryan somewhere.  At least she's supposed to have a storyline tonight.  I like to picture a giant wheel in the writers' room with excuses for character absences on each tab.  They are told who won't be in the episode, so they spin the wheel and use whatever one it lands on.

I knew I recognized "Big Hank," and I was actually able to figure out where I had seen him without looking it up.  It was an episode of The Equalizer last season.  Apparently he had a major role on Black Lightning, but I didn't see that.

[KWalkerInc]

I was never really invested in Cam and Keisha's relationship, which always seemed like it was hanging on by a thread anyway, but I really felt for Cam going through this betrayal by both his girlfriend and his "big brother."  I hope he will find success with the song this inspired, though I wouldn't be surprised if the big-time singer (whose name I can't remember) tries to screw him over or something.  It seems that they left Gabi out of the episode so that they could focus more on the break-up of two main characters, but it looks like she will be back next week so they can show more of the repercussions for JR.

I was a little confused with the exhibit acting like Simone was the only one responsible for exposing the cops' harassment of the tennis team, but maybe the teammate who took the video doesn't want attention. Simone, of course, is happy to have attention--she balked at the idea for about five seconds, ha ha.  I wonder if Eva and Lando will make up even though she is being controlling (but also right about what's really going on with Lando and Simone).  Their relationship is really just a pointless obstacle, as we don't know much of anything about Eva except that she's in the sorority.  She mostly just exists to make fans of Simone and Lando mad.

Bucky looks and sounds really, really good for his age, as he would have to be in at least his 90s to have played in the Negro Leagues with the contemporaries he mentioned.  Willie Mays just died at 93, and he was only a teen when baseball was integrated.  I guess they figured that the advice Bucky was giving was important and was what the audience would focus on, not the timeline.

I thought the thing Nate found that she wasn't supposed to (from the episode description) would have to do with her lawyer cousin and the attack on Ezra, but now I'm not sure they'll even get back to that before the show ends.  Of course the case would realistically take a while, but I thought it would be mentioned again.  I'm glad that Nate and Ryan are happy, even though it did look questionable earlier in the episode.  Nate/Thea scenes are always great.  I also liked that Nate's acceptance letter from the other school said she was accepted for fall 2024, because I usually have no clue what year it is supposed to be in the All American/Homecoming universe.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

What a rich ep.   So many ongoing arcs being wrapped and the outlines of the future without Bringston.

Netta was brilliant in the kiss-off scene.  I honestly believed she was personally going through what Keisha was experiencing.  So authentic.  So real.  The choice of having Cam grasp her face and give her a light kiss as he announced he was done was another excellent moment (from both actors).

Simone.  Ugh.  It's par for the course, but to honor her for escalating the traffic stop (team bus) is outrageous!  The situation was handled and was defused.  But, noooooo!  Our girl haaaaad to go against the express orders of her coach and rile it all up.  And she is a Rosa Parks?!  The incident was awful.  The cops merit criminal convictions and jail.  No question.  But, there is no point in agitating jerks like them and potentially giving them an excuse (in their small minds) to mess with and hurt the detainees.  This is a huge misstep by TPTB.

I LOLed when I saw the citation at the bottom of Simone's HOF plaque:  "Three-time conference player of the week."  OMG, watch out ATP! 

Now, the concept of an HBCU athletics HOF is wonderful.  There is an HBCU alum HOF (National Black College Alumni) in Atlanta.  The focus is much more broad, but it is allll about the proud legacies of the schools.  The Athletics inductees are bigtime.  A deep irony to me is that one of the very first things they established was, wait for it...an annual HBCU tennis challenge! 

I wanna be on the Bringston Board.  Better than a Six Flags roller coaster park!  Nice (not) that Amara got it done in two days and we never saw her.  Very bad form, show.

Why was Eva wrong to ask Lando to stay away from Simone?  She was direct (communication!) and her affect was not confrontational.  She expressed her fear and was hoping to avoid an obvious potential betrayal, a la J.R. and Keisha.  Good on ya, Eva.  Now, run.  Run far away from Lando.

