Poor Spencer. It’s been one step forward and two steps back at the beginning of his college career.
The first game of Spencer’s season on All American Season 4 Episode 13 served up an extra portion of drama when it should have been a special day for Spencer and his friends.
Spencer got his GAU scholarship mainly as a favor to his position coach, and the head coach won’t let him forget that.
Spencer has tried extra weight training then meditation to get him into college shape and make an impression but to little avail.
That was before he learned the possibilities that being a scout-team player presented to him. He made the first-team defense look silly, which landed him on the depth chart for the first time.
Being a third-string wide receiver meant he was only one injury away from getting onto the field.
And with a nice cushion on the scoreboard, Spencer did get his chance and almost made the most of it.
Until he failed to tuck the ball away well enough and got stripped, with the other team recovering. That was the end of Spencer’s opportunity to make his mark.
Fortunately, he was surrounded by wise coaches who had been there and done that. Both Billy and his current coach gave him some much-needed perspective from their experiences.
So, where does Spencer go from his first career fumble? Back to the game film to learn which weaknesses he needs to work on.
Olivia could relate as she too was having difficulty fitting in on the paper. Despite her whole summer as an intern, her editor hadn’t taken off the training wheels yet.
She was allowed out of the office to collect notes for a color piece about GAU’s first game. Only Noah, the previous intern, helpfully took her notes and turned them into an article under his byline.
Like Spencer, Olivia is still learning to play the game. Also, like Spencer, she got herself noticed by the editor, who invited her to the morning meeting. It won’t be nearly as exciting as she hopes, but at least she’s arrived.
Walk-on Jordan was under no delusion that he would be seeing the field anytime soon. So he fell back on that tried-and-true method of sucking up to the seniors.
When the seniors invited themselves to Jordan and Spencer’s beach house, Jordan arranged a party for them, despite Spencer’s practical concerns about violating curfew.
Spencer bolted rather than endanger his tenuous spot on the depth chart. Jordan went the route of beer, munchies, and strippers instead.
Sure, the seniors liked Jordan, for his open wallet and prime real estate. That’s not anything to build a college career on, is it?
For once, Jordan didn’t get in trouble for his ill-conceived plans. Maybe that’s because he’s no longer important enough for anyone to care what he’s doing.
While the beach house was left trashed, all the real explosions happened at the Baker residence.
Let’s start with the relationship that survived — Asher and Jamie — although he did his best to blow that up.
Jamie made the sweet gesture of scoring a pair of hard-to-find GAU game tickets for Asher. Then he stupidly blew her off to go to the jail-watch party for Coop.
After watching relationships get shattered in a short time there, Asher smartened up and apologized, then asked Jamie to go steady (or whatever the current term is). She agreed, as long as he could grasp the concept of commitment.
Asher dodged a bullet while Clay got in the way of one. Neither Patience nor Clay got the memo circulating around Layla’s studio that Layla and Clay were just a summertime fling.
Patience invited Clay to the party, thinking she was doing Layla a solid. Layla was quick to disabuse everyone of the notion that she and Clay were an item, to the point that he quit her studio as well.
For someone who does some stupid things (see beach house party above), Jordan can be profound when dealing with Layla, advising her not to hide behind the walls she was erecting.
She gave it right back, telling him not to assume that others wanted to follow his ingratiation strategy.
Finally came the Coop-Patience split, which has been coming for a while. The aptly named Patience has been propping up Coop through one wrong decision after another.
Meanwhile, Patience’s musical star rose while Coop’s rap career fell apart. They’ve been heading in two different directions, so is it any wonder that their relationship suffered as a result?
Here is a perfect example: Coop faced jail time for obstruction while Patience completed her album and snagged a spot at a prestigious music festival.
Patience felt she couldn’t even share her excellent news amid Coop’s gloom and doom.
Fortunately, Laura managed to wrangle community service for an ungrateful Coop.
Coop did do the right thing by freeing Patience from the anchor that Coop has become so that Patience can focus on her life and her career.
Now, with a clean slate, maybe Coop could find a new direction for her life. Preach is a tutor, so anything is possible.
To revisit Coop and Patience’s relationship, watch All American online.
How can Spencer get ahead in college?
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Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.
