S07.E10: Just a Friend

[KWalkerInc]

Quote

When Cassius decides to bench his starters, KJ fights for their right to play; Amina returns from Baltimore determined to save Khalil from the threats he's facing; Khalil finally turns to Coop for help; Layla helps Breonna and Coop find their way.

 

[Lonesome Rhodes]

She actually went and did it.  No, not Coop.  Not Breonna.  Not Tori.

Amina.  She officially went beyond all shred of doubt and became Simone (I can't believe I typed that name.  Ewwwww).  She actually believes that she can dictate to a lad in mortal peril from a notorious gang how he needed to deal with it, and who he must involve, meaning herself.  All-time Simone move, that was.  Hey, it's not like her mom was a vicious and violent person was was killed as she attempted to murder.  Wait.  What?  She did all that?  Hmm.

Then, she refuses and chastises an excited and relieved object of her ardor (Khalil) when he finally feels free enough to show her how he really feels.  If ever there were an empowering and hopeful moment that was ALL Khalil in his entire life, this was it.  And she makes it about herself.  She is the worst.  I loathe her.    I will laugh heartily and at length if this was actually a "Thrill of the chase" deal being taken away and she just wants to dump him.

The rest of the ep contained some really good moments.  Once again, Layla was tremendous in her empathy and compassion.  The meeting at Miss Ocha's house was quite something.  There was very real extreme danger overhanging it and the particulars discussed were truly legit.  I really wanted to see Ocha's actual decision explained to Coop in the moment.  In any event, that was a very powerful scene.  I also really liked the callback to KJ getting locker cookies as a football player, and having Tori being the one who made them.   Sweet.

More customary BS around football, though.  First, the announcement that all starters would not play.  Unpossible IRL.  But, the emphasis on avoiding injury and any other situation that could derail their playoff run was truth.  The problem was that the writers created the biggest and heaviest anvil in soap opera history.  My guess was that the opponent would purposefully wreck KJ.  This was especially likely given how chippy things had been getting (also truth).  It ended up a non-contact hammy for a WR. 

I totally did not understand the AD and Boosters deal.  Is it that they were ordering the coach to not first ensure victory?  No way in Hades.  None.

The Jeremy family saga arc is off to a promising start.  I notice that the actor portraying KJ's last name is...Jeremy.   

[KWalkerInc]

I did feel a little empathy for Amina when she was trying to actually deal with the fact that her mother went and did horrible things when the path had been cleared for her to have a better life, that she threw it away.  I could imagine her having low self-esteem because of feeling she wasn't enough of a reason for her mom to avoid going down that road.  She is very lucky to have Coop (besides her usually off-camera dad) in her life, especially when she keeps making snotty and hurtful comments to them.  I don't know that simply saying grief drove Mo over the edge really explains her behavior adequately.  That would be more in line with Shawn's mother killing Tyrone, as she committed a desperate act of revenge but did not spend months plotting an elaborate scheme to make him look crazy and ultimately win him over before then shooting him.  There had to have been more to Mo's problems, but Coop wanted to reassure Amina.  Otherwise, Amina does not seem to have any problem loving herself.  Why does Khalil keep having to apologize to her for being a "bad friend"?  It's not like he has any life-threatening problems or anything...plus Amina seems clueless about the dangers involved and the fact that she should probably appreciate Khalil, Coop and Preach trying to keep her out of harm's way.  Maybe Coop and Preach have sheltered her too much?  She clearly hasn't even heard stories about things that are probably going on very close to her neighborhood.  But she probably would try to fix all of that herself if she knew.  During her "I'm beautiful and enough" speech to Khalil, I kept wanting to check the recording time to see if the episode was almost over, because she just wouldn't stop talking! 

The scene with Miss Ocha was very well done.  It was very scary to see this powerful old woman who controls so many lives and orders violence but does so in such a proper and mannered way.  I'm sure that Coop was very nervous even though she has dealt with many difficult situations and surely had been briefed on what she should expect.  I'm sure that something will probably happen to go against what Miss Ocha has ordered, even though the person stupid enough to do so would probably pay severely.

It was cute that Layla was playing matchmaker so enthusiastically, although Coop and Breonna really should wait until the class is over to have a date (though this one doesn't really count I guess because it was Layla who set it up?).  Breonna saying that teacher/student relationships "aren't encouraged" reminded me of on Friends when Ross (of course) was dating a student and kept saying it was "frowned upon" even though there was actually a policy about it.  But I guess they tried to show earlier that Breonna could still be impartial because she gave Coop a lower grade on that one assignment when she was distracted.  Coop probably will go into entertainment law as (in the unlikely event of future seasons) this would set her up to help Layla.  Then she won't have Breonna as an instructor again.  The situation right now is still a little weird though.

It was interesting seeing Cassius get all weird and semi-possessed at the sight of his father.  The reporter guy was very annoying (of course intentionally), but made me laugh because our newspaper and local TV sports are down to like nothing now and there wouldn't be someone so invested in stirring things up among high school coaches.  If Beverly is so powerful, they probably would have been blowing people out and pulling players at halftime in many games this year.  I don't really understand how a team with a potential 2nd loss could have already clinched a number one seed before the game.  If they were undefeated, I could see it.  I thought KJ was going to get hit after the pass on the last play, though he probably wouldn't have been really hurt because they have to have him for playoff storylines.  (Unless he quits after learning of Grandpa's evil plans?)  It was funny when the cheerleaders and other extras were reacting to KJ and Tori, and fairly believable.  It's too bad that there aren't many students at the school allowed to have lines so that Tori could meet someone else.

I noticed that Layla now mentioned Elle being in AA to Coop, so the whole "anonymous" thing is really optional in their eyes.  I don't blame her for possibly relapsing at the thought of opening for "Sabrina."  I only hear her songs once in a while, and that's enough for me.  She seems to find herself very clever and does this talk-sing thing at times that bugs me.  A friend always complains of having to flee to the AC-only radio stations to get away from her.  Also, eBay always suggests her name in the box when I'm just trying to search for basketball cards of Sabrina Ionescu.

How many episodes has Jordan missed now, three or four?  Michael must make a lot by the standards of this show.  These characters have always had a LOT of out-of-town trips (they didn't say anything about Jordan this time, but Preach going to a "teacher's conference in Arizona"?).  Also, South Crenshaw doesn't seem to have had a game for months.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Here's another example of Amina's special brand of sociopathic narcissism:  She got back from Baltimore and Coop offers her a great breakfast.  She begs off.  Of itself, no worries.  But, Coop makes it clear she is desperate to clear the air.  Amina comes back with pat answers devoid of empathy for Coop.  Then runs out the door.

Here's the thing...we later learn that Amina figured out just how bad her mom was and how she for realz was gonna kill Coop, only for Preach to save Coop.  Amina got the lowdown on what a brat (I'm being kind) her mom was to her Grandparents, who loved her and did everything they could to save her from the streets.  She knew for a fact that Coop (and Preach) were pretty dang heroic in the whole situation and that they risked their very lives for Amina.  She knew this before she stepped foot back in Cali.  And she coldly blows Coop off.

The hell with her.

Later, of course, we get the reconciliation and reveal with appropriate acknowledgement from Amina as to the whole deal.  /end rant