All American - Turn Down for What - Review

Grace and D’Angelo’s big day was the focus of the episode, as it was finally time for the long awaited nuptials. The events leading up to the big moment nearly derailed the wedding, as an unexpected role reversal had the older adults getting themselves into a sticky situation, requiring the young adults to help them out. 

The hour started with Grace and D’Angelo’s rehearsal dinner, which was held at the Baker sorority house. It was pretty lavish and packed with guests, which was confusing considering that Grace and D’Angelo have both made it clear that they are distant from their family members. It was not at all clear who the majority of guests were, which made the whole party feel bizarre and out of place. In truth, the whole party could have been eliminated from the episode. Either that or the writer’s could have used the opportunity to introduce viewers to some of the people in Grace and D’Angelo’s life. Luckily the party scenes didn’t last long, as Laura and Denise whisked Grace away for the true highlight of the night, a bachelorette party complete with a decked out party bus. Grace was shocked when her estranged sister, LaReesha, was on the party bus, acting like no time had passed between them. Grace is obviously annoyed, but decides to let it go for now and enjoy the party that her friends have so graciously put together. Meanwhile, when Billy finds out the girls are out having fun, he coerces D’Angelo into having a bachelor party of his own. They rope Preach in with them, but it is clear that the men are long past their party days as they embarked on a much tamer evening, consisting of cigars, drinks and getting a decent sleep. Preach comes to the realization that he is not the person he used to be, that he’s fully embraced being a dad and he is okay with that. The men head out to find the women, and find the ladies drunk and having a little too much fun on the street. Grace decided to get a little too frisky with a signpost, unaware that the cops were nearby. The men and women were charged with vandalism and thrown in lock-up, all except Preach who was smart enough to run when the cops showed up. Laura called on Coop to bail them out, and Coop made it known that she is quite able to help out in a jam, with or without a law degree. Coop is upset at being sidelined on the Preach case, and she’s making sure that Laura knows it. 

Meanwhile during the parental shenanigans, J.J. decides to host an impromptu game night which as everyone knows, isn't always the best idea. Especially with so much tension in the group now that Olivia and Spencer have broken up. Poor Dillon is left to be the moderator, eventually having to come to the rescue as secrets are revealed, including the fact that Spencer has been moving on with the girl from the bridal shop. The biggest secret came completely out of left field. Patience admitted that she isn’t happy with the attention she is getting on social media after her red carpet appearance. Her unease of being in the spotlight comes as a huge surprise to everyone, including Coop. It also came as a surprise to viewers. Patience chose a career that involves being in the public eye, so the fact that she is uncomfortable with it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Most people that are uncomfortable being in the spotlight tend to choose more modest career paths. Clearly Patience didn’t think this the whole way through. Coop had the biggest fail of game night, when he revealed to the group that Spencer has been getting it on with the girl from the bridal shop. Olivia tries to act cool and make it seem like it doesn’t bother her and when Spencer tries to apologize, she tells him that she understands that he has to move on. Surprisingly, he tells her he hasn’t moved on at all and the two end up in a passionate embrace which leads to them sleeping together. 

This takes us to the wedding, which despite all of the previous shenanigans, goes off without a hitch. LaReesha gets the chance to make things up to Grace by delivering a heartfelt speech, which softens Grace’s dissolve towards her enough so that they can hopefully start to repair their relationship. It is nice to see Grace and D’Angelo get the second chance at love that they both so greatly deserve. At the wedding, Spencer talks to Olivia about what happened between them and it seemed as though he may be re-thinking his decision to break it off. Olivia, however, felt differently. She explained to Spencer that they should call what happened what it was, closure. She states that they needed to have one last time together in order for them both to move on. Spencer accepted it, but I am not convinced that he was happy about it, nor do I believe that is the last we will see of these two together. 

While Olivia and Spencer are moving on, Jordan and Layla are just getting started. At the beginning of the episode they decided that they wanted to take things slowly and see where things lead. By the end of the hour, they made their relationship official while in bed together for the first time. They decided, however, that they still wanted to keep their relationship a secret from their friends, so as not to complicate things. Clearly in the midst of their passionate moment, they forgot that J.J. has been hell bent on figuring out who he saw kissing outside the restaurant the other night. At the end of the episode, J.J. looks at a picture of Layla and Jordan together at the wedding and finally remembers that it was them that he saw the other night. Honestly, this is not that big of a revelation. It's not like anyone stands to get hurt by Layla and Jordan being together. Having their friends in on their new status will surely be annoying for them, but it certainly won’t impact anyone enough for this storyline to have had the presence that it did. 

What did you think of the wedding night fiasco? Was the wedding everything you hoped it would be? Are you disappointed that Spencer and Olivia were so close to getting back together but didn't? Let me know your thoughts by commenting below, or by connecting with me on Twitter @ms_c_almeida.