#All American Season 3 Episode 9 Review: Testify

At least Olivia discovered how many bridges she had burned while trying to hide her relapse.

The aftermath of Olivia’s car crash finally arrived on All American Season 3 Episode 9.

The problem was Olivia hadn’t totally hit rock bottom yet, although she did her best to get there.

Yeah, digging through the trash can at school to recover her water bottle with vodka in it comes close to rock bottom.

Most of all, she spent much of the episode lying to everyone she loved, starting with herself.

Somehow what she’d taken away from rehab that she remained in recovery as long as she stayed away from pills, her drug of choice.

So it was perfectly acceptable to drink alcohol to help herself cope with the fact that she was in love with Spencer, her best friend’s boyfriend, and her temporary “brother.”

Spending the whole summer chilling with Spencer certainly couldn’t have helped on that front. Maybe she picked up on a vibe from him that he was similarly conflicted.

Then there was that night in Vegas that didn’t stay in Vegas.

She kept sneaking drinks right through breaking up with Asher and then admitting her feelings to Spencer. But she felt she could stop whenever she wanted. Don’t all addicts rationalize like that?

Then everything started to crumble with the accident on All American Season 3 Episode 8, which seems like last season now.

The couple jumped the gun by having Spencer claim to be driving since Laura’s name alone got them a pass this time.

Then they had two choices when they returned to the Baker home: the right one and the one they chose.

As if Spencer didn’t have enough on his plate, being the savior to South Crenshaw and dealing with his phantom injury and disappearing college football career, now Olivia expected him to protect her secret shame, when what she really needed was for her relapse to be brought into the open.

He bought her excuse of “You don’t know what I’ve been through,” at least for a short time. That lasted until he thought about her narrative and pieced together that she had been lying to everyone for months.

The fact that Olivia had broken up with her boyfriend Asher and her best friend Layla should have been a clue that something was amiss.

As usual, Spencer eventually did the right thing and forced her to tell her family at dinner that she was drinking again. When she attempted to soft-peddle her relapse, Spencer laid the whole truth out of the table.

The upside of all the chaos around Olivia was that Jordan and Simone put away his ill-planned reveal of their marriage.

Yes, Jordan wanted to scream it from the rooftops. But two students getting married before their senior year was a flat-out bad idea. 

Whenever the news does come out, it’s going to be messy. A breakup must be in the works since Simone is heading for a spinoff without Jordan.

Jordan tried to console his twin, assuring her that everything was going to be all right. But in her paranoid, detoxing state, there was not much chance of that happening.

Since lying had been working so well for Olivia since the accident, she decided the best solution was to keep invoking the name of her absentee sponsor, even though Leslie was ghosting her.

Olivia must have felt rehab coming since she attempted to make amends with Asher and Layla.

Then came the inspired idea of ditching school, stealing Jordan’s car, and going out to look for Leslie.

The obvious choice was to have Leslie dead from an overdose. But her dispensing wisdom to Olivia from jail served better as a cautionary tale.

While Olivia was on a walkabout, Spencer, smarting from a tongue-lashing from Grace, did the wise thing and went back to Dr. Spears one more time. The man who bends over backward for everyone else finally heard the doctor’s prescription for a little self-care.

As much as it hurt, he stood firm against Olivia and sent her home alone to face the music.

Thankfully, the Bakers came up with a solution that gets help for Olivia without sending away the series’ most interesting character for several episodes.

Since this is theoretically a sports drama, let’s talk a little about football since there is little chance that Spencer, Jordan, and especially Asher will enjoy a successful collegiate career.

The coach promising Spencer a full-ride left UCLA. Jordan hasn’t mentioned his college plans all season. And safety would give Asher more of a chance to continue football.

And, of course, Billy’s new kicker was the daughter of a woman who has been chasing him forever. Hijinks are sure to ensue.

Thanks to Grace, Coop finally stumbled on the perfect plan to ease her way into her music career.

The perfect rap album wasn’t going to convince Coop’s gospel-loving momma that she’s ready to leave school behind for music. But Coop could earn the minimum required of a high-school diploma by passing the GED exam. No one has ever said that Coop wasn’t a smart student, just an indifferent one.

To follow Olivia’s spiral, watch All American online.

Are Spencer and Olivia done so soon?

Could the series do without an addiction storyline for a while?

How about going back to more football?

Comment below.

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