#All American Season 3 Episode 8 Review: Canceled

This is why what happened in Vegas should have stayed in Vegas.

The fallout continued from the tension-filled weekend at Spencer’s cabin and the resulting revelations on All American Season 3 Episode 8.

If anyone had any doubts, Layla sent Spencer packing after learning about his admission of love to Olivia just before he and Layla rekindled their relationship.

So in one fell swoop, Layla lost her boyfriend and her best friend. So she was entitled to feel pissed at both of them.

Fortunately for Coop, Layla seemed to be throwing herself into her work as Coop’s manager.

She was even trying to save Coop from herself by pushing off a meeting with a famous rapper so that Coop could concentrate on catching up on her schoolwork.

The only problem with that concept was that Coop has checked of South Crenshaw already. She sees music as her path out of Crenshaw and doesn’t appear to be giving any thought to a fallback plan. You know, one that would start with a high-school diploma.

That’s why Coop was so totally indifferent about being a finalist for Homecoming Queen. In fact, the only one who appeared at all excited about being a Homecoming royalty contender was Kia, who was doing all the heavy lifting in the prep work for the voting.

Chris didn’t even make an appearance. It just wasn’t his episode. But with Spencer’s mind everywhere else, Chris could still win over South Crenshaw’s savior.

Coop went through the motions of running for queen. But her mind was split between her music career and her rift with Spencer.

She even blew off Preach, who went to the effort of traveling to investigate Mo. She’s still coming up clean. But she has to be this season’s Big Bad, doesn’t she?

Preach certainly deserved better than a shrug of indifference for trying to look out for Coop. There was an element of wanting to prove her wrong about Mo, but so what?

Good for Grace for not helping Coop to dump her friendship with Spencer. Maybe it will get through Coop’s thick skull that she needs Spencer, especially since Patience is off working on her own music career.

How did Coop get “dump everything that’s holding you back” out of Spencer’s speech about not being afraid to ask for help?

While Coop wasn’t speaking to Spencer, Spencer wasn’t talking to almost anyone for fear of hurting their feelings. That’ ship has sailed, Spence.

Heavy is the head that wears the crown.

As Layla pointed out, Spencer was wrong to string her along, even with the best intentions, rather than telling her his heart was with Olivia.

Olivia was even guiltier on that front because she couldn’t seem to articulate her feelings to anybody. Not Asher. Not Layla. And definitely not Spencer.

Laura checked in long enough to notice that Olivia was living in Mopeytown, to the point when she let both Olivia and Jordan take a mental health day from school in the hopes that some twin bonding might snap Olivia out of her funk.

Is it just me, or was it a bad sign when Jordan, the poster child for bad decisions who is apparently still married to Simone, was the only teen dishing out wisdom?

I thought that Layla was the only person who didn’t deserve some blame. But that before Olivia detailed Layla’s flaws as a friend.

Layla, in turn, made the good point that people grow. She definitely has as a senior when compared to her sanitarium stay as a junior. But with J.P. as a father, she had little choice but to grow up fast.

Olivia, on the other hand, has regressed, seemingly unable to ditch the water bottle filled with alcohol.

The crash after Olivia tells Spencer she loves him was predictable. The fact that she had been drinking was less so. So now Spencer learned her dirty little secret after such a high.

Poor Spencer can’t win. 

He was set up to fail by thinking that he alone could overcome decades of educational-funding inequities with a championship football team by employing a charming blend of naivete and arrogance.

Fortunately, the adults in his life are there to ground him. 

Grace apparently is going to be around the school working on her garden design, which will give her time to clash with Principal Carter. She disagreed with Spencer’s approach but did support his message of allowing players who are borderline academically the opportunity to play.

Jabari was the perfect example of a player working hard academically to get a second chance through football.

And Spencer put in place a tutoring program to salvage a few more players.

Of course, somehow, it will come down to South Crenshaw and Beverly in the finals once again.

I do have to wonder who has the traumatic brain injury — Carter or Billy.

Carter remembers Billy punching him so hard that he ended up hospitalized and then had to transfer to boarding school, away from his family. Billy doesn’t recall hitting anyone that hard.

My money is on Carter having a foggy memory. Maybe it was Corey who punched him instead.

To revisit Spencer’s horrible year, watch All American online.

Who’s going to talk sense into Coop?

How much trouble will Spencer get into covering for Olivia?

Didn’t everything get left up in the air nicely going into a month-long hiatus?

Comment below.

Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.