Good to see Nate being less than a saint.  She was dead wrong to shutout Ryan from her application process and the results.  The snooping was a new low.  That final scene where it looked for all the world that a proposal was forthcoming went too far.  Much too elaborate and evocative of a marriage proposal than a friendship enhancement.  Nice to see the game and the bottle of wine being used as props twice.  Saved cash.

Did we see "family breakfast" on campus before?  

 

 

[KWalkerInc]

I just think that Eva should have shared her concerns with Lando--probably a long time ago, such as when she was worried after seeing him hug Simone at that party.  He probably would have claimed they were just friends, and then maybe she'd go to Simone after that if nothing changed (at least after a while, as I doubt she would object during Simone's treatment).  They could have attempted to make Lando and Eva's relationship look a little more substantial if she had spoken to him and he'd made some effort to back away from Simone, but I think they chose this path to make Simone seem noble and willing to sacrifice her happiness for others (at least that's what they think).

I hope they won't put Simone's player of the week accomplishment in the actual  museum after they build it!  At least I assume that happened in her sophomore year that was not shown, not in her freshman year when she tested positive for PEDs because of Nate's cream.  Even though she was telling the truth, I'm sure there were some players that weren't buying it.

The ratings have become microscopic the last two weeks, so it's a good thing it doesn't matter.  (I thought last week was because of Labor Day, but it's gotten worse.)

[KWalkerInc]

On some level, I found Simone a little more relatable than I usually do this week because I have been through both the post-cancer treatment experience and (much earlier) burn-out for a sport I had grown up playing (though I didn't have her success, just some people who were not in a position to know better thought I would play it in college).  Although it wasn't like my own experience, from what I have read/heard Simone's numbness while trying to re-adjust to life happens often (though of course everyone is different).  While battling this, she did attempt to express gratitude for the fact that she was in remission (and that tennis helped lead her to an earlier diagnosis) and empathy for those who were not as fortunate.  However, when she was reading her speech to the support group about "leaving cancer in the rearview" and that she would be moving on, I felt like some of the group members (though all appeared supportive and encouraging) were secretly thinking, "Oh, thank God!"  She was going through a legitimate struggle to reclaim her life, but if I were in a position where I didn't know if I was even going to live, I really wouldn't want to listen to her complain about tennis.

It was nice, though slightly implausible given that it had probably only been a few days/weeks since the fallout of JR and Keisha's kiss, that JR and Cam came together to help Simone and (though there were a few thinly veiled references to the situation) they were calm and maintained a united front.  And Simone sort of followed their advice briefly, though of course only Lando could really help (and had her straightened out by the end of the episode!).  It is too bad that they had to have Eva be apparently catty off-camera and then grovel to Simone.  Of course we don't know if she made things up, or if she just told people that Lando and Simone want each other, which they do.  Eva has only been in about four scenes anyway in spite of dating Lando for a good chunk of the school year.  The writers obviously wanted an excuse to keep Simone and Lando apart beyond them saying they were just friends because, just as with Damon, they prefer not to have them together for more than an episode.

Cam remains optimistic even after losing his job, but I'll bet he finds out next that J-Marks and company have gotten him blackballed from working in the industry anywhere in Atlanta.  Maybe he will have to go home and seek out Layla.  I was afraid that--even after what she had said to Cam about not being "that girl"--Gabi was going to take JR back anyway.  She did a very good job of appearing conflicted before she ultimately slapped him.  JR has so many storylines going on that he doesn't seem like he cares a lot anyway.  He gave her space, but seemingly could have talked to her sooner and (as Lando pointed out last week) he forgot to mention her when he said the problem was between him, Cam and Keisha.

I don't know why I didn't figure out that Noah was displaying symptoms of being bipolar before they said so.  I thought he was just being a moody teen and was mad at JR because maybe they were going to say his great stepdad cheated on his mom.  This is a very complicated situation that they don't have a lot of time to get into this late.  But when he punched the glass it reminded me of (spoiler for season 5 of All American)

Spoiler

when Spencer punched glass when he was spiraling after Billy's death.

