Last week, the vortex crew took steps to reignite their passions and carve their path towards the future, now that the dark cloud of grief has been lifted. Tonight’s hour, had the gang face different obstacles that are par for the course when taking steps to move forward. For Spencer, that meant making amends to those hurt by the decisions he made during the darkest phase of his grief. Meanwhile, the flu made its rounds among the GAU campus, taking out most of the football team, Jordan included.
Trying to rebuild a college football team to D1 status in the wake of a scandal seems like an impossible feat, but that is exactly where Spencer and the GAU brass find themselves. With the future of the team on the line, tensions are high for everyone associated with the club, especially Coach Kenny, who has been tasked with bringing the team back from the ground up. There is a huge lack of trust in the GAU locker room, especially considering their leader, Spencer, up and quit on them a mere month ago and he is connected to Olivia who is directly responsible for exposing bountygate. Spencer admits to Coach Kenny that he is still working on things with his psychologist and although the coach is understanding, it doesn’t change the fact that he needs his captain to step up and be the leader that his team so desperately needs. Spencer thought he could just come back to the team and take over like nothing happened, but his teammates aren’t about to let him forget that he abandoned them when they needed him the most.
Last episode, Olivia officially took credit for her bountygate article, and was celebrated for it. This week, she faced the consequences of her decision to come clean. Olivia has re-committed to diving into college life, but when she tries to join a sorority, she is met with anger from the sorority leader, who’s boyfriend plays football for GAU. Luckily, she runs into an old friend who runs the Black Student Union and Olivia finds herself in the right place at the right time. The BSU needs help with their upcoming fashion show, and Olivia is the right person for the job. She also brings on Kia (Asjha Cooper), a season 2 and 3 alum, to help. Along with Kia, Olivia gets some unlikely help from Spencer and the GAU players.
Spencer recruits the guys to help out with the fashion show, as a way to build trust and reconnect as a team. In convincing the team to help out with the show, he was able to express his regret for abandoning the team and re-pledged his commitment to being their leader from here on in. When the flu takes out the main attraction for the final number, Olivia and Spencer take center stage and put on an intense, sensual performance that made viewers feel like they were interrupting a very private moment. Unfortunately for Alicia, she was in the audience to witness Spencer clearly expressing more than just friendship for his ex. Alicia has played second fiddle to Olivia one too many times, and she is finally done. At least this time, Spencer gave Alicia the respect she deserves and didn’t try to deny his feelings for Olivia.
Coop is put off when her law professor criticizes her manner of speaking and appearance, during a mock closing argument presentation. She was just granted the ability to register for the course for credit, and the last thing she needs is to take bad advice from Skye that could potentially ruin this amazing opportunity. Unfortunately for Coop, she did just that. Skye tells Coop that her professor is picking on her and when Coop calls the professor out for it, she ends up making things worse. Yes, Coop's professor is definitely treating her differently, admittedly so, but there was a much better way to handle the situation. As expected, the video of Skye and Patience was sent to Coop, effectively ending their relationship. Hopefully for Coop's sake, Skye’s influence hasn’t inflicted irreparable damage to Coop’s chances at making it further into law school.
Asher and Jaymee finally shared their big news with their friends and family and while the news is met with excitement from the members of the vortex, Jaymee’s sister, Casey, isn’t too thrilled. Her anger comes from the fact that Jaymee has decided to stop taking her Lupus medication, essentially putting her life at risk, without Asher knowing. Casey also pointed out the glaring fact that Asher and Jaymee need to work on their communication skills, before it becomes a problem. At first, Asher confronted Jaymee and chastised her for stopping her medication. Jaymee was offended that he felt like he had the right to tell her what was right for her body, and rightfully so. Jaymee has lived with Lupus for most of her life, and the only thing Asher knows about the illness is what she’s told him about it. After getting some much needed advice from Layla and Jordan, Asher realizes that the thing he loves most about Jaymee is her ability to take risks to truly live and enjoy life. The two end up finding common ground, and Jaymee decides to move into the beach house to help strengthen her relationship with Asher before the baby comes.
Spelivia fans are likely so ecstatic by their intimate encounter on stage tonight, that they are willing to overlook the ridiculous fact that the writers expected us to believe that not only do all of the GAU players have incredible rhythm and dancing talent, but that they were able to learn the moves to several dances numbers in a matter of days. If the goal of the fashion show was to rebuild trust in the GAU locker room and bring Olivia and Spencer closer together, there were several better ways they could have accomplished both without such an unbelievable spectacle.
A highlight of the episode was Jordan playing up to the stereotype of males acting like children when they’re sick. Even Layla pointed out that he powered through a debilitating hand injury, but couldn’t handle something as minor as a cold. Jordayla stans will appreciate the cute, yet comedic, moments between them as they took care of one another and rewarded themselves with the #couplegoals hashtag, for their stellar advice to Asher.
