We are officially at the end of an era; the series finale of All American: Homecoming airs next week, and it’s such a bittersweet feeling. While we finally get some answers to some of our most pressing questions (Does Simone and Lando FINALLY get together?). The show we have come to know and love is sadly ending. I’m really going to miss this show when it ends. Although I enjoyed the season overall, we were robbed of what could have been a good season.
There were so many sad and unnecessary storylines this season that it feels like the show overall is ending on a sad note. If I were a writer on the show, I’d make sure that we’d go out with a bang and write the best season possible. It’s clear that the writers and showrunners ran out of concepts for the show because there were so many repeated storylines. But nonetheless, the show will be missed. Here is my recap for episode 12 of All American: Homecoming.
Meant To Be
When I tell you this episode stressed out so bad. I mean BAD! Every time we got close to our big love confession, someone had to ruin it. But Team Limone, it’s confirmed Simone and Lando are in love with each other. The opening scene where Simone was practicing her love confession with Keisha was a chef's kiss. We all knew that they were in love with each other, but I love the fact that they are both on the same page. Another reason I’m sad the show is ending is because I’m going to miss the Simone and Lando content. They are probably my favorite couple in the All-American universe aside from Spencer and Olivia.
Throughout the episode, we see Simone and Lando finally be upfront about their feelings towards each other, although Lando tried to deny it. Lando’s character is perfectly written as the ultimate lover boy. When he pulled out the book he made for Simone, I almost got teary-eyed because it showed how much he genuinely loves and cares about Simone. That type of romance can’t be taught. Cam was all of Team Limone this episode; as soon as he saw the book, he knew exactly what was going on. Even though I believe that we’ll get our big love confession next week, I didn’t like how the writers didn’t allow it to happen this episode. There is one episode left of the series, so there is no point in drawing out storylines. Every time Simone and Lando tried to talk to each other about their feelings, they were interrupted by someone or something.
So, I hope we get a Whitley and Dwayne-level love confession (IYKYK). Each episode I continued to see why Lando was the better choice for Simone. I’ve said this before, but the way he loves and cares for Simone is something I never thought Damon could be capable of. Lando is so in tune with Simone and how she feels in a way only a soulmate could. He breathes so much life into Simone and always reminds her of what she can do. Keisha calling Lando the “Simone Whisperer” was incredibly accurate because no one gets through to Simone the way Lando can.
Team Limone, it looks like we’re finally going to get what we want. This is a full-circle moment from the start of the season after we learned Simone chose Damon. It’s always been Lando, and I’m glad to see that they’ll most likely be endgame. But with the writers of All American: Homecoming, you never know.
It Takes a Village
As someone who also has their own village that constantly supports them in everything that they do, I understood where Simone was coming from in this episode. The Bringston tennis team is preparing for a match that could take them to the conference championships. Although this should be exciting for the team, their morale is low because of who they are playing against. Coach Lonnie urges Simone to help raise the team’s spirits. The team decides to hold a pep rally to get the rest of Bringston excited about their match. While at the match, the members of the other team come and crash the rally. This reminded me of something I’ve seen in early 2000s cheerleading movies like Bring It On. I get the purpose of this scene, but the other team wasn’t very intimidating.
Molly gets frustrated with Simone because now she thinks that if they lose, all of Bringston will be there to see it. I agreed with Molly that sometimes people have to stand on their own, but like Simone said, that’s the point of having a village. Having people there to support you so you don’t have to face things alone even your losses. Simone has always had someone there to support her, so it was difficult to understand not having someone there to support you until it happened to her.
The team won doubles against the other team with only the singles match left. Since Tootie’s flight was delayed, Simone now must take her place. But due to the city’s noise ordinance, only Simone, her opponent, and one other person are allowed on the court for the match. Simone has to play one of her biggest matches without her village. I also saw this scene as another full-circle moment. Simone has been trying to get back to her pre-cancer self when it comes to tennis, and her friends have been by her side every step of the way. But in this moment, she had to lean and trust herself to accomplish her goal. She had to trust her body, mind, and abilities to win the match. After everything she’s been through, I’m glad she came out on top this episode.
Lost Love
I’m still upset that the writers broke up Cam and Keisha for no reason. Keisha and JR aren’t dating, so that was really for nothing. Cam lost both of his greatest loves at the same time, so we thought. Since J. Marx fired Cam, he’s been trying to find another job at another label. Simone calls in a favor to Layla to get him an interview at another label. Following his interview, we learned that J. Marx has blackballed Cam in the music industry; no record label wants to hire him. This was sad to see because he described this situation as the same way he felt when he lost football. It seems like he can’t catch a break. Cam tells Lando that he’s considering quitting music, which is unfortunate because Cam is exceptionally talented. After learning that Cam might quit music, Lando tells Keisha, and the two of them come up with a plan to help Cam. They produce the idea of a Tiny Desk Concert for Cam to perform his music. Knowing that he is still upset about their breakup, Keisha tells Lando to tell Cam that it was his idea.
Lando tells Cam the idea, and he excitedly agrees. As they prepare for the concert, Cam learns that it was Keisha’s idea, and Lando has been helping her. He then refuses to do the concert. Once Keisha finds out the news, she talks to Cam. I really enjoyed this scene; the emotions were very raw and authentic, and both actors did an excellent job. After Cam talks to Keisha, he decides to do the concert. Like always, Cam kills it and performs the original song he wrote for J.Marx. We see that Big Hank pulled up for Cam’s performance and confronted him about the song he performed since it’s owned by the label.
Thankfully, Cam’s luck has turned around. Big Hank was so impressed with Cam and his performance he signed him to the label as an artist. He learned that Keisha is the one that invited Big Hank to his performance. I’m not excusing Keisha by any means, but I know she still cares about Cam, and I know he cares about her. I see a possibility of them reconnecting in the last episode, but with the way JR was looking at her, I’m not too sure.
Do the Right Thing
I’m a firm believer that sometimes good people do bad things. JR is an overall good person despite his incident with Keisha. He’s always been a leader and tried his best to do the right thing. The Bringston club baseball team has a potential sponsor, and he seems too good to be true. Following his intuition, JR learns that the sponsor was caught giving money to players but was cleared on all accounts. Since Coach Marcus is gone, JR has to make a decision on what to do. The sponsor tries to convince JR that being good all the time gets you nowhere and that he should follow through on the partnership.
JR almost fell for the bait, but after talking to Keisha, he decided to turn down the partnership. The writers tainted JR's good boy image with the situation with Keisha. It’s like he could do the right thing everywhere except for his relationship with Gabby. Like you both cheated on your signifigant others with each and you are out in public all cozy together? The level of nerve is unmatched. I’m not sure how JR’s story is going to end; he no longer has baseball or Gabby. I feel like the writers are going to try to push this him and Keisha story one last time but Simone and Lando are the only couple we’re worried about.
What to Look Forward To
I knew it!!! I knew Damon was coming back for the final episode. If I can be honest, he should have just left the show because having him only appear in the first and final episode was pointless. Not only did he only make appearances twice this season, it seems like the writers completely removed him from the season. After leaving, the cast only mentioned him twice this whole time. As we saw in the preview, he’s back at Bringston and trying to rekindle things with Simone. Little does he know it’s OVER for him. His absence allowed Simone and Lando to get closer, which is what most of us wanted all along. With it being the final episode next week, I’m curious to see how they wrap up the show, especially this storyline.
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