 

But at least Noah didn't hit Marcus, I guess.  He's right that it did take forever for Marcus to return with the food--so many other things happened to other characters.

I wonder if the actors who didn't actually appear otherwise get paid for the flashbacks in the musical montage (including Michael from All American).  Probably not much!

Edited September 17 by KWalkerInc
I had gotten stuck in the spoiler box and hit submit to get back out.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Me not feelin' Simoney, either.

It's quite a thing to me that the one real victim here made an amend that wasn't hers to make and now she is gonna experience a betrayal she'll carry with her the rest of her life.  Of course there aren't any guarantees that a given romance will turn out to be "The One."  The odds, in fact, are very large it will not be.  Yet, Lando's moving on with a Simone, with all the lies and hurt in their "family," is a particular gut punch.  

Classic "world revolves around me" moments in this ep.  The Athletic Council mess was stunning and hogging all (8?) the courts (I know, she didn't arrange it, but she sure told the spoiled brat to get lost) on a perfect weather day well displays her arrogance.  She also refused to step back and allow an up and coming member of the team to grow.  Blowing off her House?  What's the excuse?  She's almost certainly cured?  Look, the thing here, though, is that her natural need to circle the wagons feeds her worst narcissistic self as endlessly demonstrated through the years.

I did enjoy Cam's awakening.  He's much the better for it.  There's little doubt he did not register his song for copyright, though.  He won't see a nickel for it.  Gabby's hardcore self is really cool.  I hope she doesn't rebound with Cam.  She has way too much going for herself.  If Cam is right for her, he'll still be right for her in a couple of years.  She's perfect for Layla's (or anyone's) burgeoning empire.

What a montage!  Jordan!!!!  But, no baby.

Nate and Keisha in NYC.  Smells like spin off.  Well, it would if the show were actually popular.  Then again...the original AA is moving there, yes?  Hmmm.

[Rae Spellman]

On 9/17/2024 at 1:20 PM, Lonesome Rhodes said:

Gabby's hardcore self is really cool.  I hope she doesn't rebound with Cam.  She has way too much going for herself.  If Cam is right for her, he'll still be right for her in a couple of years. 

Maybe Cam was the guy for Gabby all along. While they told us she saved JR's life, they showed us her positive influence on Cam's life. She got him into music, she convinced JR to help him get into KEK. She convinced JR to change the pledge process. Basically, Gabby led Cam to music and a brotherhood with KEK.

Tangentially, it sucks that KEK/PKZ worked out so terribly for Thea, Nate, and JR.  

[KWalkerInc]

I know I shouldn't have laughed at all the times that Simone and Lando kept getting interrupted, but I couldn't help it.  I'm sure their fans will end up getting a happy ending, which happened rarely with many couples I used to like back in the day, so they will be fine.  I'm just surprised that the last interruption wasn't Damon suddenly appearing.

Spoiler

But then they would have to pay him for an another episode, so that wasn't going to happen.  It's too bad he's apparently still pining for Simone, but hopefully he can get a big MLB signing bonus and help JR with Bringston baseball.

I was way off about what Keisha was going to say during the last interruption!  I can't believe I was actually right though about someone bitterly bringing up Simone's previous failed drug test, even though that is realistic.  She may want her privacy, but if she is worried about her reputation, she could just say she had cancer and that would shut them up quickly.  And maybe she would have grounds for a lawsuit if something about the cancer drugs has been leaked, but there's not time for that anyway.  I'm surprised it was kept private enough that everyone on campus didn't already know she'd been sick.  If so, I envy her for being around people who don't blab everything about someone else's health.

