S05.E18: This Is How You Do It

[jewel21]

Quote

The GAU football team is undergoing some growing pains and Spencer is challenged to try and bring them all together. Asher and Jaymee are ready to share their news but not everyone is supportive. Coop is stumbling on new challenges in class, and Olivia is learning that Jayden Davis stirred up more than the football team, but it ultimately sends her in an exciting new direction.

Airdate: 05/01/2023

[KWalkerInc]

I hope that Alicia will actually stay broken up with Spencer this time!  There wasn't much point to their reunion, except to keep him from getting back with Olivia.  It does seem like it's really over now, with Spencer at least having the decency to not try to stop her from leaving (though it's not like he went after her when she stepped away the last time).  With Olivia's interest in going away with a cultural exchange program, I'm guessing the finale will involve Spencer realizing he wants to get back together, but then he won't say anything because he won't want to interfere.  I think they said the program was just a summer thing, but then that will probably give enough time for Spencer and/or Olivia (probably her) to get involved with someone new.  I'm just speculating wildly, because the press release for the season finale is the most vague thing I've ever read, so there aren't any hints.  It basically says "some stuff happens to some people," only in flowery language, without mentioning any characters by name.  I'm sure there will be no Spencer/Olivia content next week because the previews make it look like he's off wherever J.J. is.

I was hoping that Professor Hill really was just trying to prepare Coop for the way things are in the courtroom, but he's not looking so good now, particularly when he was expecting Coop to apologize to him for her word usage.  I hope this isn't going to lead to Coop having to give up law and have some other plot next season, but maybe she'll just be more determined to prove she can do it.  Sky is really a piece of work, deciding she should take back Coop (who wasn't asking, in spite of them apparently being "in love") because Patience didn't respond to her advances.  Does Miko think that Patience will turn to HER if a wedge is driven between Patience and Coop (and her and Sky)?  I just hope they won't try to explain/redeem her.

I still think Jaymee is doomed, regardless of her doctor thinking it's okay to stop taking the medication.  This could mean Asher as a single dad, so that every scene he's in will feature a crying baby, which will be great.  If they don't kill Jaymee, then they could at least have appearances where he's doing something else and when someone asks where the baby is, they can say he or she is with Jaymee.  They'll probably have some crap about the vortex helping him out and him using the lessons he learned from Billy (in general, not just the five minutes he talked about it before the bus crash).

I know that COVID doesn't exist in All American Land (I can't even tell what year it is--I forgot what it said when they showed Billy's gravestone a few episodes ago), but I do NOT enjoy people being sick being depicted as being all "cute and funny."  Especially when they're all walking around presumably spreading sickness everywhere, although of course the football team didn't get it from Jordan because they were needed at the dance thing, only Layla got sick as another example of how "adorable" they're supposed to be.  I will just chalk this up to one of the times where they didn't particularly care about realism and try to fight my instincts to be like "HELL NO!" over this plot.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

I saw this man in the locker room.  He looked like he belonged.  I thought maybe he was a sanitation engineer.  Then, he watched as Seniors were hammering Spence about the lack of trust they had and how the team was royally screwed.  So much truth!!!  Then came a shock:  That man was a COACH!  GAU actually has a coach who spends some time in the football facilities.  Knock me over with a feather.

Totally see the same Spolivia arc development as described above.  Girl has phenomenal time management skills, eh?  Student paper, class, campus clubs, dance, supporting the principal cast.  Oh yeah, 12-Step recovery time and energy. 

TPTB can do whatever they want with the law prof.  It would be stunning if he does not become an obvious villain.  What are the odds that the conscience of the community, Coop, could misjudge him?  If he does end up being genuine and wise and the dude who actually turns Coop around that she becomes a formidable lawyer, it would be exceptional TV.  IRL, it's the toughest teachers most remembered well.  Coop's sweet spot would be if she could navigate the persnickety law culture and her community with aplomb.  Where is Laura on this?  Unpossible that she would not be sought out by Coop for guidance.

Hey kids, let's put on a show!  Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland would be proud of the review/dance.  Hey kids, let's put on a show!   Pure fantasy, it was.  The "aggrieved" ballers learned and executed that choreo in a couple of hours?  The costuming and grooming would have taken that long by itself.  The cast looked like it was having an absolute blast.  Good for them.

Asher is certainly heading to some rocky shores.  He should have heeded Kaycee's warnings about her sister.  One thing that will utterly wreck him are the demands of him as a football coach and a student.  Now he's gonna take on an ill GF/wife and their child? 

How on earth would Mika (assumedly) have video of the attempted kiss of Patience by Skye????  Not looking forward to the wrap up of that arc.  "Tough" Layla threatening Mika was a hoot.   

Please, please, pleeeeeeeeze, do not hint or tease that Simone will return to this show.  Please.

    

[Artsda]

Spencer and the team learned all that choreo in an afternoon? 

Liv now going away. Queue Spencer running to stop or declare his love. 

Spencer's girlfriend was going to take her stuff without speaking to him first?  Spencer didn't deny anything too. But yeah he could have handled it better but he did 

[paulvdb]

9 hours ago, Lonesome Rhodes said:

How on earth would Mika (assumedly) have video of the attempted kiss of Patience by Skye????

She installed spyware on Patience's phone and used that to film the kiss.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Thank you for the explanation.  :)

The shot we saw would have been almost impossible, unless the phone were propped up and not lying flat, which it would be 99.9% of the time.  I know...suspend disbelief.  

[paulvdb]

43 minutes ago, Lonesome Rhodes said:

The shot we saw would have been almost impossible, unless the phone were propped up and not lying flat, which it would be 99.9% of the time.  I know...suspend disbelief.

Just to make sure I checked last week's episode again and the phone was in fact propped up. I hadn't noticed it at first but they zoomed in on it after Skye and Patience had left so I went back a bit and took this screenshot. The phone is easy to miss with all the other equipment in the studio so I drew a red oval around it to make it clearer. You don't see it during the actual kiss because Skye and Patience are blocking the view, but you can see it when Patience is standing up to leave.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Wow.  Thank you, paulvdb, for going to all this trouble in clarifying this!  It's a very good thing I was not called to the stand as a witness.  I would have sworn that the ladies were sitting in opposite chairs from the ones we saw in the phone video.  I WAS WRONG!!!!

Apologies to all y'all and to TPTB.