With this being my final recap, I’m going to take a page out of famous TikToker Keith Lee’s book. The All American: Homecoming series finale aired on Monday. I watched it; let's rate it 1-10. I had such high hopes for the series finale, but once again I was highly disappointed. The way the show went downhill after the first two seasons should be studied. My final rating for the last episode of All American: Homecoming is a solid 5, and that’s me being generous.
The fact that Simone and Lando ended up together is pulling the weight in my rating. When a show ends for good, the viewer is supposed to feel a sense of closure, but that was not the case. Team Limone got what we wanted, but I'm still left with so many questions. We didn’t get to see Simone’s final game, Damon playing in the majors, or the Bringston fam graduating. There are so many moments that we won’t get a chance to see. I’m really going to miss this show. So, for the last time, here is my recap of the series finale of All American: Homecoming.
Damon’s Ninth Inning
I knew that Damon would be back for the final episode. Even with him going down to a reoccurring character, I’m still curious as to why he didn’t appear more this season like Thea and Dr. P. Anyway, Damon Sims graced our screens with his presence one last time. I can honestly say that I’m happy that Damon got his happy ending (and I don’t mean with Simone). When we first met Damon, all he wanted to do was play professional baseball, and in this last episode, we see that his dream has come true.
The Bringston club baseball team has a new sponsor, none other than former Bringston baseball alum Damon Sims. After spending a year in the DR, Damon was signed to the Detroit Tigers. Using some of the money from his signing bonus, he sponsored the club team. I really enjoyed this storyline because it was truly a full-circle moment. Damon’s return was a happy occasion for some and caused problems for others.
With Damon coming back, Lando feared that it would interrupt what he potentially had with Simone. I was surprised that Simone didn’t have a bigger reaction to Damon coming back, but it just showed that Lando was the only thing on her mind. The one thing I loved about the cast on this show is how they showed up for each other no matter the occasion, big or small. So, when news broke that Damon got drafted, you know they had to celebrate. In what would be the very last family breakfast/dinner, Damon and Simone see each other for the first time since their breakup and him leaving.
Simone was so unfazed by Damon being there; it was honestly comical. We learned that, like with her mom, Simone didn’t tell Damon about her cancer diagnosis because she didn’t want to distract him from baseball. This gave Lando the perfect opportunity to step up to the plate. He almost ruined our chances of Limone being end game by simply being there. Since he and Simone accomplished everything they set out to do, he thought there was a chance for them to rekindle what they had, but Simone clearly moved on. At one point I was Team Dimone, but once Lando came into the picture, it all went out the window. Although I’m Team Limone, I don’t like the way they ended Simone and Damon’s story. He didn’t stay for her big match; we didn’t get a goodbye hug or anything, and we didn’t get to hear him say his famous “Simone Hicks” one last time. That was extremely disappointing.
Peyton Alex Smith did an excellent job as Damon Sims; from the backdoor pilot to the series finale, he truly embodied the character. I wish we could have seen more of him in season three, but now that the show is over, I’m excited to see what comes next from him as an actor.
The People’s Champ
I knew that the All American: Homecoming writers just threw this season together when they began to recycle old storylines. Simone was accused of doping once again. In the finale, she struggles with the idea of telling the world that she had cancer. Although the NCAA cleared her, people online were still bullying her and her teammates. I was a bit shocked that after everything that happened, her team still didn’t know she had cancer. It took a stern talk from Tootie that Simone finally opened to her teammates and the rest of the world. In another interview, Simone sets the record straight by telling everyone that medicine found in her system was her cancer medicine.
Tennis has been a huge part of Simone’s story ever since the original All American. So, it was extremely disappointing that we didn’t get to see her final match. After everything she's been through this season, I would have liked to see it all pay off. We got that sweet pep talk from Lando before her match, but I knew that would happen. When Simone walked on the court, she was greeted by roaring applause. People now knew her story and found it inspiring.
I’m going to miss seeing Simone on my screen every week. Although season three Simone wasn’t my favorite, her character overall was one of my favorites in the whole All American universe. Watching Geffri Maya play Simone was like watching one of my close friends grow from a young woman to a full-fledged adult. She made Simone’s character relatable, and I’ve enjoyed watching her from start to finish.