The other tennis team crashing the rally was way over the top.  I thought maybe that would backfire and a bunch of people would show up at the tennis competition, and maybe they did but we just couldn't see them because they couldn't afford more extras, but it still seemed like it was just the same 10 people (minus Nate).  Is it true that people play both singles and doubles in college tennis?  I was thinking of what I saw at my high school where it was one or the other, but the US tennis site said that college teams have only 8 to 12 players for the most part.  Of course Simone ends up having to play the cocky player in #1 singles, that wasn't obvious or anything.  I'm not sure they really would have gone to so much trouble to play that match with the rain and noise regulations.  I've seen college baseball games end in ties because they'd gone a lot of extra innings and the visiting team was about to miss its flight home if they continued, even though it was league play.  The one Simone moment that really bugged me this episode was when she "forgave" the team for doubting themselves.  She could have phrased that some other way.  They were under a lot of pressure, and it's true they wanted things both ways (attention but didn't want pressure), but they're a young team and she should have just been appreciative of their efforts to help her.

I'm glad that Cam experienced such a dramatic turnaround within a day or so.  It's surprising he wasn't suspicious that Keisha was involved in the first place, but you'd think she would have taken pains to stay away from the concert site!  At least she was able to convince him to keep going.  I was worried when Big  Hank seemed to be reprimanding him for singing the song, but they had a happy Cam talking to Lando almost immediately after that, so it was good that the episode was almost over to take away the suspense.  (I read an interview with Mitchell where he said the entire storyline with Keisha betraying Cam and the song following was built around a song Mitchell wrote years ago.)  Not sure if Cam and Keisha will reunite so fast, but she appears to have no interest beyond friendship toward JR.  It's odd that J-Marks would suddenly stop being a jerk and let Cam have the song, but that's probably because the show's chances for renewal were low, so I'm happy for Cam.

I believe that Layla would vouch for Cam after hearing his music, but why did he apparently have to go through Simone to get to her?  Simone was friendly with Olivia, not Layla, and when they had that one episode where Layla suddenly appeared to save their alleged friendship, Simone wasn't interested at all.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

This one may have set the record for insanity in a single ep.

Good for Keisha.  So now she cares about a loser like Cam and Bringston, generally?  She is about to experience enormous change and meet very impactful people.  NYC thereafter.  Rear view mirror, honey.

The whole tennis team resentment deal was absurd.  Farce.  Did they not do stuff to promote the heck out of the team in the very recent past?  Then, the idea that Simone, or anyone, could have put together, solo, that HoF picture display in a matter of hours?  Unpossible.  She also had time to go to Lando's lair.  Riiiight.

Cam has zero chance of being a success in the music industry.  He quit after two whole rejections?!  Laughable.  The reason that the overwhelming majority of peeps in entertainment, who did not have family connections made/make it, is by "showing up."  It worked for me that way, and for my fellow struggling peers.  We actually liked it when most would just falloff (self-selection).  We never failed to take advantage of any crumb of a chance to do something when asked.  Most of it was way beneath where we wanted to be, and was often at our personal expense.  Only then, we got "The Call."  Cam has no shot.

I saw Hank larger than life while Cam was performing.  It was not possible for Cam to not also see him.  But, he was surprised when Hank came up to him?  Ugh. 

J. Marx allowing Cam to release the single does make sense, imo.  It wasn't gonna work for J, and he owned it.  So, free money if Cam somehow sold it.  With Hank producing it, it's a reasonable calculus.  The massive irony is that after alllll the mess about the shady dude sponsoring the baseball team and how one should never compromise one's principles, Cam is thrilled to sign with Hank again (or is it the evil J. Marx?).  Horrid continuity within a single ep! 

The final match was badly presented.  First, Simone was on serve at 5-4.  She was not behind.  Then, the match point was incredible, as in unpossible.  Simone chose to go to the net (huge irony given that her whole deal now was to stay at the baseline).  We then saw several volleys.  Then, out of nowhere, Simone was back deep and then instantly won with a shot at the net.  Physically unpossible as depicted.

The drug accusation would go away instantly.  She already passed such a test.  Oh.  The baseball players would ALL have instant eligibility due to the school dropping the sport.  J.R. is obviously good enough to attract offers.  His career is not over, unless of course, he is a quitter like Cam.

I still think we'll see Damon.

