All American - Legacy / Regulate - Double Review

Legacy

Influences. That was the theme of this episode of All American. Spencer, Olivia, and Layla are have to write an essay for a class about their biggest influence in their lives. Some of their responses were surprising.

At first Spencer selects Deion Sanders, or "Prime Time" as everyone calls him. His teacher is not impressed and thinks he can do better. Spencer gets upset especially after JJ doesn't have to redo his essay (I'm sure his paper on the Rock was very riveting), but he rewrites his paper and chooses his dad. Even though he's angry at Corey, his dad still has a huge influence in his life. He probably got the football talent from his dad, and the choices he's made would have been different if Corey had been in his life.

I was glad that the teacher made him rewrite the essay because it made him think about who really influenced him and shaped his life. Yes, Deion Sanders was a great player, but an essay about him didn't take much effort. I think this assignment shows that while Spencer is a great athlete, he is smart and has other options in case football doesn't work out.

Olivia didn't choose a person for her essay; she chose to write about her addiction. This was a powerful choice as using drugs changed her life. As she said in an earlier episode, she chooses to stay clean everyday. Layla did choose a person: her mom. While her mom is no longer here, she still influences her every day. I liked the scene where she showed Spencer the room with all the records and songs. I know the loss of her mom still hurts, and she was brave by opening up to Spencer.

Jordan didn't have to write an essay so he was busy spending time with Grandpa Willy and preparing for the football game this week. He tries to prove to his dad that he's ready, and luckily, he saves the game for Beverly. He really stepped up and helped the team win, and it was definitely needed since Spencer was preoccupied with his dad. I was glad Jordan got to have his moment and shine on the football field. I know that Grandpa Willy used Jordan for money earlier, but I think he's really helping Jordan get better. I just hope that having a relationship with his Grandpa doesn't hurt his relationship with Billy.

Regulate

I'm going to be honest: I didn't love this episode. I think I like it when the show focuses on the game of football, and this episode focused on drama. Corey's back, but Spencer doesn't want anything to do with him. He shows up to wish Dillon a happy birthday, but Spencer sends him away. Spencer spends the entire episode angry about his dad and finally confront Corey at the end. Spencer wants to know why Corey's back. Is he back because he knows Spencer's becoming a really successful football player? Or is he back to ruin Coach Baker and his mom's life since they had an affair?

I'm kind of disappointed that the big secret is that Grace and Billy had an affair. I was hoping it would be something crazy; something we hadn't guessed. Is there more to the story? Because Grace and Billy having an affair doesn't excuse Corey from abandoning Spencer and Dillon.

Side note: Dillon is just so cute! He was adorable when he was smiling and dancing when Grace and Spencer sang happy birthday to him! His birthday party was definitely the highlight of the episode.

Spencer wasn't the only one with drama this week. Layla's house was robbed, and Spencer blamed Tyrone while Layla thought Asher was responsible. It turns out, the robber was someone that no one knew. I get why Layla blamed Asher (he brought all those people into her house), but I was irritated at Spencer for taking his anger out on Coop. I wasn't too impressed with this story. It felt like filler and just a way to create more issues. There were two good things that came out of it though: Olivia came over to check on Layla and keep her company; and Asher went back home to live with his dad. I hope Asher and his dad can get along better now.

Coop has nightmares about Shawn's death, and it's obvious that trying to take down Tyrone is getting to her. Spencer begs her to stop because he doesn't want to see her in jail or dead. She decides to talk to Laura about taking down Tyrone, and she gets some information about Preach. Later, Preach tells her that she's done her part and he'll take things from here. I want to believe that Coop can step away from Tyrone and the gang, but I don't think it'll be that easy.

Coach Baker is irritated that Jordan keeps spending time with Grandpa Willy. At the end of the episode Billy asks his dad how much it'll cost him to keep him out of Jordan's life. I don't think this is going to end well for anyone.

I hope we get more answers next week about why Corey's back in town and why he's back. I also hope the next episode is a little more exciting than this episode.

What did you think about "Legacy" and "Regulate"? Why do you think Corey's back in town? Do you think Coop can get away from Tyrone and the gang?