Wasted Time
Before I get into the star storyline of the finale, let me talk about storylines the show could have scarped, for starters, the storyline with Noah possibly having bipolar disorder. I understand, as a concerned parent, Coach Marcus wanted to have him evaluated, but why did the writers have everyone show up to his evaluation? I felt like that should have been a private moment for Coach Marcus, Crystal, and Noah.
At the end of the episode, we get Noah’s results, and it turns out that he does not have bipolar disorder. I would have to know the reasoning behind the scene where he trashed Coach Marcus’s apartment because if that were my dad and I trashed his apartment, I would have had more than a psych evaluation. I just feel that they used this storyline to replace the one he had with Dr. P since her character was moved to reoccurring. I would have honestly much preferred them to get together and get married versus the long-lost son plot.
Next are Nate and Ryan. They had that big story about them working it out and fighting for their relationship just for the writers to break them up. We finally got closure on the Ezra storyline that we were introduced to earlier in the season. Ezra’s attackers have a possibility of getting off, but Ryan learns that they had attacked another person before Ezra. Nate learns of this information online and is upset that Ryan didn’t tell her.
Ryan tells Nate that the victim does not want to come forward and to leave it alone, but Nate being Nate, she doesn’t listen. Ryan learns that Nate stole his notes to find the victim to convince them to come forward about the attack. Feeling that Nate broke his trust, Ryan breaks up with Nate, and that’s the end of them. But on the bright side, we learn that Nate was finally accepted into Bringston Law School. This isn’t how I thought Nate’s story would end, but I’m glad she got what she wanted kind of…
Lastly, and probably the most pointless storyline, the love triangle between Keisha, Cam, and JR. Ive already said this a bunch of times that if JR and Keisha didn't end up together, then their kiss would have been done in vain, and low and behold, that’s exactly what happened. To give you the cliff notes, JR realizes he likes Keisha more than a friend; after helping Keisha in bind, he realizes that he still loves her, and Keisha decides to choose herself.
The writers wrapped up this scene by having Cam and JR admit to each other that they both have feelings for Keisha while she prepares to go on tour after completing her finals early in order to graduate. We dont know what happens after that. I absolutely hated this storyline because the writers ruined two great relationships for absolutely nothing. I would have been happier if we had gotten a love confession from JR or something, but we got nothing!
Happily, Ever After
Team Limone, stand up and take a bow. This is our time to shine. We got what we wanted; Simone and Lando ended up together. This was the ONE thing that the writers got right this season. I will admit that I was a little nervous during the scene when Lando saw Damon talking to Simone. I thought the writers were going to trick us.
Lando sees Simone talking to Damon right before their romantic evening, and to protect himself, he assumes that all the time that they’ve spent together doesn’t matter now that Damon is back. In a very beautiful love confession, Simone tells Lando that she loves him and he’s the one she wants to be with. But he tells her that he doesn’t believe her and walks away. I’m not going to lie, I wanted to jump through the TV and smack Lando because we’ve been waiting for this all season, and this is how you act.
After Lando turns Simone down, he tells her that she can’t keep avoiding him, like he isn’t the cause of her being distant. Other than Spencer James, Lando is my favorite man in the All American universe because his confession to Simone brought me to tears. Lando invites Simone to the photography studio after thinking about their talk.
He answers her question of what would his story be if he allowed fear to keep him from speaking his truth? He then plays a slideshow while he tells her how his world has changed for the better since she’s been in it and how she is the most important part of his story. He tells her that he loves her, and they kiss. This moment has made all the ups and downs of the season worth it because this is all I wanted. I am now at peace with the show's ending.
Geffri Maya and Martin Bobb-Semple did a fantastic job as Simone and Limone. The chemistry these two shared on screen is some of the best I’ve ever seen. Martin showed tremendous growth as Lando went from a reoccurring character to a series regular. Their love story will always be my favorite part of All American Homecoming. Lando’s parents found love at Bringston, and I’m glad he was able to do the same. Team Limone is officially signing out.
Final Thoughts
This is such a bittersweet feeling. As much as I love the fact that Simone and Lando ended up together, I’m sad that the show is ending for good. Season three was definitely the worst out of the three seasons. I feel like with more notice about the cancellation, this could have been a much better season. This show had so much potential to tell so many more stories.
It further sheds light on the cancellation of Black TV shows. It seems like a different Black show is getting canceled every week. Even though this isn’t how any of us thought the show would end, I’m happy I was able to see All American: Homecoming. All there's left to say is to the cast of All American: Homecoming, job well done.