   

  

 

 

[KWalkerInc]

I'm just surprised that J-Marx wouldn't try to hold onto the song out of spite even though it didn't work for him, just because he didn't like Cam and was portrayed as horrible in the previous episode. 

I forgot about Coach Loni telling the team they are going to be filmed for a docuseries on their universe's version of ESPN U.  I suppose the cameras will be filming when Simone and Lando next try to get together or something?  There are multiple shows following college teams that are always on ESPN U when I'm looking at the ticker, but they usually cover the whole season, not just the very end.  Though some other channel covered my cousin's son's team for just one game as part of a rivalry series a few years ago.  I think it was on the channels that come with the LG TV, but I couldn't figure it out in time!

The funniest part of the tennis was when they were still showing the doubles.  The opponent was supposed to whiff on Molly's serve, but she didn't even try to start her swing until several seconds after the ball had gone by.

[KWalkerInc]

I know it wasn't what she was expecting, but the big ending is that everyone applauds Simone for having battled cancer?  That isn't the surprise they seemed to present it as.  I can imagine someone on social media being a jerk unfortunately, but athletes who return from cancer to compete are usually well-received.  I would have thought that besides wanting her privacy, she would have been upset by the idea of people applauding out of pity instead of respect or admiration (it's not like you can tell with everyone in a crowd anyway, though I might be suspicious of Cortina!).  Simone's message in the interview was good, even if she didn't really want to do it at first.  I thought they were going to be in a docuseries, not just have a reporter asking questions, so that confused me.

It was nice that Damon said he and Simone had grown apart and needed to move on.  I only wish that he had actually believed it and wasn't just saying it because he saw her with Lando.  He looked so sad!  Nkechi Okoro Carroll always said that the writers' room was split over who Simone should date, so I wonder if it would have been different had Peyton been able to stay on the show.  Either way, it's too bad that the decision was taken out of their hands by budgetary concerns.  It seems like NOC preferred Lando anyway though?  Anyway, I have a nitpick about Damon already being signed, as the draft is in July.  I'm sure that the writers thought that he could be a free agent because he played in the D.R., but I think that the deciding factor over whether you go into the draft or can sign with anyone is where you were born or are a citizen.  I'm impressed though that the show dropped a hundred-plus dollars on a real Detroit Tigers bag from the MLB shop (it appears to be on sale for 85 right now).  I always thought All American used fake NFL teams because of money, but maybe it was because they weren't always portraying that league favorably, whereas this show has not criticized MLB.

I'm glad that Keisha decided to focus on herself and the tour.  I do wonder why it took JR to get her to realize she could probably take her finals early, as that lack of insight makes me glad she decided not to be a doctor.  They probably just did that though to show him being helpful again and set up the conflict with he and Cam both trying to make a play for her.  Right after the episode aired, I was playing songs on my laptop and "My First Love" came up almost immediately, though with words of course.  They probably would have eventually had Cam and JR work things out, realistic or not. 

In the interview with Rhoyle earlier, he was happy that they were showing more sides to Nate than the first season, when the goal was just to have her be likable and a great friend.  They may have swung a bit too far the other way, as Nate was doing a lot of ill-advised things in her limited air time.  Thea (the one who does nothing but be the supportive friend now) thinks Nate can be a great lawyer, but she still has a lot to learn to avoid getting in hot water and screwing everything up.  Maybe Simone should connect Nate with her ex mother-in-law, who has already seen a lot with Coop.  Nate didn't seem particularly devastated over being (totally understandably) dumped by Ryan.  It is at least good that scuzzy people who beat up the disabled will possibly face justice, but too bad that Nate went about it this way.

It's nice that Noah isn't bipolar after all, but what about rummaging through the house and smashing things for no reason a few episodes ago?  He needs some kind of counseling at any rate.

In an earlier interview, NKO said that she thought the episode worked as a satisfying finale after she removed one line.  I wonder if she'll tell what the line was?  But in the post-finale interview, she hinted that the characters can still go on as long as the All American universe exists, so maybe consider that a warning in some cases!

Edited October 1 by KWalkerInc
Forgot about Noah's storyline.